[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by puchoo

What i do not like however is the 5 year warranty claim , it was always there , when i bought the Linea the warranty was 3 years + 2 years extendable anyway so that is not new - so maybe if they had removed the cost of buying the extended warranty and simply included it and made it a genuine 5 years warranty offer for sometime , that might have been better.

IMO even the 3+2 warranty set up is good. The extended warranty cannot be in any case same as the full blown normal warranty although it would be more than welcome to have Fiat issue a 5 year warranty.

The fact that customer does not have to pay the EW cost is indeed a good move by Fiat. Is there any validity period for the offer?

"With offers like these which don't come so often, buying a Fiat should be a 5 minute decision". I doubt this statement.

[puchoo]

Absolutely , no denying that it was a good offer , i was only mentioning it from the perspective of that there is nothing different that they have done on the warranty front in this offer.

Also i am not entirely sure if the Extended Warranty is free , the thread does not mention it and the little asterix next to the extended warranty phrase makes me believe that one would need to buy it - maybe there is a discount on the actual price right now but i dont believe it is free ?

Originally Posted by ghodlur

IMO even the 3+2 warranty set up is good. The extended warranty cannot be in any case same as the full blown normal warranty although it would be more than welcome to have Fiat issue a 5 year warranty.

The fact that customer does not have to pay the EW cost is indeed a good move by Fiat. Is there any validity period for the offer?

"With offers like these which don't come so often, buying a Fiat should be a 5 minute decision". I doubt this statement.

[johy]

I must butt in here.

How does one provide a standard 1-year warranty? Or Road Side Assistance? Or any service for that matter?

Okay make that 2 years? 3?

Okay Fiat wants to provide 5 years warranty? How do you do it?

By means of service centres . And there are none where I live. There was one when I bought my T-Jet. And they promised us there would be one in due time. And they promised us again. And again. And again. They even mailed us a pdf promising to have continued service after the Tata-Fiat break-up. But there is no service center in the vicinity. Last time my friendly local mechanic was not doing a good job with my brake fluid, I called up Fiat Service toll-free, and they asked me to drive the car to the nearest service centre, Kolkata, which is like 500 kms away.

Unless and until, Fiat improves the service network, these 4 x 4 and 5 x 5 offers are utter nonsense. And this comes from a Fiat Fan. Those of you who have read my review of my T-Jet would know this.

Till then we have to pray to the almighty each day that we would not require parts or specialized labor. God save the Brand now.

[puchoo]

Just got an email on the same offer but it also had a video link in it , putting it up for reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ926...ature=youtu.be

[Trojan]

I think its a great offer, though I don't own a fiat as yet, but I have seen plenty of good examples which my friends own and none of them have ever faced any issue.

The company is not known for its aggressive marketing, they are quite content selling engines and I guess they more than make up for any losses sustained by selling cars.

People looking at purchasing a new car right now, should give Fiat a serious thought! Correct me if I am wrong but with a single service per year schedule, you are looking at 5 free services and that's a decent amount of savings on servicing.

[GTO]

I don't think this scheme is going to bump up sales volume, yet it's an excellent offering for those considering a Fiat. 5.5% interest rate, 5 year warranty & free servicing for 5 years (with average annual running of 10 - 15k kms)

Just wondering if the discounts that were earlier available on a car like the T-Jet still stand?

Originally Posted by Trojan

Correct me if I am wrong but with a single service per year schedule, you are looking at 5 free services and that's a decent amount of savings on servicing.

You don't buy an old, flopped model for savings. Whatever you save on services, you'll lose multiple times that in resale value.

[aniketi]

This is really a good initiative for sure. It will give peace of mind to its customers. But will it translate to sells? I highly doubt. Sad but true.

Fiat needs something like Duster for Renault or EcoSport for Ford. Basically a eye catcher, which has road presence, volume seller. Something which is different than what is available in the market which will draw attention of the customers. Duster did that for Renault, EcoSport did that for Ford. Fiat can think in that direction so that more people will be interested in their cars.

