My Abarth arrived yesterday and as you may have read in my other posts the bits I thought might be missing mostly were.

While the puddle lights in the door are there, the 12v socket in the boot, rear armrest/drinks holder/ski flap, under passenger seat storage tray and height adjustment for passenger seat were missing [!][V]

I told the Sales Manager at my dealership about them and he said he didn't know what to do. As I was running a bit short for time I had the salesman sign something saying they would look into the missing items for me.

I noticed member W00dward on here had things missing on his/her car too and Fiat are replacing them so I hope they might do the same for me given the time my car was ordered and how they hadn't got the new brochures out yet. I told the salesman I'll find out some more information on this replacement and give them the info so they have something to work from when they talk to Fiat.

I think I stand a good chance as the goods supplied are not as advertised at the time. For me not having the rear armrest/drinks holder/ski flap is quite a deal breaker and I think I would have gone for a different car if I knew I wasn't going to get it. I often have rear passengers for whom it would be useful and I do a lot of DIY so the ski flap would have been really handy for long items.

Will keep this topic updated on the progress as I think some other people might be in the same situation.

Incidentally, I found a bolt rolling around in the drivers footwell. Not a good indication of build quality from day one! [:0]

My SatNav screeches now and then as experienced by some other members too. I'm hoping maybe an updated CD would help this, I'm only on the standard new car issue one so far.

My first impressions are otherwise good. I like the power of the engine, the way you can open/close the windows by remote control and other nice little features that I keep finding.

Steve <------ kid with new toy

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

<blockquote id="quote"> face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
My first impressions are otherwise good. I like the power of the engine, the way you can open/close the windows by remote control and other nice little features that I keep finding.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I actually find this a little annoying at times, especially the range of the remote. One morning I came out of my house to find both the windows and sunroof wide open. I can only assume that whilst I was bending down to feed my ever hungry cat the keys in my pocket were continually pressed and I'd unlocked the car. Thank God it wasn't raining that morning! I must check in the pigeon English manual whether this can be disabled.

Anyhow, enjoy the car!



Barbarian
3dr Stilo Abarth, Leather, Broom Yellow and Sky Window

Sounds lovely in green with beige leather!!!

*drools*


Fiat Seicento SX
[Clear indicators][Rockford Fosgate RFX 9120 HU][Sony Xplod 6x9s][Kenwood midrangers][BMW Mini tweeters]

Yeah mate, it's looks fantastic. Will try and put some pics up on here later.

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

You've finally got it!

Pretty s**t service from fiat if the car you ordered had loads of bits missing, i'll be kicking up big time until its sorted!

I have considerably more mods, THAN YOU!​

Trust me, I will be kicking up! It is a slightly dodgy area though cus strictly I should have expected a post spec change car as it was ordered after February but the point is the brochures weren't even released until after April!

Am going to call up RAC legal services again and see what they say the legal position is before I start getting all demanding with the dealer. The dealer's official line was there was nothing they could do but they would make some enquiries. I think it will come down to either them paying for the missing items out of their pocket as the salesman should really have known the changes and made me aware of them or Fiat realising it was at fault for not providing the brochures in time and them coughing up.

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

Glad your car arrived; not glad bits were missing.

Check your puddle lights though. Do they actually light? I have them, but they don't have any bulbs in, or connectors for bulbs. They are, in effect, just reflectors.

Please let us know what RAC legal say. I still haven't called them myself. :I

Was the height adjustable passenger seat supposed to be standard? It was an option on my model. One I didn't take advantage of. So it should be quite simple to refund the cost of that feature. As for the others, I don't know how they could calculate the cost of those.

The rear arm rest/ski tunnel was a feature I wanted too. [!]

I'm fearful the 'We reserve the right to change specification without notice' clause will prevent any legal action. Then again, anything that breaks the Sale of Goods Act is illegal anyway, so...

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

Yes, the puddle lights do light up thankfully. Yes, the height adjustable passenger seat was standard on the Abarth but it doesn't feature any more. I am hoping the cost of items can be based on the actual cost of the part which the parts department should be able to dig out. That is how I found out the main part of the rear armrest in leather, the fold down bit, costs about £180 + VAT.

While Fiat do have that clause I think I should be able to hold the dealer responsable for providing a product which isn't "as advertised". The clause in the terms and conditions of the order say that the dealer must inform me of any spec changes and they didn't. Gives me something to get my teeth into in the letter I send them at least.

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

It will be interesting to learn what they say in response to your letter; see if it is any different to the one I got.

