Upstate NY + snow = Smart Abuse

[2smartArizona]

YouTube - smart car saleman beating cars to remove ice

YouTube - smart car saleman beating cars to remove ice

[Periokid]

WOW, glad it is not mine!

[tpants]

To those of you that don't live in the North that was a FOAM snobrum. Very soft and very paint friendly. Exactly how I get the ice off of our smart. And the dealership is where we bought ours. I would not have any problem with them. I've hit my car accidentally with a variety of things and it's never shown any damage. Get over yourselves. Its a car.

[Duckhunter]

Yep, looks real soft to me, when he is wacking the crap out of the windshield on the car. I would not do that to any of my vehicles and I grew up in Michigan. I am just glad it did look like he broke anything but maybe a wiper blade. Cold stuff does not flex as much and tends to crack.

[2smartArizona]

Originally Posted by tpants

To those of you that don't live in the North that was a FOAM snobrum. Very soft and very paint friendly. Exactly how I get the ice off of our smart. And the dealership is where we bought ours. I would not have any problem with them. I've hit my car accidentally with a variety of things and it's never shown any damage. Get over yourselves. Its a car.

I have spent a great part of my life living above 49.34 degrees North latitude, which is further north than you I see, and despite the fact I now live in Tucson, I have had to deal with ice, and I would never beat my car like that. If want to treat your car like that, that is your business, but I would not.
And it is not just a car....that is someones car. I think most people have the expectation that a dealer is not going to treat a car that way before delivery. If I was to find out that I bought a car from a dealer that did that to MY car, I would be ill. But then, when it is my car, it is not just a car to me anymore, it is my car, and I have certain standards by which I want it treated.
If you want to do that to your car after you buy, that is your business, but some poor SOB waited over a year to get this thing and there they are beating the crap out of it, and then they will probably send the repair bill to smart for damaged incurred in "shipping". You may not be bothered, but I am incensed.

[Heckle]

I agree with those who are shocked by this video. Regardless of whether it harms the car or not, the car does not belong to the dealership (unless it is an orphan). I will be configuring my car in a few days and once it arrives, it will be inspected in detail. Anything that is wrong will be noted and fixed byt he dealer.

[Neonspinnazz]

User removed the video
Our .02 shocked HIM, he probably should have never posted that video.
But lucky future Smart owners have some help dealing with that dealer.

It does not matter what the broom is made of, from the looks of it, it was frozen too.
Either way he used brute force to get rid of the ice.

[tpants]

I've been a dealer tech at three different dealers that all use the same method of removing snow and ice. If you can come up with another way then please let the dealerships know. I've worked for the Best Mitsu dealer in the country, the 3rd best VW/Audi/ Porsche dealership and one of the worst VW dealerships. And, I worked at a specialty Euro repair shop for five years. I've grown up around cars and have lived almost entirely in the Northeast. I think I know how to clear a car of snow and ice. From the ice storm of 98 in Vermont/NY/Canada, to the ice storm in Atlanta in 2000. People need to get other things to worry about.

[BigWarpGuy]

To defrost the windows when they are covered with ice, I take a squirt bottle with windshield washer fluid with anit-freeze and squirt the windows. I keep it inside so it is warm. The warmth helps break up the ice and the anti-freeze helps keep it from freezing again. I have it ready but there is yet to be cold enough to really use it this year.

[forestacademy]

Tpants

Those brooms are designed to take the SNOW off safely with out scratching the car. When you use it as a blunt pounding object it is not being used as designed. Also several time he was jamming it with the stick 90 deg to the car. This doesn't leave much padding between the Wood stick and the car. He might as well be hitting it with the other end of the tool.