Dealer fees..

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by sharonlee

See...good example of hearing or in this case reading only what you want to hear. I said MOST of you are qibbling over a few dollars. I also said Floridians should work on that through the state just as Californians did. And did Dave S. commit? Nooooooo. The Penske dealership in Michigan is charging one of the higher fees so if they really wanted to "do something" they could drop that fee altogether. They don't have to charge it but can charge up to $180 as regulated by the state.

thanks mom. we're all very aware of the situation. thanks for the recap. i thought you said you didn't have any more time to waste on this subject? yet here you are again. hmmmm.

[sharonlee]

I am not suggesting that they drop the fee...If I were running the dealership, I would charge what was allowed also. Hey, business is business and most pay without regrets as long as it is right out there on the table.

[sharonlee]

Oops..that belongs at the bottom on page 10. bmx43...you're right but it's late here and my work is done for today. However, you will be rid of me....tax season is a killer.

[KP4 smart]

Read what Dave Shembri had to say...

[vanslam]

He said:

Another call from Dave Shembri
So, I am in the Charlotte airport tonite on a business trip and at 8:00 PM my cell phone rings. It was Dave Shembri calling as a follow-up to his call to me in Devember to see if I had recieved my smart and to find out how I liked it!

I related to him that I loved the car but was very dissatisfied with the Orlando Dealer based on Prep fees, automatic window tinting and a rediculously high priced extended warranty that was twice the price of the smart extended warrenty.

He expressed what I took to be sincere discomfort with those issues and assured me he would be discussing those issues with the dealer. He was aware of the prep fees and had heard about the window tinting while he was not aware that they were not offerring the smart extended warranty.

He felt it was wrong to tint the windows without the authorization of the buyer.

He could not commit that things would change but did indicate that smart has some leverage and will use it to try to resolve the issues going forward.

He indicated that they were going to be adding a drop down menu on the configuration pages to allow reservationists to choose an alternate dealer for delivery if they so choose.

While this will not help those who have already configured it may resolve the problem for those yet to configure.

I can't say that things will change at the Orlando dealer but he did seem to be sincere in his comments that he would be doing what he could to get them to change their policies and procedures.

We'll see what happens over the coming weeks and months!

Another call from Dave Shembri

[sharonlee]

Originally Posted by KP4-smart

Read what Dave Shembri had to say...

Did you expect him to tell the guy to go whistle Dixie? LOL

[SmartAzz]

Originally Posted by sharonlee

Did you expect him to tell the guy to go whistle Dixie? LOL

Originally Posted by bmx43

i thought you said you didn't have any more time to waste on this subject? yet here you are again. hmmmm.

I know, need attention much? Could it be... http://tinyurl.com/4vor3

sharonlee if you want to debate why people should let the dealers rip them off vs making up their own mind and choosing to go to a different dealer if they wish, why not start a thread about that instead of further derailing this one with your opinion of them being wrong or whiny or 'spitting into the wind', inferring Dave Shembri was being insincere in his conversation, etc. It might not get the traffic this thread has but you shouldn't mind if you are not simply baiting people in order to get any kind of response/attention.

meaux61 is doing a great job compiling useful information, please let the thread get back to that and the topic at hand, thanks.

[SmartBob]

I don't think Shembri was counting on this kind of skullduggery and his comments in Kwagar's post seem sincere. Whether there is legal precedence to force a dealer to change their policy remains to be seen. I feel bad for those effected. First I would raise hell down there even as far as getting some people to picket the dealer and local media involved.Otherwise I'd tell them to shove that car where the sun don't shine and go buy at another dealer or get a Yaris.

[meaux61]

If they really do a drop down menu on the config page, we have won half the battle. We wanted to have good old American competition and free marketing do the talking. However...that indicates to me that smart will not talk to individual dealers but wait for the market to sort it out. THis thread was mostly to help future smarties be aware and get the bad dealers out of business. Nobody here expected that to happen overnight. The next step is to convince PAG that what they are doing to the early configurators is some sort of fraud. To limit us to one dealership goes against fair trade and free market ideals. I think we all need to start talking to our States attorneys office and asking if it is legal.

Meaux

[HotCookCpl]

Originally Posted by andersenjp

For those on this thread disappointed with greedy dealers, my dealer (in Massachusetts) told me that smart dealerships were a hot commodity during the application process. Penske only granted dealerships to those who had the best reputations, and he made it clear to them that if they dupe their customers for any reason he will pull their dealership (whether owned by PAG or not). So if you have any complaints about any dealership out there, simply complain (loudly) to Penske and I suspect he will deal with it. For the record, the Massachusetts dealer was superb. I could not have been happier with the buying experience, and I would buy from them again in a heartbeat. I wish I could afford those Mercedes he had in his showroom though....

I think in addition to the advertised prices that have been passed around, you should expect an extra $645 for a destination charge. And the dealer might stick on another $300 or so to prep the car and take care of registering it for you etc. I found both extra charges to be reasonable.

Which MA dealer was this? Lynnfield? Thanks.