I am getting my orphan from The Lynnfield dealer and I emailed Patricia that I NEED to be notified prior to any add-ons!!!! I already put a $500 deposit on the car over a month ago and of course - after almost a week, she has not replied to me. I am not against the LowJack, but the clear bra is a waste as you said... I am a little upset at them right now - They don't give me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling as a customer.
Do you know what the dealer fees are for herb chambers? I live in central mass and I'm not sure what dealer to go to that won't rip you off. I guess I'm equal distance to boston as is to hartford and warwick R.I. I just put in my 99 dollar deposit on one so I have plenty of time to shop around.
I am getting my orphan from The Lynnfield dealer and I emailed Patricia that I NEED to be notified prior to any add-ons!!!! I already put a $500 deposit on the car over a month ago and of course - after almost a week, she has not replied to me. I am not against the LowJack, but the clear bra is a waste as you said... I am a little upset at them right now - They don't give me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling as a customer.
One phone call is worth a thousand e-mails or something like that. Call the dude, and then call him back again to ask one more question you forgot to ask the first time, and then call him the next day just to tell him how much you enjoyed talking to him the day before, and then send him something to let him know you really enjoyed telling him how much you enjoyed talking to him, and then ask if you can come and take another test drive because you have more questions. You'll get the car quicker.
Do you know what the dealer fees are for herb chambers? I live in central mass and I'm not sure what dealer to go to that won't rip you off. I guess I'm equal distance to boston as is to hartford and warwick R.I. I just put in my 99 dollar deposit on one so I have plenty of time to shop around.
Everything we know about dealer fees is in this thread.
Do you know what the dealer fees are for herb chambers? I live in central mass and I'm not sure what dealer to go to that won't rip you off. I guess I'm equal distance to boston as is to hartford and warwick R.I. I just put in my 99 dollar deposit on one so I have plenty of time to shop around.
Documentation prep is $259, registration fee is $33 and title fee is $50. I'm reading from my pruchase contract. I think this is pretty much standard range. I bought a Ford Focus from a Chambers dealer about a year ago for my daughter and I recall the doc fee in the range of $200 +/- then. Reg and title is pretty much standard rates as well.
As for orphan avialability, I put my name on the Lynnfield list and was called for 2 cars within a week (a cab and my car). Now that was around the end of January that I put my name on the list so it came up pretty quick. OTOH they run it like a race-they call a bunch of people on the list and whoever shows up and signs fastest gets it. I would have been driving the cab if I had known how aggressive they are about this. I also put my name on the Somerville list about a week later. I have never heard from them. So, it looks like Lynnfield has more orphans coming up. They told me that was because their $99 order customer territory was north of Boston and a lot of those orders are being cancelled because folks don't want to be so far from the dealer.
You might also check with the Albany dealer. I bought a MINI there and they were pretty nice. However, they were reticent to add my to the orphan list because I was outside their territory and allegedly they take a 2% reduction of value of car in profits. Lynfield didn't care about that-they just want to move cars.
I am getting my orphan from The Lynnfield dealer and I emailed Patricia that I NEED to be notified prior to any add-ons!!!! I already put a $500 deposit on the car over a month ago and of course - after almost a week, she has not replied to me. I am not against the LowJack, but the clear bra is a waste as you said... I am a little upset at them right now - They don't give me the "warm and fuzzy" feeling as a customer.
All Chambers dealers are high volume highway-style operations. Don't expect your hand to be held.
Interesting that you put down a deposit-no specific car right? Why don't you PM me with some specifics about your experience so far and I'll see if I can give you some pointers. Probably too specific for the general crew here to clutter up the forum with. She was also my "salesperson" though she's really just a salaried order taker since they don't really have anything to sell except the occasional orphan and that seems to turn into a feeding frenzy.
