To be fair, the majority of dealerships deserve to be empty due to their underhanded, deceitful, dishonest tactics (Fiat or otherwise).

It goes both ways. Treat customers with respect, charge fair prices, and behave honestly (whether sales, service, or parts) and you'll have peoples loyalty and financial support. 400% markup, $10,000 over MSRP, and service charges 3x more expensive than a local mechanic are not exactly a sound way to do business.

Despite this, they'll settle for the few fish they do catch as opposed to the ocean they could be netting. So be it. As you make your own bed, so you must lie in it!

 

evlkarl, I to was a loyal Mercedes -Benz customer for 15+ years, They know my name and new my cars, they are all still there, sales person, service writer, tech and car runner, however, the people that sold me my 2 two FIAT

2013 500 Lounges in November 2012 are all gone. Every time I visit my STUDIO for routine service their is someone new to deal with.
I love the Fiat brand, but going forward, I just don't know?

 

Shawn, IMHO it is sad........ how some Dealers work the System........Maybe Fiat needs to weed out the bad Dealers....... refresh the Brand since it only has been around for 2 years...... Kick it up a Notch..... get there House in Order....... we love our Fiats....... we also love our Mercedes....... I would love to have an Alfa in my Garage..........but till Fiat gets there Head out of there Arses and listen what the Market here in America wants needs drulls over........ I will wait till I get a hefty Discount on the 4C......

 

Yes of course, but on that same note, the behavior of some of these dealerships isn't necessarily representative of the corporate policies they should be following. I'm not out to encourage a witch hunt as I've met my share of honest, sensible, and understanding mechanics, salesmen, and parts employees within a variety of dealerships. It's disappointing that the natural reaction is to hold a defensive attitude.

In regards to Fiat dealerships, I can't say my experience has been a positive one so far, with the exception of a few specific individuals (as noted earlier).

 

Jf, here is the skinny how I fell about Fiat...... I do not want Fiat to go away..... we love our Fiats I love my Abarth.... When I drove the new R172 Slk I told my Mb Sales Men call me when they fix it to German Standards..... just like Fiat Mb had plenty off hick Ups with the new Slk...... Never in my Life did I feel so young buying an Abarth...... I just wish Fiat would go the extra Mile to get me back into the Show Room to buy the Alfa 4C....... and get some what of the Mercedes Treatment.... I understand buying Italian is a Matter of how you look at Life...... but buying Italian does not mean....... getting crappy Service ..IMHO...... Ps.... sorry Tweak I opened a Can off Worms.......let it Roll......

 

I'll be able to go back to the MB dealership, for service on a new Alfa. I'll pay for it too.$$$$$$$$$.

 

Evlkarl- I am from the UK, and before moving to the US last year I ran an Alfa 159 TI. Prior to that I had an Audi A4 and a BMW 3 series. Point is, I know a little about the luxury segment, particularly European brands and I can state that the Alfa was just as reliable and just as well built as the Germans. Plus it looked better, turned heads and sounded glorious. The idea that Alfas are unreliable and poorly built is outdated, and has been for about 15 years thankfully.

No reason why it can't be a success in the US, it's a good product. Better than many domestic brands.

 

I think the other brands are suffering also. About two weeks before I sold my Ridgeline, I took it to the same dealer thats always attended to my needs for an oil change. That dealership used to always be hoppin but this time there was only my car and one other there for service. No people milling around, no one looking at new cars, it was weird. I do my own oil changes on the fiat so no real reason to take it to the dealer for a long time now.

 

Meenrod, I myself grew up with the Euro Market been born in Berlin...... spending most of my Life over there before I hit the Roads ending up in Phoenix. I just wish....... Fiat would get there Heads out of there Arses and treat the American Market more like the Euro Market....... I guess the Asian Market is the Future for Fiat..... it easily will swallow the negative Balance Sheet for Fiat here in America to make up for the Asian Market. Btw when I read about on the Forum that a Dealer replacing 29K with the Batteries on a new 500E....... I just shake my Head......and wonder ......WTH is Fiat thinking.........

 

EK, I'm sorry to read of your poor experience. I have a great experience @ our LS. Of course, many of the people who got the ball rolling here are gone now. But I'm still in contact with the old Studio Director. In fact, he paid us a special visit when we held our first CC5C meet. Also, the old specialist responsible for getting me behind the wheel of La Fee Verte is a member of the CC5C.

I wouldn't mind FIAT going back to the original studio plan. In fact, I went so far as to record my discontent - with FIAT moving away from said plan - on brand surveys. But, then, we'll have many people complaining about that. Simply put ~ FIAT is d@mned if they do, d@mned if they don't.

