Fiat Dealers to Avoid

[dave]

D Salmon parts do it again, the same bloke who has tried to sell me the wrong gear oil twice in the past today tried to rip me off again.
i wanted 4 bolts and 4 nuts, i already had the part numbers from a good dealers who also gave me the retail price inc vat and before discount.
this D Salmonbloke then says the bolts i need are out of stock and gave me a price of nearly double before vat. i question him as to why his prices was more than eper and he says its the price fiat give him ( why they give him a rrp twice as much as they do every other dealers?) i then said other dealers give FF members up to 50% discount on most parts, he then said oh that is price before discount. he has never given FF discount before and his trade discount is only 10% so even if he gave 50% on his price it would only match the RRP. the bloke is mad

 

[T14086]

nut, bolts, washers,rivets etc normally come in minimum quantity so your probably paying for 10 but they only give you 4.

 

[dave]

they are gits, i can ring a dealer in london and get stuff delivered to dealer in chelmsford spen a fiver on petrol and still save a fortune on my local dealer prices they now have a dealer near where mrs dave works so i'll see if i can get them delivered there. All the independent garages around here get all their parts from deseria (sp) their van delivers here but not to my house, but i have a few places that i can get them to deliver too for free as well.

 

[GeeCee91]

Dealerhips/Garage to avoid is Arnold Clark In Broxburn/Uphall. Starting from the receptionists up to the Branch manager, Not one single person in this dealership is Any form of good representation of the company. The reception staff are useless, The parts department mess up on a regular basis, Took them 3 shots to order the steering column for my Punto, Which resulted in the car, which I need for Uni and work, Being worked on for 8 days, Although, Each time i passed it was sitting in their yard, and not moved. I was then given a £700 ish bill, which had a storage charge for 6 of the 8 days, as well as the labour costs for 3 days I'm no mechanic, but 3 days to refit the steering column?) I Paid for the parts and all after a lengthy Argument with the Useless, patronizing and objectionate service manager. I eventually paid for just the parts. with it being the nearest fiat dealer, for about 30 miles and me not having much free time after uni/work. went back with a wing mirror fallen out, and the fitted it, broke it, then fitted a new one and still haven't got it right! Although after a letter to the heads of Arnold Clark, i received an apology from Arnold clark themselves, and one from the branch manager. Avoid this garage unless you have no other option. The car now goes to a brilliant local garage, 3 miles from home, Never had any issues with them at all!

 

[davidthelodge]

Research garage Nuneaton. They are not good at Diaognostics using Fiat software (examiner), then they charge you £160 & dont fix the car. Then they refuse to reply to 2 complaints put in writing twice since 15/12 to their General Manager. In the end the customer down loads Fiat ECU scan and fix's the car himself, needed new MAF air flow meter. Stick to the experienced smaller garages.

 

[andysporting]

chapmans fiat steeler in pickering they fitted the wrong water pump 2 my cinq sporting in 2008 as a result ov this it war the timing belt away and sliped went back to the steeler thay said its not there problem :bang:

 

[T14086]

but its been ok for 2 years

 

[andysporting]

i know iv been since to take me gp 1.3 mjtd for a full service and found thay havn't changed the air fillter wich it dosn't get black roten by doing 21milles down the road :bang:

 

[Benn1]

Avoid Richard Hardie Silverlink Newcastle, got a car from them about 7 months ago, the car was supposed to be inspected & serviced before I got it. First of all it wasn't ready when I went to pick it up,then after a couple of day's I noticed the coolent was leaking & the struts were knocking, got them fixed ( parts missing/badly fitted ) after many phone calls & trips to the garage. A couple of weeks later when it was hot I noticed the aircon wasn't working, they just filled it, which lasted a couple of weeks, not working again . Now due to freezing weather the alternator & belt have had to be replaced, not by Richard Hardie :yuck:, who weren't interested at all.
:devil: RICHARD HARDIE :devil:

 

[Piecan]

Glyn Hopkin Chadwell Heath

Took my husband's Panda there for a service and car wash and when I picked it up the bonnet had large scratches over it! I think it was done by the guys washing it, but the service manager did not believe it was done there. Had to argue with him to convince him. It got repaired in the end, but no aplogy.

My parents then thinking they'd give them a second chance bought a new Panda from them. The sales people were a joke, charged my elderly parents extra to have a car shipped across water from somewhere. This car didn't materialize and after I made numerous calls to chase it for them I was told it had been sold to someone else! They promised to refund the extra transport money, but never did.

