the only gray market smart i would be up for is the diesel model.
2008 or 2006 that is the $64,000 question
Hey All
This post would be best on the EU threads, but I figured I'd start here.
I too have paid my $99, but there are also some questions too.
1: There are more than 20,000 pre orders and the plane was to only ship 16,000 to the US.
2: Dealers adding extra charges (if they can they will, I would).
3: Closest dealer is 55 miles away.
4: I may have to wait a year + to get one ( I don't see them shipping all 16,000 in the first quarter).
5: Untested model.
But as I found out over the weekend I have a Zap dealer 20 miles from my house and they have 2 2006 conversions in stock. Of course the price is high but do the following factors justify the extra expense.
1: Dealer 20 miles form my house (who has been with Zap for the last 3 years and has a certified service tech it in house)
2: Proven model with years of history.
3: Parts and on-line support all ready established (granted parts would come from Canada or the EU (at a higher cost))
4: Proven to get 50-55 MPG
5: Could buy it TODAY
This kept me awake last night going BACK AND FORTH. My plan for this car is to back and forth to work (17 miles in each direction), I looked at pure electric and to do 10 mile highway and 7 mile city in a COLD New England state during the winter on 1 charge would cost more than the Zap version.
I looked at the Toyota Pr. and if you look at the Google data ( their Plugin project) the non Plugin only get 39 MPG and to go Plugin is about $10,000 more and you lose your warranty and bringing the cost to well over 30K.
So WHAT would you DO, wait or spend the extra money for a 2006 version OOHH and I have driven both, I really don
This post would be best on the EU threads, but I figured I'd start here.
I too have paid my $99, but there are also some questions too.
1: There are more than 20,000 pre orders and the plane was to only ship 16,000 to the US.
2: Dealers adding extra charges (if they can they will, I would).
3: Closest dealer is 55 miles away.
4: I may have to wait a year + to get one ( I don't see them shipping all 16,000 in the first quarter).
5: Untested model.
But as I found out over the weekend I have a Zap dealer 20 miles from my house and they have 2 2006 conversions in stock. Of course the price is high but do the following factors justify the extra expense.
1: Dealer 20 miles form my house (who has been with Zap for the last 3 years and has a certified service tech it in house)
2: Proven model with years of history.
3: Parts and on-line support all ready established (granted parts would come from Canada or the EU (at a higher cost))
4: Proven to get 50-55 MPG
5: Could buy it TODAY
This kept me awake last night going BACK AND FORTH. My plan for this car is to back and forth to work (17 miles in each direction), I looked at pure electric and to do 10 mile highway and 7 mile city in a COLD New England state during the winter on 1 charge would cost more than the Zap version.
I looked at the Toyota Pr. and if you look at the Google data ( their Plugin project) the non Plugin only get 39 MPG and to go Plugin is about $10,000 more and you lose your warranty and bringing the cost to well over 30K.
So WHAT would you DO, wait or spend the extra money for a 2006 version OOHH and I have driven both, I really don
1 - 2 of 13 Posts
I just wanted to thank Ron for joining the site. I feel he will be a great resource to the community can help us in many of our questions about possible ownership of the Smart Car, whether it be the US model to come or currently available models in the US.The current model smart cars that are not from ZAP dealers do have a warranty that is honored at any mechanic that wants to work on the car. We supply free repair CD's and website assistance to assist the mechanics in learning those repairs. There are two completely different warranties in existence on current model smarts. Ours are 4 year/50,000 mile warranties. The non-ZAP dealer warranties have no geographic or dealer centered requirements. There are not many folks that want to spend the higher amount of money for these limited available cars, but that's okay since there aren't that many of these cars anyway. It is important for potential buyers to know that the ZAP warranty is much different from our warranty and our warranty is from a company that has been selling these agreements for over 25 years. This is meant to be a clarification. Thanks.
Ron Gaus, aSmartCar.com
1 - 2 of 13 Posts
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