As soon as anyone gets anywhere with their complaint on the whole 'specification not as ordered' issue, then the rest of us can jump on Fiat again, guns-a-blazin'

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

It may be missing parts but it still looks damn good! I think the yellow calipers go quite nicely with the green paint.

Latest news from the dealer is that he doesnt think there is anything he can do. He reminded me of the bit on the back of the brochure saying about Fiat's right to change the spec to which I replied it doesn't get them out of not providing me a car "as advertised" (I don't know how much I can hold them to this - any ideas?) and also their own sales agreement says I was supposed to be notified of any spec changes prior to delivery. I haven't called the RAC legal helpline yet but I will do that tomorrow.

The Dealer Principal tried to tell me that some of the items I am complaining about aren't dealer fit! I think my logic baffled him a bit - I countered his comment by saying he is effectively saying there are things on a Fiat car that a Fiat dealer cannot fix or replace. What crap! [:0]







Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

<blockquote id="quote"> face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by boywonder
I countered his comment by saying he is effectively saying there are things on a Fiat car that a Fiat dealer cannot fix or replace. What crap! [:0]
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Errr....once you've had your Stilo a while and experienced the truly appalling 'customer service' and the complete incompetence of certain dealerships to fix things, you'll realise the fallacy of that sentence



--
Neil Barker

By the way, I apologise for the glamoourous setting of the B&Q's Stockport car park for the above photos. I'm finding it much harder to keep clean than my white Puntos, for some reason dust shows up much more on this car.

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

Also, the color-matrix display on the dash has been replaced by a simple lcd. Mostly the drawers under the seats are gone too

Abarth 3d Black Moire + 17" + cdc + "718" + Sebring TS4

Not sure about the drawers under the seats, not fitted on my Stillo MW 1.9.JDT Dynamic, but that may be beacuse of the electric seats.
Purchased April 17th.

Have SatNav+, electric seats.
My Dual Zone climate display is dot matrix but is an amber display.
What display is colour?

My main display is colur due to the SatNav+.


Ham.........

The colour LCD has gone? My car still has that thank god. Latest news from the DP is that is an item can be ordered through the parts department to replace my missing things he will do it. For once, I was actually helped by the terms and conditions on the back of the purchase agreement, generally they normally seem to work against me!

Looks like I'm going to be getting my bits and pieces after all. He accepted it was the delaerships fault and not Fiat's so if anyone has been in a similar situation your recourse is with the place you bought the car from but check on your agreement for the small print about making you aware of any spec changes. Is it just my pc or do the photos I posted above not load?

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

Are they photos of white boxes with red crosses in?

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

Lol, witty as ever Lead!

Fiat Stilo Abarth 3dr. Loden Green, Beige Leather, Sky Window, Cold Climate Pack, 17" Alloys, CD Changer, 260w 8 Speaker Stereo.

I said I would let you know when I had some joy with Fiat.

When I got my new 1.6 Dynamic it was missing some items which where on the new spec. (Puddle Lights and 12V Socket)

I pointed this out to my dealer and they got Fiat to agree this was a miss-build and they were fitted yesterday.

I also had problems with the parking sensors. They kept failing in the hot weather. The dealer couldn't find a fault because it was overcast when I took the car in. Typical eh! But they just ordered 4 new sensors and replaced them as well. No quibbles. I also had the alarm go off for no reason and they said the ultrasonic set it off and have ordered a new ultrasonic pack as well. Still waiting for that to get in though.

If anyone is in the Midlands I would recommend this dealer. They are Research Fiat in Nuneaton.

Right, time to pay my dealer a visit i think.

/me prepares for battle [!]

_________________________
2003 Stilo 1.6 Dynamic 3dr, Orion Grey, 17" Alloys, Dual Zone Climate Control, Aluminum Sills, Clarion DXZ928R, Kenwood DualMags, Clarion SRX1784, de-badged.
I accept no responsibility for the content of my posts, nor any decisions you make based on them.[^]

Topic:Not getting what you wanted or is it ordered.
Small print on back of tech specs last para reads "Variation of product specs do accur from time to time -please check the exact specs with the dealer at the time of order." I did but like most of us we get confronted with sales crap. Any way I am threatening Court Action.The defendent is not Fiat UK it is the dealer. My contract is with him not Fiat UK. Thats my legal advise!!!! from my legal eagal.
Point of interest:I ordered my Arbarth with all the bells ect Dec 2002
took delivery 10th April 2003. promised delivery 5 to 6 weks(on the July 2002 price list. The Feb 2003 price list is less generous.

G Morgan