Criswell Fiat

Fiat 500X: Haunted by Rust.
@criswellfiat of Gaithersburg sold me a the car with excessive brake hubs rust. They refused to repair, fix, replace. Don’t let it happen to you.

Hyder was fantastic to work with and spent time explaining to me all about the cars I test drove. The whole process was easy and the entire staff treated me like a friend instead of a customer. I’ve been to other dealerships where I was treated like nothing more than a commission check, but Chriswell Fiat was definitely a different type of dealership.

The folks @ Criswell Fiat completely ignored me for the first 10 minutes I was there. When I finally managed to get the attention of one guy who was sitting at his desk playing with his computer and told him I came here to look at the Fiat 500, he told me to look around on my own :)
I decided if they don’t take care of customers who came to buy their car, they certainly won’t care when I come for maintenance. Do yourself a favor, go to the dealer in Tyson’s corner, from the other comments you can see this is not an isolated issue.

This was the most disappointing dealership ever! I wish I could give it ZERO stars.
1. First the individuals assisting us did not seem to know the specs of their product. Asked about differences and other little things and got a blank stare. When asked if this is all they had. they mentioned they had lots, but at their other lot in Germantown… (but we made an apt with you. duh)…then there were about 5 gentlemen who came and hovered (useless) to busy smoking their cigs to talk about their products. They seemed like we were «bothering them»…so we took our family, our check down to Dog Fish to have some dinner and proceeded to Safford Fiat! Where we were given an awesome out the door price, great customer service, all the individuals we spoke with there knew there products ups ad downs, let us test drive as many as we wanted. We gave them our bank draft and now have a vehicle for my son! Gaithersburg/​Criswell Fiat learn to talk to clients, learn how to sell your product, don’t just tell me what you think, stop false advertising .if it isn’t on you lot then let customers know so they can go somewhere else. Don’t tell us you can beat a price on a product when you don’t even have it or know anything about it… smh! They were pitiful!

The dealership was far from us in Va. We saw their prices for 2014s and had to make the drive. I made arrangements with Jamie Sharpe to meet at 5pm. I took off early from work and arrived on time.
I walked into the Fiat dealership and they sent me to walk to the Jeep dealership next door. The salesman at the fiat was playing on his computer and couldn’t call next door to get the salesman over. I reminded him I was here to buy a Fiat not Jeep. I he insisted in go next door.
When I got to the jeep dealership I got to enjoy a 15 minute wait while he called back to Fiat to find keys. Only after I walked off in frustration did we actually walk back out to the Fiat dealership and look at cars.
When we finally looked at cars they showed us their 2014s which all were 2.5K higher then any 2014 on the Internet link he sent. He also said the «rest» were on their other lot!!!
Poor customer service. True bait and switch! We took our pre-​approved check to a different dealership. STAY AWAY!

The dealership is a bit farther from us than we’d have preferred, but they had the car my hubby wanted. The salesperson was easy to talk with, and he did a great job teaching my husband finer parts of driving a manual.
They managed to get our monthly payment exactly where we wanted, were speedy and efficient, and in all great to work with.

I never wrote a review before on Unilocal but I felt I had to this time. The customer service here is the worst I ever had to deal with at any dealership. One thing is, if something goes wrong with your car, you have to make an appointment more then a week in advance for then just to look at it. Then once the car is there it takes well over a week for them to get the job done. That’s over two weeks of not having a car. When you call them to find out what the statis is, they don’t pick up there phone, you leave messages and they don’t call you back. They give you fause hope of when your car will be done. Then there were other issues as well but not worth getting into. The car that we got, we like. Just don’t buy anything from this dealership

The service here was terrible. They did absolutely none of the work they were supposed to do on my car. They also did not keep me informed about any of it, and told me to come pick up my car even though they had done none of the work. They also tried to make me pay for potential warranty work that another dealer ended up doing for free. The service manager looked like he was too busy yucking it up in his office to even come listen to any of my concerns.
I have never been treated so badly at any business I have ever patronized in my whole life. Did I mention that something was missing from my vehicle when I left?
They are that bad. I can see by the other reviews that people are happy with their new cars they bought here. Unfortunately you will not be so happy when it comes time to have work done.
I voiced my concerns to anyone that would listen at the service department and have not heard anything back. A simple sorry would have been nice!
If I had to sum up my experience at Criswell in two words, they would be, dishonest and uncaring.
Did I also mention that I got all of the work done at another dealer in about 4 hours? Oh yeah, well that happened too.

