Team-BHP - Fiat revvs away from Tata dealerships. To set up its own distribution network

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruiser (Post 3061138)

But what if the existing customers do not want to migrate? What if all we want is decent level of service for the Palio and parts that are reasonably priced? To me a headlight costing 11k for a 3.6L car just doesnt make sense.

And how did he assume that existing owners want to get rid of their cars? Dont you think that would mean owners losing money on depreciation (even if we assume we would get a decent resale from FIAT itself).

I dont think they have done themselves any favour by opening up ASS's on their own. I am not sure but I have a feeling they are losing out on even the existing customer base. None of my friends who own FIAT's, want to stick with the brand anymore.

He never said they should migrate. He just said if they wish to migrate he can help them !! Quite a good gesture, isnt it?

Fiat is themselves saying that they will continue support to Palio owners.

You dont think Fiat has done good by opening their own service centres. :Frustrati

Existing customers have good a good positive ray of hope due to these new service centres.

Contradictory what your friends are saying, all my friends and society neighbors who bought a Fiat are saying that after driving a Fiat they dont want to consider any other car.

2 weeks back i was supposed to drop our Senior Manager to his hotel who has come from Bangalore to Pune. As soon as we entered the parking and i unlocked the car he was surprised that i own a linea.
His words " Ooh man, you own a linea, FIATS are my favourite, can i drive if you dont mind"
Then he told me his story that he owned a Sienna and loved it a lot. He and his son were hell bent on buying a Linea. His wife dint allow them and they bought a Innova.
While getting down too he said 2 times, wow wow beautiful car, beautiful ride quality, beautiful steering.
He says his next car would be a Fiat again whatever it might be.

Even i own cars of different brands. But i am already committed to myself. My next buy would be Linea 1.6 MJD, or a Abarth or a Fiat Viaggo, if not for the service for the cars they produce itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg (Post 3061088)

Ya he said he will help to migrate. This kind of statement has never said by any other manufacturer. No one helps to migrate from one car to another.
I see it in a constructive way.
But i wouldnt conclude that he says he wont support Palio owners.

How naive can some people be? The company will say what they want, we have to see the ground reality. Palio owner's are struggling to get spares. In 2008, I could not get the S10 specific exhaust pipe in Mumbai. Forget Palio, parts of Punto & Linea are not available. On thursday my Punto went in for the 60K service and the ASC tried to sell me the timing belt for my 75hp engine when Fiat's circular mentions it's for 90hp one. Even if I had a 90hp one, the ASC did not have the part in stock! To add to it, they wanted to put on the invoice that 'customer has refused to change timing belt.' It was clear they were trying to wash their hands of any potential problems that arose if my car broke down tomorrow due to the timing belt issue. If Fiat has a circular about getting the timing belt replaced then shouldn't they make sure that at least this part is available at their dealerships?

Besides, this is pure corporate speak. What did you expect the MD to say? That 'supporting Palio owner's with spares is tough because the volumes are too small, hence we can't localise the part's and for the same reason importing the part's is too costly hence we are struggling and will keep struggling to give you support.' Come on, he can't be honest. He has to make these 'feel good' statements.

I just hope these guys don't murder Jeep as they have murdered Fiat. Hopefully, Jeep will americanise Fiat rather then turning into Italian's themselves! :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg (Post 3061441)

Amit, I think you are going a bit too overboard in supporting Fiat here :D. I feel its little biased!

- He did encourage to migrate. This was not from marketing perspective to get more sales of Punto/Linea, but purely an inability to support Palios going forward. This said, he never promised anything +ve for Palio future support.
- Yes, they officially would continue to support. Things wouldnt change from pathetic to any better. It will remain the same and slowly and may be very shortly they will pull the plug, time only can say when with this minimal support too end.
- Exisiting Palio owners have no ray of hope for reasons of Fiat having their own service centers. It could only be good to Punto/Linea owners. Again, time only will tell.

Lastly, as I too have mentiond many times, my next car still will be a Fiat, but that doesnt mean I blankly support Fiat for what they are doing to the Palios.

For the record, I just need some minimal spares for my Palio. I called one of the service centers in Bangalore who also has ingurated their own showroom, to find parts availability for my Palio SDX and here is what the status is:
1) Front mesh kind of grill near fog lamp - Not available
2) Rear wiper assembly - Can only get against order
3) All 4 AC vents (the OEM is really pathetic in quality. Even though I have not used these adjustments on the vents in last 2 years, its bust. Lloyd's car too has same issue and same with a collegue of mine who bought along with me) - Only center ones are available, costs a whopping 500/- for such poor quality. Side ones are not in stock and costs 380/- each
4) Wiper motor (For a friend) - Not available
5) Brake pads - Not in stock. They have just 2 sets and is reserved for some customers who had pre-ordered it 2 weeks ago.
6) Center cabin light - They dont know if they have.

Apart from these, a friend needed a thermostat valve and full clutch for his 1.6, not available.

A friend is unable to find break pads (heard from him some 4 days ago) for Punto anywhere in Bangalore. His car has done only 24.5k kms and 2nd time break pads needs to be replaced.