I so wanted a new Panda, but just can't face the hassle of dealing with Fiat.

 

[T14086]

I so wanted a new Panda, but just can't face the hassle of dealing with Fiat.

To be fair its the dealership that seem to be causing your issues not Fiat directly, however it can be argued that Fiat should be more in charge of their dealerships.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Glyn Hopkin Chadwell Heath

Took my husband's Panda there for a service and car wash and when I picked it up the bonnet had large scratches over it! I think it was done by the guys washing it, but the service manager did not believe it was done there. Had to argue with him to convince him. It got repaired in the end, but no aplogy.

My parents then thinking they'd give them a second chance bought a new Panda from them. The sales people were a joke, charged my elderly parents extra to have a car shipped across water from somewhere. This car didn't materialize and after I made numerous calls to chase it for them I was told it had been sold to someone else! They promised to refund the extra transport money, but never did.

I so wanted a new Panda, but just can't face the hassle of dealing with Fiat.

Glyn Hopkin have a number of Fiat dealers in the South & a friend who has a 500 had very good service from them when his 500 was leaking through the back window. They carried out the repair & thoroughly cleaned the car where it'd got damp. He didn't have a bad word to say about them. Though they could be getting abit too sure of themselves because being awarded more franchises.

The smallest independant Fiat dealers always seem to deliver better service as reputation is more important to them.

With regard to the extra money for transport costs, i'd say you need to speak to Fiat UK about this, because if a dealer has taken money for something and not delivered it, in my eyes theyre heading onto the wrong side of the law. That money needs refunding.

Unfortunately your choice of dealerships locally seems limited to other Glyn Hopkin branches (Buckhurst Hill aswell as the Romford one) or Ancaster in Welling, who i dunno much about. There are also Essex Auto Group in Southend and AMC Chelmsford, but AMC appear not to do new car sales anymore, with that bit taken over by another Glyn Hopkin branch. Could always ask AMC & see.

Theyre obviously abit more of a treck but this seems the case for alot of people. I drive 50miles each way to get to my nearest decent Fiat Dealer. The ones nearest to me are cr*p.

 

[T14086]

Glyn Hopkin have a number of Fiat dealers in the South

see this is wrong IMO as having a monopoly leads to poor service, you have no one to gauge your self against and ultimately the customer has no choice! This is apparent north of the border. Competition is good for the customer.

Dealerships should be allowed one per area in a dissected UK of 30 areas with all dealerships properly organised, maintained and especially checked regularly.

 

[wish mine was orange]

jj. motors bridgend s.wales

have a long list of moans about these guys.
but today find out the £1,500 they had off me, for a fiat 5 yrs service plan 2yr ago, they have pocketed the money.
found out by going to a diffrent dealer who serviced my car and has been in touch with head office and they have no record of my service plan i bought.
so do your self a favor avoid.

 

[Chris@souls]

Re: jj. motors bridgend s.wales

have a long list of moans about these guys.
but today find out the £1,500 they had off me, for a fiat 5 yrs service plan 2yr ago, they have pocketed the money.
found out by going to a diffrent dealer who serviced my car and has been in touch with head office and they have no record of my service plan i bought.
so do your self a favor avoid.

But was the plan a Fiat plan or the dealerships own plan?

 

[wish mine was orange]

fiat plan to be used at any dealer any where

 

[Andi9386]

Verve/ Bickets Kilmarnock. :tosser:
Parent's bought a 1.9 Mjet Dynamic Doblo from them back in 2005.
Had plenty of faults, which the dealership said they couldn't find.

I bought my Panda through their subsiduary company Motorzone. :tosser:
I was given a 3 month warrenty & it went back 3 or 4 times under warrenty with problems.

Problems:
1) Temperature needle would shoot halfway up the gauge on a cold engine, they did a software download & sorted that.

2) Car failing to start. Took it in after the car taking 11 attempts to start.
3 days later I get a phone call saying they couldn't find the fault, so picked the car up, while on my way home along the A77 the electrics died , managed to get to a laybay & switch the car off, then another 6 attempts at starting it.

Went back again, this time with my Step- dad following me in the Doblo, went in & asked for Dougie Anderson (Service Manager), he saw my Step- dad walk in, so decided to try & run away.
Got him back in showroom & told him what had happened & that this needed to get fixed.

Again 3days later get a phone call saying they HAD found the fault this time, part of the igntion switch had broken.

