Carman FIAT

Reviews 3

CH

Charles Perron

I recently purchased a Fiat Abarth through Carman. I love the car. I got a good price, they gave me a good amount on the trade and the finance rate was competitive. I say that to say, it is possible to get a good deal on a great car from Carman Fiat. But... Below is the text I entered in the Fiat Customer Satisfaction Survey: After deciding to purchase an Abarth, the Carman dealership in DE found one matching my specs at a dealership about 40 miles away. I was notified they found an available car, I drove to Carman Fiat from where I work in NJ, came to agreement on the car price, trade price, finance rate and I left a deposit of $1000. I was excited. The next day I was informed the car had already been sold. Carman expanded their search and found another car. They notified me it was available, I looked at it and told them to get it. I contacted them sometime later and found that it was also sold and no longer available. They found another car. I reviewed the specs and told them to go for it. Later they told me it had been sold. At that point I began to think they were using some definition of the word "available" that I was not familiar with. They found another car. This one had every feature I didnt care about and nothing I wanted so I said no to that one. Next they called and tried to sell me a used Abarth they had at their dealership (the one I had told them I wasnt interested in). That night I went on the fiatusadotcom site and expanded the search to 200 miles and found a couple of Abarths I liked. I wrote to Carman the next day sending them links to the cars I had found. At that point I realized I was doing their job. I was also unsatisfied with the process so I wrote a note explaining exactly what I would like them to do. I asked that they call the dealership and verify the car was available and ask them to mark it so that it would not be sold. I asked them to contact me so that I could call the dealership and personally verify that they had done so. They did as I asked and I verified the car was there and available and being held for me. I arranged a time to drop off my trade and sign the paperwork. The paperwork was ready for me when I arrived, but the first document I was shown had the wrong trade amount. It was about $500 in the dealerships favor. They found the correct amount on another document and so we continued the process. Then, on the contract, I noticed the selling price (before the manufacturer incentive) was not what we had previously agreed upon. That was also about $500 in the dealerships favor. We worked it out, they shredded the original and the contract was reprinted with the correct amounts on it, but when I looked it over, the $1000 deposit I had given on my first visit was not reflected anywhere. They shredded it and reprinted it with the correct amounts. Then I was given the finance document and noticed that the finance rate was incorrect. We had agreed upon 2.9%, but the document had some higher number (3.4% or something like that). They shredded the original and reprinted it. Once this was corrected, I signed the paperwork, got the documents and check I needed and drove to CT to pick up the car. The car was never prepped. The dealership in CT told me Carman should clean it. They didnt. Also, the dealership in CT lost the 2nd key. That is not Carmans fault, just an annoyance. They are working on getting the 2nd key made. Im sorry, but this is not a 10 out of 10 experience. The car is great. The buying experience, not so much. EDIT: 5 months have passed and I still dont have the second key. They ordered it and received it, but then mistakenly mailed it to another dealership in Connecticut. They said they would order another one, but when I spoke to the sales person he had not done so. My emails and voice mails have gone unanswered since then. I guess they are done with me.

MI

Michele Jalbert

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Carman Fiat, Dan Giacchino and Erwin, for all the hospitality they showed me and my husband last night. Both men did everything they could to meet and BEAT our criteria for my new Fiat! They made the deal WORK FOR US and I was able to get the Fiat I wanted. I know they did a lot running, made a lot of phone calls and crunched numbers and all their work did not go unappreciated! I must say that that Erwin is absolutely FANTASTIC! Ive never been through a smoother, more organized and timely sale in my life. He is personable, funny, very knowledgeable about Fiats and the smile never left his face. His organizational skills and explanation of everything we were signing was awesome! My husband has dealt with other dealers in the past who do nothing but throw papers in front of you and tell you where to sign, no explanations as to what each form represented. Erwin made sure we knew exactly what we were signing and why. I was truly impressed and grateful that I did not leave there with my head spinning and wondering what did I just sign? Im also grateful that Erwin was able to get us in and out of there quickly. Even though he was helping another salesman with a customer, we were still in and out in a little over an hour. Carman Fiat gave me the deal I wanted, no hard sells or pushing me into something I didnt want, quite the opposite. They worked to GET me what I really wanted! Dan and Erwin were instrumental in getting me a GREAT deal and I couldnt be happier! They were extremely helpful, kept in touch, answered all my questions and made everything work out the way we wanted. This is the 2nd Fiat I have purchased from Carman Fiat and I dont want to drive any other car or purchase from any other dealer! They are wonderful cars, great on gas mileage, fun to drive and I cant even count how many times people have stopped me to ask me how I like it or compliment it and I always tell them, go to Carman Fiat, take a test drive, youll love it! Great car, great prices, great people! Thank you again for the wonderful experience and the beautiful car!

AL

Alvin W

I went in to buy a new car, and the cast of Kurt Russell "Used Cars" showed up. But I wanted a new FIAT 124, so I dealt with it. It was a mistake akin to swimming in the Hudson when the water is clear - the bacteria is always there. Hours later I suffered a lot of lies, deceit, distortion, lack of product knowledge. After all the blathering the manager told me Sirius XM is available in service at any time, and Navigation takes a day. Navigation took more than a month - and I find out Sirius is suddenly not available on the car at all, even though it has the icon on the screen, but shaded. Fair warning. Dont be fooled. They do not have Sirius. If I do finally get Sirius on the new 124, Id at least be somewhat less angry. They promised they had it, I bought the car - and they dont. A new 2017 124 with no Sirius radio available. What? The sales manager I worked with never called me back. I told them I drive a lot and prefer Sirius repeatedly between the painful "you-seem-like-a-great-guy" pitch. The slimy sales manager said - no problem, its a 2017 car. And after four conversations with the head office, no answers. Five conversations with FIAT service and parts in three States - they dont know. One person at FIAT head office, Amber, said she thinks they will never get it - but will get back to me. The other folks never got back. Im guessing FIAT knows this is a problem. Ill let everyone know if I dont get Sirius (pun intended) with a longer more detailed list of this horrible experience broadcast to everybody.