Orphan program

[jrroadking]

I have been (not too) patiently waiting the arrival of my SmartCar for some time now and with a delivery date estimate of Nov 08- Feb 09 that patience is tinged with a bit of disappointment. Now I find that there is an 'Orphan car' program available through my local dealership that offers cars that were delivered to them but not sold. These cars are available to others on the waiting list and sold based on the lowest reservation number. If you choose to keep your own order in force, you can sell back the car to the dealership when your car arrives at something near the price you bought the car. This is the way I understand the program but I am curious if I understand it incorrectly or if anyone else has similar programs at their local dealerships and what their experiences with it have been. Thanks, John

[JPaul]

Orphans are for the Dealerships to do as they see fit, different Dealer, different handling. A lot of orphan's owners around...

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by jrroadking

....'Orphan car' program ...... These cars are available to others on the waiting list and sold based on the lowest reservation number. If you choose to keep your own order in force, you can sell back the car to the dealership when your car arrives at something near the price you bought the car.

just as "jpaul" said, all the cars being delivered to the dealer are property of the dealer until such time as YOU, the reservation holder, PAY for the car. what you do with the car after that is up to you. but as for the 'orphans', these are car in which the reservation holder either cancels their order and asks for their $99 deposit back. at that time, the car continues to be the property of the dealer and they do with it as they please. some dealers do as you mentioned: offer it to the next person on their reservation list OR in some cases, just sell it to the next person walking in the door. there is no 'smartusa' policy on the handling of 'orphans'. in any event, you do NOT 'sell' the car back to the dealer. you would have to actually PURCHASE IT first to do that. some dealers may do that, but i doubt they would give you what you paid for it.

hope that helps......too bad you haven't been on this forum before now. i understand that in some areas 'orphans' are becoming scarce.

Good Luck!

[jrroadking]

I just got off the phone with my local SmartCar dealer who has me on the orphan list and I now have the option to purchase an orphan exactly like the one I ordered or I can ungrade that to a convertable - which at this time of year is a very tempting idea. Either way, by tomorrow this time I may be the proud parent of my very own (as yet unnamed) smarty.

[Rmichael1]

Originally Posted by jrroadking

I just got off the phone with my local SmartCar dealer who has me on the orphan list and I now have the option to purchase an orphan exactly like the one I ordered or I can ungrade that to a convertable - which at this time of year is a very tempting idea. Either way, by tomorrow this time I may be the proud parent of my very own (as yet unnamed) smarty.

That's really exciting. I bet you can't wait. I have a Passion Coupe and I love it but you'll have to ask others about the Cabrio. Looks cool though.

[jefferios]

jrroadking, the decision depends on your location. I cannot give you any advice on your purchase because you location is "Home"...Doesn't help much, lol

[jrroadking]

A couple days have gone by and was too busy to respond. Why? We just received our new Passion Cabriolet - in Red and have been preoccupied. It came to us by way of the local dealer's orphan program (Seattle SmartCar Center). It is a step up from what our oder was but how could we not take the plung in this gorgious summer weather. I hope I feel the same way in December or January - yuk! It was a few rubles more than we were planning to spend but seeing my wife's expression as she drove it home with the top down was priceless and helps soften the financial blow a bit. One thing I did find out about the car that surprised me was that I felt just fine on the freeway with it. There is very little 'small car' feel to it as you are driving or riding in it. More later

[Rmichael1]

Originally Posted by jrroadking

..... There is very little 'small car' feel to it as you are driving or riding in it. More later

I agree, there is very little small car feel to the smart on the highway. Any small car feel I sense is the good stuff! Now, go find a parking space, it's easy!

[Dave Van]

I own a orphan....My dealer, Bobby Rahal Pittsburgh, called me about 3 weeks after I put myself on the list. Best thing I ever did.
Here is my spin on orphans.....
Never pass up a orphan Smart!

[Bum-bling-B]

Now, did they make you take a bunch of "options" installed by them? My parents just got an orphan last weekend - only had to pay for a tint job (substandard tint job at that but we quite a bit away from the dealer )

OH! And congratulations!