SMART Dealer and Service going out of business!! (Re: sc White Plains)

[peterbra]

I purchased my 2008 Cabriolet about a year ago from the White Plains NY, in Westchester County. The dealer was one of the largest dealers in the Northeast Ray Catena (Lexus, BMW, Mini, SMART, etc.) I have had many problems with my auto and had it towed in 4 times in less than 6 months. Now the dealer is closing, and not only their store, but the large LEXUS Service facility next door will be stopping servicing SMART cars. Buy he Smart company was smart and have tamed down my disappointment with their apologies and understanding.
That was a good move for SMART as I had been in bad shape just came out of the hospital after 5 times in 6 weeks. Heart problems and other issues. So my anger was probably misplaced = Thanks for all your feedback. And by the way, I love the car. I have had most luxury cars before this, Benz, BMW 7 series, Jeeps, Acuras RL and LS, and others, SMART is the least expensive car Ive ever had, and the most fun to drive. It may not be the most comfortable, and the NY potholes are a hazard, especially with our tiny wheels and stiff suspension, but bottom line - I love it and would hate to give it up. P

[Gargoyle]

Originally Posted by peterbra

I am very angry, and feel that SMART and the dealer has mislead their customers.

Dealerships all over this country are closing and cutting back services. How is this Smart's fault? Exactly how did Smart mislead you? Did they ever tell you that you could always find service close to home? For that matter how did the dealer mislead you? I doubt that they promised to stay in business past the point of financial ruin. They didn't even have to send you that letter. They could have just waited for you to call or show up and

[misscatears]

I don't think they misled you at all. How were they to know? I am sure that they are just as upset as you, and probably WAY more.

I live 3 hours from the dealership. It happens. It's something people who want this car deal with often.

[SunDiego]

Sorry buddy but smart didn't miss lead you at all. I doubt smart was happy they had to close down a dealership. What do you expect in this sort of auto market? Be glad you still have alternative dealerships to go to. Best of luck. : )

[cubefx]

I believe that Ray Catena not going out of business. They just closing one of the two locations and moving exclusively to Smart Center of Edison.

CUBE

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by peterbra

The dealer was one of the largest dealers in the Northeast Ray Catena (Lexus, BMW, Mini, SMART, etc.)

That right there hints at it... "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." Big dealers have to maintain so much business that if they lose 10% they really hurt badly, laying off staff, ruining goodwill among customers, etc. A smaller shop may have a larger profit margin in percentage, but lower in dollars. So if they lose 10% suddenly or without warning they can rebound from it. Too small, of course, and they can't, but there's a middle ground where a business is solid. This specific location may simply not have passed the test of a harsh economy. Smart corporate has to focus its time and money on areas that are doing well. In corporate employment terms, that's called downsizing.


Smart's sales are growing vs. other brands. If they shrink in one area, they shrink 2% where the competition shrinks 30%. Don't let this one dealer make you think the brand itself is at risk. The small car has people's attention... and when gas prices cross $2.50/gal for low octane, sales will be steady.

[unicycle]

Sorry to hear your news. Actually I found out about that last week and immediately thought, "Hey, that's the dealership I almost went thru...." I'm with the Manhattan dealership that you might be using. They're really nice and pretty good with the service. They're exclusively a Mercedez dealership, and the Merc division has recently taken over the smart service dept. Good luck.

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by peterbra

largest dealers in the Northeast Ray Catena (Lexus, BMW, Mini, SMART, etc.) I have had many problems with my auto and had it towed in 4 times in less than 6 months. Now the dealer is closing, and not only their store, but the large LEXUS Service facility next door will be stopping servicing SMART cars.

THese are brands that folks can live without. If times are hard, and I know the NY area took quite a hit with the economy and a lot of folks in white collar jobs lost them. These are the brands they purchased. The little profit on the smart cars just cant make up for what they have lost in those other brands. Now this is a Ray Catena issue, not a smart USA issue.

[smartHHO]

Smart did not mislead anyhow. When they were selling, the Economy was doing real well. No one can predict the future. No one says you have to drive friggin miles away to get service. I am sure that you can work out something with SmartUSA so that you can have another mechanic work on the car. Or, better yet, do the oil, filter changes yourself. What a concept. There is enough info out there for such things. When the economy comes back I am sure the dealership will also come back. Give them a chance, maybe they put in just a smart dealership with just one mechanic like here at our dealership. Give them a break. Times are Tough.

[jonnysan]

Check this out! Sorry the pictures did not come thru. They tell it all. The auto industry is in HUGE trouble right now, with thousands of cars just sitting at docks and on dealers lots not getting sold.....and it's not the end of it yet...still more storm to go, unfortunately.
Out of this storm will come PHEV's, hybrids and EV's of all kinds.

That is the good side of this bad happening and it is all over the world...not just in the US.




This sort of puts things into perspective....

The state of the car industry...



Nissan has announced plans to cut its Sunderland workforce by 1,200. Thousands of unsold cars are stored around the factory's test track


Honda is halting production at its Swindon plant in April and May, extending the two-month closure announced before Christmas to four months. Honda and Japanese rival Toyota are both cutting production in Japan and elsewhere. Pictured, Hondas await export at a pier in Tokyo


Earlier this week Jaguar Land Rover said 450 British jobs would go


The open car storage areas in Corby , Northamptonshire, are reaching full capacity


Imported cars stored at Sheerness open storage area awaiting delivery to dealers who won't be able to sell alot of them


Newly imported cars fill the 150-acre site at the Toyota distribution centre in Long Beach , California


The build-up of imported cars at the port of Newark , New Jersey


Stocks of Ford trucks in Detroit , Michigan


New cars jam the dockside in the port of Valencia in Spain


Peugeot cars await shipment to Italian dealers at the port of Civitavecchia


Unsold cars at Avonmouth Docks near Bristol


With many manufacturers on extended Christmas shutdown, the number of cars rolling off production lines in December fell 47.5% to just 53,823


Thousands of new cars are stored on the runway at the disused Upper Heyford airbase near Bicester, Oxfordshire, on December 18, 2008.


Sales of new cars in the UK have slumped to a 12-year-low and production of cars at Honda in Swindon has been halted for a unprecedented four-month period because of the collapse in global sales and represents the longest continuous halt in production at any UK car plant. The announcement comes on a day when the EU's Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen warned the outlook for the European car industry was 'brutal' and predicted not all European manufacturers would survive the crisis.