I believe the drop out rate is around 15-18%. I believe from this point on it may increase to 25% but I don't belive it will exceed that. Alot of people are worried about the economy and most people have cars that get worse gas mileage than the SMART. So I believe if they are a single couple or just an individual with no kids and they will seriously consider the SMART.
Those who have kids and an additional vehicle may still consider this car as the 1 transporter car for the family to get to work to grab things from the store etc and then they may consider resorting back to their other vehicle only when needed to accomidate more than 2 people on a trip.
OK my twisted mind is at again. I'm wondering "What are the rules for an orphan list?" As I understand it, the list is under the control of a local dealer. He could set any rules he wants. For example, why couldn't he say his list is not time-on-the-list dependent, it is matching the car to what someone is looking for - model, color, etc. He then calls this person and says "I have your car NOW and you can have it for just 10% OVER sticker and save 8 mos of waiting." Why not? It's just good business. Since when are car dealers good guys? As I see it, this whole thing could get way out of control. Interesting to see if corporate gets involved with their dealers and sets some rules on all of this. Or maybe they don't care - they sold a car and that is all that matters.
Well my dealer has an orphan list - it's a steno pad with about 4 names per page, entered in the order in which the orphan-seeker asked to be placed on the list. When a car becomes available the dealer will search that list looking for the first person who matches the car. For instance: a silver/black/black Passion Coupe with no options becomes available - the dealer looks through the list for the first person who requested that configuration. If nobody matches then they look for th first person who specified that configuration, with no color preference.
That's what happened to us last week - somebody had ordered the car, but when they showed up at the dealer to take possession they said "But I am positive I ordered blue!" and turned down a great silver/black/black car. We happened to be on the orphan list looking for a Passion Coupe with no color preference so we were called. We picked it up last night and I am very grateful that those people didn't want a silver car! And there is NO MARKUP - we paid exactly what was on the sticker, plus tax, license, 6/60 warranty, and our reasonable $55 doc fees!
My dealer has not charged extra fees when they called me to see if I was interested in a white/red cabrio. Hummm.. YES!!!! It should be here any day now...
Local dealer in Cleveland says they're getting about 22% dropout for the first month+ of deliveries. They're expecting 26-30 cars a month.
Their orphan policy is you are added to the bottom of the orphan list with only what model you want; Pure, Passion, or Cabrio. Once a car is orphaned, she'll call the first lister with that model and offer them the car. No looking through the list for color or option match, just yes or no. On down the list until someone says yes. Those that say no get one strike. After the second strike, you're off the list and can wait for your reserved car to come in. Efficient and easy to manage.
my personal thought on this is that the 'drop out rate' will be much higher than 20%. it's unfortunate, but Americans are generally an impatient bunch and want things NOW. on top of that, factor in those whose need for a new car is more pressing and wham! you have a much higher number of 'orphans' available.
also, i think after a while, the 'novelty' of the Smart will wear off. after all, it's not very practical (room for only 2, no storage space to speak of), doesn't get the MPG's that even a Toyota Yaris gets, let alone the shortest warranty period i have seen. i'm beginning to think it's Christmas and the Smart is just the newest 'toy' that everyone has to have, but can't get! sorry.......
Perfect! It's the cabbage patch doll of 2008. It is a novelty.
Perfect! It's the cabbage patch doll of 2008. It is a novelty.
Sorry to disagree. You don't buy a Smart because you think it's a collectible that's going to sit on your shelf for 10 years, or some kind of fad (unless you are nuts). It's a car that's fun to drive, easy to park, and gets good enough mileage to make any wallet happier. I plan to drive the heck out of mine for many many years until the wheels fall off.
I think the dropout rate is higher in some areas and lower in others.
Take for instance where I live (Los Angeles) the Writer's Strike had a huge financial impact and I would argue that the dropout rate is much higher than 20% right now as the industry is just getting back to work and alot people who reserved a year ago now are thinking financially this car makes no sense for them. I also believe our high dropout rate right now is only temporary for the next few months. Once the dough starts rolling again it will be like... what strike
I'm sure for the above reasons I was able to get an Orphan.
Just my 2 cents.
-Chris
Per smart center Beverly Hills (probably dead center in Writer's Guild territory) the drop out rate is very very low, with only about 1 orphan per 25 or so cars on each months allocation.
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