Bye-Bye to Fiat

vivek.singh.73 · 9th August 2005, 21:26

Hi Group,

This is to inform you that I am finally laying to rest me quest for
Adventure Sports, I have finally realised that Fiat India is just not
upto being a worthwhile car company. They can not even support, forget
chase a very large prospective client..what else they can do?

I can't even think abt waiting for any service/support issue or an
spare part aparently dealer do not even have any spare parts of any
significance...neither the accessories. warranty is only for a year and
no extended warranty. It gives me no confidence to spend abt rs. 6.6
lakh for my specific individual buy.

Back to Marina and Baleno choice...and it seems its going to go baleno way now. I will firm up my thought by this weekend. Only thing I need to chase is

Alloy/Tyre upgrade for Baleno
Music system
Seat covers

Bye-2 Fiat, good luck

Mpower · 9th August 2005, 22:25

How did you come to that conclusion? There seem to be quite a few happy FIAT customers
from Hyderabad. I think you maybe jumping into conclusions. Just because the dealer did'nt give
you a discount dosent mean its a bad product.

If you are looking for a load lugger, Marina is a good alternative, but not Baleno.

Rudra Sen · 9th August 2005, 22:50

Mpower, where are you???
I was about to reply the same what you've posted!!

Mpower · 9th August 2005, 23:28

Rudra ....having lunch in my cube in Chicago. Lot of people have an argument with the sales guy at the dealership and end up disowning the brand.

metallica · 10th August 2005, 00:17

If you go for the Baleno which I had 'almost' decided on .... Alloys would be a good thing to do ...they really do enhance the look of a Baleno ... Music System is a must ( atleast for me) ... a set for good seat cover ..yes definitely ... all on your list of good ... just one more thing I would like to add .... do consider going in for a rear Spoiler as well ... it somewhat elevated the Baleno's only negative faeture ... its 'back , posterior, butt, behind' whatever you may call it ...

A rear spoiler with lights on it would cost 16 K from the Maruti showroom but would be about 6 K in the after market ... else you could go for the simple one without lights ...

Also do ask for your dealer to give you a list of Baleno accessories ... they have some decent stuff with them ... one of them being the golden ' S ' logo on the front grill..also the golden ' Baleno' logo at the back etc . But I think it would not suit colors ...so take your own decision ....

Tell us all when you get it ...and incase the dealer does not give it to you .. I will FAX you the accessories list which also has the prices ...

vivek.singh.73 · 10th August 2005, 04:38

Hi Mpower,

My decision came from two factors.

1. I interacted with Fiat managers in Bomba essentially to figure out if things are reall as they are made out and get a feel of the organisation. My biggest concern was around support and was looking for a reassurance that Fiat is a good buy and would get good support from them if ever required for ex. getting spares, I was also keen on extended warranty.

My initial impression was..things do not appear as bad, Regional sales managers etc. do talk however then realised that was all abt it. I was talking on behalf of large orgnisation, I had to really chase them for answers evertime (discount was not critical) but getting support commitment/SLA/service turnaround time was. They promised again that the would revert back to me soon and on my every reminder asked for more information and then it just died on them. Utter lack of profesionalism and normal courtsy. I wonder if this is how they deal with prospective customer, what would be state of existing customers..they reall can not expect anthing.

