[iliketurtles]

FIAT's service and sales quality is a very mixed bag, and I would genuinely urge you to look away from FIAT and test the waters elsewhere. You will find cars as good as the Linea or better in the same budget you've got, so why not make the most of it? Don't accept a shoddy car; I'm glad to see you've taken a stand on this. Good luck with any purchase you make.

[aditya116]

My friend is stuck with a punto with more rust in his brand new car than you would find in a 3 yr old car.He saw it only after PDI and was stuck with it.It also leaked inside during rains.no problems on the engine front though.He had promptly complained to consumer court and the verdict will be out soon.sorry dont have pictures to share.
@Gemi,its problems like these FIAT will never sell in numbers.people are smart these days to observe minor niggles.god help if FIAT shuts shop again!

[phamilyman]

Its okay man.

ABS Motors in gurgaon tried to sell a reasonably run showroom display model to my friend here (4.5 months old piece). Ofc, he caught it with the PDI. He had the pull to get things done at the factory (got a week old piece finally, i.e off the production line and transported and bought!). Let me know if u still face issues in a couple of days!

[NoMind]

Just to provide a little succor here, I have also booked a linea in July and am yet to get allotted one. To my SM's credit, he leveled with me and told me that a piece had arrived but due to quality issues had to be sent back. They said they needed to get one off the line fresh.
Then another one was supposed to be sent to Bangalore but got stuck with supposedly other cars in some quality issues so they have to wait for a fresh production batch and ship those out if QC is OK.
@PhamilyMan if this does not work out in a week, do you think you can help us out ?

[mayankjha1806]

I believe you should maybe give them some time (Not much because you have been waiting since July and its Sept starting) and then take your money back. This is a very good example of how FIAT works and only signs of things to come.

The experience with Dealer/Brand starts from Test Drives and i get a good view about how serious the Manufacturer is regarding Dealer and customer support. This gives a good indication of how things will be in time to come. FIAT in my experience have been pathetic. I went to them for a test drive 6 months back and followed up with them for next 2 months (Every weekend) escalated on the FIAT web site, But till date i haven't had a test drive of any FIAT car.

[phamilyman]

@nomind

well im hopeful the fiat contact would be able to impress his seniors on the value of lost trust n passionate customers. can try atleast?

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

vb-san, waiting is not at all a problem. The problem here is that till now I am kept totally in dark. They are not updating me with the real facts. Till last week, they told me that they have placed the order and it is a matter of time to get the VIN. This week they are telling me different stories rather not telling me anything .

I could switch over to another dealer, but not sure the problem is really with the dealer. VST Motors has some good reputation in Chennai. What I could infer with their statements is that they have placed the order and something is happening at the Fiat end for the allocation since the first vehicle was already invoiced.

Anyway, now that we are almost in September, it will be ideal for you to wait for another 1-2 months (until Diwali). Who knows, there maybe some updates coming through, and currently they may not have a car produced after June ’11. Meanwhile, do you homework on the alternatives to Fiat

[NoMind]

@mayankjha1806 : The experience up to booking had been fantastic thanks mainly due to my SM. They got a good TD vehicle and I TD'ed it on two different times of my choosing for a significant amount of time.
Negotiation was OK and booking was uneventful. I think once FIAT comes into the picture due to whatever things going on at the factory, things have been stalled for the last 3 weeks or so.
I'm willing to give then a week or so before I start getting antsy about this.

[Tornado]

Hi Ramesh,

You have done a great job by being present at PDI, when we bought 2 brand new cars i was never present at PDI. I will here after be vigilant on this front.
Even i am a fan of Fiat, do own a Palio and also had a Premier Padmini S1 too.
It's really a pain to have such a bad condition car at PDI and its a Shame to the famous FIAT brand.
If FIAT really want to make it big in India, which could be one of the top 5 economies in the world in near future then they need to change this lazy attitude.
We have to frame some rules where a manufacturer must support the *** for minimum of 7-10 years after selling their product, failing to do so they should be penalized.
We Indians are paying much higher price for a car when compared with owning a similar one abroad.
These companies should show justice to what they charge us as the price.
Else i am sure these brands will die here.
I am not sure if the top bosses in FIAT Italy really know these unacceptable things happening here in our land.

