new with questions....

[Nance]

Hello, I'm Nance and live in the Orlando, FL area. I ordered/reserved my Smart in Sept.2008. The estimated delivery date has changed several times, but is currently Sept/Nov2009. Seems like I've been waiting forever. The orphans are very tempting. Hope you don't mind a few questions. How long after reserving did you get your car? Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Have you taken any long road trips? Have you had a flat tire? Do you carry a spare tire in back? I look forward to meeting everyone and hearing about their Smart car experiences.

Nance

[jwight]

Hi and welcome; great questions. There are a lot of folks in Florida who can probably help you out. Took 11 months for our car to arrive, although the DDE originally predicted 18 months. Dealer contact by both e-mail and phone. No financing for us, but most people recommend a credit union vs. financing offered by smart. Paddles seem to be a personal preference - some like them, some don't. Oil & filter, air filter, and cabin air filter can be changed by the owner or an independent shop, although you'll probably have to supply the parts. No impact on the warranty, just document the work done. Couple of long road trips - the car did fine. No flats, no spare. Hope this helps.

[smark]

I had mine since August 2008. Ordered it early Feb 2008. (99.00 down, Oct 2007.) Any bank will give you a loan. Shop around. No spare tire, no flat so far. Can get the oil changed anywhere. Its just a car. Been on couple road trips in it. Not a real road car. After 3 hours, my wife and I couldn't wait to get out of it. Great for going to work. The dealer called when it came in.

I use the gear shifter, to shift. Paddle aren't great when turning corners. Ok in stop and go traffic.

[Suze]

Hi and welcome. Great questions and you'll probably find there are as many answers are there are forum members.



Here's my .02~

How long after reserving did you get your car? I adopted an orphan 5 months after reserving, but my reserved car came 13 months after ordering – I orphaned it.
Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? Phone.
Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? No
Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? Not really. I drove in manual in the beginning and then used the stick in turns for a while – still do sometimes. The paddles are great fun - I use my pinkies!
Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Yes and I don’t think so as long as you keep records.
Have you taken any long road trips? Yes! 1500~ miles round trip Portland to San Francisco. And 500~ Portland to Boise.
Have you had a flat tire? No.
Do you carry a spare tire in back? I don’t, but am considering it before my next road trip (about 4000~5000 miles)

Background: I originally reserved in Sep 07 and adopted a silver/silver passion in Feb 08. I “swatched” the panels to red in July 08 and just yesterday, I “swatched” again to custom pink! For road trips, I recommend after market cruise control, which I didn’t get till after my SF trip.

Cheers and Happy driving!
.

Suze

[Bill Marshall]

Originally Posted by Nance

Hello, I'm Nance and live in the Orlando, FL area. I ordered/reserved my Smart in Sept.2008. The estimated delivery date has changed several times, but is currently Sept/Nov2009. Seems like I've been waiting forever. The orphans are very tempting. Hope you don't mind a few questions. How long after reserving did you get your car? Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Have you taken any long road trips? Have you had a flat tire? Do you carry a spare tire in back? I look forward to meeting everyone and hearing about their Smart car experiences.

Nance

I ordered my fortwo in December, 2008 & purchased an orphan a few weeks later in January, 2009. With so many orphans sitting in dealer showrooms & more coming in all the time as the economy forces people to change purchasing decisions, I don't know why anyone would wait an extended peiord for their custom choice these days. There's got to be one for you already in a showroom.

I did not use dealer financing. Anyone can change oil & a filter. However, I don't think that's what you're paying for when you go for a service. You're paying for someone who is familiar with the desion, mechanics, & history of your particular brand of car to catch things before they go wrong & cause you to breakdown at a time & place that's not of your choosing. You're paying for their time & inowledge. Someone who does a cheap oil change can't do the kind of inspection that would be most beneficial to you.

I don't carry a spare tire, but I think it's probably a good idea. I'm depending on roadside assitance right now. I have taken relatively long out-of-state trips - 500 miles round trip & everything was fine.

[mvaldes]

Welcome to the forums. I'm "borrowing" Suze's format to use for my answers to your questions:
How long after reserving did you get your car? I adopted an orphan 7 months after reserving, but my reserved car came 10 months after ordering – I arranged for a friend to buy it.
Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? .email
Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? No
Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? Not really. I drove in manual in the beginning and then used the stick in turns for a while – still do sometimes, but mostly use "D"
Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Yes, it's easy to do, even with the car on the ground. If you keep good records & receipts, it shouldn't effect your warranty.
Have you taken any long road trips? My wife and I drive it to our weekend house which is about 100 miles. While that's not that long, it's certainly fine for at least that distance. Personally, I don't think I'd like to drive it across the country, but I never have liked driving across the country.
Have you had a flat tire? No.
Do you carry a spare tire in back? Yes. I was happy with the Nealy kit unitl we started driving it up to the country. There are no Smart dealerships when you get into the countryside around our weekend place so we got one from tire rack rather than chance getting stranded.