I was very disappointed when I read the rumor FIAT may not offer the 4C to stand alone studios. I want to see a more European approach to the entire FIAT famiglia. I want to see FIATs, Alfas & JEEPs at our LS as well as at other stand alones.

I would suggest everyone/anyone truly disappointed in FIAT NA take it to the brand. Posting grievances here is okay, but I don't see it having as much of an impact as taking a more active role in what the automaker is doing here. Comparing what FIAT is doing in NA to what MB is doing isn't opening a can of worms, buddy. It's comparing pasta to potatoes.

 

I was at a Cadillac dealership today, and it was me and 7+ salesmen at noon. Its not just Fiat, its all car dealers

 

Cento, I do not want to call it a bad experience..... I rather call it a sad experience...... America is ready for Fiat..... Fiat Owners lust for more..... more Options more Choices....... I know it makes no Sense when I say I feel sorry for the good Dealers that treat us and our Cars right been optimistic about Fiat coming over here and take it in there Shorts and a great Team that believed in what they sold and serviced........ I also enjoyed the good Times with the Sales Team and Service Team.... that treated me and my Car just wonderful.... I just hate seen it all go South......... because I am so ready for the next Step seen Alfas at Fiat Studio......and lets not forget about our Vendors on this fine Forum.........they took a Risk too....... by offering great Products and Advise.... If Fiat does not get it right....... we all suffer......Ps I still hang out with the old Fiat Gang during Happy Hour and Boy let me tell you Fiat MGT could learn from the People working the Front Line........ Ps ......me and my loud Mouth....... will get me in trouble on this Forum...... Sorry I just have a hard Time..... keeping the Passion for Classic Cars Italian Cars 2 myself.....

 

EK, I would not have your participation on this forum any other way. Passion isn't always rainbows & unicorns (as some have suggested about my activity here). Sometimes passion can even materialize as rage ~ in cases the object of obsession doesn't do what we'd like, how we'd like, when we'd like, etc. The trick is to have balance and I read balance in your posts. You are crazy for the brand & your Abarth. That is a very good thing for the brand and this forum.

If you keep up with the FIAT Backstage blog, you know street level cred & brand passion (or at least intrigue) has been a major focus for the automaker from day one. They've done the Times Square movie & gelato launch, the Photo Friday Instagram thing, the Abarth Track Experience thing, the ESPN magazine deal, activity with FIAT FreakOut, SEMA, the various musical ventures, the NYC sustainability thing, various give-aways, all the fun tv adverts, Ultimate Pool Party, Urban Surf Party tour and they're currently doing the #JJ tour ~ I'm sure I missed a lot of other activity.

There is more to brand imaging and owner satisfaction than the business between the automaker & the studio. I guess that's all I'm on about. To keep things fun at our LS... 4 of our CC5C meets begin at the studio. It gives people a chance to get to know one another while playing an active role in studio activity. People are so accustomed to what they think should happen on a dealer lot. It becomes the owner versus the dealer. That is not good for the owner, the studio or the brand. The studio partially sponsors our meets & is sponsoring contests on our Facebook page. I know FIAT takes notice, because they sent a rep from Midwest Corporate up for our first. That kind of thing creates perfect opportunities for early supporters to tell the brand (directly) what they'd like to see. They can communicate what they like and what they dislike. A quick glance at some 2014 500 changes FIAT is making proves they are interested in listening to what we have to say.

I think FIAT has done a great job communicating the future for the company (500 line, 500L line, Panda). Each year, since 2011, there has been new product and options for that product. Year one was the intro of the NA-specific 500 Sport and many special edition 500s. Late year one through late year two saw the manual option for the Lounge, aftermarket 500 parts/accessories, the Gucci edition, the NA-specific 500 Abarth and some other goodies. Year three we have the NA-specific 500T, the Cattiva special edition, the 500L and 500L Trekking, the 500c Abarth and the 500 GQ edition. That is a lot of activity for a start-up. Yes, we want to see more models. But FIAT has been delivering on the plan they shared from the beginning. I, for one, am happy and excited.

Again, I enjoy your activity on this forum. I think we needed the shot in the arm you provide. I can't emphasize that enough. I simply wanted to share the perspective of an owner who is having a blast with the return of the brand.

 

just a few things real quick...

