Mmm. Dealers. Now then, where do I start? I bought my Panda MJ brand new from Priory in Urmston, Manchester. The car hadn't been launched yet but they had one in the compound, still waxed and with plastic on the seats. The salesman got it out, stuck some trade plates on, apologised for the state of it
and off we went. We did a deal and I bought it. The only thing it didn't have that I wanted was A/C but I wasn't prepared to wait months for one to arrive.
Came delivery day and everything was fine. At that time I decided I wanted side rubbing strips which were ordered. They arrived a few weeks later and the car was booked in. The salesman leant me his Punto with the same engine
which had a strange noise when the clutch came to biting point. The side strips were fitted perfectly. Came the following March and it was booked in for its 1 year service and a price was obtained over the phone. When I turned
up to pay for it the bill was about £45 more than the quote. After a moment's thought the receptionist reduced it. Result. 6 months later I got a letter saying they were giving up the FIAT franchise. For its 2 year service I took it to Stoneacre in Hyde. Another incorrect qoute. This time they wouldn't reduce it. Plus it cost £7 for screenwash. By this time we had just bought my Wife's Stilo from the same place. Her car was 12 months old with 1,000 miles on the clock. They promised it would be serviced. A few weeks later I took it back to ask them to stamp the service book but they couldn't find form their records when it was done. Oops. It hadn't. Service done. I took my Panda in to the same place to ask them to investigate to the noise that had started form the clutch. A senior technician drove the car with me alongside and certainly put it through its paces, so imagine my surprise when he said he coudn't hear anything. He was either deaf or a pathological liar. The fault has recently, 15,000 miles later,disappeared on its own. The Wife's Stilo also developed a strange noise. The car went into Stonacres and, guess what? No fault found. The noise is still there. When I needed a new rear light cluster
for the Stilo I tried Reg Vardy in Stockport only to be told the business had gone to Evans Halshaw and he gave me the phone number. I dialled it but found out then, that Parts was at a different location and gave me the new number. I dialled it only for it to be unanswered. I went down instead and was
met with the news that FIAT parts were to be found in the Vauxhall dealership up the road. I went there and was ignored. I shouted at someone and stormed out. Evntually I got the name of a supplier from FF and got what I wanted, cheaper than main dealer. This is the frustration. One dealer's performance was exemplary in every way, but gives up the franchise, yet two
others are basically crap. My experience has not put me off FIAT per se, yet in this area I seem to be running out of dealers to buy from and have cars serviced at. I might try Moss Rose in Macclesfield but that must be 15 miles from where I live. Someone with less commitment to the marque than I wouldn't give them the chance. By and large, I have no issues with the cars, in fact, for the money they are worth every penny, but, as we all know, the dealers are FIATs Achilles Heel. Ooh, that went on a bit, but then as soon as you all saw my name you knew it would.

The Beard said:

Ooh, that went on a bit, but then as soon as you all saw my name you knew it would.

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lol

If I may raise a point here.....are the dealer poor throughout the UK or (from what it seems here) just certain areas/counties?

Every dealer i have dealt with thus far has been very good. (West Midlands)

I've had bad service from a local fiat dealer (Lee and Turner).

I went to buy a grande punto, and was told no test drive as it costs too much to insure the cars! On asking the price, was told check the internet

I went to this dealer 3 times, but couldn't get satisfaction, so bought in the end from Pewsham Fiat, a drive of 80 miles for me.

Now I had my new GP Sporting, there was a fault. The headlight aimers didn't work. Went to Lee and Turner to fix. What a balls up. They removed the front bumper , and on refitting put it back on with about 5 bolts missing and poorly fitted. Took it back again, they broke a clip and just left it.
I complained to the service manager, who assured me the car would be "quality controlled" by him personally next time.
Goes in again, I collect, one rear of the headlight grommet is missing and the battery is not strapped down

That was it, I didn't go back again. I strapped the battery myself, and bought the missing part from a different dealer.


Still, there is a light at the end. Fiat pulled the franchise and gave it it J&J Motors. Also Fiat pulled the poor excuse for Cardiff Fiat in the way of Evans Halshaw, and gave that to Wessex Fiat.
At least locally to me, Fiat are doing something about the bad apples.

After my previous ramble (and a half), something perhaps needs clarifying; and that's the cars themselves. The Panda MJ was bought brand new and everything from the attention of the salesman to service receptionists was first class. The 1 year service was carried out without drama. Good for Priory.
The Stilo came from Stoneacre and again the buying process was painless. The problems occurred when they were asked to diagnose a fault, which on 2 occaisions they failed to do. The Panda has performed almost perfectly and although the fuel comsumption has not been as good as I'd hoped, an average
of 55 mpg ain't bad. It rolls a bit in bends, but then you all knew that already.
In comparison with the Fiesta 1.4 TDCi that we use at work has slightly more space inside than the MJ, but only does 42 mpg in a mainly urban environment
and has gone through 4, yes 4 pairs of front tyres in 42,000 miles. By the way
these are 195/50s, so not cheap. Would I buy one over the Panda? Well, apart from the handling, which is excellent, the answer would be a resounding
NO. Would I buy a Focus over the Stilo? Objectively the Ford is a better package with, again, better handling; but, they're everywhere. As for reliability, well apart from a groan from the clutch in the Panda (now disappeared) and an odd squeak from the rear of the Stilo (now intermittent)
they have been faultless. After having 1 Focus 1.8 LX and about 6 1.6 Zetecs
I can say that none of them came close to giving the 42 mpg round town we can get from the Stilo, actually 27 mpg from the 1.8 and 32 from the 1.6s. The big question is.....Would I buy another? Well the answer is a resounding YES! I just wish I could buy them from a Nissan or Toyota dealer. Now there's
a thought.

