Price increase....

[slim]

I see Fiat have increased the prices of various wheel upgrades, the 1.2 pop, and the head rests options... As if they wernt expensive enough... Check Fiat.co.uk | Fiat Showroom : Latest Offers, Book a Test Drive, Fiat Car Range and more. your thoughts please... phil.

[Paul]

See here: Information From Fiat

Not sure it's a wise time to be increasing prices, but I'd be interested to know the logic or reasons given for the increase.

[N500SHP]

The price of the cars has increased as well, however the reason behind a lot of it is the increased fuel prices for delivery of all parts but also the raw metal prices have escalated partly becuase of the $/Barrel but also becuase of the demand for it from the far east.

[yoshi]

I did try & warn you:

price increase on the 500?

I did think that it would be more as the demand & prices for oil, steel & energy continues to increase .

Don't think that will be the last increase either......in my industry (agricultural machinery) things have risen in the region of 10% to even in some cases 20% in the last 12 months.
But ALL manufacturers are going to have to increase the prices so the gap between a 500 & say a Mini will remain more or less the same......so still a bargain when compared to the mini one etc

Yoshi

[Miss Bentley]

It's not really a surprise - everything is more expensive these days!

[Scrogg]

Fiat have just announced another price increase from 1st September, this time due to the Delivery Charge having to go up to help cover the increasing fuel costs of getting new cars to the dealerships

This increase will affect the whole Fiat range...

...except the 500!

[wreckmaster]

In Norway the 500 1,2 pop will increase with 10000 NOK, and the sport and lounge with 15000, the dealer told today. Luckily it wont happend to my car since it`s already ordered I would cancelled my order if it happend to my car. then it would be to expensive. Alltough I really want that 500 it wouldn`t be worth 200 000 NOK. I am gonna pay 189000 and thats enough

[yoshi]

Originally Posted by Scrogg

Fiat have just announced another price increase from 1st September, this time due to the Delivery Charge having to go up to help cover the increasing fuel costs of getting new cars to the dealerships

This increase will affect the whole Fiat range...

...except the 500!

Scrogg,

how is the current climate affecting the car business? Is it all doom & gloom or are people down sizing (going from a mondeo to say a punto or even a 500).

I was talking to a neighbour who was looking to trade in his diesel 2005 freelander for something "smaller & more tax & fuel friendly). And they only offered him peanuts (6K) due to the lack of interest in 4wd / larger cars. Is this something your finding at the mo.....also hows the 500 sales going? I see there advertising it again so my guess was that the initial interest may have have slowed down a bit

Thanks

Yoshi

[littala]

Originally Posted by yoshi

Scrogg,

how is the current climate affecting the car business? Is it all doom & gloom or are people down sizing (going from a mondeo to say a punto or even a 500).

I was talking to a neighbour who was looking to trade in his diesel 2005 freelander for something "smaller & more tax & fuel friendly). And they only offered him peanuts (6K) due to the lack of interest in 4wd / larger cars. Is this something your finding at the mo.....also hows the 500 sales going? I see there advertising it again so my guess was that the initial interest may have have slowed down a bit

Thanks

Yoshi

Maybe it's a 'clever' move on Fiat's part, because people 'are' downsizing or considering downsizing, and what better car to downsize to than a 500. Re-launch the Advertising and get people who want/would consider something smaller, interested in the 500, instead of the'less interesting' alternatives.

[Scrogg]

You've hit the nail on the head there Yoshi.

The premium guys (BMW, Audi etc) are really feeling the pinch, but thankfully we (meaning my dealership) seem to be bucking the trend a little (although we are nowhere near as busy as we should be less than 3 weeks before a plate change ).

Yes, many people are trying to offload gas-guzzlers for smaller, more eco-friendly cars, and they are all being hit very hard by the dealerships that are struggling to move these cars on

My guys sell Fiat, Kia and Nissan, and of the three Nissan are struggling the most as, apart from the Micra and Note, they only offer bigger cars with bigger engines (the geniuses have even decided to launch the new 3.5 V6 Auto Murano in September! ) but Fiat are selling (almost) as well as they always have.

The new Series 2 Grande Punto is already selling well, and even Bravo seems to have finally been noticed!

500 sales have dropped a little (but that always happens six months after an all-new model is launched) which is undoubtedly why Fiat are re-advertising for a few weeks, but there is nowhere near as much unsold stock about as there was when I posted on The FIAT Forum a few months back about the seemingly huge number of unsold units, so I don't think we've got anything to worry about just yet.

I think that, as always happens when the 'doom & gloom' messages start regularly making the news, we will see a few months of slower sales, but then people will go back to normal, as they always do.