2. I realised that fiat is 100% dependent on dealer and my expereince with dealer in hyderabad is not too great..1 there is only one dealer in AP/hyderabd - Anaroop motors. Place is nearly empty and my interaction with them doesn't inspire any confidence that u could expect quality service from them. I saw them tring to push the test car Petra Euro II car..though they didn't say it was test car, i know since they have brought that car many times for test drives to our office. Goofed up again and again on test drive for adevnture sports, never turned up despite promising. I finally landed at their showroom, I was mightly impressed with the vehicle and took 1 minute short test ride and they promised longer test drive latter. Every time I interacted with sales guy he mentioned he has sold 2-3 adventure sports more and that he had to get for silver adventure sports for me...and u know wat, he has the same car there all this while and he gives all that cock and bull story evertime..no sir this is new vehicle, I have sold 3 vehicles since then. Then I convince myself..ok, fiat Indian is wat it is..and dealer is wat they are but I like the vehicle and hopefull it should not give an problem and let me take a plunge. I decide the finally get down to accessories thing and ask for performa invoice...u know wat they do not even have basic accessories available..and that it would take 2-3 weeks and worst part he gave me performa invoice saying 15k accessories though I had spent considerable time outlining the part number/specific accessories from Fiat booklet. On enquiring he said sir, don't worry we will see based on the availablity, you could pick. Holy cow ..thats crazy...on top of it its very clear to me incase of any issues, you can't get through to Fiat and expect any response. Do you think it gives you any confidence to put in 6.7 in such a deal??? And this is after all this news that Fiat India has improved, new MD, more investement, Advt and new drive in the market place!!!

I realized that I do not want to spend my time chasing Fiat for this and that...I have couple of ppl. in m organistion who own Petra, its meery go around for them for support issues. I simply do not have so much time to spare on these issues...too bad.

Overall ..not sure as how it reads out to you but from the way I see it...Fiat India doesn't inspire any confidence in me at all !

On discount..that wasn't critical to me at all...though I did get 10 k discount :-) , I was trying to make sure I get a good deal coz he wasn't giving a single rupee discount even on Petra!

Overall I think..it was waste of time trying to buy Adeventure Sports!

Mpower · 10th August 2005, 07:31

Vivek
Sad to hear that you had a bad experience. I have had similar frustrations with TATA dealers during our V1 days and stayed away from the brand, but I think you should talk to other (happy) FIAT owners and see the other side of the coin.

Fact remains that the Adventure is not as great a value as the palio or the Petra and once you get into the 6.7 range, the customer expects more which the dealers cannot deliver.

Samurai · 10th August 2005, 07:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek.singh.73

Hi Group,

This is to inform you that I am finally laying to rest me quest for
Adventure Sports, I have finally realised that Fiat India is just not
upto being a worthwhile car company. They can not even support, forget
chase a very large prospective client..what else they can do?

I too dropped Fiat for similar reasons, look at how my thought process during my decision time:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showpo...0&postcount=50

After I test drove the Baleno Lxi, and after that I thought, look at the second half of the message:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showpo...26&postcount=1

hasopi · 10th August 2005, 10:23

Its back to square one..simple bad mouthing without saying facts? Please provide us with the telephone nos of sales guy you interacted with?

As far as Cochin is concerned..they called me up to say that my Palio service is due..they also queried about how the car handles now..any issues..like that..

Also I had asked for a test drive of Petra in Bangalore for my friend ..the sales guy (Mr Imitiaz) was with the car in another hour. He keeps calling everynow to know whatz my buddies decision..

I am 100% satisfied with FIAT service till now..I had bought my Palio in Dec2001. They were also pretty reasonable in bills also.

Surprise · 10th August 2005, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek.singh.73

I was talking on behalf of large orgnisation, I had to really chase them for answers evertime (discount was not critical) but getting support commitment/SLA/service turnaround time was.

Are you going to buy a car for your own use or a bulk purchase for your company?

merve_extreme · 10th August 2005, 11:09

please lock this thread.this is useless talk.it was for the concerned person to decide what kind of service is bad or good and wether he wants to have his ideal car or a compromised one.

now as for me Anuroop auto in Mumbai is 50kms(one way) from my town.now when i have to get the car service i have to go and sit there the whole day,but i am not complaining.i can surely do that much if i want to maintain my car.

i find them v.good.atleast they allow me to roam in their workshop and showroom throughout the day and also make it a point to service my car firstt and faster because they know i have to go a long distance.but once when i went there a palio came for service at 11.00(10-12 cars had already come before ) with the driver and the owner called at 14.00 to ask wether car was serviced or not.the service manager there told him that car will be ready at 16.00 but that person still kept calling and finally the the manager got irritated and gave the owner a piece of his mind.

now the owner will definately go and spread that the Fiat service is poor and pathetic,but it is he who is pathetic.

typeOnegative · 10th August 2005, 11:30

Hey Vivek,

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. In fact my case was the opposite, where I dropped the Baleno against the Petra - Poor dealer response being one of the prime reasons, the VFM package of the Petra being the other. IMHO, the Fiat dealer I was dealing with was better than the Tata and Maruti dealers I dealt with.

