MOST IMPORTANT FIAT POST EVER

I have managed to obtain the names and addresses of the directors for Fiat (UK) Ltd and intend to write to them with some customer feedback as there seems to be very little other way of getting feedback to anyone who actually cares at Fiat.

Please take this as an opportunity to offer some constructive criticism about all aspects of Fiat ownership and any encounters you have had with Fiat staff or dealerships. I am sure they will be happy to hear praise of good dealers and staff too as they seem to be a rare commodity and they may be able to act as an example to the worse ones.

I will be printing out this Forum string and sending it along with my letter so please remember to be polite and give them information they can really work with to help sort out the dire reputation of Fiat in the UK.

Steve (on his third and quite possibly last Fiat)

Fiar Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo. Anticipated Delivery Mid June (oooh it's July now and guess what?.....Still waiting!

Well i found that whenever i use a Fiat dealership, (i've used three so far in trying to find the best one) as in the parts and service departments, they are not very helpful.

The staff in the parts departments are not very clued up on parts and often have to wait around for 10-15 mins for them to find what you want, even after describing the part and calling it by its proper name.

The service departments pricing scheme is way over the top, they tried charging me nearly £300 for a 9,000 mile service on my Sei, this includes an oil and filter change and a general look around the car.
Roughly 3-4 months after i picked up my brand new Sei the rear engine mount fell off causing the engine to flap about on the two remaining mounts, got the AA to take it to the dealership and they said they would'nt fix it as it genreal wear and tear, I think not!!
After much arguing they agreed to fix it but i did'nt receive a courtesy car so i was carless for 4 days as they had to wait for a engine mount to be ordered.

The Fiat cars are good but its the aftercare and service you get from the dealerships that let them down, This is definetely going to be my last Fiat!!!

I don't think Fiat will ever sort out their dire reputation as they seem to be slowly going under, well thats a surprise i wonder what caused that???
Perhaps so many ex-fiat customers got fed up and went to a different manufacturer.

I have considerably more mods, THAN YOU!

i agree with matt(centoevo), it isn't fiat itself that lets the brand down it is the dealerships. and in scotland we only have the choice of arnold clark dealerships for fiat, who are especially bad.

All it would take would be for the staff that are employed in FIAT dealerships, regardless of the name, AHF, Perrys, Arnold Clark, whatever, to be vetted - or simply trained in such away so that they know how to do their job properly. Politeness goes a long way, and trying to make money from charging ridiculous amounts of money for things which a) cost hardly anything or b) take about 5 minutes to do isn't helping the cause.

FIAT cannot let their massive empire go to waste... there's a lot of potential. Hopefully the death of the long-standing chairman will not affect the company's overall performance, but will inspire the company not only in the UK but as a whole to improve its customer service, aftersales, etc. and also have a major overview of parts prices!!

[/rant]

Cinqmeister
Alias: BIG BROTHER
http://www.channel9.tk
'94 Cinquecento Basica (USA Spec) 0,9l

Hmmm... Interesting, it seems like that the FIAT dealerships and services are not quite that top. I'm suprised... For example, there never has been a Seicento, Cinquecento, Barchetta, Punto introduction in the Turkish market, but when you go to a FIAT Service, all the parts are available and they don't charge you that much because it has never been introduced into the Turkish market...
Well as boywonder wrote you should send some critics while you got the chance [:o)]


Fiat Club Türkiye
http://www.fiat.web.tr/

agree with the above. the dealers are rubbish, and the parts dept is particulaly bad. i went in there and ordered a DRIVERS side wing mirror, when i went to collect it, they gave me a PASSENGER side one. took it back, got another 2 days l8r, again, a PASSENGER side!! about a week later i eventually got the one i ordered and they just told me that it wasnt their fault!!

how can them giving me the wrong part twice not b their fault???

I expect that's something to do with someone on the phone asking someone thinking about a left-hand drive model passenger side as opposed to a right hand model passenger side...

But he's exactly right, it's things like this which make the "service" so much more infuriating...

Cinqmeister
Alias: BIG BROTHER
http://www.channel9.tk
'94 Cinquecento Basica (USA Spec) 0,9l

When I picked up my car I wandered over to the parts desk and ordered a few accessories. One of these was a cargo net to go underneath the parcel shelf. When it came, it wasn't the part I ordered. It was the net that goes on the floor. So I took it back and they ordered it again. A while later I went back to collect it and it was the wrong net again. (The same floor one.) They then (supposedly) made a few enquiries and decided that the part I wanted, despite it being in the UK accessory catalogue, wasn't available to the UK! [:(!]

