Demonstrators expected 1/15!

[StevenM1TX]

Originally Posted by kmeinhold

Finally - I think that dealers should be able to mark up any vehicle they carry in inventory. There are significant costs/risks to carrying inventory that justify this in my opinion. Spoken for / ordered cars - carry less risk and markup is not justified.

I wonder if you would have the same opinion if your number was 1411 and had the chance to get one a bit earlier.

[Gortok]

I would suggest a markup based on how long it sat on the lot.
The longer is sits, the more it costs...I promise you, they wouldn't get a lot of markup....;)

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by Gortok

I would suggest a markup based on how long it sat on the lot.
The longer is sits, the more it costs...I promise you, they wouldn't get a lot of markup....;)

Actually the longer it sits in the lot, the more incentive the dealer has to get rid of that "dog" that won't sell.

Now if there was a line of people bidding on the one available car, where do you think the price would go if Penske was not holding dealers to MSRP?

I for one would NOT participate in that kind of market and am so glad that even with the limited production this year vs. reservations that prices will not be inflated to "market" prices.

[kmeinhold]

It would suck, but yeah if I was to obtain ANY product faster than I was entitled under the normal process - I would expect to pay more for the privilege.

If the dealer had a dog he could not unload and offered the car below sticker - would you insist on paying full retail?

That said - I don't condone gouging (makes poor business sense anyway).

[Smart_ABQ]

Originally Posted by StevenM1TX

I wonder if you would have the same opinion if your number was 1411 and had the chance to get one a bit earlier.

Well I do have number 1411 and personally I wouldn't jump at a heavily marked up car even if it was available earlier and was the same setup as what I ordered. But that is me. We can see from most of the postings on this board that I'm probably in the minority on this point. I think it would be in the dealers best interest to scan his database of reservations prior to making the vehicle available to Joe Chomping at the Bit.

BTW - our dealership in ABQ is looking very nice. No signage as of this morning but the facade was complete and the interior looked finished as well.

[Chassol]

Originally Posted by kmeinhold

Finally - I think that dealers should be able to mark up any vehicle they carry in inventory. There are significant costs/risks to carrying inventory that justify this in my opinion. Spoken for / ordered cars - carry less risk and markup is not justified.

If I correctly understood the dealer model - The dealership would have "samples" of each model to show and for test drives. The customer would then "order" their car to be built and delivered in 60-120 days.

Only cars I can see to be "extra" would be if the dealer ordered speculation ones and made them available for immediate delivery. This would give the dealer the decision for doing floor planned ones or not. Would smartUSA allow the "extras" or not?

Maybe with these threads becoming so many and lengthy I may have missed something.

Any takers on this or?????

[Carnut]

Chassol, the FACT is that almost everything is conjecture up to this point. Supposedly the smart centers will have one unit of each model as demos, not to be sold for a period of agreed upon time. We will all find out in approx three weeks.

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by Chassol

If I correctly understood the dealer model - The dealership would have "samples" of each model to show and for test drives. The customer would then "order" their car to be built and delivered in 60-120 days.

Only cars I can see to be "extra" would be if the dealer ordered speculation ones and made them available for immediate delivery. This would give the dealer the decision for doing floor planned ones or not. Would smartUSA allow the "extras" or not?

Maybe with these threads becoming so many and lengthy I may have missed something.

Any takers on this or?????

smart is currently building cars based on the confirmations we have submitted. Dealers will be receiving these cars plus demo units. My dealer a month ago told me they have 500 reservations (probably more by now) and expect 600 cars next year.

Anyone expecting to walk in, order a car and get it in a couple of months should not be shocked to find out that won't happen.

[uncletony]

I visited the Catana Dealership last saturday and spoke to a smart trained salesman, he told me that they will be open for business on Jan 2 2008 and will have at least 3 smarts on the premises, one fully loaded for static display and two for demos. they also expect their computors to be online on that date and be able to access customers info

[SAFE4NOW]

We have a Blue Passion sitting in the middle of our otherwise empty SMART showroom... LOL. I gotta go ask where it came from...

Steve