The dealer for both Fiat and Alfa Romeo in Bury St Edmunds is DBS Desira and they are very good. Always welcoming. If you need parts, make sure Jamie Virdee serves you as he won the 'best parts guy in the country' award last year! I bought my Cinq off them and my partner has an Alfa, and with both cars we've had excellent service; they even return calls when they say they will. Praise where it's due!

Mervyn Stewart in Belfast are excellent as well. Helpful, friendly and the service is good.

<h5>Click here for pictures of my Uno
Click here for pictures of my Brava

Hi, new here! I have bought Fiats for a few years now and agree with the comment, buy your car then service yourself, always done that... result happy owner. However I got fed up with rubbish dealers and last year bought a new shape Micra. Bad move as it has had numerous faults, Nissan dealers cant fix some of them and basically the car was a real dissapointment. So much so that I have traded it in for a new Panda Eleganza! Cant wait.

Hello there all, nice to meet you!

I've had one good experience with Fiat dealers and one bad.

There's only one in Cornwall (St.Erth, I seem to recall) which I was miffed at having to travel quite a long way to just to get a new wiper blade. However the staff made it all worthwhile, as they were really friendly and helpful and didn't make me feel like a stupid woman who knows nowt about cars. I also didn't get the impression I was being ripped off there.

In contrast, I've just been to Reg Vardy's in Stockton-on-Tees near where I live and I'm desparate to find another one which may actually be alright. The phrase 'bunch of wide-boys' springs to mind. I really, really don't want to go back there, and won't unless I absolutely have to.

Cheers, catch you all later.
I may be back for some help in a bit - you all seem lovely!

my dealer research fiat nuneaton have been varied. after a very recurrent airbag warning light fault and having to shout at them at length i now get first class service although when a car comes in for the same problem four times in as many months simply switching the light off but not curing the fault is unacceptable especially since i told them what was causing the problem. however John Wood is very good on the service desk, friendly, courteous, etc, if only the technicians were up to the same standards i would be happier. does anyone else think fiat dealers run a monopoly? living in nuneaton we have two vauxhall dealers in nearby coventry, one in bedworth and one in hinckley, for peugeot dealers are in hinckley, coventry and bulkington, if a dealer does not satisfy you it is easy to go elsewhere and as a result all these dealers offer good service. my alternative fiat dealers are in leicester or warwick. is this the same scenario elsewhere in the country or are they just thin on the ground in the midlands. becuase we basically have no choice but to go to research and honestly they are by and large useless. i plan to have a another fiat but whether it will be a new one from research fiat is looking doubtful.

Have enjoyed my Punto HGT but it has gone drastically wrong after just 14 months of ownership (i've still got this car on finance!!!). Fiat Dealer has been dire - i won't even begin to explain how bad they've been. Prior taking it to Fiat a couple of mechanics i know told me that the cambelt had gone, but it sounded like it hadn't done any damage. Suprise, suprise Fiat are saying - everything is very, very bad and that i will need a new engine!!! Oh yeah - and my warranty has expired!!!
Just fix this thing - so i can sell it off quick!!! Bub-bye Fiat!!!

Spirit Da Au Revoir

Simon, Brighton, U.K

Hello Duchess,
For Teesside I can recommend FAST (tel 01642 617775) off Portrack Lane. Also see adverse post under 'bad garages' or similar for alternative opinion. I've had mostly good (and some bad) experiences with Reg Vardy at Thornaby, they got too expensive for my pocket.
Regards.

Our local dealer is GMD at Durham. I have to honestly say the Parts Manager is a brilliant bloke and nothing is too much trouble for him. He goes well out of his way to help you out, he will suggest various things to keep you motoring without breaking the bank, and has not only gone way over the top to keep us on the road but also given us a Fiat Parts CD which has proved to be a Godsend. I often ring him up to ask technical advice and never once has he been anything but the most helpful bloke I've had to deal with, and I've dealt with a few Parts Managers over the years!

I would love to say the same for the Service Dept. The Service Manager is a great bloke and they do the job OK, but whenever one of our cars has been in for service or repair there is always at least one thing which makes us wince when we get the cars back. One time when the brake pipes were replaced one of the clips in the engine compartment was left off together with the drain rubber for the grille, which was left lying in the engine compartment, another time the car was picked up and didn't run properly as we drove out of the garage and had to go back in. It is a tale of two parts, unfortunately, but we will still use them mainly because of the people, but we just service the cars ourselves now.

Tosh


**Men don't stop playing because they grow old; they grow old because they stop playing.**

Well im gonna hav to give some positive information about the dealerships i use. I got the punto from Caledonia Fiat in Preston where they gave a good deal for the car and I had no problems with the delivery date/ pick up date and the car was great when i got it.

I live nearer Caledonia Fiat in Blackpool so I have used them for minor problems. They have always dealt with my problems- 1st was a new clutch, 2nd was fixing minor problems with suspension and the third is (another) new clutch. These have all been fixed under warranty and twice I have been given a courtesy car.

