Anyone Want An Orphan

[LeLapinBlanc]

The Honda Fit surpassed the Smart as assessed by Consumer Reports on almost every count.

Walking away at delivery is EXACTLY what the dealer wants you know....

This is why they treat reservation holders so shabbily. The want to sell the cars as they want on the open market, not be constrained by the Penske reservation system.

St Louis is a bunch of kids acting like the high school clique. The manager Jamie hangs up on me saying "we don't need your business", and I am a reservation holder.

I think he misses the concept of reservation.

Anyway, check this out:

Should Penske Have an Orphan Policy for All Dealers? - smart USA insider

and add your own thoughts if you like.....

If only 6% of vehicles were orphaned, and with an average wait of 18 months, if orphans were only offered to reservation holders in the order of their reservation, in lieu of their reserved car, we would get our cars 6% sooner. That is ONE MONTH earlier.

Without the constraints of a reputable organization like Penske, dealers are the equivalent of ticket scalpers.

[jwight]

St Louis is a bunch of kids acting like the high school clique. The manager Jamie hangs up on me saying "we don't need your business", and I am a reservation holder.

Just my .02, but the best way to handle that is start working up the dealership management chain above the manager, in writing, with copies to Dave Schembri at smart USA. It sounds like Jamie needs an attitude adjustment.

[clockers]

After critically researching the alternatives I've decided to ditch my reservation and wait for Toyota's IQ to hit the market.

[redbluff]

Consumer Reports wouldnt know a Fit from a Pickup Truck. Quit whining about orphans. Orphan list are just like reservation holders. It is first come first serve and most of the dealers are very strict with the list from what I can tell. And the two dealers I have visited all advise that most on the orphan list are reservation holders and you cannot get on their list without a reservation. The issue is not orphans it is availability of cars.

Everyone keeps whining about they have waited over a year for their car. Bull. When you put the reservation in it was clear that no cars would be brought into the US until Jan, full stop! So no one waited for over a year as we all knew darn well no cars were even going to get here until Mid Jan.

If you like the Fit then go get it.