Smart Canada 36 mos. free service offer...

[lebikerboy]

Things are getting interesting here in Canada as Smart Canada has just introduced a 36 month free maintenance package with the purchase of a new 451 fortwo. Also, I was offered a free oil and filter change for our 450 if I took a 451 for a 24 hour test drive. Anyone heard of anything similar in the U.S.?

[Karl Roth]

Not yet
karl

[Padawan]

Is this officially being offered by Smart Canada, or just as an offer from a single smart centre?

[lebikerboy]

It's an official offer from Smart Canada...
smart Canada

[JPaul]

smart Switzerland offers a program called "swissintegral" that includes:
• All repairs (wear & tear included) for 3 years or 100.000 km. (whichever occurs first)
• All services A & B for 100.000 km. or 10 years (whichever occurs first), including exhaust legally required, brake and coolant fluids.

smart swissintegral comprend:
• Toutes les réparations (usure comprise) pour 3 ans ou 100’000 kilomètres (le premier atteint compte)
• Toutes les prestations de service A et B pour 100’000 kilomètres ou 10 ans (le premier atteint compte), entretien gaz d'échappement obligatoire, liquides de frein et de refroidissement compris

That program is free and covers every privately owned smart. It comes as a package from MB Switzerland. It's price is actually included in the car's MSRP as practiced in Switzerland, a price that is about 30% above ours.

Source (in French): http://www.smart.com/-snm-0135035552...is_smart_F.pdf

[Big Panda]

"+Free scheduled maintenance applicable on all new or demonstrator 2009 smart fortwo models, purchased or lease on or after June 25th, 2009. Offer covers scheduled maintenance, as prescribed in the maintenance booklet that comes with the vehicle for 36 months/54,000 km, whichever comes first. These maintenance requirements are subject to change without notice. Maintenance must be performed at an authorized smart Centre in Canada. Coverage does not include wear and tear items such as brake pads, brake shoes, brake rotors, brake drums, light bulbs, wiper blades, tires, wheel alignment or wheel balancing."

So essentially it's giving you your first 3 services (if yours are done every 10K miles as they are required here in the US). Does NOT include any wearable items or other 'maintenance' that may be needed within the 36 months. Also, like any other 'warranty' or 'service contract', there is not only a time limit but mileage as well. Notice it's "36 months/54,000km"s, NOT just 36 months. If you put 54,000km on your smart in a year and a half, then your "Free Scheduled Maintenance" has been completed.

Here in the US, that would amount to a savings of anywhere from $450-600 or so, depending on what your particular smart center charges for their 10K Service.

Not a big deal, but in todays economy, every little bit helps......

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by JPaul

smart Switzerland offers a program called "swissintegral" that includes:
• All repairs (wear & tear included) for 3 years or 100.000 km. (whichever occurs first)
• All services A & B for 100.000 km. or 10 years (whichever occurs first), including exhaust legally required, brake and coolant fluids.

That program is free and covers every privately owned smart. It comes as a package from MB Switzerland. It's price is actually included in the car's MSRP as practiced in Switzerland, a price that is about 30% above ours.

As they say, 'nothing is free' and this is no different than any other warranty or maintenance deal. I believe that the smarts in Canada have a 3/36 warranty on their new smarts, while we here in the US are only 2/24. WHY? To keep the initial cost down. But if you compare the prices of 'our' Passion to 'theirs', the Canadian model is much more and part of that is to compensate for the longer warranty.

You could legitimately say that you could purchase a smart here in the US with a 5/50 warrranty. You would just have to simply ADD the expense of the smart 5/50 'service contract' to the car. Yep, costs much more now but you're covered for 2.5 times as long......

[lebikerboy]

Actually, the warranty in Canada is 48 mos./80,000 km (almost 50,000 miles).
Plus our cars are configured differently than yours. As an example, the Pure comes
standard with power windows and smart radio 9. The other factor to consider is that the Canadian dollar is worth less than the US equivalent, at least for now!!!