September was a bad month but there are a few things you need to look at. First and foremost, Fiat is not done with their lineup by any means. They started slow and everyone knew full well from day 1 that new models would TRICKLE in. None of this is a surprise. Gas prices are relatively low which, for most of the country, means huge vehicles will sell well and small cars will stumble a bit.
Also, your dealer lost some employees, it happens! Go introduce yourself to some of the other people! You might be surprised to find that the ones who are sticking with Fiat during tough times are the ones that are truly passionate about the brand and the cars. That's how it is at our Studio. We had one salesman that was a Mercedes guy, didn't really care about Fiats. He left to take a job at an Infinity dealer. We took on another Fiat nut in his place and now we've got an incredible group. We spend all day every day trying to figure out how to get the Fiat brand out there and show people how great these cars can be. It makes it a much more fun experience for all of us and I think it gives our customers a better experience.

As for the 4C and not being sure where it's going to go, we don't know for sure what they're going to do but that doesn't mean Fiat doesn't know what they're going to do. It just means they haven't released their final plans yet. The 4C may go to Maserati dealers because it is a limited production car. As a Fiat dealer, we really want the 4C and it'll suck to not get it but we're also aware that not getting the 4C doesn't necessarily mean we won't get Alfa. They may just be sending the 4C to Maserati BECAUSE it's such an expensive and limited production car (the 8C was distributed through Maserati) and waiting for the mass production Alfas for Fiat dealers. That's what we're hoping at least.

On the subject of bad dealers, it sucks but it's not even remotely specific to Fiat. We have a BMW/MINI/Porsche/Audi/Lexus group of dealerships nearby that are WELL known to be horrible to deal with. They're the kind of dealer that takes your keys to do a trade-in valuation and won't give them back to you. I had a really nice guy come in and buy a 500L a while back. He was deaf so it took a few minutes to get the hang of communicating but no big deal, wound up being about the most fun I've had selling a car yet. He gave me the card of the salesman he talked to at the Mini dealer and asked me to throw it away. I don't know what happened when he was there, but it REALLY upset him.
Our manager took his mom's Lexus for an oil change and came out with an $800 bill. They called her while it was in and sold her on new brake pads all around and turned the rotors ($400 of it was labor...). For some reason people seem to think that one particular brand is better than others when it comes to car dealers but the truth is, they all have the same kind of relationship with their dealers and have fairly minimal control over day to day operations. "Weeding out dealers" would require effectively destroying a small business, firing all of its employees and costing its owners all the money they put in to get the brand in the first place, as well as hurting the manufacturer by losing sales from that dealer. It's not something that can be done lightly and if they went through and did it to a bunch of dealers, it would bring some horrible publicity, as well as quite a few lawsuits, I'm sure.

If you want Fiat dealers to be as good as they should be, only buy from GOOD dealers. Do some research and find out how they treat customers and spend some time talking to the people that work there.

 

Woody, always loved and still love your Input on this Forum working the Front Lines........my Reason for the Post was not to trash Fiat the Sales Team Service Team......I would call it a sentimental Journey......... aka when I walked thru them Studio Doors the 1st Time...... I know the Car Business is a ruff Business..... 2 year later... I know I People moved on....... honestly been 50 I am just not used to it....to changes and new Faces........all the Time...... over the last 20 Years I built a Relation Ship with my Mercedes Benz Dealer........ when I sold Pagers Years ago .... the Girl in the Parts Dept made me hold her 1st Born because she had to answer the Phone..... now her 1st Born is the Finance Manager at the same Dealer Ship........ all I try to say is this....... my 3 Basset Hounds love my Vet.... sure I could go to Pets Mart for the same check up.... saving...$$$$$$ but my Hounds love my Vet.... A Waste of Money..... of Course......... and it is the same with 500 Madness..... could I get it cheaper thru Amazon.... Ebay.....???? Yes of Course....... but I prefer got Customer Service what is wrong with that.....????? Cheers from Phoenix ...... that is just the Way I like to do Business.....

 

Yeah Downtown LA Fiat has the highest turnover rate of management and employees I've ever seen at any dealership...sad.

 

One studio here. 3 sets of studio managers. The other, 2 sets. One of the managers use to work at the first studio.

 

At Kearny Mesa Fiat, everyone is the same as when they opened. I don't think anyone had left. It's a great group. By the way, I didn't get my Fiat from them because I found mine in inventory elsewhere, but it's the place I always go for service, friendly Fiat chat, and cappuccino. My next Fiat would definitely be from there.

 

Evlkarl- What is the definition of "WTBH"?

 

I read it as "what/why the bloody hêll" but I don't really know if that's it, just sounded good in my head lol

 

Woody, you are correct...

 

Hi Berliner.

Why did you stop posting on the other forum back in June?
And where did you post all your posts before joining here in September?

Apparently your preferences for your old Mercedes dealers over your Fiat studios hasn't changed any in the past several months.
Hopefully if the rumors are correct that Maserati dealers are going to get the Alfa 4c, that your experiences with the Maserati dealers will be better than your dealings with your Fiat dealers.

BC.