Still, a car buying decision is a personal one and if you are apprehensive enough to drop Fiat, well and good. Between the Marina and the Baleno, I would take the Baleno, primarily because I am not a big fan of Tata cars (Please dont flame me

). But if you do want an estate then the Marina seems to be the decent choice if you have left Opel out. You could also ask for the Baleno Altura which is a good buy though on the costlier side.

Happy hunting.

vivek_pinkoo · 10th August 2005, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek.singh.73

Hi Group,

This is to inform you that I am finally laying to rest me quest for
Adventure Sports, I have finally realised that Fiat India is just not
upto being a worthwhile car company. They can not even support, forget
chase a very large prospective client..what else they can do?

I can't even think abt waiting for any service/support issue or an
spare part aparently dealer do not even have any spare parts of any
significance...neither the accessories. warranty is only for a year and
no extended warranty. It gives me no confidence to spend abt rs. 6.6
lakh for my specific individual buy.

Back to Marina and Baleno choice...and it seems its going to go baleno way now. I will firm up my thought by this weekend. Only thing I need to chase is

Alloy/Tyre upgrade for Baleno
Music system
Seat covers

Bye-2 Fiat, good luck

Same for me also after going through entire evaluating process (Petra, Fusion, NHC etc etc.....) I have also zeroed down to Baleno LXi.

tsk1979 · 10th August 2005, 12:02

I understand your frustration, but this is the wrong forum
If you are wondering marina or baleno, post in "What car"
If you are cribbing about the dealer, there is a section called "Dealer reviews"
If its a general rant, go the "Shifting gears section"

RX135 · 10th August 2005, 12:34

Vivek singh,

Sorry to hear about the trouble you have gone through. Again, Hyderabad dealer does the trick. There are couple of pissed of Fiat owners (buffetfan) already and you are new addition to that list (though not an owner).

Relax and understand that it is more of a dealer goof up and not a whole lot to do with Fiat. Instead, have fun with a Baleno or Marina

Enjoy one, whichever you decide and don't rue in mind that you missed on a wonderful beast because of a stupid dealer

If anyone on this forum has good contacts in Fiat, please tell them to take care of this Hyderabad dealer. He seems to be earning lot of bad publicity for Fiat.

9th August 2005, 21:26	#1
vivek.singh.73 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Noida Posts: 256 Thanked: 32 Times	Bye-Bye to Fiat Hi Group, This is to inform you that I am finally laying to rest me quest for Adventure Sports, I have finally realised that Fiat India is just not upto being a worthwhile car company. They can not even support, forget chase a very large prospective client..what else they can do? I can't even think abt waiting for any service/support issue or an spare part aparently dealer do not even have any spare parts of any significance...neither the accessories. warranty is only for a year and no extended warranty. It gives me no confidence to spend abt rs. 6.6 lakh for my specific individual buy. Back to Marina and Baleno choice...and it seems its going to go baleno way now. I will firm up my thought by this weekend. Only thing I need to chase is Alloy/Tyre upgrade for Baleno Music system Seat covers Bye-2 Fiat, good luck
	() Thanks

9th August 2005, 22:25	#2
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,729 Times View My Garage	How did you come to that conclusion? There seem to be quite a few happy FIAT customers from Hyderabad. I think you maybe jumping into conclusions. Just because the dealer did'nt give you a discount dosent mean its a bad product. If you are looking for a load lugger, Marina is a good alternative, but not Baleno.
	() Thanks

9th August 2005, 22:50	#3
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,588 Thanked: 6,530 Times View My Garage	Mpower, where are you??? I was about to reply the same what you've posted!!
	() Thanks