It's a great car to drive and tons of fun to play with and customize to your liking. I haven't swapped panels like Suze, but I've added lots of trim details and a number of "functional" mods. When you get yours, I'd suggest you have your dealer upgrade your horn at least to the Smart OEM fanfare one. The stock horn is OK for city use, but if you'll be out on the highway, I have serious doubts that it would be heard when you needed it to get someone's attention.

[futuresmartgirl]

Welcome! I am loving this car. I have about 1500 miles since Jan 24, no problems.

How long after reserving did you get your car? 5 months
Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? Phone & email
Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? I shopped around on line and found a better rate than the rate the dealer offered - Bank of America - dealer offered 6.99% 60 months.

Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? no problem but I prefer the auto mode.

Have you taken any long road trips? not more than about 100 miles round trip - no problems

Do you carry a spare tire in back? no

[bigcritter]

How long after reserving did you get your car? It was about 1 year from the time I reserved until I picked my car up.....9 May 08.
Did the dealer contact you by phone or email when the car was delivered? Phone, but I already knew that it was there, because I'd been tracking the ship! :>) Don't ask me how I did it, though, because I couldn't give you any even remember the website address or other information.
Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? Financing was arranged through the smartcenter with Bank of America, and they were able to get me a better rate than I could get at my credit union; which was already a really good rate! :>)
Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? No. I actually (mostly) drive in "Drive" when I first got my car. I switched it up every once-in-awhile, but mostly in Drive! The paddles are easy to get use to, though. BTW, you'll read complaints about (+) paddle being in the wrong position when you're starting out & turning at an intersection, but if you keep your hands at "10 & 2", the plus paddle will be right where you need it! :>)
Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Yes, but I just took my car in for it's first service at 10,000 miles, and they changed the oil, oil filter, cabin air filter, rotated the tires (opposite sides only, for obvious reasons!), lubed my shifter (and would have replaced it, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"; upgraded my transmission software to the '09 version, replaced my battery with a heavier/more powerful one, changed my driver side door panel due to a TINY spot that wasn't painted on the trailing edge & replace the Chip Guard protection; checked the engine & system for any problems or trouble codes; vacuumed the interior & washed the car. Out the door cost for all this service...... $183 & change!
Have you taken any long road trips? Well, the longest trip so far would be from Olympia, WA to Prosser, WA....about 3 1/2 hrs. each way, and it was VERY comfortable..... even for my size!!! Plus, my wife was very comfortable also, and didn't get car sick, which can be a real problem for her in some vehicles! For those that say this car isn't good for road trips, I would REALLY have to disagree!!
Have you had a flat tire? No.
Do you carry a spare tire in back? I don't. Instead I keep a "Plug Kit", along with a pair of pliers for pulling screws/nails out, along with a plastic bottle of soapy water (for finding the hole), and some rags/cloths! If I ever have a traditional flat, I think I'll be alright. If it's some sort of dynamic failure........well, then I'm screwed! :>) Before I took any real long road trips, I would probably join AAA, or buy the Tire Coverage Insurance, which is awfully expensive.

Background: I first saw a fortwo in Vancouver, B.C. in March of 2006 while we were up there celebrating my 50th. It was love at first sight. I had to have one! So I got on the smart insider list, and as soon as the opportunity to reserve one became available..... I DID!! :>) I STILL love it!!!

Marty

[schefao]

welcome to SCOA and congrats!

How long after reserving did you get your car? i got an orphan 10 months after reserving mine. the dealership has sooooooo many they are running out of parking spaces! visit your dealer and ask them, no need to wait.

Did you secure financing with Smart or another source? my credit union quoted a 3% rate and i love giving them my business. i COD'ed my smart right out of the dealer, though.

Did anyone have problems getting used to the "paddles" and driving their new Smart car? i got a great demo on the paddle shifting, et al, on the day i took it home and it made all the difference! i'm driving D for the first 1K, then trying the manual for mileage comparison...

Can the oil and filter be changed elsewhere (by you or another shop) instead of the dealer shop and does that effect the warranty? Yes but i will be taking it to the dealer for the 10K check-up since they are less than two miles from my home. after that i will do most of the work myself and supervised by the father-in-law and keep records.

Have you taken any long road trips? no. this one is the run-around-town
&-do-errands/grocery shopping car. but we will be taking it to hampton roads in the near future, a two and a half hour trek. it is VERY comfortable to drive.

Have you had a flat tire? No.

Do you carry a spare tire in back? no, i have most dealership's addresses in my phone for easy access in the just-in-case-dept. but if i were to take a very long trip on unknown roads i would carry one.

hope this helps and go talk to some smart people in person. they might even let you look around and choose one VERY close to what you ordered... that's how i got my lenny!

[dianeg]

I put my $99 down and 12 months later was called by the dlr that the car was in. i got financing at another source. I didnt take an orphan b/cuz at that time there weren't any. I have yellow panels on mine & am glad I stuck w/them ... now that they're not available for the new ones. I don't have the shift paddles - mine is a pure. I've not had a flat, nor do I carry a spare. The longest trip I've made is about 60 miles from home. I had no troubles on the trip -- just lots of stares, etc. Have had mine now since Jun 08, have approx 3800 miles on it. haven't changed the oil yet. the dlrship said the first oil change isn't necessary til 10K miles.

Welcome to the community!!