Meaning no malice to anyone, am I the only one who thinks that a great deal of those selling parts and accessories for smart cars are planning their retirement? Seems to take the relatively reasonable initial buy-in cost and throw it under the bus. What say you?
With more being sold and more of these being around creating a bigger market for parts, I think the price will come down as number of customers increase.
Meaning no malice to anyone, am I the only one who thinks that a great deal of those selling parts and accessories for smart cars are planning their retirement? Seems to take the relatively reasonable initial buy-in cost and throw it under the bus. What say you?
Well...if you want them bad enough, you pay what they ask. I don't think the prices are out of line in comparison to aftermarket for other cars. Research what parts/bling/accessories/mod items cost for your PT Cruiser [in your case] or a Mazda Miata. I've thrown about $3K at it without thinking too much (AEM Induction, Chrome BBS Rims, walnut dash kit, upgrade Robbins boot cover, reinforcement bars and brackets, chrome mesh grille, various minor blink items yadda-yadda-yadda) without counting the standard maintenance and repair items. If you want it and can afford it, you'll probably get it. Besides, sleeping on the sofa a few nights builds your character. LOL
smart is a fairly new marquee in the US. I am in no hurry to modify. As more the aftermarket scene for smart opens up, there will be more choices as well.
I have no problem whatsoever reading about the cost of parts and accessories but I must take this opportunity to explain how prices are established.
I am no different from any other independent seller so what I say holds true for us all and what I say is not to be taken as anything other than educational.
1) the US $OLLAR IS WORTHLESS ON THE EURO MARKET WHERE ALL THE P&A COME FROM 1 US$ BUYS 55EURO CENTS AND THE BASIC COSTS IN EUROLAND ARE ASTRONOMICAL DUE TO HIGH GOVERNMENT TAXES ALL BUSINESSES MUST PAY.
2) there are no other sources I can find that offer as many P&A's that the smart owners want
3) if you have any experience in either import or export you try to minimize shipping expenses by combining volume (large but not heavy) items together with items like brake pads, disc, sparkplugs which are all heavy compared to large. this does not always work to order imbalances.
4) the cost of freight forwarding changes every day due to "fuel surcharges" (I will not offer my political evaluation of why everyone is adding "fuel surcharges" even when not an issue)
5) maintaining inventory is putting money at risk...definition.
The smart population in the states alone is no more than 8,000 at this point.
How many owners even know this forum exists...so where can we spend expensive advertising dollars
I am a private importer who has to compete with official dealers some of which sell higher or lower than the MSRP. we have no warranty or system to return unsold goods.
MOST IMPORTANT...I DO NOT SET THE SELLING PRICES IN EUROLAND. I HAVE TO WORK HARD TO FIND DEALERS WHO "ILLEGALLY" EXPORT AND THEN NEGOTIATE THE BEST PRICES I CAN GET FOR SMALL VOLUME PURCHASES.
this is not a lecture...
I do not depend on this for my living...I am retired from 52 years in the parts export business and this is my hobby.
Please shop around first, ive posted special holiday sales and inventory clearances, group buys and combined orders and some items are "best offer" listed on ebay.
I just think that floor mats should have come with the cars, standard. Dagnabbit. *grumble*
Ahhh, come on, other than a couple exceptions, almost no car ever comes with floor mats... "You want floor mats with that?" is an American classic just like "You want fries with that?". ;-)
I must be the exception... I too, am mighty POed about $64 for smart floor mats
Evey new car I have bought since 1994, here locally, has had a set thrown in gratis by my sales rep or his boss... as were the first several oil changes
Perhaps, as I said, I am just special or I get the red carpet treatment by being a loyal customer.... hummmm I guess patiently waiting in line for 377 days and placing a second reservation did not convey to smart that I plan on being a good customer...
Parting shot.... my local dealer, who provides these minor perks, enjoys some positive references from me to the public I talk to about my buying experiance...
The smart car being as unique as it is; I have become an unpaid advertiser and adviser for the product, and coincidentally, my smart center... the least they could have done was throw in the floor mats.... IMO
back to xcrew229x's observation:
I too have seen every new part and some of the offered maintenance or bling items and thought the same thing... they all seem a bit over priced to me
Sure, I accept the euro / dollar conversion explanation for all those things currently imported in low density... but some of the locally created items... while cool and certainly well made by hand are fairly expensive ....
I will wait for some of the items until they find a way to mass produce and lower the prices to reasonable... I can NOT justify $75 for a $15~$35 gas fuel door cover.... or $400+ for a louder muffler... My Ford Triton V10 is also a low density motor option and I can source several stainless steel cat back systems for it for a few bucks less to a few bucks more then the current cat back mufflers offered for the fortwo.... as a comparison...Doug Thorley Cat back for a Ford V10 is $534.... the size and length of all the components in stainless steel dwarfs the fortwo muffler.... I am not carping about the quality or performance for the DT smart exhaust...just that I think it should have came with a $239 or less price tag...for what you get relative to their other products.... in fact, I think they can make money at $179 for that particular item
Yes Virginia I am a tight wad and I demand much more bang for the buck then what is currently offered ....just my 0.02c
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