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

1. Stick with the plan of Linea

Very sorry state of affairs, so to say. Even in my case, I was offered a Linea of Medium Grey [my first choice] of May 2009 [VIN ending with EPZ] when I booked in September 2009, which I flatly rejected without second thoughts. Then I was given the option of FTA having JPZ [September 2009 make], which I accepted although FTA was the second option in my priority list and got it delivered on 8 October 2009.

Please shoot off emails to the top echelons of FIAT India including Rajeev Kapoor, Ravi Bhatia, Mangesh Kodalkar, et al requesting for a Linea manufactured within a month or two. I hope they oblige and do the needful. Once you get the delivery of the brand new Linea, you can get good service from other authorised service providers.

[Sheel]

Our dealer's incompetency to service our Safari coupled with the fact that sometimes they were trying to fit fake parts resulted in giving the GP the boot.

Appearance wise, the Linea still appears the most handsome and rounded. The Vento comes close, but still...

Drive? The new Fiesta.

Yes, this is not a What Car thread, but I would stay away from that dealer rather than the Car. Either get the Car from another dealer or get another Car.

[ownerofazkaban]

Hi rameshnanda,

Wishing you good luck. If you are passionate about Fiat, I think you should stick to Fiat, you have a very reasonable demand of fresh piece. Don't go by time, even if it takes 2 months, don't giveup easily on your Fiat loyalty, make it work for you. Try different dealer.

You will always repent later that you were so close to buying your fiat and maybe you did not try enough.

Fiat is here to stay for sure, esp with other manufacturers planning to outsource Diesel engines from them including Maruti [Source: Business Standard, Aug 31st] and their upcoming 1000cc diesel engines for smaller cars, which Maruti says is planning to source directly from Fiat.

Make your loyalty/passion work for you not against your dreams.

Cheers!

[Durango Dude]

Fiat is one company that's kept alive by it's R&D, Desgin and products that's been totally let down by some of the most incompetent management brains in the industry.

[rameshnanda]

Thanks guys.

Here's some update. I got a reply from Mangesh Kodalkar this morning after shooting a mail yesterday with a link to this thread. Let me see what happens now.

Here's the reply from him.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your communication, regret the inconvenience, matter is coordinated with our distributor Tata Motors , you will be hearing shortly ,till then we request to please bear with us.

With warm regards,
Mangesh Kodalkar
Customer Services
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd.
Ranjangaon
Pune 412210

[KarthikK]

Sorry to know that this is happening Ramesh. I would also suggest you to try another dealer. Pics of corrosion in a new car scared me.

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

The experience with Dealer/Brand starts from Test Drives and i get a good view about how serious the Manufacturer is regarding Dealer and customer support. This gives a good indication of how things will be in time to come. FIAT in my experience have been pathetic. I went to them for a test drive 6 months back and followed up with them for next 2 months (Every weekend) escalated on the FIAT web site, But till date i haven't had a test drive of any FIAT car.

This sounds a bit strange to me. My buying experience at Prerana (sarjapur road) has been nothing short of fantastic. I asked for 3 TDs and they were at my doorstep everytime on schedule. Booking was very transparent. They showed me inventory details and told me 3 black tjets were there with them, could allocate anything I wanted. I obviously went for the one with the latest manufacturing date (May 2011). PDI was also arranged by them when my car arrived here and after registration, the accessories were fitted perfectly with no after-fitting niggles whatsoever. I think the swift purchase experience at Maruti was a little shoddy compared to this.

Knowledgeable sales rep (was even aware of features/specs in the competitors), fantastic and humble sales team, always working with smiles on their faces, I would recommend Prerana any day to prospective fiat buyers. Point I am trying to make is, the dealer plays a massive role in building the brand image. I was switching from a Hyundai to a Fiat so I was quite apprehensive of how things would turn out, but ultimately it turned out Fiat can be perfect, at least it was perfect for me!