the dealers may be rock bottom according to the survey but it does depend on where u go. they are like any organisation everywhere is different. you could go to two sainsbury supermarkets and receive different service in both, even tho the sainsbury blueprint is the same. i cant comment on the reliability off the cars though as mine has yet to arrive. although i must say that are a lot of of mk2 puntos on the road and the new gp are becoming increasingly common, maybe becoz there cheap cars with good specs, and now come with a five year warranty, so even if sumthing does go wrong atleast you have protection

T14086 said:

lol

If I may raise a point here.....are the dealer poor throughout the UK or (from what it seems here) just certain areas/counties?

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I found the local dealer in wolverhampton the rudest and most insultive dealership i have ever known in my 20 years of driving.
IM DISGUSTED !!!

jw02sky said:

I found the local dealer in wolverhampton the rudest and most insultive dealership i have ever known in my 20 years of driving.
IM DISGUSTED !!!

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What happened to upset you?

Beard may be dissapointed to know that Moss Rose in Macclesfield has shut down

So your next service may require a trip to Mangoletsi - theyre meant to be good. There's also Richard Cort near Bury though. I loved the choice of Fiat dealers in Manchester when i was up there, weve only got one in Oxfordshire, and that only arrived 2 years ago. Plus its part of the awful Hartwell group, so im going to Rockingham Cars (hour & 30 mins away) tomorrow for my Stilo service. Hope it's worth the journey!

JTD_Liam said:

Mangoletsi - theyre meant to be good.

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there are good and bad reports on alfaowner, but mostly good (and expensive- but arent they all)

The fiat dealership in warwick is really good and are really helpful so i cant moan.

i use to use them but its cheaper to do it myself and my mates garage only charges me £25 an hour labour.

I must be a really lucky sod!!, my Dealer are friendly and helpful, for example the Salesman I deal with picks up my car and takes it for any work, drops the wife off at work on the way as well.BTW I did'nt know he came from my area and he need never have told me this when he offered to pick up the car when I first started dealing with him approximately 5 years ago.
The Dealer Principal has personally helped me recently, as have other members of the staff, in fact its a pleasure to have any dealings with them, and I shake my head in wonder when I read what problems some Forum members have with their cars and getting the Dealers to sort it out.
Beleive my my 56 plate GP Multijet has had a few niggles, nothing major, but I have to say as far as this thread goes, its how things are put right that lingers long after the original fault is forgotten.

Some members have named the "problem Dealers", so I feel it is only fair that I name my Dealership as well for all the right reasons, Bostons of Milford, keep up the good work people.

jug said:

there are good and bad reports on alfaowner, but mostly good (and expensive- but arent they all)

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Yeh id read a couple of negative things bout them, and they charged me £20 for a rear light bulb change on my Punto, which i thought was abit harsh, but as far as Fiat dealers go, they seem pretty decent! I couldnt fault their service, just the price.

JTD_Liam said:

Yeh id read a couple of negative things bout them, and they charged me £20 for a rear light bulb change on my Punto, which i thought was abit harsh, but as far as Fiat dealers go, they seem pretty decent! I couldnt fault their service, just the price.

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lol you took it to a dealer for a bulb change?

T14086 said:

lol

If I may raise a point here.....are the dealer poor throughout the UK or (from what it seems here) just certain areas/counties?

Click to expand...

Its not just the UK they're generally crap in so I doubt it regionalised!

One thing to be said is the Fiat dealers here are very cheap for work compared to other marques. Pity that the two decent ones my dad used to use (for sales and service) both closed, and the nearest one is absolutely terrible. But I work around the corner from a decent one, so sorted.

ChrisUK said:

lol you took it to a dealer for a bulb change?

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Yeh, i did. Would rather someone do it that knows what theyre doing, rather than me pulling the thing to bits & causing havoc. I hadn't got a clue how i got at the bulbs in the back of a Punto.

Nothing wrong with that Liam. If I had customers like you who were loyal i'd give big discounts,help with warranty matters & send you a xmas card

I had been interested in a GP Sporting for a few months, had visited the nearest Fiat dealer on a few occasions, can’t say I was too impressed – it was also a Peugeot dealership, and the Peugeot salesman asked if he could help me, the Fiat salesman was stuck in his office. On the second and third occasions I got given some brochures, including the new GP brochure – they did have a demonstrator but it was never available. Shame as I really like the car and was keen, and the write up seems pretty good.
In the end I plumped for a year old Skoda Fabia vRS SE – from a dealer which also has a Fiat dealership, and the salesman who sold me the car is now on the Fiat side, but originally sold the car when working on the Skoda side. I did ask him about the GP Sporting – and he said it was a fine/really nice car – but not as good as the Fabia, it seems the budget VW brands are better built than the ‘Prestige’ brands. He did say that the Fiat reputation is slowly improving – it’s trying to persuade the public that is the problem.
All in all, I think it’s a matter of luck – maybe try the nearest few dealerships.

I dont think skoda have shrugged off their image completely (which I agree is unjust) but after speaking to alot of skoda/VW techs/drivers they seem riddled with faults that even I was surprised at.