Quote:
Originally Posted by a2jack
OldSmart. Yes I agree "Smart 1" could work. Or how about a tow bar mount of some kind that could use a universal rental tow bar that any You Haul store might have. (Just thinking.  )
A2jack. |
I have a 2004 Ford F250 Super Duty diesel that I purchased new. It came with a 3yr/36K bumper to bumper warranty. The diesel engine had a 5yr 100K warranty that you paid $100. for each visit to the Ford doctor for engine related work ie; sensors, oil leaks etc. I have 101K miles now on the truck. Ford came out with an additional 100K 5yr warranty which kicked in AFTER the first 100K factory warranty. This second plan is by Ford and has $0.00 deductible for each visit unlike the warranty"s $100 per visit.
This 2nd warranty cost me $1600. The dealer(s) set the price for this. I was quoted $2500 from the dealer that I bought the truck from. I ended up buying from another dealer for $900. less.
This is a Ford warranty good at any Ford dealer in the US or Canada. I guess they did this because of all of the problems with head gaskets blowing out, early injector problems, some oil leaks and a lot of buy-backs under different states Lemon Laws.
When I first bought the truck I added a 3rd party warranty that took over after the Ford 3yr/36K factory. I had to pay $100 per visit and they paid 50% of repairs made. They would not cover a break caliper frozen floating pin problem that was caused by a bur from the factory. The service person that I worked with didn't come across to the ins. inspector that the problem was caused by bad material/workmanship. Instead she told them that it was caused by rust which isn't covered. This cost me almost $400.. So if the smart service person that you are working with doesn't word things correctly you could be in for a big bill with these 3rd party companies.
I don't like to shell out money on these warranty's but in my case, with my truck, and with a couple of other cars, they have saved me money above and beyond the cost of the policy. As an example a used 1988 Corvette with a 12K/24 mo warranty that came with the car saved me over 10K in parts/repairs replacing things like 4 hubs at $2800 (bearings had .002" play so they were all replaced.) I really made out with that policy!!
I'm 1509 (that should make some of you that are waiting fell better!!). I'm happy that I have to wait about a year for my smart to be born. A lot of bugs will be worked out in that amount of time. I'm leery of the tranny. I had a lot of problems (and a couple of my friends did too) with a 1998 Ranger's tranny and drive train. I understand the smart's tranny is a redesign and French manufactured. I'm watching this for reports from those of you that are driving now.
Everything will be worked out in the end and if I have too much trouble and they US can't fix the car in the stated, I'll put it into the bed of my truck and cart it off to Vancouver BC and have a dealer there fix it. They have several years of background working on these machines. All in all I think this car is a winner. If it's anything like the 1970 VW that I bought when I left Submarine Service I hope to keep this one a LONG time.
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