The true order problem

[Seanpz1]

Hi there the main problems I see are attributed to the customers who are not serious and the small $ amount requierd to order. Most reservation holders who chose to back out typicaly will strech the dealer out for the full 30 days alotted to them knowing that they dont want the car. They will avoid phone calls not respond to emails and its a shame that there is a 30 day window it seems like every customer who wants there smart is at the dealer that day or within a week of the car coming in. As a dealer you pay floor plan for the car every day its on the lot so when you have a car with a 2 year wait sitting on your lot for 30 days already you are in a hurry to get rid of it. I think smart needs to weed out the back outs before they go in production if you folks want a better order system or raise the deposit amount that will sure clean up that list. Its a shame that some of these cars are ordered with no real thought of buying (alot of cars are ordered striped even some with out ac?) . Also contact alll reservation holders and make them aware that tere are some orphans some reservation holders dont even know.

But for all people realy intrested in owning a smart I couldnt see it taking longer than a couple months to find an orphan....

Good Luck
Its a Great Car
A lot of fun

[bumblebee]

I think if they want to weed out those who cancel last minute they should bump up reservation to $500. That way only the serious buyers would be willing to put $500 down for a car that they may or may see within a year.

[Smartdavis]

Agreed. $500 is reasonable and would speed the reservation process up for the serious buyers.

[Steven79]

I too agree.. people would quit playing games if $500 had to be put up front to custom build a Smart.

[robotbill]

I agree. Seems to be a lot of posing going on with some of the cancellation explanations.

[jwight]

Me too; I've already done the $99 thing so bump it up to 500!

[xcrew229x]

I thoroughly agree on the $500., but at $99 there are at least some cars available....... might be better to make it non-refundable.

[amoore007]

Maybe $200 for the two would be a good second step................. I agree that 99 is a joke to some.

[Big Panda]

i agree....only $99 AND "refundable"? make it a $500 NON-REFUNDABLE deposit and watch the wait go bye-bye!!!

[spdickey]

I for one was making a big stink when people wanted to configure their cars at the time of deposit. All that would have done is put a bunch of orders in for future orphans. At least waiting for configuration until the factory was nearing production time would help weed out those who didn't want to wait.

Now we have people configuring six months or more before delivery, they grip its going to take a long time, and many drop out when they get the call to come in and pay up. I vote for a $1000 deposit at configuration!