Glass palaces or Tin sheds, the future..

[oilrag]

Glass Palaces or tin sheds of varying size?

I wonder how the reorganising of Fiat dealerships will look in the near future?

It must be tempting surely with the new `quality` models ( I`m thinking of the 500)
to have showrooms that rival that of the Mini.
Was it somewhere on the South coast a few years ago that a Fiat dealer seemed to be operating out of a very small metal shed, not large enough to take any cars?

It seems elsewhere that the larger, low roof ( compared with glass palaces) metal showrooms prevail. I always thought this preferable, as it must help to reduce running and service costs.
But is the new range with higher perceived quality, demanding a `palace` that reflects its new aspirations?

Personally I hope Fiat specify the (larger) low roof designs but with perhaps more uniformity.
Regards

 

[french bean]

I believe it's down to the franchise on the type of premises but Fiat will surely have an input. Gin palaces tend to have higher running costs because the build investment will need paying back and I suspect the business rates would be higher.

Compared to some dealers with other marques I visited, Fiat do seem to have a corporate standard that is reasonably high though not as high as premium marques like jaguar or BMW.

Alternatively Fiat could go down the route of VAG and own the property then lease it out to a franchise. At least there would be some form of uniformity on the surface, just maybe not within the dealership.

 

[oilrag]

Alternatively Fiat could go down the route of VAG and own the property then lease it out to a franchise. At least there would be some form of uniformity on the surface, just maybe not within the dealership.

Yes, I guess it was "uniformity" I was thinking of, at least regarding overall perception of the dealerships premises when first encountering it.

My post was prompted by a recent trip to Normandy, where I saw a dealership that does Fiat credit ( at least visually) in Lisieux. No different to other marques and without that 70s Lada type showroom image that seems acceptable here.

My point being, Lisieux really made the marque look `mainstream` and I hope that is the future here in the UK, following introduction of cars like the 500.

I wonder though, if Fiat have enough problems ( allegedly) sorting `behaviour` amongst the UK dealers, without having to work on the look of the premises too?

 

[Nuova500]

The shed you refer to was in Bournemouth and I think it still is a shed, albeit with some windows now!
Best dealer Ive seen was in Wrocklaw in Poland, had Fiat and Lancias in and was stunning, very posh and very helpful parts dept even though we couldnt communicate by speech!

 

[T14086]

you will see a improvement but not overnight,next few years look very promising for fiat