@Fiat_uk @Ancaster_Group Very Bad Customer Service & Theft

Buying a new or a used car is a big purchase for most people and I've heard horror stories from many manufacturers. Fiat will come under the spotlight here,this occurred a few years ago but the matter was never resolved by Fiat and the passing of time has made the experience no less harrowing.

The purchase was an 'approved' 3 door Fiat Punto which cost in the region of £5000-£6000 including a part exchange. As you can imagine Fiat were very helpful as were the Ancaster Fiat network  until the cash was in their pockets and the car was off their forecourt. At point of sale Fiat made it clear that there was existing warranty on the vehicle and that was valid,well that wasn't strictly true because after the gearbox went after around  12,000 miles they didn't want to know!

Another side note to this was prior to the purchase a Ancaster Fiat dealer had offered £100 for the part exchange and looked surprised when this was rebuffed! Eventually a part exchange of £1000 was received from another Fiat dealer in the same Ancaster Group for the same vehicle,why that didn't ring alarm bells at the time I don't know but that should give you an idea of how unscrupulously this firm was and potentially is still operating a £900 swing on the same vehicle? I think the first dealer was having a laugh or was genuinely out to swindle a customer.

Obviously a decently made car should have a gearbox that gets through the warranty period at least,Fiat looked at the car and handed over a bill in the region of £1200. I left the car with them and said fix it under warranty or at least under the Sale of Goods Act,a gearbox going before warranty on a normally driven car is a sign of poor build quality and a car that wasn't fit for purpose at point of sale. There was an attempt to point to servicing from Fiat as a way to absolve themselves from responsibility as if servicing includes any checks whatsoever on the gearbox (servicing doesn't involve any checks on the gearbox at all).

Eventually Fiat sold the car,applying to DVLA for new registration ,effectively stealing it and as far as they were concerned that was the end of the matter. So Ancaster Group and Fiat felt it is ok to steal someone else's goods and absolve themselves from responsibility for a faulty product they have sold.

Also notable was the way Fiat Italy and Fiat UK pointed the finger at the Ancaster dealer while the Ancaster dealer pointed the finger back at the manufacturer,just an appalling customer service experience.

This is a cautionary tale for potential Fiat owners,the 'Fix it again Tomorrow' slogan hasn't arisen from nowhere,you may be better off buying Japanese if you want reliability and decent customer service!

Ancaster Group's way of dealing with an unsatisfied customer :

You have been warned!