Some surprising (and upsetting) news today...

[T12121]

Originally Posted by fmaxwell

I would have preferred that they make the warranty longer and raised the price a bit. The exceptionally long waiting lists for the cars shows that there was more than a little upwards adjustment room on the price.

Now we're fighting the perception that these are toys rather than serious transportation. That affects resale as does the expired-in-two warranty.

Why not just purchase the extended warranty then. Why would they raise the price on something that not everyone would want. I know at least mine is fully transferable.

Just my 1 cent (use to be 2 cents but budget cutbacks ya know )
tom1

[MPrice2984]

I've owned quite a few cars that have been maligned as being 'unreliable' that I have never had problems with: 1972 Renault 15 (135,000 miles in 2 years), 1986 Chev Sprint turbo (70k in 2 years), 3 Hyundai's (as high as 200k miles) none have have any problems. My smart has almost 14k in 6 months and NO problems. I have had cars that have had great reputations (1994 Cutlass, 1984 Chev Celebrity, 1997 Ford Contour LXV6) all spent an inordinate amount of time in the shop. The Cutlass didn't become reliable until it hit 100k miles and the other two were never reliable. I place little value in most major surveys or automotive writer opinions. smart had a pretty good reputation with the dreck Mercedes drive train, I expect little trouble with the Mitsu powered cars.

[rawlus®]

Originally Posted by T12121

Why not just purchase the extended warranty then. Why would they raise the price on something that not everyone would want. I know at least mine is fully transferable.

Just my 1 cent (use to be 2 cents but budget cutbacks ya know )
tom1

prob because the extended warranty isn't a warranty at all.
to me a warranty means, that if there is a defect in materials or workmanship, the manufacturer will repair or replace at no charge... that is not what you get in the "extended warranty" from smart. what smart is selling is a pre-paid service contract. you pay your $1000 or whatever towards anticipated future repairs... if you end up requiring repairs, you pay another per-incident fee on top of that. if you end up not requiring repairs for the duration of the contract, you lose your pre-payment.
that's not a warranty.

[JimDantin]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

prob because the extended warranty isn't a warranty at all.
to me a warranty means, that if there is a defect in materials or workmanship, the manufacturer will repair or replace at no charge... that is not what you get in the "extended warranty" from smart. what smart is selling is a pre-paid service contract. you pay your $1000 or whatever towards anticipated future repairs... if you end up requiring repairs, you pay another per-incident fee on top of that. if you end up not requiring repairs for the duration of the contract, you lose your pre-payment.
that's not a warranty.

You got it!

I bought our two smarts knowing there was only a short "warranty". I will wait until near the end of the grace period to evaluate the reliability and see what common problems develop. At that time, I'll decide on the value of the service contract -- I view it like insurance.

[fmaxwell]

Originally Posted by T12121

Why not just purchase the extended warranty then.

Because I don't need it. If something breaks, I can afford to fix it.

Originally Posted by T12121

Why would they raise the price on something that not everyone would want.

Because many people think that a short warranty means an unreliable item. That lowers the resale. I want a long warranty to be included with the vehicle to raise the perceived value and resale. Any warranty not included has little value to me and adds little to the resale.

The potential buyer for my car is potentially thinking "it's so unreliable that the factory only warrants it for two years and the guy who's selling it to me was so concerned about the reliability that he paid out-of-pocket for a longer warranty."

[Padawan]

Hate to interrupt the extended warranty discussion, but I thought I'd provide an update on All Ball.

I got a call this afternoon that the parts where on and the car was being aligned. About 2 hours later, I got another call. Unfortunately, it wasn't to let me know my car was ready. It turns out that the other side is slightly out of spec now, so more parts need to be ordered.

Needless to say, All Ball won't be home anytime soon. I asked the manager to make sure the techs inspect the rear suspension and go over the rest of the car to make sure there isn't anything else amiss. Now that I've learned both front sides have issues, I'm beginning to fear that something more serious may have happened to All Ball before delivery.

[WilyB]

Just a quick question: Would ou rather own shares of Renault or Peugeot, or GM or Chrysler today?

My Feb., 2009 smart had a battery problem that was probably due to an after market battery charger I installed II changed it and the problem disappeared). The fact that the smart is driven less than 200 miles per month did not help the battery either.

Now I am going to post a new thread about the lowest mileage smart in the US!

[Padawan]

And finally All Ball is home! :woohoo

I picked him up at lunch today, and everything is great. He no longer wanders in his freeway lane, and the steering wheel is perfectly straight. The transmission checked out as normal, and they even gave him a bath before I got there.

I am extremely pleased with the service that Mike and the entire team at smart center Englewood (Englewood, NJ) provided throughout this whole ordeal. Since I began my relationship with them after purchasing my orphan elsewhere, they have always treated with respect and courtesy.

If anyone lives in the tri-state area and is looking for a place to purchase or service their smart, be sure to give Englewood a try.