Tips on Orphans

[smartmusic]

Hey All! I just went to put my down payment on my Smart Friday. I have waited all of 3 weeks, and my dealer called and said they had an orphan for me! It wasn't EXACTLY what I designed my order to be, but I'd rather get it sooner than later- I pick it up next week. So, if you are willing to be flexable- ask about orphans. They all need good homes! (Make friends with your dealer too...they will be more apt to put you on the top of the list for orphans.)
YEA FOR SMART CARS!!! Let's start the new thinking revolution!

[Smart Car Geek]

Orphans are good. The more 'little orphan Smarties' there are, the better the chances are that you'll get your new car soon. With gas prices rising each and everyday, and people panicking and tired of waiting, the amount of Smarty orphans will go up, so if you hang in there you could get your car sooner than later (figuratively speaking of course ).

[carnright]

Is there a trend on which models/options are orphaned more often?

[Kermit]

Canceled orders are MUCH better than an orphan any day. An orphan means the car still gets built thus not moving me up any further on my DDE.

Now....smartmusic.....tell us what you ended up getting. A solid black Pure with no options and that includes no A/C?

That's how I got my orphan. I told them it did not matter at all what I got. After turning down a convertible I got my Passion (I did forget to mention no convertible). My bumblebee will be here in a few months.

[jefferios]

Passion's are the most common "orphan"

[toestor]

My delivery date per "estimator" is close (6/17-9/15), but when I checked today it started to slip (now:6/28-9/23). Does anyone have experience with the accuracy? Should I consider an orphan (my dealer left me a message saying that they would remove me from t eir orphan list, unless I am "still interested)?Thanks.

[Smartdavis]

"a bird in hand" as the saying goes. Unless the orphan is a marked-up version I would recommend you jump on it.

[JoeTate]

Originally Posted by toestor

My delivery date per "estimator" is close (6/17-9/15), but when I checked today it started to slip (now:6/28-9/23). Does anyone have experience with the accuracy? Should I consider an orphan (my dealer left me a message saying that they would remove me from t eir orphan list, unless I am "still interested)?Thanks.

When I checked the estimator, the last day possible was the day I received a call from the dealer.

[angel]

Originally Posted by Smartdavis

"a bird in hand" as the saying goes. Unless the orphan is a marked-up version I would recommend you jump on it.

I agree with Smartdavis. Might want to find out their orphan list policy. If they add a bunch of stuff to it then it would be prudent to wait for yours. You're on the short side of the wait now. No need paying a lot in markups and compromising on what you want this close to delivery. IF they do mark it up with addons then they win twice by you taking an orphan. They'll have you on the hook for dealer installed options and then when yours comes in if you orphan it then the next person will pay additional as well. It's to their advantage in this case for you to buy an orphan.

And IF you can't wait a couple of more months then it could be advantageous to you to get the orphan. If they add options it's up to you to decide if it's worth the additional or not. If they don't then it can be a win/win situation all the way around.

[UNTODDLY]

Originally Posted by smartmusic

Hey All! I just went to put my down payment on my Smart Friday. I have waited all of 3 weeks, and my dealer called and said they had an orphan for me! It wasn't EXACTLY what I designed my order to be, but I'd rather get it sooner than later- I pick it up next week. So, if you are willing to be flexable- ask about orphans. They all need good homes! (Make friends with your dealer too...they will be more apt to put you on the top of the list for orphans.)
YEA FOR SMART CARS!!! Let's start the new thinking revolution!

That is very rare and you are very lucky, 99% of the dealers out there are loading their orpahs up with $10,000 worth of options like after market nav, custom wheels, speaker systems, aftermarket leather, custom paint. That way they can make $7000 on the car instead of The normal $1000 dealer mark up. And yes, stupid people buy them loaded up everyday! I seriously can't blame the dealers. They have the right to do so and they would be stupid not to.