Smart refuses to sell to Alaskans!

[NuBiker]

Last week, in West Covina, California, the dealer had a demonstrator for sale. It has a sign that said "As Is - No warrantee", and it was under $15,000. I suppose you could purchase something like that directly from a dealership.
Do any of your friends drive vehicles that do not have dealership support? Just curious.
I would feel better about buying a Smart (in your circumstances) if I could get a hold of a Smart repair manual.
Then I could at least take the manual, and replacement part to an independent mechanic if I needed maintenance or repair.

[jwight]

"As Is - No warrantee" ???

Unless it's more than 24 months old or has more that 24K miles on it the warranty is still good.

[JPaul]

Originally Posted by jwight

"As Is - No warrantee" ???

Unless it's more than 24 months old or has more that 24K miles on it the warranty is still good.

Unless the demo has been altered beyond the warranty's terms? (Whatever that may be.)

[NuBiker]

That's what the sign said. You have probably seen those signs at used car dealerships. I am thinking, even if it is under warrantee, maybe it's a California thing?

[Redwarf]

I think some of the reasons for smart not selling to Alaska is that there are a lot of add-ons that need to be added to the car for it to handle the cold weather. Like a block heater to keep the block from freezing and cracking. And an onboard battery charger/conditioner. I know you'll say that you can get those added after you get it home or before you get it home. But smart probably wants their equipment to be fitted with heaters that meets their standards.

[Old Panda]

Originally Posted by John_H

If one cannot expect service in places like Alaska or Hawaii, why not just buy a very slightly used Smart from a private party?

And pay over List Price? Well, in today's market, pretty close to list anyway. May as well get a NEW one....warranty or NO warranty. It's still a NEW one!

Big Panda OUT!

[Orphan-Beggar]

Originally Posted by Ralph Finneren

We've had a smart passion reserved since Aug 4, 2007. So last week my wife gets a call to come into Smart Bloomfield and look at accessories and then test drive a car. After sitting through the usual sell job on the various overpriced add-ons available from the dealer, my wife had to remind Tom the salesperson, she was supposed to get a test drive. Okay, so they went & got in red passion.....with Tom in the driver's seat: Down Telegraph they go, Tom asks "how fast do you think I'm going?" My wife responds "60 or so", (this in a 50mph limit zone)......"actually I'm doing 75" Tom replies. "Want to see how the brakes work?" he continues, "Sure" she said, then Tom proceeded to do a FULL ON PANIC stop 75-0. He then "demonstrated" the cars handling by doing 4 or 5 donuts in an empty parking lot. By this time my wife is so shook up she declined his offer to drive the car.

Originally Posted by NuBiker

Last week, in West Covina, California, the dealer had a demonstrator for sale. It has a sign that said "As Is - No warrantee", and it was under $15,000.

Wouldn't the VIN have to be flagged (no warranty)

[Dunerunner]

Originally Posted by JPaul

Unless the demo has been altered beyond the warranty's terms? (Whatever that may be.)

The other hook is whether the vehicle has been prevoiusly registered and is being resold. Generally dealer demos are never registered to the dealership, however; they could have used one that had been sold and returned as a demo.

[jwight]

Unless I'm missing something, the warranty is transferable.

[Dunerunner]

You're right jwight....I've just seen so many used cars without warranties, being sold "as is, no warranty". Quite possible they were over milage or old enough for the warranty to have expired. I've also seen used cars on the lot advertised with the remainder of the original warranty. So the demo in West Covina must have over 24,000 mi.? Wow!!