Did she tell you it was or was not their policy to put things like LoJack on orphans? They were pretty clear about it being policy on orphans. They don't have enough inventory to move volume so they need to make profits this way. I was lucky to get it with only the LoJack. I believe the Somerville dealership works the same way. Their showroom cars were dripping with junk.
Hello 4-2NV -
I actually have a VIN# and my car is specific - a crystal white cabrio - with red interior - no extra options. Exactly what I would have ordered if I waited. She called me and offered me the orphan and gave her the deposit right away over the phone to secure my car. After talking with her about 3-4 times, that very same weekend, I drove to Lynnfield from NH to meet her and the rest of the crew, I even got myself a test drive ( i've driven a smart in germany last year ) and talked for a bit - she was pleasant over in real. She assured me that my car would be there soon...
So a week later, I went to the Wallenius site and tracked my car with the VIN# and it showed it was in transit and arrived in Baltimore on 2-17-08 and was discharged on 2-18-08. I waited a few days and called her then to ask when did she expect the car to arrive there and she told me that she didnt even know if the car was in the USA - so I explained to her the tracking method and she told me that my information was erronous. That she is in constant talk with Smart usa and the car isn't here in the State yet. Well the vessel Courage arrived with 169 Smarties, so I know my car is here.
I didn't even know about LoJack until I read more in the forum that they do that. She has never told me that it would be installed on my car, nor I know if it will be added even against my want. I don't expect my hand to be held, but I would actually expect the dealer to be more forward. She pretty much insinuated that I was an idiot when she said that the tracking I was using was wrong. I just want it clean and simple. I guess, I'll give her another call tomorrow - she'll get so sick or me... lol But it has been 15 days now - I hope its on its way very soon, cause I am going to be in Germany on the 22nd of March for 2 weeks. I dont want it to sit there until I come back...
Hello 4-2NV -
I actually have a VIN# and my car is specific - a crystal white cabrio - with red interior - no extra options. Exactly what I would have ordered if I waited. She called me and offered me the orphan and gave her the deposit right away over the phone to secure my car. After talking with her about 3-4 times, that very same weekend, I drove to Lynnfield from NH to meet her and the rest of the crew, I even got myself a test drive ( i've driven a smart in germany last year ) and talked for a bit - she was pleasant over in real. She assured me that my car would be there soon...
So a week later, I went to the Wallenius site and tracked my car with the VIN# and it showed it was in transit and arrived in Baltimore on 2-17-08 and was discharged on 2-18-08. I waited a few days and called her then to ask when did she expect the car to arrive there and she told me that she didnt even know if the car was in the USA - so I explained to her the tracking method and she told me that my information was erronous. That she is in constant talk with Smart usa and the car isn't here in the State yet. Well the vessel Courage arrived with 169 Smarties, so I know my car is here.
I didn't even know about LoJack until I read more in the forum that they do that. She has never told me that it would be installed on my car, nor I know if it will be added even against my want. I don't expect my hand to be held, but I would actually expect the dealer to be more forward. She pretty much insinuated that I was an idiot when she said that the tracking I was using was wrong. I just want it clean and simple. I guess, I'll give her another call tomorrow - she'll get so sick or me... lol But it has been 15 days now - I hope its on its way very soon, cause I am going to be in Germany on the 22nd of March for 2 weeks. I dont want it to sit there until I come back...
They might treat it differently as it became an orphan and then adopted before it arrived instead of being abondoned at the mercy of dealership. Having put down a considerable deposit on a specific ID car before it arrives shoud give you the right to decide what gets added or not, if anything. I think it's likely you will escape the dreaded add-ons. The person you may want to also speak with is Ann Marie who is the business manager and is the person who will make any such decisions. Patricia will hand you over to her next anyway for the closing. She'll try to razzle dazzle you with more add-on's at the close-stay firm. Then you get "Harris" for delivery. He's the least experienced of the crew-pull out a few gems you learned on this forum on him and watch him quiver and wilt. Oh, and don't leave any important messages with the receptionist ( Jen?)-been there ( at least she knew where the battery was-Harris could't find it when I asked at delivery). Be patient, after delivery, you don't have to deal with this crew again. I do sort of pity these salesfolks-they don't make any money on the cars except for maybe the orphans and suffer like we do with a thoroughly unready system compliments of PAG.