As a customer, I expect these parts to be in stock and I do not want to be calling and finding if they have stock before I leave for service. Its also convenient to blame TATA for this/they are are in transition phase. But fact is some of these issues have been there since long.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit (Post 3062040)

+1 to all the points here. Volumes of Palio in ASS is very low because of the indifferent support they receive. Else, more number of Palios should be seen in service centers.

A few months back, a friend of mine had a very tough time finding some turbo hose pipe when he did a Uttarakhand drive from Bangalore. He finally found it only in Delhi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkykar (Post 3062607)

Amit, I think you are going a bit too overboard in supporting Fiat here :D. I feel its little biased!

- Yes, they officially would continue to support. Things wouldnt change from pathetic to any better. It will remain the same and slowly and may be very shortly they will pull the plug, time only can say when with this minimal support too end.
- Exisiting Palio owners have no ray of hope for reasons of Fiat having their own service centers. It could only be good to Punto/Linea owners. Again, time only will tell.

For the record, I just need some minimal spares for my Palio. I called one of the service centers in Bangalore who also has ingurated their own showroom, to find parts availability for my Palio SDX and here is what the status is:

Only center ones are available, costs a whopping 500/- for such poor quality. Side ones are not in stock and costs 380/- each

Actually i felt the other way. I seriouly felt you are going overboard for bashing Fiat, it always happens. You are reading between the lines- a bit too much.

You are confident that things will remain pathetic. Secondly when Fiat is trying to better the service - ofcourse they have no other option and this is their last chance perhaps, still you are saying too much confidently that there are no hopes etc etc.

Like i said earlier that the transition phase is going on. So dont conclude immediately that parts wont be available ever by banging doors of just opened FASS.

500 rs centre console is very cheap even if you compare them with existing production cars. My Vento/ polo vents cost 3800rs. Getz vents cost Rs.1800, and same story they are not available in any HASS in pune.

Its just a transition phase, service centres have just started to operate and you have already concluded so much ahead of time.

I would say we should wait and watch.

And if you see the reviews here, myself , J Ravi sir and many more have got a very good service from Fiat. So we are supporting Fiat obviously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg (Post 3061441)

Do you think FIAT will help us with a decent resale price?

Well don't be surprised when I say existing owners are not happy. Its cos they cant afford a 11k headlight or the price doesn't feel right for a sub 4L car. If this is the kind of support they are offering then they might as well not help us at all.
I can source a headlight myself for 4K (of course not the original).

Well nothing personal my friend and please don't feel offended but if people were really in love with FIAT cars, like your neighbors and friends, then it would show in good numbers on the road, right?

I love the cars matey, its the kind of support in terms of servicing and pricing that is disastrous. Isn't it?

Well like in all other things in this world, to each his own and we both can agree to disagree :).

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg (Post 3062631)

I and all other Palio owners have a reason to worry. May be you cannot feel this because you dont have a Palio or you are luckily getting all the spares it needs. I wouldnt be debating this long if you were not trying to give a new meaning to what ever was the answer to my question by Enrico. If you go back and read the responses again, its very clear. Even J Ravi sir clearly indicated what Enrico meant! I still want to perceive that atleast the Punto/Linea service is very good. I know J. Ravi sir has been getting excellent service, so are some of my friends like Madhu who got excellent service from Concorde Dairy circle with a SA named Mashud Khan. I wanted to take my Palio to him very badly, but that center stopped accepting Palios very long ago. Unfortunately, all the good reviews were about Concorde (In my friends circle) which wouldnt be part of Fiat going further. I know of too little friends who are having such service feeling who own Palios.

Some recent conversations are more to concern to Palio owners and prospective new customers can derive what they feel based on the happenings. Let them decide whether its fair or not and whether it can happen to them or not in future! Also, if you have the time please do read some of the feedback provided by PUG to Fiat couple of years (link posted in earlier posts of mine) ago and they then showed a positive reply, but nothing changed till date!!

Also, what is to be expected by the customers during transition phase? Do not run the car as parts like brake pads may not be available during this time? Wasnt this a well thought out plan? Palio parts unavailability I mentioned, except for brake pads other parts were not available even before the transition phase started.

Oops, it was a typo. Center vents are 800/-. Anyways, I was more concerned about the non-availability of the side vents for which I need to follow up again and get them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarthikK (Post 3062692)

I have a small request to make here - on behalf of myself and other members who are genuinely interested in the updates on Fiat's exclusive service network - new dealerships, service centres and the like. I am finding it hard to read about actual dealership and portfolio updates, thanks to the continued arguments about palio's problems with spare parts.

Please allow this thread to serve its purpose and let it be meant for updates on Fiat's independent network growth, not about Palio's spare part issues.

For all other criticism about the past experiences, no matter how constructive or irrelevant it might be, the moderators can consider creating another thread like "why Palio has been the stepchild compared to Lineas/Puntos" or some such topic. All spare part non-availability rants can go there. No offense meant, but this thread is not serving its purpose since the past few pages, barring a few (actual updates) posts.

+100. This thread has certainly moved from the topic of Fiat's new distribution network to what palio are available and which new/old service centers are quoting what prices. The purpose of this thread has been diluted already.

May be a new thread should be started for bashing FIAT for the shortage and pricing of parts for Palio. No matter what Fiat tries, only Fiat bashing needs to go on there in that thread.