[puchoo]

Dont know the break down of the offers but this is what is coming up as offers for Feb right on Kashyap' website, and i am fairly confident that consumers will be able to extract more than what is being advertised given the slow pace at which the cars are moving off the shelves.

Originally Posted by GTO

You don't buy an old, flopped model for savings. Whatever you save on services, you'll lose multiple times that in resale value.

[varadha_r]

If they get the 1.6 mjd and soup up linea with automatic, they can compete in the 10-12 lakh diesel sedan market.


they ought to go niche - develop a cult following. they are doing mainstream things with the value proposition of a niche car maker

[sdp1975]

The only part free in the service is the labor - around 1700/- IIRC . The bulk of the cost goes in the consumables. My total service costs come to around 8-10 K.

So 5 free services - less than a 10K discount - should hardly be a reason to buy a new car. Other manufacturers give at least 3 free services.

[riturajsharma19]

At the cost of sounding too pessimistic, this does come across as a last-ditch effort to get noticed. Looking at the sales figures, the only people noticing Fiat are Fiat themselves. Fiat has so far refused to comply with the market demands i.e introduction of more powerful engines, a better marketing strategy, introduction of new models and an upgradation in the overall service quality levels. Such offers/schemes will not help cover up for the lack of those.

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by GTO

I don't think this scheme is going to bump up sales volume, yet it's an excellent offering for those considering a Fiat. 5.5% interest rate, 5 year warranty & free servicing for 5 years (with average annual running of 10 - 15k kms)
You don't buy an old, flopped model for savings. Whatever you save on services, you'll lose multiple times that in resale value.

Well I agree on that partly, now there are people who change their cars often and there are some people who like to keep their cars for a longer period of time.
Generally the biggest detractor for Fiat has been its after sales service reach, people who own Fiats know that its not really a troublesome car and are enjoying plenty of miles on them.
Having an additional 2 years of free service does help in increased peace of mind (of course monetary savings by themselves is not that significant)

But I seriously feel one should not restrict purchasing of vehicles keeping resale value in mind, but then that's me.

For I think, as the cars get older, the Puntos and Lineas will age much better than the Marutis, and of course not to mention the safety factor which is much better in Fiats.

How much of this is really going to put their sales charts on fire needs to be seen - I guess 'less', but the people who really like to own a Fiat should go for it now.


Cheers!

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just wondering if the discounts that were earlier available on a car like the T-Jet still stand?

Yes it does.

The T Jet usually commands the highest discount in the line up. Makes for a really sweet deal.

It will be good if Fiat can offer the same discounts for the Linea diesel too as it is more attractive from a fuel economy perspective.

[arnabchak]

Will it help?
NO.

Fiat has a breed of followers and they will buy the vehicle irrespective of what the company is offering.

It is a welcome move and will be good to create a buzz that will probably last for a week.
What the company needs is to infuse life into its products.

How can we do that:
Very difficult but can be done with perseverance:

1) Change the image
This is the most difficult part. The image of FIAT is in doldrums. The cars per se are perceived as high maintenance and ASC averse vehicles. Not only that, they are considered unreliable as well.

How to tackle this
Invite existing owners and share the good word through social medias.
Hire a good PR agency and spread success stories.

Create a buzz around new offerings like the Evo and Avventura.
Involve existing owners and give them a delightful service experience.

In short, JUST creare a WOW.

2) ASC Experience
Create a niche service bay for your performance cars- Tjet and Avventura(though not performance car)

Give some freebies that owners may feel good about.
Take an honest feedback and publish them.

Include owner experiences in your monthly magazines, make them feel part of the family and let them share the good word.

[prakash_ajp]

Excellent offering for those who are genuinely interested in a Fiat. Not for those who would say, "nice, but you know, Fiat first needs to this and that and this etc". Those can simply skip this thread safely. In my case, their extended warranty already proved to be very useful. So, this is making things even better.