You won't believe this!! Got a call from the guy doing the work on my 2006 smart. I thought he was calling to tell me the car was ready, but NO! The gas tank was to be in last Wed. but he never got a call from the dealership, that it was in. He called them yesterday to get an update on delivery time and was told that they would NOT get the part for him. NO PHONE CALL OR ANYTHING! He was just told that they would not order that gas tank for that year smart.
I can NOT understand why no one [dealerships] will not even order parts for the 450 smarts. This is insane!
I love the car but this Bullsh.. is almost not worth the effort. It is a good thing that "Little gem" isn't my only transportation.
Now I am back at square one with the gas tank situation!.
You won't believe this!! Got a call from the guy doing the work on my 2006 smart. I thought he was calling to tell me the car was ready, but NO! The gas tank was to be in last Wed. but he never got a call from the dealership, that it was in. He called them yesterday to get an update on delivery time and was told that they would NOT get the part for him. NO PHONE CALL OR ANYTHING! He was just told that they would not order that gas tank for that year smart.
I can NOT understand why no one [dealerships] will not even order parts for the 450 smarts. This is insane!
I love the car but this Bullsh.. is almost not worth the effort. It is a good thing that "Little gem" isn't my only transportation.
Now I am back at square one with the gas tank situation!.
HELP!! HELP!!
Debbie
to hear about your dilemna
Unfortunately, it's part of the perils of owning a "gray market" vehicle.
You might try some of our Canadian friends; might be able to "hook you up"
No help from Canada, the guy that was recommended to talk to up there said they can only help with diesel smart cars
I have had my smart before the 451's came out in the US. I truly do not understand why Mercedes smart has decided to "abandon" these cars over the 451 that don't even HAVE a Mercedes engine in them? The main thing that these cars have different is the engine that was modified to add emission controls that the US requires, right? WHAT is the BIG deal! I really do not understand this, could someone explain this to make some sense?
If someone who owned a Chevy, changed the engine, put a bigger engine in or something, would Chevy refuse to work on it or order parts for the car?
I really would like to try to understand the "logic". I can tell you this, at this time I will NEVER buy another smart car or any other Mercedes product from the way I have been treated by them.!
If someone who owned a Chevy, changed the engine, put a bigger engine in or something, would Chevy refuse to work on it or order parts for the car?
I really would like to try to understand the "logic". I can tell you this, at this time I will NEVER buy another smart car or any other Mercedes product from the way I have been treated by them.!
Debbie
I'd like to see you find a Chevy dealer that would work on a car with a "transplanted" engine. Generally if it's not factory, they won't touch it.
As far as smarts "logic", you need to understand the situation. smart is not distributed in the US by Daimler or smart, but by Penske. Penske had nothing to do with importing the grey market cars. Would you want to work on a vehicle that was brought to the US by another independent company, modified(to the tune of $10,000), and then sold under an EPA exemption? I don't think so! The G&K converted cars are not "factory" cars, and as such are not serviced by MB or smart USA. I wouldn't want to spend my resources training a tech to work on a car that I can't get parts for. As such, I also wouldn't want to put myself in the legal "gun sights" of anyone with one of these cars. That's why G&K got the premium they did for these cars, they accept the risk and responsibility of the modifications they performed.
Not trying to be hard nosed here, but, like Chief said, you should have understood the risks involved with buying a " grey market" car to begin with. From your posts so far, your beef should be with G&K, not smart. A lack of support from G&K should not reflect badly on smart or MB. I don't blame them for not touching your car. In the same situation, I wouldn't either. You bought a known, modified, European car. With little support, and no dealer network. Why are you surprised at the result?
I do feel sorry for your situation. Have you tried to contact one of the Euro distributors like Wellsmart, or smart parts direct? You may have to pay a premium, but I would think they should be able get the parts you need. Right now the dollar to British Pound is still reasonable, so it shouldn't be outrageous to get the parts here. I hope you find a solution, but don't bad mouth the 451 because you can't get parts for a 450. At least my experience has been wonderful with my dealer. I couldn't ask for more or better service.
I'd like to see you find a Chevy dealer that would work on a car with a "transplanted" engine. Generally if it's not factory, they won't touch it.
As far as smarts "logic", you need to understand the situation. smart is not distributed in the US by Daimler or smart, but by Penske. Penske had nothing to do with importing the grey market cars. Would you want to work on a vehicle that was brought to the US by another independent company, modified(to the tune of $10,000), and then sold under an EPA exemption? I don't think so! The G&K converted cars are not "factory" cars, and as such are not serviced by MB or smart USA. I wouldn't want to spend my resources training a tech to work on a car that I can't get parts for. As such, I also wouldn't want to put myself in the legal "gun sights" of anyone with one of these cars. That's why G&K got the premium they did for these cars, they accept the risk and responsibility of the modifications they performed.
