[fiat_tarun]

^^ Totally agree with you. They currently have a very limited product portfolio. Their India spec car due in 2012 will be the one to watch. I'm sure that all those feedback calls from Italy to Fiat owners in India is for the development of this car.
Hopefully by then, they will sort out their marketing and service issues. Till then, the Punto and Linea will remain niche products.

[xPK]

Folks I received this mail 2 days back (happened to check just now)

Dear Sir,

Click on the link below to proceed to survey

https://qasiatrial.qualtrics.com/SE/...Rng6dMPAcPNnAo


The Marketing & Sales team at Tata Motors is aiming at improving the overall system that will benefit dealers, and more importantly our prime stakeholders-CUSTOMERS.



You have been selected to receive this questionnaire as you have considered purchasing FIAT CARS in the past. We really view it an opportunity to learn for any scope of improvements for us to serve you better, so that you can be a part of FIAT family in the future. So you are in a unique position to provide information. Your assistance in completing the questionnaire would greatly be appreciated.



The questionnaire should take not more than 4 minutes that involves steps involved in making a purchase decision, source of information used. Don’t worry if you cannot give the exact factual answers-your best guesstimate is sufficient. All your responses will be confidential.

Click on the link below to proceed to survey

https://qasiatrial.qualtrics.com/SE/...Rng6dMPAcPNnAo



Any queries please revert back to the mail id: nagarjuna.m@tatamotors.com (or) fiat.snm@gmail.com

Warm Regards,

Nagarjuna M

Post Graduate Program 2010 - 2012

Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Summer Intern- TATA MOTORS (Mumbai)

Mobile : +91-9704559035

The link indeed takes you to survey page, but the sender address is not official address of TATA Motors or FIPL

[MCR]

I was talking to somebody from Fiat , according to him the combined production volumes of Linea and Punto have gone upto 160 cars a day from 70 cars a day. This is defenitely a good trend. Also Fiat Italy is seriosly considering opening up dedicated sales counters in metros. Also Fiat Italy is giving a higher impetus to the overall quality and marketing of Fiat cars. Only time will tell.

[xPK]

Originally Posted by MCR

I was talking to somebody from Fiat , according to him the combined production volumes of Linea and Punto have gone upto 160 cars a day from 70 cars a day.

It's really a good thing but 160 per day if we consider for 25 days production in a month, there would produce 4000 cars per month, whereas FIAT is struggling to sell 2000 cars per month. So 160 per day seems like exaggerate figure (or there going to be huge discounts sooner for FIAT cars in coming days). On the other hand 70*25 gives 1750, which around last months sale.

Originally Posted by MCR

Also Fiat Italy is seriosly considering opening up dedicated sales counters in metros. Also Fiat Italy is giving a higher impetus to the overall quality and marketing of Fiat cars. Only time will tell.

They do have separate sales counters in their showrooms unless you meant different showrooms. Also about separate showrooms (or lifestyle shops, whatever they are called), we have been hearing about these from quite a long, but have seen any. I wonder if FIAT is spending all their time in analysis.

By the way that reminded me, has TATA and FIAT decided to part their ways? Because, a new TATA showroom has been opened by near Magarpatta City, which I happened to pass by today to notice they are selling only TATA cars. Actually I was on the bus, so I could be wrong here, but I neither saw FIAT logo on showroom, nor noticed any FIAT cars in showroom.

[julupani]

Not all Tata dealers sell Fiat cars. Fiat has far lesser dealers than Tata. Also, I think the Fiat sales team inside Tata Motors itself is separate, and also within each dealership.

Though it would be a good idea to have specific FIAT only showrooms, even though it may remain with the same dealer, may help push the sales a bit. Because Tata showrooms can get crowded a bit, with the large number of Indica and Indigo CS buyers crowding out everybody else. Not exactly the kind of feel a Fiat buyer would like. I had given this exact feedback when we had bought a Punto a year and half back. I had said, ad least put the two on separate floors.

@xPK
I somehow doubt the authenticity of the mail you received. First off all I dont think a customer/prospective customer would be directly contacted by a summer intern at the company. Even if a summer intern may have been responsible for contacting, the name would show up as that of a high ranking official. Also, I doubt a company would give out a specific email address to a summer intern. Also why would Tata use Gmail for any queries from existing or prospecting customers.

[xPK]

Originally Posted by julupani

.
.
@xPK
I somehow doubt the authenticity of the mail you received. First off all I dont think a customer/prospective customer would be directly contacted by a summer intern at the company. Even if a summer intern may have been responsible for contacting, the name would show up as that of a high ranking official. Also, I doubt a company would give out a specific email address to a summer intern. Also why would Tata use Gmail for any queries from existing or prospecting customers.

Makes sense.