So went to pick the car up, started first time, then noticed that a Mechanic had cracked my windscreen :tosser:, went to Motorzone, who arranged for me to go to RAC Auto Winscreens in Ayr. Windscreen got replaced under warrenty.

Also when I needed a new wheel & hub, they told me £80+ VAt for the Hub & £50+ VAT for the wheel.
Got it cheaper by going to Arnold Clark in Ayr.
They also couldn't get me the wright wheel trim, so had to buy that off ebay.

 

[kiopo]

I've found the Palmers dealership in Watford to be good. When I had a major brake problem with my last Stilo I felt that they very thoroughly checked the car and did exactly what was needed to fix the problem, at a decent price and advised ona few other issues also. Good customer service.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Thankfully it seems many of the complained-about dealerships have gone now (Leaders Liverpool, Priory Manchester, Olympian Bournemouth) and others have changed names and possibly staff (AHF Southampton is now SGM for example).

However, it is abit depressing reading through this thread so whilst some people have rightly praised good dealership experiences, i thought i'd list a few that i've had good experiences with or that i've read a few good comments about. I can't go into massive detail about each one but i don't work at any, or for Fiat UK (maybe one day) so they're impartial recommendations.

1. Picadilly (Yorkshire) - 2-3 dealers (Wakefield, Ripon & Knaresborough). Heard many comments but most of them positive or neutral. A long standing Fiat dealer.

2. Richard Cort Italia (Bury, Gtr Manchester) - only visited them to look round the Bravo on launch weekend, but read only positive comments about them.

3. JCS Kegworth (Leicestershire) - loads of positive comments on this thread and elsewhere on the forum. Never used them myself.

4. Rockingham Cars (Corby, Northants) - spoke to them along with several others regarding getting some work done on my Stilo. They were one of the friendliest. Was going to go there but we moved & somewhere else was nearer. Read many positive comments about them. Also an Abarth Dealership.

5. Souls of Milton Keynes (Bletchley, MK) - as above, spoke to them regarding work for the Stilo before moving. Were the most helpful on the phone and knew in-depth all the options & costs for servicing/cambelt change on the Stilo (with or without waterpump), Fiat Care prices or standard service prices etc. Don't hear much about them anymore but i was impressed.

6. Pewsham Garages (Chippenham, Wiltshire) - got the cambelt, waterpump & service done on the Stilo in November 2010. Helpful with options/prices on the phone. Phoned for authorisation when they found a couple of extra items that needed replacement. Fairly tidy courtesy car (Panda Dynamic). Had washed the Stilo prior to collection (some people don't like this but given it was November & cold, i was glad it saved me the job). Also stayed behind late to wait for me to arrive in the evening. Read other positive comments.

7. Grays Garage (Warwick) - As shown in this thread, well-liked. So much so i decided to take the Parents here to order a new 500. Visited twice last September to test drive & it was very chilled, basically let us steer our own path, to our own timescale, no pressure. Went away for a few months to look at other options but decided it had to be 500, partly as Parents were particularly impressed by the service received. Ordered the 500 in January and again it was totally painless. Im a tough critic as i know quite alot about Fiat but the salesperson really knew her stuff & left us all very impressed. It seems from this thread that aftersales is just as good.

8. PDH Garages (Sussex) - Think the Worthing branch has gone, a Pets At Home was in its place the last time i drove past, but the PDH name still exists and i've read a number of positive comments on here, some from long-term members.

9. LC Motors (Wales) - Heard of positive comments on here and on the Alfa forum. Although not an official Alfa Dealer i know many people take their Alfa's here instead of using the Alfa Dealer. Partly because the Alfa Dealer in the area is poorly reegarded, but obviously because LC Motors is good.

Don't know enough about these to list them seperately but get the impression that Lipscomb (Aylesford, Kent) and Northgate (Canterbury, Kent) are also decent. Im sure some people will have had less than perfect experiences but on the whole these are the ones that seem to do more things right, more of the time.

Liam

 

[catherinej]

Chiipping Sodbury Motor Company - Formerly Dando's of Chipping Sodbury. My advice is to avoid their monthly service plan at all costs.

They are very quick to get you to sign up to it and for TWG Services to start taking the money.

However should you cancel and be eligible for a refund they are quite frankly appaling. A refund should have been made to us by mid February and as of today it has still not been made, this is 2 months after we have cancelled.

We are now in the process of filing a claim against them via Money Claim Online.