Overall I think the Caledonia dealerships offer a very good service

EVERYONE- SPRAY YOUR PUNTOS BLACK

<font face="Comic Sans MS">well if u think fiat dealers r bad u should try buying a new vw - i did twice and NEVER AGAIN!!

i was so pissed off with the second polo i drove it to to a garage and bought a punto sx75 secondhand in 10 minutes - the sales guy couldn't believe it. i was having a day when i was more nostalgic for italy than normal i guess - i loved the punto and been hooked on fiats ever since (although if someone was to give me an alfa spider i wouldn't say no ). granted fiats are on the tinny side and prone to falling to bits, but then i have had 2 new VW polos with major failures (brakes, fuel pumps, water pumps, shocks - oh and i just remembered - a brand new company Golf GTI that had a complete gear box failure) so i guess cars are just like that. if it's going to break down it might as well look cool while it does it...

my local dealer, sunwin in halifax, has been fine. i've bought two cars from them now and they are laid back but helpful - loan cars, lifts, ring u up when the parts are in, that kind of thing. i've not had any agro like i had with the vw dealer [!] (name withheld for fear of libel - don't get me started on that one....)

so it's not all bad </font id="Comic Sans MS">

Just seen Steve C's post there, my Cinq came from Mervyn Stewarts! I live in Scotland but it founds it's way over here!


Local Fiat dealers in Ayr are rubbish been twice, won't be back cos

3 weeks wait for a touch up pen, ordered clutch cable over phone one tuesday and said to them I'd pick it up Saturday, arrived to be told by someone else "all parts must be paid for whilst ordering"

Need i say more, I have gotten all my other spares from desira since then, prompt, courteous and reliable.

Liam

The dealershipin Liverpool ,Bootle are the worst by far and should be avoided at all costs, although I got good helpful advice when I rang warrington up although they were £15 dearer for the part but I should have paid the extra as its took 3 weeks already for a part to come in ,in the Bootle one .

Also when you go in you ring the little bell and no one comes out till at least the third ring and then they dont give any curtesy at all , its "yea" They should employ people who know the cars inside out and have trained to know all the parts also because when you ask them for a part they say "cant get it now" or "its too small to stock it will have to be ordered "

Here's my story,

Now I love my Stilo, but I'm never buying another car from Arnold clark. I might buy another fiat (probably an newer Stilo), but never from Arnold clark.

I went in to the garage, (aberdeen for the interested) just for a look, while there I decided I wanted a stilo 1.2 in yellow, ok not gonna happen cause the yellow not available on the 1.2. ok, I'll have the 1.6.

Spoke to the sales chump, who informed me that there was a special deal on the 1.6, brilliant i thought. so off he goes to his computer and tells me that the offers only on cars that have already been delivered to the country, and that theres no yellow ones.
OK, factory order time, claims that it'd take over 3 months for the order.... but he had the demo model for sale.......
We agreed on a price for the demo model (17 miles on the clock)on the condition that it they would put a CD player in it. Happy customer, he sorts out the paperwork and I leave a deposit and go home happy. Along comes the day of collection and I arrive ready to sign all the paperwork and take home my car, but no.... he claims to have never said anything about the cd player (a lie). offers to have one fitted at my cost, I refused this and he offered to pay for half, once again I refused because it was supposed to be fitted anyways. He speaks to his boss and they decide that if I'm willing o pay half of a CD changer they'd fit that instead giving me a Tape HU and a CD changer.

So that agreed and I go back home, having changed my insurance twice now with a £15 each time.....

Two days later I go to pick up the only to find that they can't get the Tape machine to work in the car, Turns out the car had been delivered with a CD player and they'd taken it out to give to another customer replacing it with a tape unit which the car won't accept. AARRGGHH. so off they go ordering a new CD player to go along with the changer they've already fitted. All this time I'm trying to get a rattle from the skywindow fixed (still not done). Eventually they get the right part and fit it, but they can't get the security coed to work cause they've tried it so many times I've got to drive home taking over 2 hours for a 30 min drive to get the correct code in.

Eventually it all works.
But he moral of the story is "anything you agree with the sales staff Get it in writting"

Still love the car, but gotta find somewhere to service it that arent liers.

But I can't fault the service manager there he's always been helpful..

MiniG

--
Stilo
1.6 dymanic, Broom Yellow, Skywindow, CD changer.
wanna see it? click here
http://www.stupidyellowcar.co.uk

I am seriuously thinking of taking my camcorder with me when I buy anything ! as Its becoming a joke to buy anything to say the least . The sales people just dont listen and then tell you they NEVER said that lol. Mini G I would have told them to stuff their car , your the buyer not the door mat you are in control if you want the car with pink spots on its up to them to sort it out if they say they cant do it for 3 months etc they are liars.

They can get any cars from other dealerships within 24 hours, I used to work for Fords delivering cars from dealership to dealership and if customers wanted a new car in a certain colour or leather etc they send them out from each other all over the country so they just wanted you to buy the show model because its used and they need to get rid of it .