9th August 2005, 23:28	#4
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,729 Times View My Garage	Rudra ....having lunch in my cube in Chicago. Lot of people have an argument with the sales guy at the dealership and end up disowning the brand.
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 00:17	#5
metallica BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 134 Thanked: 13 Times	If you go for the Baleno which I had 'almost' decided on .... Alloys would be a good thing to do ...they really do enhance the look of a Baleno ... Music System is a must ( atleast for me) ... a set for good seat cover ..yes definitely ... all on your list of good ... just one more thing I would like to add .... do consider going in for a rear Spoiler as well ... it somewhat elevated the Baleno's only negative faeture ... its 'back , posterior, butt, behind' whatever you may call it ... A rear spoiler with lights on it would cost 16 K from the Maruti showroom but would be about 6 K in the after market ... else you could go for the simple one without lights ... Also do ask for your dealer to give you a list of Baleno accessories ... they have some decent stuff with them ... one of them being the golden ' S ' logo on the front grill..also the golden ' Baleno' logo at the back etc . But I think it would not suit colors ...so take your own decision .... Tell us all when you get it ...and incase the dealer does not give it to you .. I will FAX you the accessories list which also has the prices ...
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 04:38	#6
vivek.singh.73 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Noida Posts: 256 Thanked: 32 Times	Hi Mpower, My decision came from two factors. 1. I interacted with Fiat managers in Bomba essentially to figure out if things are reall as they are made out and get a feel of the organisation. My biggest concern was around support and was looking for a reassurance that Fiat is a good buy and would get good support from them if ever required for ex. getting spares, I was also keen on extended warranty. My initial impression was..things do not appear as bad, Regional sales managers etc. do talk however then realised that was all abt it. I was talking on behalf of large orgnisation, I had to really chase them for answers evertime (discount was not critical) but getting support commitment/SLA/service turnaround time was. They promised again that the would revert back to me soon and on my every reminder asked for more information and then it just died on them. Utter lack of profesionalism and normal courtsy. I wonder if this is how they deal with prospective customer, what would be state of existing customers..they reall can not expect anthing. 2. I realised that fiat is 100% dependent on dealer and my expereince with dealer in hyderabad is not too great..1 there is only one dealer in AP/hyderabd - Anaroop motors. Place is nearly empty and my interaction with them doesn't inspire any confidence that u could expect quality service from them. I saw them tring to push the test car Petra Euro II car..though they didn't say it was test car, i know since they have brought that car many times for test drives to our office. Goofed up again and again on test drive for adevnture sports, never turned up despite promising. I finally landed at their showroom, I was mightly impressed with the vehicle and took 1 minute short test ride and they promised longer test drive latter. Every time I interacted with sales guy he mentioned he has sold 2-3 adventure sports more and that he had to get for silver adventure sports for me...and u know wat, he has the same car there all this while and he gives all that cock and bull story evertime..no sir this is new vehicle, I have sold 3 vehicles since then. Then I convince myself..ok, fiat Indian is wat it is..and dealer is wat they are but I like the vehicle and hopefull it should not give an problem and let me take a plunge. I decide the finally get down to accessories thing and ask for performa invoice...u know wat they do not even have basic accessories available..and that it would take 2-3 weeks and worst part he gave me performa invoice saying 15k accessories though I had spent considerable time outlining the part number/specific accessories from Fiat booklet. On enquiring he said sir, don't worry we will see based on the availablity, you could pick. Holy cow ..thats crazy...on top of it its very clear to me incase of any issues, you can't get through to Fiat and expect any response. Do you think it gives you any confidence to put in 6.7 in such a deal??? And this is after all this news that Fiat India has improved, new MD, more investement, Advt and new drive in the market place!!! I realized that I do not want to spend my time chasing Fiat for this and that...I have couple of ppl. in m organistion who own Petra, its meery go around for them for support issues. I simply do not have so much time to spare on these issues...too bad. Overall ..not sure as how it reads out to you but from the way I see it...Fiat India doesn't inspire any confidence in me at all ! On discount..that wasn't critical to me at all...though I did get 10 k discount :-) , I was trying to make sure I get a good deal coz he wasn't giving a single rupee discount even on Petra! Overall I think..it was waste of time trying to buy Adeventure Sports!