So, I’ve been wanting a Fiat for a long time. Finally, my lease was up on my current vehicle so I knew it was time to get shopping. I live in Virginia so I originally avoided this dealer because it was so far. After super sketchy and obnoxious trips to the two Fiat dealers in VA (Alexandria and TYSONS), I was frustrated and sad about the state of the car business in general. I’m under the assumption that most car dealers are around to rip you off, so that’s the attitude I went into when I looked at this location. I spent about a week emailing back and fourth with Hyder before he earned enough trust for me to come into the store (and they had the exact car I had always wanted, so I had to give it a shot).
I walked in on a Saturday, and saw that the car I had wanted was pulled up front with a sign in it saying it was on hold for me. I didn’t pay for it to be held– he just did! He also told me via email that another lady was into the same car– I thought he was lying because this is a typical scam to get you in, but I actually saw that another person’s details were there and that she was into my car. I like your honesty, Hyder; let’s roll with this. I told them multiple times what I felt comfortable paying and I wouldn’t go above that– they were like alright, cool. Jamie, Hyder’s manager, worked very hard for us and was super honest the entire time. They pointed out all of the other scams that the other dealers I went to were pulling– this put me at ease. Jamie and Hyder are awesome dudes, but that doesn’t mean the deal is going to work– I remained skeptical.
Finally, we made it into finance. Hyder went and got my car detailed while I was in there– he’s an optimistic guy. We went in and my deal was 10 $ over what I wanted, but it included every single fee and I put no money down– I didn’t have to pay a single dime to drive my car away,-and the monthly payments are still manageable. I found through truecar that it was a good deal. It’s never going to be an amazing deal– they have to make money, and I get that. Overall, though, it was a fun and worthy experience. Hyder felt more like one of my close guy friends than a sketchy car salesman (ignore his weird picture on his emails– he’s way cuter in person!).
Let’s be real– buying a car is always going to be a stressful experience, but at this dealer it’s legitimately as painless as it can be. I’m in love with my dream car and I can actually afford it, and that’s all I can ask for! They give you multiple free oil changes and they also have an insane selection of cars– like, you can’t even park there long because they have so many adorable little fiats for you. Just come here– don’t believe the negative reviews. Hyder and the entire crew here are the best! Thanks again, guys. :)

I don’t write reviews but here we go.
I bought a 2013 Fiat from here. The car itself is efficient but the Criswell customer service is NOT. My salesman failed to mention that my car was not equipped with a spare tire and jack kit. I guess I was naïve to assume most cars come with this but I had no idea that Fiats do not. I would’ve greatly appreciated the Fiat reps telling me this beforehand but they were more concerned about getting rid of the car. Had I known, I would’ve obviously opted for a car that DID come with the basic feature.
Fast forward to a year later, I get a flat tire due to a pothole. And to my surprise, there’s no jack kit and no spare tire! Instead, my car comes with a rinky-​dink tire pump that obviously doesn’t work on a popped tire. Strike 1.
So then I called roadside assistance and this feature is nice… Fiat provides free roadside assistance and towing. 3 hours later, off my car goes: It’s towed to the Fiat Gaithersburg dealership around noon. The rep I was in communication with since 9AM that day said my car could get a new tire installed that same day but that the spare tire kit ($ 500 btw) would take a few days to arrive so I have to bring it back. At this point, that’s fine, I need my car. Around 5PM, I get a call from the same rep asking where my car was??? Hours passed by and he noticed my car never arrived and doesn’t know where my car is… Strike 2, get it together Fiat.
I call around and get in touch with the service department there, it’s after 5PM now. I locate my car when the guy there says my car DID arrive hours earlier but nothing’s been done to it. Great, one guy promises me the car will get a new tire that same day (it doesn’t take long to do that) and the other guy in service can’t even call to inform me that I can’t pickup the car that day. Just horrible, horrible customer service.
Needless to say that it’s been a nightmare dealing with the people that work here. This all happened yesterday. I called today to see what the status on putting 1 tire on my car is… no news. The lady couldn’t say that it would be ready by COB so who knows when I’ll get my car back.
Not a single person has apologized for this mess or been able to make up for the fact that they sold me a car without disclosing all information about it. AND NOW, they cannot honor their word with repair dates. I will filing complaints to any superiors since no one has been able to really right this wrong. Anyways, be weary if you choose to drop thousands of your dollars here.