They can get yellow cars at the cost of a phonecall etc and as quick as a phone call .Your the boss and the buyer after all you are paying thousands of pounds the best you want is a good deal and some curtesy if they cant do this go to another place.

Had a P reg Ulysse (v1) for 5 years - No problems. New one comes out so I thought good idea - blow loadsa money on a new one with loadsa gizmos...leather, sunroof CN+ and leather.
3 months later new bus turns up just in time for Summer Hols guess what - wrong interior ! Factory now shut for Summer Hols... Reordered. New bus arrived in November (ordered in March !)
It then took 6 months to get the Connect Nav+ connected (for free...) - took three months for dealer to actually just get the paperwork !! FIAT havent you heard of the web ????

I still have a load of problems, though mainly minor now except in heavy rain water runs out of the roof light binnacle ! (dealer cant find out where its getting in.)

Saw the old bus running around - parked next to me, just about to have all shox replaced (that cheered me up !)

Dealers have been abismal up til last month. Still they dont return my calls, and still I'm waiting for a set of mats and some interior parts that they say they cant get (that's 14 months after I ordered it !).

Fiat nearly got the car back, a colleague sent his back but he had a severe electrical failure. Fiat UK just channel stuff back to the dealers which isnt a lot of use when they're at fault !

On the servicing note - Good old Cinq once went in for an advertised UKP 47 service that actually cost UKP 180 !! Dealers replaced a brake cylinder as the tyre had a bald spot where it was binding. The same dealers had supposedly replaced all wheel gear 6 months earlier in an accident repair !!! (Obviously not !)

My family have been buying fiats for many years and i have seen a reasonable dealership (Priory Fiat, was also Hammonds) gradually turn into a very poor dealer. It seems that all Fiat dealers try to do nowadays is to charge the most ridiculous prices for parts, or if the parts dont cost alot, they'll simply charge a huge price for fitting.

I have never had a problem with the sales team, and the parts department aren't too bad either (apart from the fact that they randomly say the price of something is going to be "about fifty quid" without looking on the computer first)

But the area of Fiat dealerships that does need attention is the Service dept! The attitude of the receptionists on the service desk is very poor (i have to say that when they first opened many years ago it was very good though) I shall tell you about a typical example that i have encountered:
On the last service i had for my Uno i had a call from a receptionist telling me that my handbrake had seized on and it would cost £150 for an exploratory look, and if anything needed to be fixed it would cost extra. I refused to accept that this was the case as there was nothing wrong with it before it had gone in and asked to speak to a manager. I then went into the dealership where the manager took me to speak to the mechanic who was working on my car who told me he'd said nothing about a seized on handbrake!

The good point though about Fiat dealers is that you can always take your car back to them if anything does go wrong, or any parts dont work, and they will normally always fix it free or charge...


<font color="black">Pics of my Uno are on my homepage, see User Profile.</font id="black">

an interesting group of posts but I don't believe it's only fiat dealers the majority of dealers are much the same, it seems to stem from a policy of all manufacturers to give delerships mainly to large groups rather than family firms. These companies don't seem to have the same customer service ethics and try to sell cars like white goods but of course cars are rather more complex! i don't actually believe that the fiat parts supply system is bad many parts can be obtained next day but remember (assuming things haven't changed recently)that the dealer pays more for this than parts sent on a stock order so you need to press them on the urgency (or get a bigger discount)I think it would be better if the service side was stand alone and not associated with the sales side, this would encourage good service rather than having one company engulfed in the same culture

100% lancia ....with a hint of fiat

If they did know what they were talking about im sure it would all be a lot more beneficial!!

# K@Te PUNTO# [email protected] GOOD GIRLS ARE BAD GIRLS THAT NEVA GET CAUGHT ;-)

i have a cinq sporting and a coupe 20vt and i go to my local dealer (reg vardy) and they are spot on no messing if the parts are late i get discount and i am still just joe public i live in stockport give them a ring

slew

more than a few disappointing experiences with Fiat, 1st of all, whilst my car was still under manufacturers warrnaty, my gearbox bearings collapsed, i had to argue the toss so i didnt have to pay the full £400 + vat to get the repair done, also i had to have my secon service with them (again, part of the warranty to get it done at Fiat) this cost £180 + vat. at the end of the day i heard nothing at all from anyone at Fiat regarding the gearbox, they didnt seem at all interested, they had the money for the job and that was that.

recently my clutch packed up, ok fair enough, you'd expect tops of around £200 to fix, so i ring Fiat just out of interest for a price (knowing they will be a bit dearer) £340 + vat, to supply and fit a clutch, where do they get their prices from. i am most annoyed at Fiat as so many niggly things have gone wrong with my car, aswel as the head going and costing an absolute fortune. if this thread does get to the top man at Fiat, i will not be buying another Fiat again as they are too much trouble.... thanks, rant over!![}]