Maintenance - What if you live miles away from the nearest dealer?

[Old smart]

For the first two years it will go back to the dealer at their expense and be repaired at their expense. I haven't heard definitively if they will return it to you at their expense though.

Some time back I swapped email with Ken Kettenbeil about the possibility of providing extended "smart 1" *** coverage after the two years runs out. He was enthusiastic about the idea and said he would push it up the line (Schembri and I guess Penske), but I haven't heard any more about it.

*** "smart 1" coverage is the transportation of a disabled smart back to the dealer for repair.

[Robbie51]

Originally Posted by Old smart

For the first two years it will go back to the dealer at their expense and be repaired at their expense. I haven't heard definitively if they will return it to you at their expense though.

Some time back I swapped email with Ken Kettenbeil about the possibility of providing extended "smart 1" *** coverage after the two years runs out. He was enthusiastic about the idea and said he would push it up the line (Schembri and I guess Penske), but I haven't heard any more about it.

*** "smart 1" coverage is the transportation of a disabled smart back to the dealer for repair.

i guess what i was hoping for was them to treat it like insurance companies do, so to speak. you need maintenance and live hours away, then all they do is pre-approve of the mechanic. i need two vehicles and if this one needs maintenance and needs to be shipped hours way then i'll be without a car for how many days? i hope they come out with a system that better helps those of us who are far away until they get more dealers established in the future.

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by Robbie51

i guess what im worried about is when i get my car home, (which is a few 100 miles away) what if something goes wrong...for example the a/c goes out for no apparent reason. what the heck do i do??? will they let me get it fixed here in town with a mechanic who is pre-appoved by them, (maybe MB) or am i just screwed and have to bring it back to smart if i dont want to pay for the work???

The likelyhood of having "pre-approved" non-smart mechanics is remote I would think. No other car company does it as far as I'm aware of? (Maybe there is some benefit of having only a 2/24,000 warranty after all?)

[Robbie51]

Originally Posted by SmartCard

The likelyhood of having "pre-approved" non-smart mechanics is remote I would think. No other car company does it as far as I'm aware of? (Maybe there is some benefit of having only a 2/24,000 warranty after all?)

i prefer smart to work on any problems, (hopefully there will be none).the simplest thing to do really is to just let MB dealers in the area handle it. why waist money on shipping a car miles away when you have an MB dealer right down the road?

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by Robbie51

i prefer smart to work on any problems, (hopefully there will be none).the simplest thing to do really is to just let MB dealers in the area handle it. why waist money on shipping a car miles away when you have an MB dealer right down the road?

That would be nice, I hoped for the same with MINI and BMW, but no dice.
I wonder how restrictive they are in Canada, can any MB dealership service a Smart?.....here's a little snippet from the owners manual:

"The Service Booklet describes all the necessary maintenance work which should be performed at regular intervals. It is important that you service your vehicle in accordance with the prescribed maintenance schedule. Failure to do so may render your vehicle unsafe, it may affect the durability of the vehicle, and it may otherwise void the limited, express warranty.Always have the Service Booklet with you when you take the vehicle to your authorized smart center for service. The service advisor will record each service in the booklet for you."

However this paragragh presumably only pertains to Canada as the US does not have a service booklet. (the US gets a maintenance/warranty booklet while Canada gets the service/warranty booklet)

[Robbie51]

i guess we'll just have to wait and see. hopefully there is someone out there that has been through this and can shed a little light on the subject.

[anthony94114]

I've had a lot of problems with my smart in the few weeks I've had it, but fortunately I live within walking distance from my dealer (phew!!). I will add though, that they have been exceedingly nice. Perhaps the dealers are trained -or are by nature, quite accommodating and totally great. Better now to establish a friendly phone-relationship with the service manager to manage expectations.

[spdickey]

For 24 hour FREE roadside assistance ANYWHERE in the USA call 1-800-SMART-USA for SMART 1.

[tverb]

Originally Posted by tverb

Received a computer generated "1st Scheduled Maintenance" from Mercedes Benz of Cherry Hill in Saturday mail. It doesn't refer to smart. I'll call Monday to see if my three month old smart is really due for service. The manual says first service at 10,000 miles or one year.
My opinion: An oil change wouldn't be a bad idea.
My question: "Does a Mercedes really require service three months after purchase?"

Spoke to Dan in Service at smart/MB of Cherry Hill NJ this AM.
First service due at one year or 10K miles for smart.
No need for a "Break-in" oil change with synthetic oil.
[Message was computer generated by MB].