I just bought a car here. First time at this dealership. A Fiat 500
Abarth. I only went there for the inventory. They had a car I liked. I drove all the way up there from Arlington Virginia. Major strong arm sales tactics (this offer is only good for tonight. If you leave without signing a sales contract this offer is no longer available). If you like high pressure sales you will love this place. I left. The offer was good the next day. They will also assume you have no idea of the value of your trade in and will try to lowball you. Only after I started to walk for the door the offer came up 5,000 from their original offer for my trade. 5K! You also better know the going market price for the car you are trying to purchase. Does this sound like the way you want to buy a new car? Unfortunately, all of that I expected. From an industry standpoint it is really sad that we have come to expect this kind of experience when purchasing a car. But not all car dealerships are this bad.
Worse than that, there is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. Very bad.
They delivered a car which was not working properly when I picked it up. Probably not their fault. Dragged their feet on repairing or addressing it. They scheduled appointments only to cancel them… twice. They really jerk you around there. Had to call Harry Criswell to get anything done. He makes himself unavailable. Did not get him. Got his secretary. Barbara Menso. I was only able to reach Barbara’s voice mail and she did not return my call. I called again and again and finally had her paged to get her on the line. After numerous calls to her I found she seldom answers her phone.
Issues still not resolved. They are refusing to address a dash dimmer problem that dims all the way down on it’s own. intermittently, and never comes back up. Not related to daylight or headlights being turned on or off as they are claiming. I will need to contact Fiat Corporate to have this addressed. They also did not mount my front license plate leaving me open to receive tickets in Virginia. There is a long story related to this too. Very poor inter company communication, confusion, story telling etc. Barbara Menso is also easily confused by basic issues relating to cars (example– transferring tags) and forgets to do things she promised to do. I get the idea she never leaves her desk to follow up on issues brought to her attention. She acts as though she feels put upon to have to resolve issues caused by her team. If you must deal with her, I recommend all communication with her be done is writing. She is very unpleasant to deal with on the phone.
I definitely would avoid this dealership for service (as noted in other customer reviews) and I personally would not buy another car from them. Really not happy with my car buying experience at Criswell’s. They left me with a brand new car with outstanding issues that will now need to be addressed at another dealership under the direction of Fiat Corporate. I also want to add please notice that for many of their reviews it says at the bottom of the review some phrase to disclose the review was done by a staff member not the actual person buying the car or service. Clever. I wish I had noticed that before purchasing my car there. That explains allot.
Safford Fiat is in Tysons, and Fiat of Alexandria are other options. I would also recommend any car sold at Fitzgerald Auto Mall. You know the commercials. «The Fitzway». They are awesome.

