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After baulking at the price of nearly new Fiestas,Polos and even Fabias, i found myself on the forecourt of my local Fiat dealer, T.J.Vickers of Telford Shropshire.
I was really in two minds about buying a Fiat. I had heard the old
joke Fix It Again Tomorrow , a play on the first letter ... Read review
Advantages: Competative prices, Service with a smile. Disadvantages: After sales niggles.
...the forecourt of my local Fiat dealer, T.J.Vickers of Telford Shropshire.
I was really in two minds about buying a Fiat. I had heard the old
joke Fix It Again Tomorrow , a play on the first letter of each word, but liked the look of a six month old 1.2 ELX Punto which was on sale for £ 2,300 below its new price.
A salesperson finally approached me. I relayed my concerns about Fiats reputation .He dealt with my concerns ... ...happens at low speed, but Fiat seem powerless to cure it or just can't be bothered i don't know which. I am told it is quite a common complaint on the Punto.
So this leads me to my conclusions.
Price- Very competative.
Pre-sales service- Very good.Straight talking and not patronising
Efficiency- Good product delivered in good order and ready for when they said it would be.
After sales service- A bit pricey, ... more
My old Mondeo was on her last legs. Bless her! She had been a good old bus but enough is enough.
I have a fifty mile round trip everyday to work,a very modest budget,and a need for car with a reasonable amount of warranty to a allow for trouble free motoring. I couldn't afford a new family car so decided to go for a "supermini".
After baulking at the price of nearly new Fiestas,Polos and even Fabias, i found myself on the forecourt of my local Fiat dealer, T.J.Vickers of Telford Shropshire.
I was really in two minds about buying a Fiat. I had heard the old joke Fix It Again Tomorrow , a play on the first letter of each word, but liked the look of a six month old 1.2 ELX Punto which was on sale for £ 2,300 below its new price. A salesperson finally approached me. I relayed my concerns about Fiats reputation .He dealt with my concerns stating that the Punto had a good record of reliability , and beyond that i would be covered by the remaining two and a half years warranty along with same amount of breakdown cover.
At this,some colour returned to my cheeks and i took up the offer of a test drive. I explained to the salesperson that i wouldn't be content with a run up the road and back as i needed to know how it performed on a run as well as around the town. This was not a problem, and he alowed me to test it on all roads.
Once i had decided that i could live with the Punto,we needed to discuss the part exchange value of my dear old Mondeo. This is where i thought the blossoming friendship between the Salesperson and myself would grind to a halt. Well he looked in his Glass's Guide and looked at my limping old warhorse and offered me £2000.After i had returned the hand that i had bitten off , I signed on the dotted line before he came to his senses!
So far so good . A good price for a car in this class. The sales people couldn't do enough ,and to top it off a stunning part ex on my Mondeo.
For the next 12,000 miles, fun, trouble free motoring. So to the service.
The service was carried out . This included new front brake pads,which they did call me to give them the go ahead for. When it came to paying, i have to admit to a sharp intake of breath at a bill of £280. Oh well hopefully no more visits for 12000 miles.
Well that lasted all of a day as i was back in next day because the hand brake cable, which had been adjusted,snapped. This was fixed straight away with much apologising. Oh well no more visits for 12,000 miles. Until i looked in my service manual to notice they hadn't filled it in or stamped it up. Yes i know , i'm picking flies! But it's annoying isn't it. I don't want to visit the place every other day, the coffee isn't that good!
Well since then there hasn't been any major problems, only an incesent squeak in what i am told is the rear offside bushes. it only happens at low speed, but Fiat seem powerless to cure it or just can't be bothered i don't know which. I am told it is quite a common complaint on the Punto.
So this leads me to my conclusions. Price- Very competative. Pre-sales service- Very good.Straight talking and not patronising Efficiency- Good product delivered in good order and ready for when they said it would be. After sales service- A bit pricey, which is where they may claw some of the money back from cheap purchase price, compared to Ford, for instance. Also aliitle amiss with attention to detail. I don't know, i just think these little touches matter to the customer, and as far as the Punto is concerned i think it is a good product let down a little by attention to detail at th franchise.
...have now changed the offending Fiat Punto for a Honda Civic.............OH JOY!!!! A fantastic drive and incredible service from Howards Honda in Weston-super-Mare. I really should have followed my first instincts, and bought a Honda in the first place. I would recommend anyone to use the Howards dealership.
I am still of the opinion that the Punto I originally purchased was indeed a hunk of junk. I would personally never buy another Fiat in the ...
roo09 29.06.2006 (27.07.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat
Advantages: friendly, cheap (for a car dealers), do as they say Disadvantages: depends on the car, sometimes they are visited quite often
...from them, including:
1 Fiat Bravo
1 Fiat Punto
1 Fiat Uno
2 Fiat Tipos
1 Fiat Croma
So you can see that we have bought over the entire range, both new and used. I can seriously say that, with my hand on my heart, they are a very friendly, not in the least bit pushy or overbearing, and accommodating dealership.
As you drive up Harley Shute Road from the A259 and turn left at the roundabout at the top, you zip down a little hill (hills, oh ... ...used to only deal with Fiat on the site, but has since added Alfa Romeo and Nissan to its roll of honour.
