boywonder
New member
I'm a stickler for good service so here is a run down of my thoughts and experiences of some Fiat garages I've used.
Caledonia Fiat, Manchester: GREAT service department
, the guy there really looks after the customers and remembers you each time you walk through the door. He really helped me push some things through with the Fiat Warranty company on a couple of occasions and is generally keen to help the customer get the best deal and save some money along the way. For example, directing me to the bodyshop they use rather than giving me a price for them outsourcing the work. My only gripe is that they charge you £10 for insurance on their courtesy cars. The Sales department is a bit lacklustre, no one seems too enthusiastic .
Priory Fiat, Manchester: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE. I have previously made a complaint to Fiat about one of the salesmen. I sad down with him to work out some figures for buying my 2000 Punto and he said unless I was prepared to buy it there and then he wasn't even interested in giving me some figures [!] . I asked to speak to another salesman and sat down with someone called Nathan who was better but fractionally so. I went in a few months ago as couldn't get my bonnet to open and asked the Service department to get one of the mechanics to quickly look at it. I was told they wouldn't. I had my car serviced here once and wasn't very impressed with the result, I don't remember why now though. I went in recently to ask about Stilo's in Loden green and was told the colour was discontinued and given some other incorrect spiel. This time I just walked away while the guy was still talking at me. They certainly get my vote for the worst Fiat garage EVER .
Caledonia Fiat, Blackburn: Friendly sales staff (grumpy sales manager though ). Got a great deal on my new Stilo (£1750 discount on list price and metallic paint thrown in on top) from a guy called Chris Kershaw. He's one of the first salesmen who actually knew more about the car I was interested in than I did and that is always a good sign.
Sunwin Fiat, Keighley: I had used this garage for 6 years when I tried to buy my new Stilo. In the process of me doing 12,000 miles more or less all the staff had changed. I used to know them all well as had bought a Punto from them and done 6 years worth of servicing there. The young salesmen took me for a test drive and didn't seem too enthusiastic . I noticed that a Punto in the showroom had different rear headrests to my 2000 version and he tried to convince me they were the same! Then to add insult to injury the Dealer Principal (who was also new) came out to give a trade in value for my car and gave me one that was insultingly low considering my long term relationship with the dealership . When a place doesn't look after some of its long-term customers you need to avoid it [V] . The one saviour is the good guy in the Part department who really knows what he's doing.
Autoworld, Sheffield: I visited trying to get a price for my new Stilo. I walked around for ages trying to get some attention and gave up so in the end finally grabbed a staff member who was passing. The guy who was sent to deal with me was useless. He knew little about the car, little about the procedure of buying one and valuing a trade in. He gave me a book value for my Punto without even asking if there were any options on it . When talking about the new car I asked about a discount and he said he didn't know . What a way to sell a car. I told him to send someone over who knew about giving me a discount and finally the sales manager came over who was a bit more clued up. They offered me a £1500 discount on my new Stilo which I later used in Blackburn to get a better deal. They didn't seem particularly interested in securing my business so I left looking for a garage who would.
Hope that is of some help to someone!
Fiar Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer. Anticipated Delivery Mid June.
Caledonia Fiat, Manchester: GREAT service department
, the guy there really looks after the customers and remembers you each time you walk through the door. He really helped me push some things through with the Fiat Warranty company on a couple of occasions and is generally keen to help the customer get the best deal and save some money along the way. For example, directing me to the bodyshop they use rather than giving me a price for them outsourcing the work. My only gripe is that they charge you £10 for insurance on their courtesy cars. The Sales department is a bit lacklustre, no one seems too enthusiastic .Priory Fiat, Manchester: AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE. I have previously made a complaint to Fiat about one of the salesmen. I sad down with him to work out some figures for buying my 2000 Punto and he said unless I was prepared to buy it there and then he wasn't even interested in giving me some figures [
!] . I asked to speak to another salesman and sat down with someone called Nathan who was better but fractionally so. I went in a few months ago as couldn't get my bonnet to open and asked the Service department to get one of the mechanics to quickly look at it. I was told they wouldn't. I had my car serviced here once and wasn't very impressed with the result, I don't remember why now though. I went in recently to ask about Stilo's in Loden green and was told the colour was discontinued and given some other incorrect spiel. This time I just walked away while the guy was still talking at me. They certainly get my vote for the worst Fiat garage EVER .Caledonia Fiat, Blackburn: Friendly sales staff
(grumpy sales manager though ). Got a great deal on my new Stilo (£1750 discount on list price and metallic paint thrown in on top) from a guy called Chris Kershaw. He's one of the first salesmen who actually knew more about the car I was interested in than I did and that is always a good sign.Sunwin Fiat, Keighley: I had used this garage for 6 years when I tried to buy my new Stilo. In the process of me doing 12,000 miles more or less all the staff had changed. I used to know them all well as had bought a Punto from them and done 6 years worth of servicing there. The young salesmen took me for a test drive and didn't seem too enthusiastic
. I noticed that a Punto in the showroom had different rear headrests to my 2000 version and he tried to convince me they were the same! Then to add insult to injury the Dealer Principal (who was also new) came out to give a trade in value for my car and gave me one that was insultingly low considering my long term relationship with the dealership . When a place doesn't look after some of its long-term customers you need to avoid it [V] . The one saviour is the good guy in the Part department who really knows what he's doing.Autoworld, Sheffield: I visited trying to get a price for my new Stilo. I walked around for ages trying to get some attention and gave up so in the end finally grabbed a staff member who was passing. The guy who was sent to deal with me was useless. He knew little about the car, little about the procedure of buying one and valuing a trade in. He gave me a book value for my Punto without even asking if there were any options on it
. When talking about the new car I asked about a discount and he said he didn't know . What a way to sell a car. I told him to send someone over who knew about giving me a discount and finally the sales manager came over who was a bit more clued up. They offered me a £1500 discount on my new Stilo which I later used in Blackburn to get a better deal. They didn't seem particularly interested in securing my business so I left looking for a garage who would.Hope that is of some help to someone!
Fiar Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer. Anticipated Delivery Mid June.
