Dealerships - Rather Lack Of

[teapots]

Well, reality is starting to set in...

I have been researching to see if Tucson, AZ will be getting a dealership. I have stopped in, phoned, checked websites and even contacted the Penske rental sites here in Tucson. As of right now I don't think we will have one.

The Mercedes Benz dealership in Chandler (where the road show stopped) said they are still waiting word, but it looks like they will be the dealershlip for the "State of Arizona".

The dealership even has a Smart Car rep that you can talk to but she is not saying much until more infor comes down the pipe line.

The big question is warranty issues...how will that be handled?

Teapots

[alejake]

Don't need no stinkin' warranty . . . . just put it up on your shoulder and burp the small baby!!

[SmartAmerica]

This is the list of the Penske Groups dealers in State of Arizona.

Did you know that Penske has been selling smart cars for several years and owns 8 dealerships in Puerto Rico and it is possible they will not get a dealer? But keep an eye on Triangle Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Honda a few miles from San Juan, if they come!

I'm sure one or two of these will be selling the cars.

Acura North Scottsdale
Audi North Scottsdale
BMW North Scottsdale
Jaguar North Scottsdale
Jaguar Scottsdale
Land Rover North Scottsdale
Land Rover Scottsdale
Lexus of Chandler
Mercedes-Benz of Chandler
MINI North Scottsdale
Porsche North Scottsdale
Rolls-Royce Scottsdale
Scottsdale Aston Martin
Scottsdale Audi
Scottsdale Bentley
Scottsdale Ferrari Maserati
Scottsdale Lexus
Tempe Honda
Volkswagen North Scottsdale
Volvo North Scottsdale

[teapots]

Thanks SmartAmerica

Nothing against Scottsdale & Chandler but they are still in the Phoenix area...approximately 100 miles from where I live.

Teapots

[SmartCard]

I know how you feel Teapots.....keeping my fingers crossed that Louisville gets a dealership - then Kentucky will be lucky to land just one as well. Of course it only adds salt to the wound to think California might get 10 or so!

Second choices would be Indianapolis or Cincinnati, both about 100 miles away. My MINI I puchased from Cincy and warranty and service have not been too bad (fortunately no major issues) so about once a year I go up there for service and have any warranty issues taken care of at the same time. So it hasn't been too bad. Of course, I've known other MINI owners in town who have had major problems (non-drivable) and then the distance becomes a problem. MINI is good about their warranty work however, and will send and pay for a flat bed truck to fetch the broken down MINI. How Smart will handle warranty problems is a mystery at this point, so I would feel more comfortable to have the Smart dealer here in town.

[SmartAmerica]

No Penske dealers, that I'm aware of in Kentucty.

TENNESSEE

Landers Ford of Memphis
Wolfchase Toyota-Scion

INDIANA

Penske Chevrolet
Penske Honda

Not to say there will not be a store a few miles away. If your on the list and do get offered a car it should not be a problem.

[lhoboy]

Originally Posted by teapots

Thanks SmartAmerica

Nothing against Scottsdale & Chandler but they are still in the Phoenix area...approximately 100 miles from where I live.

Teapots

After being in the US market for over 5 years, MINI is still forcing thousands of its customers to travel over a hundred miles to the nearest dealership for warranty work. In the DC area, I'm fortunate to have 2 MINI dealers to choose from, both over 30 miles away. I'm even more fortunate that the local SmartCar dealer is only 20 miles away out in the exurbs.

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by SmartAmerica

No Penske dealers, that I'm aware of in Kentucty.

TENNESSEE

Landers Ford of Memphis
Wolfchase Toyota-Scion

INDIANA

Penske Chevrolet
Penske Honda

Not to say there will not be a store a few miles away. If your on the list and do get offered a car it should not be a problem.

Yes, that's one of the first things I checked (going to PAG's website) to see if there was a Penske dealer in the area. Forutnately, it is my understanding that it is not a requirement that the new Smart dealer be at an existing Penske site.

[teapots]

Originally Posted by SmartCard

Yes, that's one of the first things I checked (going to PAG's website) to see if there was a Penske dealer in the area. Forutnately, it is my understanding that it is not a requirement that the new Smart dealer be at an existing Penske site.

I have even gone so far as to check out sites that would be good for a Smart Car dealership. As soon as I would see activity going on, I would jump on it and start calling. Just to be let down again....again....and again.

Today, I had a call back from a message that I left over a week ago. I knew it was a "no" already but when the man on the other end of the phone said he didn't know what a Smart Car was I knew I could take that site off my list.

By the way, I have found some pretty good locations. Too bad I don't have the money for my own dealership. Then I could be surrounded by Smart Cars all day long.

Teapots

[MicroNut]

Picked this up on Google:

"Sam Swope Auto Group will be the exclusive dealer of Smart cars in the Louisville market when the vehicles make their United States debut in January."

Here's a link to the article: http://louisville.bizjournals.com/lo...ml?jst=b_ln_hl