Denver Fiasco

MicroNut · 03-22-2008, 06:29 PM

This has been mentioned on another thread, but deserves repeating:

ALL SMART DELIVERIES FROM SMART CENTER DENVER ARE CURRENTLY ON HOLD.

I got a call from the dealer on Friday that my car has arrived. Got a follow up call taoday that they can't legally sell it to me.

The story I was told is that the original dealership licence was "fast tracked" because Penske knew someone on the Colorado Motor Vehicle Dealer Board. That person is "no longer on the Board", and their replacement has suspended smart center Denver's licence pending an investigation.

I was also told that the delay is likely to be at least 30 days. Personally I'm not optimistic, given that lawyers are now involved. What we have here is a greedy corporation that thinks it doesn't have to follow the rules going up against some pissant government beaurocrat who's trying to make a name for himself. The only possible outcome is that the consumer loses out big time.

I'm going to call the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board on Monday to see if I can get their side of what's going on and when it's likely to get resolved.

If you are in Colorado and expecting delivery in the near future, I strongly suggest you call smartUSA on an hourly basis demanding that your car gets routed to another dealer in the area (NM, NE, UT). If it gets shipped to Denver, it's going to be in limbo for who knows how long.

SPDYII · 03-22-2008, 06:54 PM

Don't feel alone. The Denver dealer is not the only dealership without a license to sell. The smartcenter Houston North also doesn't have a license to sell either. They have had their doors open since the 1st. part of February. What a mess.

Yellowcarsrock · 03-22-2008, 07:36 PM

Can they rent cars out, without a sellers license? Maybe you could rent your car and have all payment go to the purchase when they are licensed?

MicroNut · 03-22-2008, 07:59 PM

They cannot do anything with the car until it is titled (other than use it as a dealer demonstrator). They cannot title the car until they get a dealer licence.

I think the decent thing would be to offer to ship cars, at their expense, to the nearest operating smart dealership (in my case that would be Albuquerque).

DenverSmart · 03-23-2008, 08:23 AM

Just what we needed! I hope they get this cleared up soon!

wadilaw · 03-23-2008, 11:26 PM

DenverSmart and Friends,

It is obvious that those of us who have our Smart Car finally here and sitting on South Broadway instead of our garage are going to feel very frustrated. I share that frustration but I must say that we should not take it out on the staff down there, because I know they were blindsided by this news as much as we were; and they are on the spot for something that is no fault of their own. I have been down there several times and spoken to them alot over the phone, and they have really gone out of their way to explain things to me, and are very enthusiastic about the Smart Car. Perhaps their seeming indifference is because they are the ones that have to explain the mistakes of those above. We do need to hold the upper powers-that-be to task for this debacle for sure. I hope this will not be too drawn out, but I am interested to hear what is really going on and what the time frame is.

DenverSmart · 03-24-2008, 06:31 AM

I do want to call and find out what is going on.... Wadilaw, I hear you, point taken. I am sure they are frustrated also.

**SmartCard** · 03-24-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPDYII

Don't feel alone. The Denver dealer is not the only dealership without a license to sell. The smartcenter Houston North also doesn't have a license to sell either. They have had their doors open since the 1st. part of February. What a mess.

Geez.....seems like all of this SHOULD have taken care of soooo far in advance!

smartInDenver · 03-24-2008, 07:14 AM

This sucks. I'm so sad! I was rear-ended a month ago and have no car right now and was waiting for my smart to come in to Denver ... now I may HAVE to get a different car just 'cause I can't wait long enough for them to straigten out their legal woes.

MicroNut · 03-24-2008, 12:55 PM

OK, so here's the latest scoop:

There is no issue with smart center Denver's licence. Apologies for the confusion, I was just repeating what I was told by the dealership themselves. This is the good news.

The bad news (and the real problem) is that the state is currently refusing to title smarts in CO. This is because there is a discrepancy between the manufacturer name on the manufacturer's statement of origin (MSO) and the name associated with the cars' VIN numbers.

The MSO says smart, but the VIN number is coming up as Daimler. This is clearly the state being a bunch of idiots. VIN numbers starting WME are unique to smart. As far as I know, no other state seems to have this problem even though the MSOs and VINs are the same everywhere.

I guess Penske's lawyers are trying to resolve this as we speak. Let's hope it happens quickly.

Going to write a letter to the Governor now....