After the praise earned in yesterday’s Driving Experience post, will it be more of the same when discussing Practicalities and Dealer Experiences?

We purchased our 100hp on the opening day of a new Fiat dealership on Vouliagmenis Avenue and were their first ever sale.  They organised a test car for us, took the order and also sorted out our insurance too, making the actual buying process a very pleasant one.  When we picked up the car from the main dealer we were walked through all the features and the car was in perfect condition, so all was good there.

Just before the 5000km oil change I was involved in a small accident and of course, the car went to Fiat to have the work done.  I took essentially how long they said it would and the work was top-notch.  Through this episode we were not supplied with a loan car and our request for the guilty insurance company to pay for a hire car was rejected, so no car for two weeks.  This is less a problem with Fiat, who did at least try to get a loaner for us, and more a problem with Greeks having so many accidents, dealers would lend out more cars than they would sell.

The oil change was completed a week or so after the car was returned and the saga of that is detailed in other posts.  It wasn’t good, but it could have been much worse too.  Since then I have only returned to the main dealer once with a punctured tyre and they sent me to somewhere to get it fixed.  The car is booked in for its first service on the 14th April, so we will see what happens then.

As the Panda is my only car, I do need it to be a jack-of-all-trades, something it handles well.  I can fit shopping in it, it has been to Ikea and done some carrying about, it has transported four people (very occasionally) comfortably enough and when none of those things are needed, it entertains nicely too.   It’s also a breeze to park, not too wide or long and not so flashy that I’m afraid to leave it places.

Aside from a less than perfect dealership experience, everything has been good here too.