To me this is bad news. I called 1-800 smart and emailed the question. I received the same answer. 2 years OR 24,000 miles. Additional warranty could be purchased through the dealer. This just tells me how they feel about the car. I think they will have lots of cancelations over this one!!
I'm glad to have the opportunity to save money on the initial purchase. So I can either buy piece of mind for 3-5 more years or pray nothing happens! I like having the choice.
In the UK smart also offers service contracts. Roger Penske has said smartUSA will offer a similar agreement here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by from UK smart
it works: Whether you choose a smart Service (service only) or smart Service Plus (service, maintenance and repair) contract, you’ll be able to fix your servicing costs for up to six years. So, whatever happens to parts or labour prices in future, your monthly payments won’t change. You can also rest assured that your car will always be serviced by specially trained technicians, using the latest diagnostic equipment, and fitting genuine smart parts.
The contracts are available for new and used cars from up to six years old and 120,000 miles from date of initial registration. Based on how many miles a year you do, we’ll calculate a monthly payment to cover all your servicing costs. We’ll even give you advice on which type of contract (Service or Service Plus) is best for you. And, should you choose to change your smart, the contracts are fully transferable to the new owner.
It has nothing to do with how confident they are in the car, and everything to do with achieving a specific price point. The identical car in Canada costs more to purchase in real terms, but comes with a 48 month or 50,000 mile warranty as standard.
Offering a longer warranty costs money, whether the car is a Kia or a BMW. PAG decided to go for the minimum entry price, and something had to give. At least you have the option of extending the warranty if that's a concern.
I agree that's it's all about the price. But I believe we might have had the longer Canadian waranty at our price point if the dollar Euro exchange had not deteriorated to the degree it has this past two years.
In international finance now the Euro is the new dollar and the dollar has become el peso de norte.
I think the big problem regarding the waranty will be the impression it gives consumers that the 4/2 is a disposable car- low priced and short waranty means that to most consumers when maybe, from a marketing perspective the company should be emphasizing it's toughness despite the small size.
Lots of cancellations???? How about 25,000 of them? (Wishful thinking on my part LOL). Many of us "old timers" remember buying new cars with 12/12000 limits and 30 or 90 days if you purchased used. It's realy no big deal. Would you prefer that PAG allowed dealers to pack the price of the car according to market pressures?
It's realy no big deal. Would you prefer that PAG allowed dealers to pack the price of the car according to market pressures?
Dealer mark-up, factory warranty mark-up....what's the difference? It's still a mark-up. If you don't buy the full warranty, you pay the service shop later.
Look at this from another point of view. MINI offers a 4/50 warranty and 3/36 free maintenance. Problem is there are only 82 dealers in the entire US, so many people have to drive hours to get to one of their dealers for repairs or the "free" maintenance. For major stuff they'll make the trip (or let Roadside Assistance tow it) but for simple stuff they'll DIY or find a local independent.
With a similar number of dealers for smart, it might not be a bad thing that you are not paying for a warranty that will require driving long distances to get to a dealer if you are not fortunate enough to have one close.
Also, like others have said, cutting the warranty coverage is a way to get a lower entry-level price once you've already cut "features" and don't really have any more to cut. If you want an extended warranty, they'll be available, hopefully at reasonble cost. If you do not and you'd prefer to take your chances, you'll save some money.
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