For all the noise, how is Fiat really doing?

NOTE TO BINOY & MODS:  I AM QUOTING RELEVANT PORTIONS OF THE PREVIOUS POST BECAUSE MY REPLY IS SPECIFIC TO THOSE POINTS.

Ahh...I can understand this.  For the first year or so after I bought my Safari (it was the first Dicor sold in the state) I had similar experiences with people.  Everyone wanted to know about the ownership experience, 'power delivery', economy, reliability etc - all the legacy of the old 2.0 TCIC engine.  Everyone wanted to confirm that it was 'less powerful than the Scorpio' and I had to patiently tell them that boss this is a new 3.0 engine, what you're talking about is the history of the Safari with the old 2.0 engine v/s the 2.6 of the Scorpio.  And so on and so forth.  More knowledgeable people asked about specific improvements to the electrics - the electrics on the old Safari were notoriously temperamental.

After the Dicor series of the Safari had established itself in the market and more vehicles could be seen on the roads, such queries have stopped.  Nowadays nobody bothers me on the road, because I'm no longer a strange sight!

Dont take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does.

Binoy is a Mod

That's evident & good enough (E-7).  I don't think this could have ever been an issue with anyone.  Anyway!

Please carry on with the discussion - quite interesting it is.

1st National Meet (CW Forums) at Mumbai on 19-20th Dec.'09. Check invitation & details at http://www.carwale.com/forums/viewthread-10791.html, and confirm your participation by 15/11/'09.

Most important thing in this discussion missing is sales figures of GP Vs rivals & Linea Vs rivals. These figure will give clear indication about how Fiat have been able to live up the hype . Clear domestic sales figure would give good picture . i20 figure includes exports+ domestic , Vista figures includes vists + indica .These are misleading . Also need to consider the network to entire nation as others have it but still Fiat hasn't.

The figures considered are only for Domestic Sales, else i20 figures will be more than double of what was actually considered.

However I understand that i20 domestic sales have been rapidly catching up with exports and that during october domestic sales may actually have overtaken their exports.

Dont take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does.

I doubt it . Both companies are giving combined figures.

You see what you want to see, I guess.

Dont take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does.

I just want to see facts !!. Nothing else .

Well, I have booked my Punto and waiting for it to be registered and delivered.

I wanted to share my experiences with the Mumbai car dealers:

1. Way back in August, I started looking to buy a car. Punto, Swift and Ritz is what I thought would fit my budget. I called up Wasan Motors, Borivili (even though they are not authorized dealers as per Fiat website) and asked the sales guy (this was sunday morning) to explain the car to me. He did it diligently and for stuff that he was not aware of, he was honest enough to admit it. I asked him to send a quotation and he mailed it to me in half hour, called me to confirm the same.

2. Called up 2 Maruti dealers (forget their names). The sales folks were kind enough to answer any queries. I gave them my contact numbers, but none of them called back for a TD or to follow up.

3. Visited (I think Vitese) Maruti dealer at Andheri (W) and had a look at the Ritz. Could not do a TD since I was in a hurry. Filled up their enquiry form and left. Nobody called up or followed up after that. The only folks calling up were tele-sales agents from Maruti (Noida number) promising a TD from one of their dealers in Mumbai, which alas never happened.

4. Visited Fortune Powai sometime end of October (as I had made up my mind by then to buy a Punto) to avail of the Diwali offer. The sales guy there spent around an hour explaining all the features (it was around 9 PM I guess when we started talking) and taking time to explain everything.

5. Finally, as luck would have it, the ICICI guy I was dealing with for a loan put me in touch with the Wasan, Chembur guys where I booked my car. These guys have been extremely courteous till date. They respond back immediately for any queries that I have had.

But,...

I still have that lingering doubt about sustainability as far as service is concerned after say another 2 years and I am sure most of the prospective buyers also have the same doubt. After all, buying a car is a big investment one has to live with for another 4-5 years (atleast for most of us).

When I spoke to the building folks about parking facility, the first question they asked was "Which car?". When I tell them Fiat Punto, most of them do not have a clue what I am talking about.I wonder, how a guy say in some remote B town would anyway be aware of a car called "Punto".

So, I guess its that apprehension about the longetivity factors and no mass (or popular) knowledge about this product, that is pulling back Fiat from selling in large numbers. I guess in India, its about a Maruti. Every kid, street hawker, housewife, businessman, corporate folks etc etc would be aware of a brand called Maruti.

Sorry for the long post .

Cheers,
Naveen

Thanks for sharing good honest and practical experience.

 

Everyone has this apprehension about how will be Tata/ fiat service over long run.  You were lucky to have good experience with Fiat sales representative. If one smells not so professional approach initially, will think twice before going for Fiat.

Other than this aspects, Punto and Linea are really good vehicles with excellent pricing.

Naveen Wel writtn..

I still keep receiving call from COncorde & Wasan as a followup & to know when do I plan to buy my New car

2 cents from me... I think I bought Palio in one of the worst time for Fiat way back in 2003 Sept. I would say they have survived since then. So according to me there is only one way i.e UP.. Because certainly there is lot of support from different direction. 1. TATA 2. Products 3. Wel made Petrol & Diesel engine whih are also used by their closest compititors. & the same is also being noticed by few % of the new generation buyers. This is their strongest point as the highest sold Maruti is using MJD from Fiat. Diesel is certainly going to help Fiat to achive better nos in India.

I only hope that FIAT do not waste their time in selling or even promoting FIAT 500 kind of cars, rather use all their expertise in selling the car which India needs at this point of time. Which is exactkly what Maruti as a company doing. I hope that FIAT comes out with better options in simmiler segment to keep the momentum of Punto & Linea.