I don't understand the uproar over the dealer charges. Most thinking adults would KNOW that this was going to happen. One good reason is this forum. For months everyone has been breathlessly awaiting ANY information on their new little arrival. Has the ship docked yet? Oh look, I just saw a picture of my yellow and black in line with all of the others.
The dealers can get on here as easily as anyone else and they have seen frenzy that has been generated by US!
Now it doesn't take too much imagination to figure out that SOME dealers are sitting back and saying to themselves that they are going to cash in on this.
There is at least one poster on this forum willing to buy anything he can get his hands on, from anywhere in the country. That right there says a lot about how much some people are willing to do to get a smart.
If you just HAVE to be the first on your block to own a smart so that you can be guaranteed a feature story on the six o'clock news then jump in with both feet. Keep phoning the dealer to find out if the car carrier has finished his lunch break and is back on I-95. Let them know that $400, $500, $600 is not too much to pay for that car wash and those cute paper floor mats.
Nuff said.
i don't care about being the first to get my car. don't get me wrong, i want my car just like everybody else but i actually could pass on all of the attention it will certainly garner until the novelty wears off.
that said, you need to realize that these fees being charged in FL are not new to the Smart, nor are they exclusive to the Smart. like the dealers say, you pay that on any brand of car they sell. so the fact that the Smart car is the new must-have has nothing to do with the fees. you will pay that fee tomorrow and you will pay it 2 years from now, even after demand is met for the car unless your lazy-ass politicians do something about it.
the thing we all need to remember, is that no matter how hard they may try to convince you, car dealers are not in business to be your friend. they are in business to take your money. that's it. i live in SD. i've purchased over $260,000 in vehicles from one Audi dealer (as well as a Porsche from the same owner-different location). last Nov when i decided i wanted to buy a new S5, i called the dealer and asked them what discount i could get with my past business. his answer was simple: zero. zip. nada. sorry. go fish. i did go fishing and went to TX to buy the car. all i was looking for was some sort of recognition. even $100 off. anything. nothing. they lost a good customer. i won't buy another vehicle from any of their dealerships ever again. the company is called "Hoehn".
bmx43, what if your dealer was charging the outrageous fees, would you be shopping in Texas for your smart? No, and why not? Because your car has been assigned to a specific dealer and you have to deal with him. They know that you are trapped and will pay whatever you have to to get your smart. I imagine it would go something like this; "Look pal, I don't care if you think our prep fee is too high, you pay up or step aside and let orphan beggar to the front of the line."
Not having any options is the rub in all this.
Yep, that sucks. But in other transactions you do get to deal on the price. Perhaps you can deal on something else, like some t-shirts or a smart coffee mug thrown in.
I love your fatalism, Ared. You are resigned to pay these outrageous fees.
Virtually every car dealer in Florida adds a charge to the price of the cars he sells, variously referred to as a “dealer fee”, “documentary fee”, “dealer prep fee”, etc. This extra charge is printed on your buyer’s orders and is programmed into your computers. It has been made illegal in many states including California. You charge this fee to every customer and it ranges from a few hundred dollars to nearly a thousand. Florida law requires that, if you charge a dealer fee to any customer, you must charge all customers. It also requires that you disclose in writing on the buyer’s order that this charge represents profit to the dealer. Florida law also requires that you include this fee in all advertised prices. You don’t always do this and you get around the law by limiting the number of advertised vehicles (as few as one).
Now if these smart dealers are indeed new dealers, then they don't have to charge anyone the fee since once they start, they have to charge everybody, by law (guess who got that part passed the legislature). I would still complain to smart USA about the practice.
Fatalism maybe, but I will not pay the fee. In fact, I'm seriously looking at the Toyota Prius due out at the end of this year. It is reported to get 80 mpg city. My fascination with the smart is beginning to wane along with it's reported mileage figures. I will restate what I have said before; I am looking for a daily driver with HIGH mpg. and I thought the smart would be it. Well, maybe not.
I would really love to have one. I want one but I have enough toys. I will continue to research all of my options between now and the dealer phone call. This latest fiasco concerning prep fees is just one more nail in the coffin, as far as I am concerned. And be assured that when I do get the call from the dealer I will definitely be asking about ALL fees.
bmx43, what if your dealer was charging the outrageous fees, would you be shopping in Texas for your smart? No, and why not? Because your car has been assigned to a specific dealer and you have to deal with him. They know that you are trapped and will pay whatever you have to to get your smart. I imagine it would go something like this; "Look pal, I don't care if you think our prep fee is too high, you pay up or step aside and let orphan beggar to the front of the line."
Not having any options is the rub in all this.
dude, i'm on your side. to be totally honest, i would raise a major issue about this with SmartUSA since you have no choice where to make the purchase. i had that choice and took my business out of state to TX. you don't have that liberty. i have a hunch this isn't over. this big fee on this little car has the potential to rattle some cages. in theory, you are being "forced" into paying the fee. there might be some legal issues here since you had no choice to take your business elsewhere.
i had no idea how far out of control some of these fees have gotten. it's been a while since i've purchased a car anywhere but CA (except for the recent one in TX).
i would rather deliver the car to Georgia and pay a transporter to bring the car back than give that shady-ass FL dealer those outrageous fees. i'm a principal person though. fight the power!
i would rather deliver the car to Georgia and pay a transporter to bring the car back than give that shady-ass FL dealer those outrageous fees. i'm a principal person though. fight the power!
I am with you there, I can fly to Los Angeles and drive my smart back to AZ for less than the $400 that the dealer here wants for document fees.
Somehow I don't see PAG cooperating with the mass exodus of cars from certain dealers to other dealers within the network. It would certainly send a message though.
Somehow I don't see PAG cooperating with the mass exodus of cars from certain dealers to other dealers within the network. It would certainly send a message though.
Does anyone who configured know, can you select a zip code for delivery other than the one you originally registered? If this is the case, it really wouldn't be a mass exodus as my local dealer would have never been selected to receive the car anyway.
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