Is $1000 required to hold your Smart for reservation holders?

[Dr.Custom]

I want to know whether my dealer is doing what other dealers do or whether I should ask for a transfer to another dealership.

I ordered the Smart a year ago and it is scheduled to come in late July. They called me a few weeks ago to tell me it was in production and that I needed to come down. I came down and they said I had 30 days from the date they called me to notify me of it being in production to give them a $1000 deposit to hold the car. I told them that I paid $99 to hold the car and they told me that was just to reserve the car. If I don't pay them the $1000 deposit then I supposedly forfeit the car and the car will be theirs to add approximately three thousand dollars worth of dealer add-ons and sell it to someone off the street. Obviously, I am going to give them the $1000 dollars to hold the car so they don't load it with crap, but it just upsets me that they pop this onto you and not only that I won't have any negotiation room for a trade or finance rate with a $1000 NON-refundable deposit.

Do other dealers require a grand to hold the Smart from reservation holders? They'll be sitting on my money and there's no guarantee that it'll come in at the end of July, just that it is in production. If I can avoid the $1000 and give them the middle finger then I will...I will change my home address to my LLC.

[Arizona Smarty]

Absolutely not! That's crazy! I would contact Penske to check on that. From what I heard, some dealerships were pulled due to selling above MSRP. I wonder if this is some of that crap they're not supposed to do.

[Piccola]

I got mine in San Francisco, and they did nothing like this. I paid the $99 to smartusa and SF smart center even reimbursed me for that after I purchased the car. I would call smartusa and find out from them, this doesn't sound right. Where are you buying this from?

[Smartfor2guy]

$99 that's it. Until delivery that all that is neccessary. They are trying to rip you. Refuse and report them to SmartUSA. Ask to speak to the regional representative

[ritchaso]

Our dealer in Atlanta called us and said the car is in and we needed to pick it up within 15 days. No hassle, no demand for more money at any time and they credited our $99.00 deposit without being asked. smart Center Buckhead in Atlanta was a pleasure to deal with. It sure sounds like your dealer is greedy. That said, I agree with you that the $1000.00 extra deposit would be worth while to guarantee getting the car. Unrefundable though? It sounds like they may be getting ready to hit you again with something unpleasant and they are hoping you will walk.

[SmartPassion]

One word: "R-I-P!"

You might want to tell them about this forum and ooooh, what happens if this dealer's name accidentally makes it onto these pages.

[SmartCard]

Yes, call smartusa...they can't do that! I certainly would not switch dealers at this point as it may delay your delivery by months (unless smart can redirect your car to the second dealer). Certainly will want to hear what smartusa says about this!

[almostsmart]

Originally Posted by Dr.Custom

I want to know whether my dealer is doing what other dealers do or whether I should ask for a transfer to another dealership.



Do other dealers require a grand to hold the Smart from reservation holders? If I can avoid the $1000 and give them the middle finger then I will...I will change my home address to my LLC.

Where is this dealer located? Some states have consumer laws pertaining to things like this. I would start with Penske and then contact the attorney general's office of the state the dealership is located in as well as the state you are located in.

P.S. The name and location of the dealer would help those on this forum who may have SMARTS reserved through that dealer.

Good luck!!

[bull8042]

That is a rip-off! They cannot do that and should be reported to smartusa/Penske. DON'T let this go!

[Dunerunner]

This is called extortion!! Your contract with PAG is specific. You pay your $99 and after the car arrives at your assigned dealer, you have 30 days to decide whether you want to exercise your option to buy it or let it go. Call PAG and ask what the heck is going on. Then, tell us what has happened. BTW What dealer is this?