Anyway, let's look at the dealers in terms of various attributes:
SETTING
As I said, on the northern edge of the twin towns of Hastings and St Leonards on Sea, a bus ride from the town centre, about 3 miles I would say. The setting is quite nice, although there is an industrial estate nearby. There is also a large Tesco Superstore 5 minutes ...
Nolly 17.09.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat
Advantages: Performance vs price, Well specified Disadvantages: Rust magnets, Depreciate rapidly
...The first was a D-reg Fiat Uno Fire, a 999cc car that always seemed capable of more than those 9's would suggest. That car saw me through university life, carried numerous varied (and drunken) loads around the country, and had a fairly trouble free life. When I sold it it was around 5years old and already had required a touch-up to get rid of some rust on a rear wheel arch.
I didn't learn from that car though and so my next car was a brand spanking ... ...the Windsor dealer lost it's Fiat franchise and then bit the bullet as well.
To be fair to Fiat (and the car itself) it has provided sterling service (mechanically) for most of it's life. It was only on reaching 7yrs that the 'itch' developed, with clutch master and slave cylinders failing, the clutch plate itself needing replacing twice in less than 50k miles, the heater matrix rusting through (the mechanic had never seen such a thing), rear brake ...
CraigBruce 13.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat
...a poor man ask for! Fiat cars don't rate very high on my ideal choice list but when I noticed the great deals being offered on pre-reg. models I had to have a test drive.
After trying out various models, I eventually was sold a Bravo (the 2 door version of the Brava). The salesman knew his stuff, gave me the facts on the vehicle and wasn't put off by my constant questioning (well, for me, a new car is a big investment). A variety of payment options ...
Advantages: Absolutely none Disadvantages: Appear to have no idea how to keep a customer happy
...It is a Fiat barchetta, and the design and performance are everything I was looking for from a car. I will never buy another, though, and I will certainly never buy another Fiat.
I bought the car as an ex-demonstrator last year from Dixon Fiat in Horsforth, Leeds, and that was perhaps my biggest mistake. I should have backed off when the price went up between the test drive and working out a deal (3 hours later). Perhaps I should have turned and ... ...money after the deal was struck. But I didn't - I wanted the car, and I let them get away with it. I was angry when the car wasn't ready for collection when they said it would be, but again I let them get away with it. In the last year or so, I have visited the dealer many times - usually to repeat a request for something which they haven't bothered to sort out. They have made me wait 9 months for one part, though two to three months seems to be ...
Big-Al 31.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Fiat
Advantages: Cheap to run and Fun to Drive, Excellent Value for Money Disadvantages: Safety, Style
I began driving this time last year and my first car was and still is a Fiat Punto 1.2 S, T-reg 1999, 3 doors. For a student such as myself, I would say that it is an ideal first car to have and I have thoroughly enjoyed driving it. It is not lightning quick and insurance is cheap!
Obviously because of the age of my car, it is not going to set the world on fire, but I have been very pleased with it so far. I paid £750 for it from an auction and two years previously it had been bought for £4,200! Luckily for me, it has so far been very reliable and I hope that it will last me until next year when I will sell it before I go to University.
Ride Quality
Obviously, the car's ride quality is not awesome compared to most modern cars around today. But if you can't afford to spend loads on a set of wheels, the Punto offers a very good ...
sbutler1 02.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fiat Punto 1.2
Advantages: Economical and spacious Disadvantages: Heavy steering and noisy at speed
Why, of all the cars on the market did I choose to buy a Fiat Punto? I have to admit that I only considered this car because I had been driving one on hire for a few months. When I looked at the vehicles available, Fiat seemed to offer good value. Have I come to regret this decision?
I bought an ?98 registered vehicle in early 2000, and have driven about 16,000 miles since that time. So what are the pros and cons of this vehicle? This isn't the current model, but the immediately previous one wnich is very commonly available second hand.
Firstly, I should say that I am married but have no children and virtually all my mileage is from my daily 50-mile round trip to work. Most of my driving is on the motorway with a few intervals of stationary urban traffic.
Pros ?
Decent fuel economy, not the best in class but I return about 43 ...
Advantages: Great Looks, Low Tax, Cheap Insurance Disadvantages: Ride Hieght, Slight Roll On Cornering
Having recently handed my little Saxo over to my little sister for her lessons and run around. Its time to look for a new car, So I came accross a really nice "Fiat Punto Active Sport 1.2i 8v". Read below to find my opinion of this car so far.......
Performance~
This car is awesome on petrol, Obviously depending on the way its driven its averagin about 48ish MPG. ALthough not as responsive as the saxo was and requires higher revs in lower gears to do this, Another slight downside is the ride height and suspension set up as the car feels very high, and also as if it is going to roll when taking corners at speed.
Exterior~
The Active Sport variant of the Punto is in one word "sexy", Its got curves, and straight lines in all the right place. Again a slight draw back is the gap between the top of the wheels and the botton ...
This is the best work of the car gods. This car not only looks like it is going 200mph,IT GOES 200MPH +
Although looks great it does have problems with it drive train (the rearends can drop out if to much tourq is aplide) so take it easy on droping the c (*)