Not trying to be hard nosed here, but, like Chief said, you should have understood the risks involved with buying a " grey market" car to begin with. From your posts so far, your beef should be with G&K, not smart. A lack of support from G&K should not reflect badly on smart or MB. I don't blame them for not touching your car. In the same situation, I wouldn't either. You bought a known, modified, European car. With little support, and no dealer network. Why are you surprised at the result?
I do feel sorry for your situation. Have you tried to contact one of the Euro distributors like Wellsmart, or smart parts direct? You may have to pay a premium, but I would think they should be able get the parts you need. Right now the dollar to British Pound is still reasonable, so it shouldn't be outrageous to get the parts here. I hope you find a solution, but don't bad mouth the 451 because you can't get parts for a 450. At least my experience has been wonderful with my dealer. I couldn't ask for more or better service.
OK. Thank you for taking the time to explain some of the ins and outs of why Mercedes will not work on my car. It is kind of funny that the car industry will take a position to NOT service another car. I own my own business, a jeweler and I would NEVER refuse to help a customer out no matter WHERE he/she bought the jewelery item! I guess that is why I am having issues with this situation.
OK I get why they refuse to do the work themselves, but I am not asking them to do the work, I only want to order a part for the car! I was even told that they WOULD order the part for my car, and then they refused and they did not even call my mechanic to inform him of this. They waited for over 3 weeks until my mechanic called them asking when to expect delivery to tell him they would not help.
They could have at least let us know that they would not help. And at least give a reason instead, they literally just said they would not get the part for us.
All I want to do is get my car fixed and this is turning into WAY too much of a hassle. Forget about the dealership, they generally over charge for their services anyway.
I really do love the smart car, that is why I decided to "hunt" on down. I got my smart car before the 451 came out. But I do have to say that I am a little concern about the 451's after reading some of the post on these forum and all of the problems.
You posted that I should have understood the issues with purchasing a grey market smart. Well maybe you are right. I did not really investigate all of the possible problems that were associated with doing this. I was nieve to think that since they car was brought into the US, since the car was modified to conform to US EPA standards, and since the car could actually be titled and sold, since there are Mersades dealreships here in the US, I assumed that the car would not be looked at as an outcast. I was not that concerned about the dealership working on the car, but I really did nI did wonder about any EPA problems that might develpo in the future and I did check out G&K.
In my latest conversation with Edward at G&K he has offered to repair the gas tank for free if I can ship the tank out there. Now the issue is, how to ship? Does anyone know if there is/will be any problems shipping the gas tank being that there was gas in the tank at one time? Could there be any issues with hassardous shipping ?
Doesn't mean they won't ship it but you'll probably have to jump through some hoops. May be less expensive to get a new one from one of the EU suppliers. Hope you can work something out.
"Auto Parts May include carburetors, gas lines, or gas tanks which may contain gasoline."
You might be able to ship UPS Ground if you could prove (or maybe just indicate) that the tank was deliberately emptied and inerted. I have sent and received carburetors UPS Ground in the past with a notation on the description "Clean and inert." You might remove the fuel pump and all other lines, completely flood it with water then drain and dry it. If after that there is any hint of gasoline vapor, inert it with nitrogen or CO2.
Don't try to inert it with a CO2 fire extinguisher - they sometimes discharge static electricity. Use dry ice and water instead.
Like any new model, parts will be an issue for a time. My wife wrecked her new Jetta 3 months into the new year. It took 2 months to get it repaired. VW did not have the parts in stock yet. So, if you are waiting 2 weeks, that is trivial.
What is disturbing is that we own a 2007 450 Passion, Purchased new from a MB/Smart dealer in Guadalajara. It is unmodified in any way. If we were to need help from a MB/Smart dealer in the USA, I would expect them to offer any assistance they could, including ordering parts from Europe, Canada or Mexico by air. That's how a guest should and would be treated in any other country. Sadly, the USA is not a welcoming country full of people who are happy to be helpful.
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Got a call from the guy doing the work on my 2006 smart. I thought he was calling to tell me the car was ready, but NO! The gas tank was to be in last Wed. but he never got a call from the dealership, that it was in. He called them yesterday to get an update on delivery time and was told that they would NOT get the part for him
Red Pearl
RV
The White Knight
to hear about your dilemna 
1976 Rover Mini
2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
2007 Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (SOLD)
2009 smart Passion (Gone)
2011 smart Passion
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