Would you buy one if more than 3 hours from dealer?

[spdickey]

Well, i would assume Smart One will tow you to where you car can be fixed. Their rental roadside assistance is 24/7.

I guess you walk home if you're stuck on the road (just kidding), how about a taxi? motel? This is all the usual stuff one must think about when venturing out on the road.

You can purchase extended protection for 3-5 years if you want, cost TBD.

Millions seem to be able to drive cars far distances from their homes and for the most part be able to survive. With the Penske operation behind me with trained mechanics, parts supplies and free roadside, I'll be better off in my smart than at the mercies of the AAA whilst driving my 2007 Prius.

Here's some info on the Hertz/Penske assistance. Roger stated that smart one roadside will be built on this organization.

http://www.pensketruckrental.com/per...ravelcare.html

[SmartBob]

No! I have to type more stuff to get this posted.

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by spdickey

Well, i would assume Smart One will tow you to where you car can be fixed. Their rental roadside assistance is 24/7.

I guess you walk home if you're stuck on the road (just kidding), how about a taxi? motel? This is all the usual stuff one must think about when venturing out on the road.

You can purchase extended protection for 3-5 years if you want, cost TBD.

Millions seem to be able to drive cars far distances from their homes and for the most part be able to survive. With the Penske operation behind me with trained mechanics, parts supplies and free roadside, I'll be better off in my smart than at the mercies of the AAA whilst driving my 2007 Prius.

Here's some info on the Hertz/Penske assistance. Roger stated that smart one roadside will be built on this organization.

http://www.pensketruckrental.com/per...ravelcare.html

YOU (spdickey) don't know any of this yet concerning smarts, so don't espouse it as an expert; you are at best hopeful.

[StevenM1TX]

To answer the original question, I would have to say no, I wouldn't likely buy this car if I was 3 hours plus from a dealer. Nice car, can't wait to get my hands on it, but that would tilt things towards a different car if dealerships were much closer.

[SLIVERS]

To answer the question, yes I would.
Do I have $99.00 down? Yes I do.
How far to my dealer? 548 miles one way!
Hope to see a dealer to fill the "giant void" of Montana some day.

[Fredvon4]

Thomasw98 I think Fishrdnc's list is about the best advice you have here...

The Smart car does not have a problem free history. This is a first year car with a LOT of design changes.... The Euro 07 451s do not have enough miles yet to show any reliability history. Additionally this car is Highly dependent on electronic gadgets.

Besides the standard maintenance items like brake pads/shoes, oil filter, air filter the rest of this car is not back yard mechanic friendly... We know that PAG is not going to let warranty work be done outside their network...period

That said...if it was a primary transportation car and the dealer was 3 or more hours away...I would pass until the dealer network increased and the car had more reliability history...

Of the 20,000 08 cars we are certainly going to hear some horror stories... and some exceptional reports too... There will be one or more of the new dealers that absolutely sucks...There will be lemon cars in the bunch--- these are easy to predict

I admit I have no clue about the PAG roadside program....none of us do...that is one of the problems I keep harping on...lack of information.......

My middle aged experience suggests; This is NOT a HIGH END car.... tis you typical economy car...... We are NOT going to get red carpet, white glove treatment form MB or PAG.

I believe most roadside assist programs have a 100 mile limit on the tow, some up to 250 miles (Good Sams RV Club I believe)

I would hope that PAG allows major failures to be towed to nearest dealer... but they don't give any warm fuzzy that will be the case

I can almost assure SLIVERS that PAG will not tow his Smart car 548 miles from his house/town to their repair center without a LOT of grief and that is really going to tick him off...

I admit this is a SWAG...but with the absence of any info to the contrary, I think a legitimate assumption

spdickey....man do you have some rose colored glasses on...

I have a horror story about Pensky truck rental roadsid assist...

I drove a Pensky Rental truck out of Ft Hood enrout to Ft Bragg... half way from Birmingham to Atlanta the inside rear tire let loose... my chase vehicle wnet into the next town and calls the 800 number... 7 hours later a truck comes out... the Pensky guy from Birmingham does not have what it takes to tow with rear in the air, or fix the inside dual.. (no spare on the rental)... I can not leave the truck unattended (military equipment inside) Pensky guy says "wait here I will be back"... 4.5 hours later they are back... I am not happy...they brought out a bald tire and told me where to go in Atlanta to get it replaced... Yep I am not a big fan of Pensky roadside assist

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by fishrdnc

YOU (spdickey) don't know any of this yet concerning smarts, so don't espouse it as an expert; you are at best hopeful.

Please note in my comments that what said was my option, guess, assumption and feeling. Nowhere did i say I was an expert.

For example "Well, i would assume..." and "I guess..."

I am merely bringing up the point that Penske is promising road side assistance. If you have problems with Penske's promises, please take that up with PAG.

My dealer is 16.2 miles from my home, too far for a courtesy van, close enough for a spouse, taxi or loaner to get home. But being stuck without a car would suck here in Los Angeles, or in the middle of Montana.

There is a lot of fear of the unknown around here, some possibly valid, but not enough for me to not take delivery next month.

[crateampscal]

I would totally drive 10 hours to get this car. I went to europe 2 1/2 years ago and fell in love with it. ever since then ive wanted one. I retract my previous statement, I would drive 24 hours to get one.

[MicroNut]

Originally Posted by fishrdnc

I would ask myself some questions:

a. What necessary or important characteristic does the smart have that no other vehicle has?
b. Will I be asking the smart to do something it wasn’t intended to do? Is Humboldt enough of a city to justify it?
c. If I commute to work away from my home area, what distances and road conditions are between destinations?
d. If returning to the dealer for warranty work, will I have another chase vehicle and driver available? Humboldt is far too far from SFO or Portland for courtesy van service.
e. Assuming that routine service can be done at other than the dealer, do I have a competent and willing local repairman? It will most likely have to be an “independent.�

I think it would be better to thoroughly analyze your own circumstances than to look for a consensus from others.

Your advice is sage, fishrdnc.

Anyone reading this thread should bear in mind that many of us are, put nicely, slightly nuts about the smart and would go to extraordinary lengths to own one. Our enthusiasm should not be confused with a rational car-buying decision.

[Peddlecar]

I live 2.5 hours away. I would not buy one if it wasn't my extra car.