Smart Car "EXTRAS".......

[Bremer Speck]

My local dealer in Lynnfield, MA, is getting ready to deliver our yellow/black/black convertible tomorrow. My price with all available factory options is $18,739.00 and adding in 5% sales taxes, title etc. and the much beloved doc fees, I have to bring $20,051.95 to the closing. The dealer is offering me additional options.
Extended warranty:
Months / Miles
48/48,000 $695
60/60,000 $995
60/75,000 $1195
60/100,000 $1595
Tire and Wheel protection:
Repair or replace wheels and tires damaged by road hazard $345
Simoniz exterior/interior, 5 yrs. guaranteed $499
LoJack anti theft protection $595
Venture shield "film" to protect hood etc. from chips/dings, like a car bra $499

Who has been offered such options? What did you opt for?

Anything else being offered around the country?

Cheers, Ronald

[Westfield 11]

Extended warranty is good for YOU. The rest of that crap is good for the DEALER. If you want to help keep his kids in prep school and ivy league colleges order a whole bunch of that stuff: they need to make a lot more money before they are satisfied.

However, if you feel sorry for him it would be nice to just give him a few extra $100's for his pocket, at least then the technician won't have to spray a bunch of chemicals all over your new car.

[spdickey]

Got my LoJack from the dealer for $499 down from $1200. Extra smart branded extended is $395 for one more year. Make sure the extended says smart on the paperwork, or walk away IMO.

[smartune]

The only thing that I got was the lojack system, my dealer packaged everything available for quite a bit under suggested retail.

Up next on my list is a 3m clear bra but that can wait, I wouldn't bother with any chems sprayed all over the car or the tire package for that matter. For the cost of that you can get yourself a set of nice strong aftermarket wheels.

[Fredvon4]

The extended service contract should be offered with an option to buy any time before factory warranty expires and be canceled with a pro rated return of cost.

Comparing the Smart Branded third party extended service plan (ESP) to the Ford branded Premium care package for my $52K truck... My top tier ESP covers more, is less restrictive, and is less expensive... Thus I conclude that the Smart Product is over priced and of little real value

If you must have longer then 2/24 piece of mind you can do better with several well know national brands.

I have not damaged a wheel in the last 25 years of driving the worst roads America has to offer.... replacement tires are NOT that expensive for this car... $345 for this coverage is bound to end up an easy bunch of cash for the dealer to pocket and good bet they never have a claim within the terms of the coverage

Lojack is your call on local theft issues... still a lot of money in my opinion.. insurance reduction for 3 years does not cover the price.. I don't know much about lojack... what is the annual cost to renew? I say let the insurance company carry the risk...that is what we all pay for already

The clear bra at 499 sounds good initially until you realize that a complete set of replacement body panels is $1100 and the front ones can be replaced every few years for less then the cost of the protective film

You can scotch guard the entire cloth interior yourself in 15 min for less then $15

I will be leaving the dealer with having paid MSRP, Tax, Title, and Registration fees.. plus the obligatory $50 docs fee just so the dealer can have a sense that he "screwed one more stupid car buyer today"

They can keep all their marked up or useless dealer options... and USAA can carry the theft loss risk along with the GAP insurance grief

BTW for those borrowing to get these, I highly recommend getting the GAP insurance... An insurance company finding us a replacement car if we have a 100% loss is going to be real interesting this first year

I wonder how they will replace a MSRP $15,504 car when on open market they sell for $18~$20K? (and no dealer can get one at MSRP)

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

Lojack is your call on local theft issues... still a lot of money in my opinion.. insurance reduction for 3 years does not cover the price.. I don't know much about lojack... what is the annual cost to renew?

BTW for those borrowing to get these, I highly recommend getting the GAP insurance... An insurance company finding us a replacement car if we have a 100% loss is going to be real interesting this first year

I wonder how they will replace a MSRP $15,504 car when on open market they sell for $18~$20K? (and no dealer can get one at MSRP)

As for the LoJack, no renewal costs. The price you pay is for a lifetime. It works great in high theft areas like here in Los Angeles where most every CHP cruiser, LAPD squad car and even police helicopters have LoJack receivers. Insurance reduction is the same as for the smart factory alarm (which I forgot to configure, drat). My price was $499.

Liberty Mutual offers totaled replacement of your smart for just the deductible for the first year included in the premium. They are the "official" smart insurer at www.libertymutual.com/smart

[Fredvon4]

Spdickey, thanks for the lojack lowdown...

I used to get "free" total loss protection from USAA if I borrowed from them and insured with them and had auto deduction payment to them for the loan... now it is a one time $179 for term of the loan

Still fussing with "pay in cash" or invest my liquid asset for more then 4~5% THEN borrow just to get the total loss coverage... I have only totaled one car and never had one stolen so a bit conflicted about the need, risk etc...

Getting the lojack at the price you did is a fairly good deal in a high theft area... I tend to think their first quote ($1200 IIRC) was much too expensive for the "service"

[JVottero]

Originally Posted by Bremer Speck

Venture shield "film" to protect hood etc. from chips/dings, like a car bra $499

You can buy a complete set of yellow body panels for $899. Even if you get a big chip, the yellow goes all the way through so it will be hard to notice.

I think you're better off replacing the body panels if they get chipped enough to bother you.

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by smartune

The only thing that I got was the lojack system, my dealer packaged everything available for quite a bit under suggested retail.

Up next on my list is a 3m clear bra but that can wait, I wouldn't bother with any chems sprayed all over the car or the tire package for that matter. For the cost of that you can get yourself a set of nice strong aftermarket wheels.

The tire protection saved our a$$. We had contentintal tires and, yes you can get ONE new pair of tires. Those tires faild after 16000 miles. Not flat, they went bald. The tire protection bought us a new set and THOSE are protected from flats, blow outs, everything. I think its worth it, especially since you can roll it into the payments.