When will the reservation system be declared dead???

[Mousecat]

Sometimes things are broke on purpose. Think of it this way - what is the best way for your new dealership to make a few extra bucks on a low mark up item? Find a way to allow them to charge a premium. The early adopters got the excitement rolling and this created a perception of smart being a winner. Now you milk the excitement for all that it is worth until the next thing comes along. This orphan business is actually a benefit to the dealers to cover thier investment. I know that my dealer was encouraging me to get a refund or go to a different dealer (1183 and still waiting) becasue he didn't want to deal with a frustrated customer. Too many laydowns. Why bother.

The system isn't broke. It is just not designed to benefit the early deposit holders. It works just fine for who really matters.

[Jimbo]

September? I reserved in JULY! and am still waiting to configure...If you go back and look at the statement on the Smart website, it says (Word for word!!!) "Access to the smart USA Reservation Confirmation Program is granted based on the date of your reservation." If that is true then why do I see people that reserved 221 days after I did get to confirm their reservations? Answer: Because it is a lie.

[karltrev]

Originally Posted by chieftmc

The "reservation" system and the "orphan" list is apples and oranges! One has NOTHING to do with the other! The reservation system is fine; it you don't want to wait, then don't; but quit crying!

I like both apples and oranges. I see that you reserved in Jan, so my suggestion of stopping the reservation system for a while was not well recieved. I will take your advice and stop crying.

[SnakeFarm]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

September? I reserved in JULY! and am still waiting to configure...If you go back and look at the statement on the Smart website, it says (Word for word!!!) "Access to the smart USA Reservation Confirmation Program is granted based on the date of your reservation." If that is true then why do I see people that reserved 221 days after I did get to confirm their reservations? Answer: Because it is a lie.

DANG! according to the sunshine police you must be very lucky indeed to live in the highest demand area of the entire USA! OMAHA? WTH?

What, are they... the only dealer for the wole midwest or something? And July? Now that's just wrong. "Glitches" and "Load Balancing" might account for a few weeks difference but not SEVEN MONTHS! That is criminal stupidity.

Oh, for crying out loud.

[SnakeFarm]

Originally Posted by chieftmc

The "reservation" system and the "orphan" list is apples and oranges! One has NOTHING to do with the other! The reservation system is fine; it you don't want to wait, then don't; but quit crying!

MOST of the time when people say the "comparing apples and oranges' thing, what they mean is that the two items have something deceptive in common that obscures an important difference. In the case of these fruits, maybe it is their roundness or the fact that they are both red . Maybe it is because they are both found on trees or that you probably could shove six of them up a buffaloes arse, I don't know but the point of the saying is that the thing they have in common is not germane to the issue at hand.

In the case of the orpahn list and the reservation system, the only thing the two have in common actually IS germane to the issue at hand, namely, the order in which people receive smart fortwos in the USofA.

I don’t really care for the saying because it is usually misused to mean that things don’t have anything at all in common and sometimes they even say “…blah blah blah is apples and oranges… THEY DON”T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACHOTHER… blah blah blah…" In this case that would be extra wrong because the system and the list are both about who gets one of these cute little cars here sugar pig.

[JusNameMe]

Originally Posted by SnakeFarm

sugar pig.

ROFL THAT is one of the sweetest things I have ever heard

[tumblindice]

I reserved in October and my estimated delivery according to the Smart Website is June of 2009. I have to get my car from the Omaha dealer

[Winnetou]

It is important to distinguish between demand per unit area and demand per dealership. Demand per unit area may be low in the mid-North-West of the country, but that area is vast—and it is served by but a few dealerships located around its periphery. Amongst them is the Nebraska dealership. Demand in its immediate region is likely far lower than in the case of Southern California, for example. But this dealership must serve a very large area, meaning that the demand it must meet may be comparatively high.

I think that smart USA have likely underestimated demand in the mid-North-West.

[SPDYII]

I know that the people that participate in this forum are only a small part of the smartcar owners but it seem to me that in the last month or so there have been more people getting orphans then cars that they reserved. Am I the only one that is concerned about this? Does smart USA think that this is a success? Do people forget that every orphan is a canceled reservation? Has smart USA looked into why their are so many orphans? I restate my original question: "When will the reservation system be declared dead"?

[SPDYII]

I'm sorry but I'm not done yet. A year ago if you wanted a smartcar you were advised to get a reservation and wait. Now one year later if you really want a smartcar you go to the dealer and get a smartcar. You don't get on a reservation list and wait 18 months or more. There is no reason to get on a reservation list although they still tell you, you should. Do people on the reservation list realize that the more orphans are sold the longer they will have to wait for their smartcar? This orphan business is self-perpetuating. Now a lot of people that have reservations are getting orphans. Some of them have already confirmed. So they are creating more orphans. This car buying experience was suppose to be different. You were suppose to get in line and their was to be no cutting. What were they thinking? That never happens. This quickly turning into the same old car buying experience. People had hope that Penske would be able to pull this off. Apparently not. From what I can tell they have just let dealers run amok. They can demand any amount for deposits on orphans, they can add anything to the cars (there by charging anything they want). They can put anyone on the orphan list. They can use the orphan list or not. They can sell the cars to walk-ins. They can give the cars away if they choose. I know that this is boring to people that already have their cars. Once they get their cars they seem to forget about all this, but if smart is to have a future in the USA they have somethings they need to fix with their system of sales. OK, I'll get off my soapbox for now. I feel a little better. Now the Rah Rah crowd can go to work. If you will notice most of this crowd has their smart already.