Personally I would like to see 1.6 MJD in Linea sooner than having separate showroom

[selfdrive]

I had received the same survey twice. Once from a Fiatxx@gmail.com id and the next time from the email id of a person. I just posted it on the Punto TD thread; I did not remember this thread when I did that. IMHO it seems more like a project that has turned into a more serious (hopefully) initiative by Fiat

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I had received the same survey twice. Once from a Fiatxx@gmail.com id and the next time from the email id of a person. I just posted it on the Punto TD thread; I did not remember this thread when I did that. IMHO it seems more like a project that has turned into a more serious (hopefully) initiative by Fiat

It has been 2 years since i bought my Punto. Since then i have participated in end number of surveys, they've doing surveys, surveys and more surveys, calls from dealerships, pune, Fiat, Italy. Emails, online surveys and what not? What has been the result. Still owners like me end up months waiting for parts, this is no exotic car man, this is just a mainstream car that belongs to most competitive segment in India today.

I understand Tata has chosen poor line-up of dealers, i do not care about quality of support anymore with this car.

Recently i felt better for my Punto ownership when i was comparing car ownership experiences with my friend who owns a Vista QJD. His less than a year car feels more aged than my previous car 150k done Elantra CRDi, he is facing a lot of niggling issues, the service center guys at the time when unable to fix a problem say 'Saar, Indica is like that only, it's normal' The Punto atleast is a well built car with no major issues, the only minor niggling ones are due to poor localisation.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I understand Tata has chosen poor line-up of dealers, i do not care about quality of support anymore with this car.

Recently i felt better for my Punto ownership when i was comparing car ownership experiences with my friend who owns a Vista QJD.

+1 to that
My in laws went to the Tata showroom and requested for a TD of the Vista. They were told "Sir, this is an Indica. It is a proven product on the Indian roads. No TD will be offered". While walking out of there, they called up Maruti who brought a WagonR to their house for a TD. They finalised the deal in 15 minutes flat.
At least with the Punto, I got a TD (if I can call a half mile drive that) after going there twice. Both times, the SA did not say a word about the car or its features. Before entering the showroom I had almost finalised the Punto (after rejecting the i20). They did their best and managed to lose a customer in my case.

[Saanil]

I think the reason for FIAT's low volumes despite of having great cars in their kitty is because of FIAT's past image. Even now people keep away from FIAT. One of my friend's dad wanted to buy a 9-11 lakh sedan and I suggested him FIAT. He straight away said no to FIAT. I told him to alteast take a test drive but he did not. Ulitmately he booked an AT- Vento (petrol).

FIAT can improve their image by providing exceptional service to their current customers. Opening showrooms will help only if people's mindset is changed. People will not even go to FIAT showrooms if their thinking has not changed.

[rohanjf]

Most people's mentality is like that. A friend of mine wanted a Linea but her father forced her to buy SX4. She still feels she did not do the right thing.

Here is my recent experience with Fiat service. My Palio's fuel tank got a hole and KHT Motors in Bangalore said they will receive the spare in a week. Since it is an insurance claim, I left the car there. After a week, they said they need one more week. After that day also came, and there was no sign of new fuel tank, I said I cannot manage without a car. I requested them for a standby car. That was on Monday.

Since then, I drive Punto 1.4 Emotion Pack, which is their test drive car. The only bad thing is, it has advertisement stickers all around.

If any of you go to KHT Motors to test drive Punto 1.4 and they don't have it, contact me ;-)

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

Since then, I drive Punto 1.4 Emotion Pack, which is their test drive car. The only bad thing is, it has advertisement stickers all around.

If any of you go to KHT Motors to test drive Punto 1.4 and they don't have it, contact me ;-)

Aah, thats probably one of the reasons the TD cars are usually unavailable!
I would be actually surprised if they are not giving out cars meant for delivery out for TDs

[sandeepmohan]

Fiat service has not improved one bit post Tata take over. All thats available is more outlets to buy and maintain the car but none of them provide the experience and quality of work a Fiat deserves. Fiat don't care and Tata don't give a s***. For them its money. I now feel Tvs was probably better.

A good friend and colleague had to get his brake pads replaced on his gtx. He does have a Fiat specialist garage in Frazer Town, Bangalore but I suggested he tries out KHT as the job was a simple one and KHT Motors in White field turns out to be convenient as the work spot is ITPL. We go together to KHT motors and are greeted by an over flow of Meru cabs and private cabs. There was no place to even take in the car. We met the service advisor and told them what to do. Car was returned in a day but we noticed brake noise even when no brakes were applied. This was noticed as soon as we took the car out so we went back. Car was jacked up. The tool required to remove the wheel nut was locked in a tool box and the person with the keys could not be found. 20 minutes wasted waiting for this. Wheel was removed and they were looking for something. The service advisor told us to wait in the waiting room which we did. Car was ready in 45 minutes and no noise. We were thrilled with the feeling that we now have a quality authorized outlet to maintain the car. A few days passed and brake noise returned. My friend was fed up so he took the car to a local garage near his house. Upon removing the wheel it was observed that they secured the brake pads with electrical insulation tape. This shocked even the local mechanic on how they could possibly do it. Anyways; the local mechanic fixed it, no noise for the last 6 months. This is the approach to solving a problem for Kht motors. We never went back to Kht which we should have.