White over red-that is going to be striking. Imagine red cloth for the convertible top... I love my red interior. Keep us posted.I think that Patricia is honest-she just doesn't have that soft touch. She came over from the back office and is on straight salary. You met her so you probably know what I mean. I'll try to dig up her email address for you.
If your car is there for a while, they will lock it up to keep the dreamers out. At least it will be off the docks and away from the ocean....
Hello 4-2NV -
I actually have a VIN# and my car is specific - a crystal white cabrio - with red interior - no extra options. Exactly what I would have ordered if I waited.
Well the vessel Courage arrived with 169 Smarties, so I know my car is here.
.
I had a similar experience with an orphan in CT. Although I didn't have the VIN number. My apologies if you have already explained this, but how did you get the VIN number and how did you track it? How did you know there were 169 Smarts on a ship called Courage? I called Lynnfield last week and this week and they don't have any Orphans so at least they aren't trying to give me your car. Hopefully Mass. has laws against dealer add-ons that apparently CT and NY doesn't have. The CT dealer told me the car was in their warehouse and I couldn't see it...likely getting all the add-ons installed.
I finally confirmed my order yesterday. I decided not to go with the cheaper 09 Aveo5. After driving and checking out the 08 Malibu, I finally became impressed with a chevrolet car, so maybe GM is starting to get their act together. There's the G8 which will be a nice car, too. The 09 Aveo5 has quite of features for the dollar...leather seats/steering wheel/shift knob; XM Radio & OnStar; Steering wheel controls; (of course cruise control & intermittent wipers...ha) and all power windows/locks/mirrors w/ heated mirrors, heated seats, temp/fuel economy/oil change monitor info center thing; remote fuel and truck levers; keyless entry, tire pressure monitoring system; fog lights, 15" aluminum wheels/spoiler/power sunroof pkg, and wood accents or brushed metallic accents instrument panel and door trim, air bags all around w/ 5star crash safety and the one 5 door in Europe is called the Kalos which gets much better than the 4 door Aveo (two different cars); the new Aveo5 is about 250 pounds heavier than the 08 yet gets much better gas mileage likely due to the much better engine, the U.S. version will be 1.6L ECOTEC 107HP; a much better engine, better fuel economy 27/34 (2008 EPA numbers which are much stricter) and the 5 year/100k warranty...overall not a bad car that would probably cost me $10/11 fully loaded after my GM discounts, but the stupid thing doesn't have Anti-lock brakes with the 5 speed (only with the automatic.), but the overall reliability on these Aveos don't have a great history however they have gotten better but you tend to expect the worse with these lowest end rental end cars. So they went through all of that trouble to redesign the Aveo5 and forgot that some people still think ABS is important who want the 5 speed. I want a 5 speed with ABS...a compromise that I'm not going to deal with in the snowy north. I'm glad GM is starting to improve its lineup. I think they did an outstanding job on the Malibu and possibly could buy the 2LT version, but I want a shorter length/weight car.
Besides I really wanted a Smart car...and all the compromises that the Smart car has will likely be worth it. I was just going to get the Aveo5 to hold me over to the 09 model year, but what the heck...I'll take delivery on a one-year old '08 Smart during the late-Summer right before the '09s come out. sigh
Hey 2009
Here's how you track your vin...
Go to: http://schedule.2wglobal.com/AppTracking/cargoTrack.do
THen click "auto cargo"
enter your vin# and voila, Then the page brings up a bunch of info like vessel name, voyage name, bill of lading, booking number, origin, destination and customer reference number.
Then withing that same page click on the track by "bill of lading" and it will show all the cars that were/are on that vessel.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Today
Linear Mode
