19th Apr 2006, 23:02
I agee with the back up & service if fiat can fix that they will become a brand winner again.
19th Apr 2006, 23:06
I agee with the back up & service. If Fiat can fix that, they will become a brand winner again. Their vehicles are far superior to most other brands, it's just their back up. Unfortunately you can't blame Fiat for other people's mistakes.
23rd Jul 2006, 12:55
I think the problem is typical of most dealerships in that they are quick to sell you the car, but when you take the car back to get the problems sorted they lose interest because they are of course losing money.
I love my punto, but I hate having to get the little things sorted, but then my attitude is I paid for a functional car and won't stop hastling the dealership til I am happy with the car no matter how rude they may be!!!
24th Jul 2006, 01:31
I bought a new metallic blue Fiat Panda 1000S in the summer of 1991 from a large North London dealership. $6,700 (approx). I had it for two and a half years, based mainly in London and it never missed a beat. The cloth interior held up suprisingly well considering the wear and tear it got. It had a FIRE engine which loved being revved. Great little car. Cheap, economical, easy to maintain and they go forever! But yes, it did rattle! A lot! I wish they had them here in Australia. I would buy one again, but perhaps the 4X4.
The new ones don't look nearly as good!
2nd Jun 2007, 15:06
It is not only the dealers of Fiat (who are all a complete incompetence) but also Fiat head office staff in UK. They were completely dis-interested in helping me with my recurring problems when I owned a Punto Active. And extremely rude to say the least - I was left with a car that basically had no electrical systems (exterior lights, dash lights, horn, number plate lights, etc etc) working and they couldnt care less! Needless to say I will NEVER recommend Fiat or buy another Fiat for as long as I live.
17th Apr 2006, 04:42
We have no lemon law as such, only the opportunity to reject a car that the manufacturer has had chance to fix several times and failed.
We do get 3 year warranties on most brands in the UK, it is just the fact that the dealers range from helpful and organised, to obstructive, clueless and useless.
If you read the JD Power satisfaction surveys, Fiat always fares badly, but Skoda is always top 5. You can generalise as to which brand is better for service all day long, but it is the individual garage that is important. Unfortunately, Fiat has issues, and has a history of removing franchises from basic old fashioned, experienced dealers, and giving them to new flashy dealers, who know nothing about the cars. These premises then get a bad reputation, close down, and the old dealers who have taken other franchises won't have Fiat back again.
It pains me that Fiat dealers are so bad, because I do like the cars, and can't wait to see the new 500, due 2007.
I don't think I could bring myself to trust Fiat again though, after bad experiences with them and good experiences elsewhere.