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 07:31	#7
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,729 Times View My Garage	Vivek Sad to hear that you had a bad experience. I have had similar frustrations with TATA dealers during our V1 days and stayed away from the brand, but I think you should talk to other (happy) FIAT owners and see the other side of the coin. Fact remains that the Adventure is not as great a value as the palio or the Petra and once you get into the 6.7 range, the customer expects more which the dealers cannot deliver.
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 10:23	#9
hasopi BANNED Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 177 Thanked: 0 Times	Its back to square one..simple bad mouthing without saying facts? Please provide us with the telephone nos of sales guy you interacted with? As far as Cochin is concerned..they called me up to say that my Palio service is due..they also queried about how the car handles now..any issues..like that.. Also I had asked for a test drive of Petra in Bangalore for my friend ..the sales guy (Mr Imitiaz) was with the car in another hour. He keeps calling everynow to know whatz my buddies decision.. I am 100% satisfied with FIAT service till now..I had bought my Palio in Dec2001. They were also pretty reasonable in bills also.
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 11:09	#11
merve_extreme Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	please lock this thread.this is useless talk.it was for the concerned person to decide what kind of service is bad or good and wether he wants to have his ideal car or a compromised one. now as for me Anuroop auto in Mumbai is 50kms(one way) from my town.now when i have to get the car service i have to go and sit there the whole day,but i am not complaining.i can surely do that much if i want to maintain my car. i find them v.good.atleast they allow me to roam in their workshop and showroom throughout the day and also make it a point to service my car firstt and faster because they know i have to go a long distance.but once when i went there a palio came for service at 11.00(10-12 cars had already come before ) with the driver and the owner called at 14.00 to ask wether car was serviced or not.the service manager there told him that car will be ready at 16.00 but that person still kept calling and finally the the manager got irritated and gave the owner a piece of his mind. now the owner will definately go and spread that the Fiat service is poor and pathetic,but it is he who is pathetic.
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 11:30	#12
typeOnegative Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Vikhroli, Mumbai, India Posts: 1,503 Thanked: 27 Times	Hey Vivek, Sorry to hear about your bad experience. In fact my case was the opposite, where I dropped the Baleno against the Petra - Poor dealer response being one of the prime reasons, the VFM package of the Petra being the other. IMHO, the Fiat dealer I was dealing with was better than the Tata and Maruti dealers I dealt with. Still, a car buying decision is a personal one and if you are apprehensive enough to drop Fiat, well and good. Between the Marina and the Baleno, I would take the Baleno, primarily because I am not a big fan of Tata cars (Please dont flame me ). But if you do want an estate then the Marina seems to be the decent choice if you have left Opel out. You could also ask for the Baleno Altura which is a good buy though on the costlier side. Happy hunting.
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 12:02	#14
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,820 Times View My Garage	I understand your frustration, but this is the wrong forum If you are wondering marina or baleno, post in "What car" If you are cribbing about the dealer, there is a section called "Dealer reviews" If its a general rant, go the "Shifting gears section"
	() Thanks

10th August 2005, 12:34	#15
RX135 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: pune Posts: 2,106 Thanked: 75 Times	Vivek singh, Sorry to hear about the trouble you have gone through. Again, Hyderabad dealer does the trick. There are couple of pissed of Fiat owners (buffetfan) already and you are new addition to that list (though not an owner). Relax and understand that it is more of a dealer goof up and not a whole lot to do with Fiat. Instead, have fun with a Baleno or Marina Enjoy one, whichever you decide and don't rue in mind that you missed on a wonderful beast because of a stupid dealer If anyone on this forum has good contacts in Fiat, please tell them to take care of this Hyderabad dealer. He seems to be earning lot of bad publicity for Fiat.
	() Thanks