Summary of other complaints I have (without redress) put to Fiat UK

• Salestaff need to be aware a test drive should last more than 5 minutes and consist of all types of driving, e.g. motorway, town, country
• Salestaff shouldn't lose interest just because you walk into a deal with an automatic discount (I had 18% CSMA discount)
• When you ask for, and are promised, a specific car for a test drive, then it would be nice to get it
• Salestaff should not say you will get your car in 8-10 weeks, only to be told after 12 it will a few weeks longer. Then call you a liar when you complain about it
• Customers should be informed when the price of a car changes.
  (I wasn't. I had to bring the matter to their attention. The basic price of the car had been reduced.)
• Customers should be informed when the car they are to receive is not the car they ordered. Compensation should be offered and not abruptly rejected when asked for
  

I would add some more, but writing this is making me angry. [:(!]

_________________________
2003 Stilo 1.6 Dynamic 3dr, Orion Grey, 17" Alloys, Dual Zone Climate Control, Aluminum Sills, Clarion DXZ928R, Kenwood DualMags, Clarion SRX1784, almost de-badged (just grille to go).
I accept no responsibility for anything contained in my posts, or any decisions you make based on them.[^]

cinqmeister: no it was nothing to do with the LHD and RHD. when i first ordered it i told them it was for a RHD and when he looked it up on the computer he even let me check that he had got it correct! but 1 thing i did miss out was that they tried to give me the EXACT same passenger mirror twice! when i told them this they said i didnt know what i was talking about and that us 'youngsters' think we know better than the specialists. in fiats case, i think EVERY1 knows better than them!! lol

I am quite prepared to stand up for my local dealership. Grays of Warwick have been superb in all departments, Sales, After Sales and Parts. Always polite, knowledgeable and keen to provide a service. It appears not to be the case all the way through but how much of it is actually Fiat's fault? Are not these dealerships franchises? Therefore whilst there is obviously an indication of what the franchisee should be doing there is not always a huge amount they can do about it.

My profession is in customer service delivery, which I design and contract legally so I know what can be acheived through constant monitoring and feedback from the clients. When I have a complaint I put it in writing, initially to the direct influence over the issue offering them an oppertunity to correct it. If that does not occur within a reasonable time frame then I escalate it including my original letter. This is a fair way of dealing with it and gives the direct influence an oppertunity to deal with it without having to do something as they have had there ass kicked and you generally get a better response.

What I also do is write to the top dog when I have been pleased with a service - how many of you do that? Praise in public where deserving but criticise in private giving the influence the oppertunity. Try it and see how your local dealer reacts!

Nige

Fiat Bravo HGT155
Fiat Barchetta
http://www.bravo-guide.co.uk THE Fiat Bravo site

I agree with you Nige. When ever I experience good service I make sure the important people know, often in writing. It is just a shame we are able to do it on relatviely rare occasions. It is true however, that people are most quiet when they are satisified, it is only when they are unhappy they speak up so while this site does represent a small proportion of Fiat owners in the UK the problems we are experiencing seem to be widespread. That is the issue here really.

Fiar Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo. Anticipated Delivery Mid June (oooh it's July now and guess what?.....Still waiting!

Although from what we see here, maybe if there were less negative comments people would be more tempted to speak out with their positive ones... the point is, problems require action, hence why you complain...

Cinqmeister
Alias: BIG BROTHER
http://www.channel9.tk
'94 Cinquecento Basica (USA Spec) 0,9l

my local fiat dealership isnt too bad they seems to be alrite in the parts department - its only when i go into the main reception - as im young they assume im here with someone else and it takes them forever to ask if im "ok there" when ive been standing at the desk for 10 mins with two people doing nothing - talking to each other about their holiday!

I have to agree that it is the dealships that are giving fiat a bad name. This is my second brand new Fiat, originally a Seicento Sporting and now a Punto Sporting. The Seicento had a number of serious issues, I wont go into all the details but lets just say that dealing with this particular dealership was a nightmare almost to point I was going to reject the car. They could never meet timescales, never provide u with a courtesy car, never accept that u are right, never fit the replacement parts properly, never apologise for the hassle and generally couldn't care less if the wheels fall off. I eventually decided to write to fiat and complain - they replyed with apologies and contacted the dealer - but did it make any difference? did it hell!!

So I told myself I would never buy another fiat - but I couldn't help myself as I always wanted to get the Punto Sporting so I did (an 03 reg btw). This time I switched dealers on recommendation from friends etc - but I have had some problems from day one mainly caused by the dealerships lack of care on preparing the vehicle for collection and some dodgy factory fittings. (The full post is in another thread I posted yesterday - can't remember which one but under Punto Sporting 03 *Problems) - Already noticing that this dealership is probably not much better - e.g wrong part ordered unable to retify a certain problem etc etc. I love this car and I already loath the next day I have to take it back to grubby mechanics that don't care if they fit the part wrong and leave some oil prints on your upholstery oh and give u a new problem. All I want to do is drive my new car the way it should have been - it is only 2 months old ffs.

Something needs to done about the after service and the attitudes of so called fiat authorised dealers - financially people are committed to their cars and deserve value for money.

This WILL be my last fiat.

i'm with Nige. Grays have been great.

the descent into insanity continues unabated