Finally stopped by a smart dealer

[4two4me]

I finally dragged the wife up to the smart dealer at Tyson's Corner, VA. today. We got to see and sit in every model, from the basic pure to a fully loaded cabriolet with all options, including leather interior. We weren't able to take a test drive, because only one sales person was there. He said we would have to make an appointment on another day for a test drive, which kinda sucks since we live 60 miles away and seldom have a day off together. My wife seemed less than enthusiastic after actually seeing them. Here are MY impressions (many of you already know these things):

1. The car is SMALL. Yeah, you know that already, but until I actually stood next to one, it really didn't sink in.

2. I didn't know it, but the pure model roof panel is not shiny. It's black and textured. It sort of reminds me of the texture of those fake tops some people add to their land yachts, except it's hard plastic.

3. The rear visibility was poor, because the seats block most of the view through the back window. I wonder how it would be trying to negotiate Washington D.C. traffic during my commute with not so great visibility to the rear.

4. Before seeing them, I was going to order the extra gauges, but now that I've seen them, they look add-on and don't really fit the rest of the interior. They also seemed kinda cheap looking to me. Plus there is a digital clock in the dash already, so why not allow us to add a tachometer and something else instead? Maybe the red gauges with the red/black interior would look better?

5. I hated the all black interiors. They make the interior look dull and depressing. All but one that we saw had black interiors, including the leather one.

6. The leather interior was even worse. The black isn't as black as the cloth, but it has no pattern. It's dull. For such a quirky car, why get a dull black leather interior?

7. I liked the red/black interior on the one car without all black. It really made the interior come alive. When I told my wife I liked the red/black interior, but wanted a yellow/black exterior, she groaned about the combination.

8. If you carry a passenger, you'd better be friends, since even with the seat offset, you will still be rubbing shoulders (or at least we were).

9. There really is a LOT of head and leg room. That was the one thing that impressed my wife. She's 5' 10" tall with long legs and still had about 5 inches of room above her head and plenty of leg room.

10. Exterior: I still like the yellow/black exterior and they had one in the only pure model on the lot. My wife likes the blue/silver exterior and they had 4 of those, all in passion coupes and cabriolets. I really don't like the red/black combo, mainly because I don't like the red. They had 2 in red/black, one passion coupe and one cabriolet. They had one blue/black passion (coupe, I think), which I thought was nice looking. Finally, they had one silver/silver, which was pretty dull. If you want a dull car and still want a smart for some reason the silver/silver with black leather interior is as dull as it gets! Why someone would want a dull looking smart is beyond me.

11. Oh, forgot to mention the hockey puck. The cars with headlight and rain sensors have a hockey puck sized and shaped sensor attached to the windshield behind the mirror. It looked pretty bad to me.

I asked about the "orphan list," which they call abandoned orders or something like that. He said they have 31 or 32 on the list already. He said each dealership does it differently, but at Tyson's, they put you on the list in the order you sign up. You have to have already put down the $99, but your reservation/confirmation number doesn't matter. He said with over 30 on the list, it would take 6-7 months at the current rate for a person to get a car that way. Someone else in the forum said they walked in to this dealership last Saturday and drove one home that day, so I don't know how that happened, unless someone screwed up at the dealership or nobody on the list wanted that particular car.

[iwantmysmart]

each dealership handles orphans differently. some are taking as much as $1000 just to be on the list. put your name on the one in Alexandria too. I know the list isn't that long and since they will hopefully receive their first shipment (about 70 cars) next week, you might have a better chance there.

[4two4me]

Thanks iwantmysmart. I'm not in a huge hurry yet, since I'm still debating if I really want one and if I do, I would like to save up more money to put down. I'm not worried about the payments as much as I hate paying interest to banks!

[Panos]

So there were a little over 30 people on the list and he told you 6-7 months! Man there must be very few people backing out then...I took a ride to my local smart dealer and there was an orphan available. Someone must of backed out of the deal. If i was in the market to buy it now, i could have driven home with it. If you want one, call a few dealers. I bet you'll get one a lot sooner then you think.

Or maybe it was just luck, i was at the right place and the right time. Just not ready to buy...

[rgaus]

"3. The rear visibility was poor, because the seats block most of the view through the back window. I wonder how it would be trying to negotiate Washington D.C. traffic during my commute with not so great visibility to the rear."

This one might be solved from a suggestion by Kane Harrison of Evilution (www.evilution.co.uk). He said that 2" round stick-on mirrors from Wal-mart can be placed on the doorframe just inside the window to eliminate blind spots. Haven't viewed the doorframe on the 451's, however, so I'm not sure that still works.
Ron Gaus, asmartcar.com

[CruisingAZ]

Stoped by Chandler smart today and took a test drive, this was my first time actually seeing and driving a smart. The showroom was nice and had 3 cars inside (pure, passion & cabriolet), they also had some tee shirts, key chains and hats.



There was a row of cars outside, most had cards on the dash with names of future owners on them. I was told they had no orphans as of today.



I was able to test drive a silver/silver/tan passion and it was fun. I thought the transmission was a piece of cake to master, took all of about four blocks. The road was under construction and we cut through the baracades where no other car would fit.

The hocky puck (rain sensor) and the odd shaped and placed rear view mirror where my only real objections. I thing I would replace the mirror real soon, it does show everything you can see as the roof is low, the window is high and the seats fill in the sides.

This test vehicle was fully loaded except the upgraded stereo (I forgot to play with the radio, guess Ihave a reason to go back )

I liked the leather interior, I found the whole thing comfortable and fun to drive. Getting in and out was no problem, I was surprised how high the seats sit.

Got the smart up to 70 on the on ramp and although there was a little buffeting on the freeway, it was not enough to discourage me. Kept up with a shiney yellow vette.

Took a picture of a passion that will lokk like mine until I am lucky enough to get my own.



This one did not have all the upgrades but the colors were right for me (only blue one they had).

[rrrucke]

Gosh, wish I was in sunny Phx right now surrounded by smarts. Oh BTW, when I took delivery of my smartie last night, the yellow/black smart kept getting my attention as I scanned the showroom floor. The color just seemed weird but then I realized why. It's the color of a unused neon yellow highlighter which is my favorite highlighter. The car is very bright and definitely an eye catcher! Thanks for sharing, Regina

[PassionforPassionCT]

Look at the rims on that silver passion right side of pic, wouldnt mind if those were a factory option!

[CruisingAZ]

Originally Posted by PassionforPassionCT

Look at the rims on that silver passion right side of pic, wouldnt mind if those were a factory option!

The tag in that windshield was for "security", It was the only one without a real last name.

[2micro4u]

I like SILVER / SILVER because it signifies Mercedes Benz Colors and the BRABUS looks great in that pattern. I was thinking black on black but I feel it won't look as good since im looking for a cabrio.