I wanted to trade in my Fiat Pop 500 for a new 2013 Abarth. Tony Goicochea was the person who assisted me when I purchased the 2012 Fiat Pop — which I had to do very quickly in an emergency situation (for me) where we were putting the Chair and Founder of Ashoka on a plane for a trip across India-​Asia-​China and then back through Seattle, but also setting up a dinner with extremely VIP White House staff right before. I had a freak accident with a Smart car I owned striking something metal (that looked like a bumper or something that fell off the rear of a truck) laying across a dimly lit section of 495 right before the American Legion bridge where I was upon this thing before I could possibly avoid hitting it. I didn’t think there was that much damage to the Smart car but it turned out that plastic cars just don’t hold up well when they run into freak things like brush or scrap metal. In any case, I was completely stressed because I HAD NO TIME WHATSOEVER TO DEAL WITH FINDING ANOTHER CAR and I only had the rental for a week with the insurance I had (and I wanted to settle that) — but we were still working literally around the clock to put Mr. Drayton on that plane. I asked a really close friend of mine who has been like my mother for more than a quarter century what car I should think about and quickly explained how impossible the situation was for me. She suggested I go look at Fiat. Sort of similar to a Smart car in terms of green efficiency, safety, etc., but METAL. And — this is IMPORTANT — Italian-​American!; I trust my friend but I still was dreading this whole experience. Tony Goicochea made the entire experience of purchasing a new vehicle absolutely painless, almost effortless, and best of all FAST. Tony can be a bit disarming — because just when you think he isn’t focused on doing his job, he is. He has a winning way of focusing in on people and figuring out where they are coming from and what it is they need and doing it quickly and then matching up what he has to offer with their needs. If he doesn’t know the right answer, he will find it for you or figure out who does. Better: when I deal with Tony, I sense that he really likes the cars he is selling. He loves Fiat. He is enthusiastic about what he has to offer and he can tell you in a word or two why what he has to offer is better than what someone else is offering. He is also a bit like the kid next door — you feel completely comfortable with him. You don’t get the feeling that he’d tell you anything just to sell you the car (in fact, you will be sure he wouldn’t). He is sincere, hard-​working, dedicated, attentive, focused, loyal to his brand, ambitious, and my guess is that he is going to be extremely successful.
Fiat rescued Chrysler a couple of years back. They know own 51 percent of Chrysler Corporation. All Chrysler products are, in one fashion or another, being redesigned to integrate some of the best elements of the Fiat brand. Fiat and its subsidiary companies have been buildings some of the world’s most beautiful cars for decades in Europe. The little-​known truth is that Italy’s number one family is the Agnelli family (not the mafia). Make no mistake about it. This time around, I wanted to upgrade from just the FIAT Pop 500, which was a beautiful car, to the Abarth, which is kind of like the 500 on steroids. Google You Tube Tony Criswell Fiat Abarth and you will find Tony demo-​ing the car. It is really an awesome car with a lot of bang. Once again, Tony came through for me. The only problem we had was with the installation of a new computer system which slowed down the process of actually getting the new vehicle registered. We were there this time a little longer than the original split-​second visit. But we had fun. We made cappuccino. Other Abarth owners came in and told us all about the car. Tony went out of his way to be as helpful as possible and still wait on other people who were arriving to see him.
I would highly recommend that everyone who has even the slightest curiosity about these neat little cars from Fiat (they are not nearly as little as people seem to think), head on over to Gaithersburg and see Tony Goicochea (don’t worry if you cannot pronounce his last name; just as for Tony). Oh, and bring your dog (s)! You will need them for the closing photo session where Tony hands you the key: New Owner-​Dog (s)-Tony with Key. It is an Agnelli family tradition or so I heard.

Great cars and great services.

Irene & Giles made my car shopping experience the bestest ever! Purchased my 500c Lounge Fiat & could not be more happier! Can not express how thankful & appreciative I am for Fiat Gaithersburg! In one word: Perfection!

Tony Goicochea did a great job. My wife loves the car and the sales experience at Fiat of Gaithersburg. Tony moved mountains to get our deal done. No hassle, just fun, efficient and fast. Text, email, mobile and fax. Done in a few easy steps.

I will be the first to admit that I’m a car abuser. No no, I don’t beat my car, or give it low self esteem… instead, I just don’t do any mainteinence. For example, my last car (my beloved Corolla), was 13 years old and only had 11 oil changes. I also drove around for a year without any breaks (that’s what the handbreak is for, right?).
Anyways. Clearly, I run cars to the ground. So it should be no surprise that after driving my current car for almost 6 years, my husband has decided that I need to get a new car before I do something horrible. Heh.
So as we were driving past this place at 5pm on a Sunday, my husband turns to me and says «let’s get you a Fiat!» and pulls into the lot.
I must say, I love small cars, and the Fiats are über adorable. And SO insanely inexpensive! WOW!
At the lot, there was a guy who normally sells the Honda side, because the Fiat side was short. Also, we came 10min before they were closing. However, the guy was kind enough to let us take a Fiat (not the model we wanted though) out for a short test drive.
I must say, the service was great, and the guy was nice on letting doing the test drive so close to closing, but because he normally doesn’t sell Fiats, he couldn’t answer all of our questions… and sadly, if there was a salesperson who was knowledgeable about Fiats, they would have made the quickest sale in history.
Ah well. Their loss. I really want a Prius anyways.