The Truth About 2yr/24000 Warranty

[brandspecialist]

I am a brand specialist for smart. The reason for the 2 year 24,000 mile warranty is NOT a lack of confidence on smart's behalf. The 2 year 24,000 is a standard in Europe and they want to keep the expense of the car down as well. Cars that come with greater warranties have the price built into the sales price. So doing it the smart way gives you the ability to pay for something you want or NOT pay for it.

[SmartAzz]

Can you explain the warranty extensions? I am confused having heard about a $100 deductible or something? Is every dealer offering the same thing and does it have to be purchased when you take delivery of the car?

[meaux61]

Why cant they add an alarm system and fog lamps at the port?

MEAUX

[rwcmick]

yeah, i'm confused as well. my smart dealer says "it's the same as the factory" but i've heard the $100 ded as well. from what i gather the coverage is identical but if opt for the extended there will be a $100 deductible. are there exclusion? is it absolutely identical?

[Fredvon4]

Nice try brand specilist... but no sell here

You dealer will be charging $395 to upgrade to 3/36...about the minimum warranty offered on any new car sold in the USA

We all accept that the $395 is NOT the real cost of the warranty to the dealer...While we may not know exactly, we can assume easily it is at least marked up $100 so now we have a $295 cost for 3/36...

SmatrUSA could have made the MSRP price point an extra $300 bucks and not significantly lost any potential cuastomers... there are over 45,000 in line for 22,000~24,000 cars...

MY maxed out Passion is $15,504... making it $15,804 would not have put me off, left me with a feeling I got ripped...

Paying the extra $395, for what I consider a minimum 3/36 base warranty, leaves me underwhelmed and not real happy....

I accept that what you are saying might have been part of their logic but maximizing profit is more likely the real reason... That is not really in keeping with the Smart Buying Experiance Roger Penske talked about...IMO

[alex petropoulos]

im the one who knows the extention to 3/36 is.........100$ deductible

[SmartAzz]

Originally Posted by alex petropoulos

im the one who knows the extention to 3/36 is.........100$ deductible

So wait, you bring your car in with an issue - there is a grinding noise, the engine light is on, etc - and you have to pay a deductible for them to look at it for issues the car is supposedly covered for or do you only pay if they actually have to repair something?

Will they make it clear what is and what is not covered by warranty before you check it in and have to pay the deductible?

I don't really understand all the details here and how it applies. $100 for them to plug a car into a computer for a diagnostic that takes 15 minutes is not good - towards an actual repair once the problem and work required has been determined with an estimate provided is somewhat better.

[Okie Boy]

There is no charge on the basic warranty, 2 yr/24,000 mile, and every thing is covered except the tires. The extended warranty, I opted for the 5 yr 100,000 mile, is a $100 deductable, after the basic warranty expires you pay the first $100 of the repair. If you loose an engine, transmission, or any major component of the car the $100 will be a minor cost. It is kind of like life insurance, you hope you don't ever have to use it, and for me and my peace of mind it was well worth the cost for the extended warranty.

[brandspecialist]

Originally Posted by SmartAzz

Can you explain the warranty extensions? I am confused having heard about a $100 deductible or something? Is every dealer offering the same thing and does it have to be purchased when you take delivery of the car?

Every dealer is offering warranties through smart. Because each dealer is independently owned there will be other warranty options to choose from. The dealership I work at offers up to 5yr/100,000 mile warranties which is actually 3 additional years to the standard 2/24000. It should be purchased at the time of delivery to work it into your financing, if that applies, or in some cases you will have a time frame of 30 or 60 days or in some cases your additional years can be purchased just prior to expiration of what comes with the vehicle.

[propes]

How's the deductible handled? Is it per incident? Per year? Or for the entire length of the "extended warranty"?

I'm pretty skeptical - extended warranties are always money makers for the companies, and I'm usually better off without it.