I helped a good friend buy his first car. It was a used 2002 Palio 1.2 from Classic motors. Single owner car that had clocked 80000km, silky smooth and looked very well maintained. The car was trouble free from day one. One morning went horrible for my friend. The car caught fire 4 months ago at Hope Farm intersection in Whitefield. My friend was lucky as the fire was contained in the engine bay but it was pretty much gutted. Ecu, wiring harness, etc all burnt. Called up Kht and had the car towed. The cause was electrical but they could never really figure out what. The car has been standing at Kht motors for the last 4 months. 2 problems. No stock of any spares and post arrival of spares they were struggling for a month to figure why they were unable to get correct voltage from the electrical's. The car has been finally fixed. It has not been handed over to my friend. Insurance agent needs to inspect the work and only then will the car be handed over. The damage is a little over a lac out of which some 35K has to be paid, the rest from insurance.

After 12 years selling modern Fiat cars, nothing has changed. The experience to buy and own a Fiat is still a pain. A royal pain. I want Fiat to shut shop and leave India. I hope they collapse. I won't accept any bashing for saying all this. Thats how disgusted I am with this brand. Either fix your s*** or get the hell out.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Fiat service has not improved one bit post Tata take over. All thats available is more outlets to buy and maintain the car but none of them provide the experience and quality of work a Fiat deserves. Fiat don't care and Tata don't give a s***. For them its money. I now feel Tvs was probably better.

A good friend and colleague had to get his brake pads replaced on his gtx. He does have a Fiat specialist garage in Frazer Town, Bangalore but I suggested he tries out KHT as the job was a simple one and KHT Motors in White field turns out to be convenient as the work spot is ITPL. We go together to KHT motors and are greeted by an over flow of Meru cabs and private cabs. There was no place to even take in the car. We met the service advisor and told them what to do. Car was returned in a day but we noticed brake noise even when no brakes were applied. This was noticed as soon as we took the car out so we went back. Car was jacked up. The tool required to remove the wheel nut was locked in a tool box and the person with the keys could not be found. 20 minutes wasted waiting for this. Wheel was removed and they were looking for something. The service advisor told us to wait in the waiting room which we did. Car was ready in 45 minutes and no noise. We were thrilled with the feeling that we now have a quality authorized outlet to maintain the car. A few days passed and brake noise returned. My friend was fed up so he took the car to a local garage near his house. Upon removing the wheel it was observed that they secured the brake pads with electrical insulation tape. This shocked even the local mechanic on how they could possibly do it. Anyways; the local mechanic fixed it, no noise for the last 6 months. This is the approach to solving a problem for Kht motors. We never went back to Kht which we should have.

I helped a good friend buy his first car. It was a used 2002 Palio 1.2 from Classic motors. Single owner car that had clocked 80000km, silky smooth and looked very well maintained. The car was trouble free from day one. One morning went horrible for my friend. The car caught fire 4 months ago at Hope Farm intersection in Whitefield. My friend was lucky as the fire was contained in the engine bay but it was pretty much gutted. Ecu, wiring harness, etc all burnt. Called up Kht and had the car towed. The cause was electrical but they could never really figure out what. The car has been standing at Kht motors for the last 4 months. 2 problems. No stock of any spares and post arrival of spares they were struggling for a month to figure why they were unable to get correct voltage from the electrical's. The car has been finally fixed. It has not been handed over to my friend. Insurance agent needs to inspect the work and only then will the car be handed over. The damage is a little over a lac out of which some 35K has to be paid, the rest from insurance.

After 12 years selling modern Fiat cars, nothing has changed. The experience to buy and own a Fiat is still a pain. A royal pain. I want Fiat to shut shop and leave India. I hope they collapse. I won't accept any bashing for saying all this. Thats how disgusted I am with this brand. Either fix your s*** or get the hell out.

I understand the frustration. However, if this is just the instance, there are even worser morons with other companies A.S.S.

One service advisor at mandovi made us wait for 4 days to identify a faulty fuse and that too after we helped in most part. So should maruti shut shot and get the hell out of here?

This is just an example. I know its difficult to accept mistakes from the things/people we like. I hope you take it in the right sense, else, its your views and I ignore.

Thanks

[rohanjf]

Considering this, the problem could be only with KHT. I used to give my car to Concorde on Hosur Road, and had hardly any after-service complaints. Another problem I have faced with KHT is that, I am waiting for the last 4 months for driver door handle, and they keep saying that they keep getting the wrong part every time they order.

Perhaps it is time we brought this to Fiat's notice!