I have just traded my Stilo Abarth, 3 door Selespeed in for a Renault Vel Satis 2.0 Turbo 6 speed. I only got £8000 in the end but that is £1000 more than Fiat were offering!
All is not lost however as I am in the process of swapping my Mondeo Ghia Estate, 2.0, 03 plate for my fathers 52 plate Stilo Abarth 5 door with leather, sat nav etc. This is dependent on him finding a Vel Satis himself.
Most people have not even heard of a Renualt Vel Satis and indeed neither had I until I went to buy a paper(in my slippers!). It is rather like the Abarth in that it is rather rare and that appeals to me. On top of that the Renualt dealer treated me with respect(despite the slippers!), knew the in's and out's of the car and made the Fiat dealers that I have dealt with seem rather innefficient to say the least!
I wrote a 3 page letter to Research Fiat in Nuneaton detailing my disgust at the service that I have received since purchasing my Abarth and 2 weeks later have still got no response.
In the end I have come to the conclusion that Fiat have got a cracking car in the Stilo but are let down terribly by their aftersales and really poor depreciation values. So why do I want my fathers Abarth, good question? I love the Abarth and as my father is also being offered next to nothing on a trade in, swapping my Mondeo with him makes sense. I get a top motor, he gets a similiar trade in price and due to the age of his Stilo, I dont expect Fiat to pamper me in the way I did when I had just spent £12,200 on my Abarth. Does any of that make sense?
I will miss the car but hopefully all will go well with my old mans car and I will continue to be part of this great forum.
And please dont come out with any horror stories about the Vel Satis, ignorence is bliss as they say
All is not lost however as I am in the process of swapping my Mondeo Ghia Estate, 2.0, 03 plate for my fathers 52 plate Stilo Abarth 5 door with leather, sat nav etc. This is dependent on him finding a Vel Satis himself.
Most people have not even heard of a Renualt Vel Satis and indeed neither had I until I went to buy a paper(in my slippers!). It is rather like the Abarth in that it is rather rare and that appeals to me. On top of that the Renualt dealer treated me with respect(despite the slippers!), knew the in's and out's of the car and made the Fiat dealers that I have dealt with seem rather innefficient to say the least!
I wrote a 3 page letter to Research Fiat in Nuneaton detailing my disgust at the service that I have received since purchasing my Abarth and 2 weeks later have still got no response.
In the end I have come to the conclusion that Fiat have got a cracking car in the Stilo but are let down terribly by their aftersales and really poor depreciation values. So why do I want my fathers Abarth, good question? I love the Abarth and as my father is also being offered next to nothing on a trade in, swapping my Mondeo with him makes sense. I get a top motor, he gets a similiar trade in price and due to the age of his Stilo, I dont expect Fiat to pamper me in the way I did when I had just spent £12,200 on my Abarth. Does any of that make sense?
I will miss the car but hopefully all will go well with my old mans car and I will continue to be part of this great forum.
And please dont come out with any horror stories about the Vel Satis, ignorence is bliss as they say
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