why are Fiat bottom of the 2009 JD Power Survey?

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why are Fiat bottom of the 2009 JD Power Survey?

If you noticed I bodyswerved the cleaning/polishing bits as i'm not a valeter so not in any position to comment on this....I hate cleaning my cars but thats why you have kids isn't it;)

I agree though that first impressions count, dirty car & the salesman is going to have a hard sell on his hands, gleaming car and he is already halfway to gettting that signature.
 
Fiat's role in helping to save Chrysler post-bankruptcy was applauded by President Obama just days ago, but already the naysayers are building their case. And unfortunately, it's shaping up to be a decent one. The latest JD Power figures put Fiat at the bottom - 28th of 28 - in UK satisfaction
 
If you noticed I bodyswerved the cleaning/polishing bits as i'm not a valeter so not in any position to comment on this....I hate cleaning my cars but thats why you have kids isn't it;)

I agree though that first impressions count, dirty car & the salesman is going to have a hard sell on his hands, gleaming car and he is already halfway to gettting that signature.

I think perhaps I could have wrote my intial post better. The bottom line is if Fiat want there repuation to improve then dealers are gonna have to make more effort not only with aftersales but also first impressions as they are what last. Likewise Fiat themselves have to make more of an effort.

Part of Fiats problem is that many peoples first experience with their cars was of unreliable rustbuckets. Those times are long gone but people still assosiate that with the brand, so when something does go wrong the attitude is "well its a Fiat, thats what they do" wheras if the problem occured on say a Honda, or Lexus (or even Skoda nowadays) the attitude is that it is the exception to the rule even though the problem is probably as likely to happen on any car.

I think Fiat have done fantastic work on getting their products right (who doesnt love the 500 for example) but they also need to put the same amount of effort into improving peoples perceptions. If Skoda can do it (Remember the "its a Skoda, Honest" campaign) then Fiat can to (even if they arent owned by VW). Another example is what Hyundai have done with the 5 year warranty thing. Many people wouldnt have touched one of their cars but by slapping a massive warranty on the cars they have tempted more people to take the gamble. Word of mouth has got out that actually these aren't bad cars.

Of course this isnt something the dealers can offer on their own, and Fiat do have a responsibility to back up the dealers, but if there was more willingness on the part of both dealer and manufacturer to fix problems when they happen instead of holding out for the customer to pay then perhaps the attitudes of people would improve. Afterall when problems happen we are taught in customer service that the best course of action is to fix the problem as soon as possible and apologise. Dragging your feet and making excuses only makes people more hostile and quickly errodes any goodwill felt between that person and the organisation. This is what Fiat needs to get right -customer care.
 
Likewise Fiat themselves have to make more of an effort.

Tend to disagree here as I think Fiat (especially Fiat UK) have been making a incredible effort.

If Skoda can do it (Remember the "its a Skoda, Honest" campaign) then Fiat can to (even if they arent owned by VW).

Fair point but skoda havent exactly set the motoring world on fire let alone big sales. 2 skoda garages near me have gone, couldn't honestly tell you were nearest one is?

Another example is what Hyundai have done with the 5 year warranty thing. Many people wouldnt have touched one of their cars but by slapping a massive warranty on the cars they have tempted more people to take the gamble.

Also a gamble by the manufactuer, all it needs is a engine fault to come to light & Hyundai could be in trouble, remember daewoo. I believe Fiat are looking further ahead and not just short term to grab customers in any way possible but investing in new technology which will keep the Fiat brand going for a long time yet.

Fiats major problem is getting large dealerships to comply like the smaller (better) chains.
 
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Personally, I put it down to a couple of things...

1. Fiats warranty handling.

For many years Fiat have been giving owners agro when it comes to warranty claims. This causes enourmous degrees of bad feeling & will, 9 times out of 10, evoke the immortal words "I will never buy a Fiat again". The majority of those disgruntled owners will indeed stick to their words.

In alot of cases, in the past at least, Fiats warranty department would refuse a full pay out, saying the faults were dont to normal wear & tear or driver abuse & then offer to pay a percentage, it was then up to you & the dealer (aka piggy in the middle) to argue your case & barter.

Its a warranty for God sake, not a bloody car boot sale...

