making reservations... to or not-to

[2ofForTwo]

So I have convinced a bunch of friends to reserve one of these cars but I have heard that it might be too late to if you want one in the first year.

Does anyone know how the reservations will be dealt with for getting your car?

How can you tell where you are in the list?

Are there any tricks to getting yours first?

[SMART]

Looks like it is still a "smart" idea to make reservations and as of right now... who knows what will really contribute to getting a smart car before anyone else!

[Dr. VDH]

I have not ordered yet as I want to drive it first then see when I can get an all electric one.

[tlstc1@chartermi.net]

any idea when we might here something about our reservation? Put the 99$ in March..

[jcapps]

tlstc1-
I made my reservation in May, and received an email immediately from Smart telling me that I would be contacted in the Fall of 2007, by a new Smart dealer. At that point, I will have the option of retracting my reservation or changing any specs that might be changeable. I will also be informed where and when my Smart will be available. This is all according the the email from Smart.

We will see how it goes when Fall finally gets here. Did you not receive one of these emails? Which website did you make your reservation with? I went to Smart's main US site: www.smartusa.com

[rtekgroup]

Originally Posted by 2ofForTwo

So I have convinced a bunch of friends to reserve one of these cars but I have heard that it might be too late to if you want one in the first year.

Does anyone know how the reservations will be dealt with for getting your car?

How can you tell where you are in the list?

Are there any tricks to getting yours first?

I seriously doubt that even half of the people that have made deposits will get a car the first year. I have a friend who works for the EPA and he claims that they have not even completed testing of the cars to meet US standards and with the normal time line it takes, it will be at least next June before they can even begin importing cars. Penske has pushed alot of hype in getting people to pay deposits for a car that may not even come before mid 2008 or later. He also has not even reached an agreement with Damler on the dealers. Daimler wants more dealers in more areas and he refuses so Daimler is tyring to set up thier own dealer network to sell the cars and if that happens then Penske will lose his deal with them. When fully researched, this whole deal is shaky and United group has collected and making interest on a lot of customer money.

[SmartSometimes]

I've made my reservation after thinking about it long and hard. I realize that there's no guarantee it will make a difference, but its only $99 and you can get it back if you want.

If the $99 bumps me up the queue a little then that will be fine. I've been through this long wait for a car thing before. Anybody remember when the PT Cruiser first hit the market? It was a 6 - 9 month waiting list when they first hit the market, so it's nothing new.

I also think it depends on where you live. If you're in California then you can pretty much guarantee there will be a long waiting list, but if you want one of these cars regardless of where you are you will need to be patient.

[smartcar]

I agree on the making the reservation comment by SmartSometimes and encourage everyone to make reservations...

I hope they will make the cars quicker and better with additional reservations ;)

[SMART]

Originally Posted by 2ofForTwo

So I have convinced a bunch of friends to reserve one of these cars but I have heard that it might be too late to if you want one in the first year.

Does anyone know how the reservations will be dealt with for getting your car?

How can you tell where you are in the list?

Are there any tricks to getting yours first?

2offortwo, have you influenced any of your friends to reserve a smart? What are their concerns? Are they shopping for cars currently?

[teapots]

Hi Everyone

I received my invitation for Chandler, Arizona and had my test drive. I also talked to the Smart Car Reps. Since this is a News & Rumors Forum I thought I woul pass along what I found out.

IT IS A GOOD THING TO RESERVE !

Rumor was that only 16000 cars would be delivered. Yesterday, I was told that they are going to try to make every effort to fulfill not only the 16000 but also anyone else that has reserved a vehicle. They are also looking at the different areas where the reservations are coming in from to determine were the dealerships will be (i.e. if there are 5 reservations in one city but in the neighboring city there are 25, then the one will 25 will get the dealership. (Pleased not go by my numbers of 5/25 because I was only using them as an example.)

Teapots