2. Dealer attitude.

Problem 1 means that the staff in the dealers have to put up with an almost daily torrent of abbuse from these angry customers, this leads to a high staff turnover, mainly in service reception & on the sales floor.

This also leads to lowered staff moral who are less willing to help because they KNOW the pattern... they KNOW they will get a bollocking from an angry customer, possibly in front of other customers. How depressing is that day in day out?

And what can they do about it? they end up being go betweens, trying to please the customer, and the service manager, and the dealer principal & having to deal with Fiats warranty claim department.

Its not an easy job to do, its not far off being a traffic warden!

Dealers are often understaffed to, resulting in people being too busy to get cars back when promised & customers routinely not called back.

This also causes huge irritation to customers, who again, vow to never buy Fiat again. It also goes for Alfa & was the same with Lancia back in the day.

Also, tarbyonline covered another thing... quality control. Its almost non-existent at most dealerships, its due to the low moral & understaffing issues mentioned above, resulting in things being forgotten or not bothered with..

A little while ago, against my advice, my parents got a used low mileage Stilo SW from a dealer they`ve been using since the early 90`s (Dad previously bought 2 brand new Fiats from there). They payed top top dollar on this car (I wasnt there when they got it, if I had have been, they wouldnt have got it!) & the dealer wanted a week to prep it. My parents were fine with this.

They asked me to go with them to check it over when they collected it a week later.

After an informal chat, we were dragged through the back of the showroom to the workshop (which was a right state). It was immediately apparent to me the car was in less than mint condition. it wasnt cleaned to dealership standards inside or out, it had been washed, polished haphazardly & hoovered out, thats it, the same sort of valet you`d expect for a fiver. The alloys were kerbed, the rear bumper was scuffed, the service history had vanished. Amazingly, when I opened the bonnet, the battery cover & clamp was loose, with the (missmatched) bolts lying seperately.

There were no mechanics there & after a long wait, I gave up & ended up refitting them myself, using the strewn out toolbox next to the car (I think it belonged to Mr Clarkson, not Mr May).

Frankly, I could have bought a car in identical condition from an auction for 3 grand less.

Yet this was a car they had a week to PDI, Absolutely rediculous.:mad:

The thing had running issues the day after collection & the car went back 2 days later. This part the dealer dealt with in a decent way.

I found the whole situation embarrasing, I felt shame for the dealer & Fiat.

For the record, my parents got a Volvo V50 on the 1st of March & are very happy with both it & the dealer standards, I`m 99% sure they will stay happy with both too.

This lack of attention to detail & general lack of care is exactly what people dispise about the Fiat group, there may be the odd exception, but as a rule the dealers leave a bad taste in a very high percentage of customers mouths.

We love the cars, we could even live with the faults, IF they were handled properly by the dealers & we were handled in the professional way we expect (and get) from other car companies.

The 500 is doing wonders for Fiat, its the perfect oportunity for Fiat to become strong again. Its also a bad time to be p**sing customers off. I just hope standards have now risen in all the above areas, or in a few more years the word on the street will once again be "Fiat? I wouldnt have one of them again".... :bang:
 
Interesting thread this and i would like to comment about a few things,

When i bought my stilo, the Egr valve failed within a week or so and when i took the car to Hutton's it was diagnosed as the egr and duly ordered and fitted a couple of days later.
There was a issue regarding this at the time which is all sorted but have used Hutton's only once to fix the Over boost valve and then replace it under warranty, Not because they are a bad dealer but because really Nothing has gone wrong with it. I have had no problems with Hutton's and would buy from them and have a car serviced with them no problem.

Now I'm talking about a 04 stilo Jtd multi wagon that has and gets thrashed by myself 98% of the time showing 115,000, But the thing is now what do i replace it with as fiat have deemed itself not worthy of replacing the multi wagon with anything. I don't want to drive a van (doblo/Cube thing) so that counts out anything fiat (new anyway), So what does one do pickup a late stilo on a 06/56 plate and keep it for 2-3 years and see if they turn out a Bravo estate or do i run my Stilo on for another year or so and get a stilo multi wagon.

So it looks like my Fiat ownership will come to an end in 2-3 years as there is not a product thats suitable for myself. I never thought i would say it but i like driving and owing my stilo and Fiats in general.

Perhaps i have been lucky but fiat ownership is and continues to be a very good one.
 
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