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Got my new Smart ED (U.S. and Canada)

86K views 218 replies 66 participants last post by  DudeInTheSmart 
#1 · (Edited)
Started in anticipation of May 1st (or 3rd) deliveries. :)

Let us know when you get your new electric drive (or whatever smart is calling them this week....)

1. cooltoys, NY
2. Woody14619, NY
3. hunger, CA
4. zipperdu, CA
5. Don Bearden, CA*
6. Jeffrey Myers, MD?*


* from smartusainsider.com
 
#6 ·
This is what my genius dealer had to write me yesterday:

I hear some cars are on their way to the dealerships now and might arrive in the next few days.

I'm not sure how the rebates work. I think the Federal comes off the price and the state is a tax rebate but I haven't looked into it yet.
What a joker, I swear... I'm this close to giving up on "Ed" and get the Fiat 500e instead!

At least the Fiat guys have their sh!t together. Communication from Fiat USA has been much more clear from day 1, options and packages are straightforward, and the Fiat dealer in my area actually knows what he's talking about and does ACTUAL RESEARCH to answer my questions.

Examples:

I had a conference call with CARB and the original budget is running out however they did reload the money and we should be good for the balance of the year at least. They also eliminated Hybrids from the program so Prius's will no longer qualify.
FIAT has priced the 500e at $32,500 including destination fee, prior to federal, state and local rebates/tax incentives. The 500e comes highly equipped straight from the factory including all power options including a Navigation system and BlueTooth capability.
The only options are a power sliding glass moonroof ($1,050) and the "Sport Appearance Package" ($495). This package includes contrast-colored mirror caps and side stripes, dark graphite colored alloy wheels, smoked head-light/tail-light lenses and is only available with a dark interior.
FIAT has announced a deeply subsidized lease on the 500e. Just $999 total due at signing and $199 per month plus tax for a 36 month, 12,000 mile-per-year lease. Alternatively, FIAT is also offering 0.00%APR financing for up to 60 months on the 500e. Both these amazing offers are offered on approved credit for well qualified buyers.
 
#31 ·
While I understand the concern, vendors may offer what they know re: tax advantages but ultimately it is up to the individual to know where they stand. It's not that difficult to check your state or the federal programs.
:wink:

I apologize, maybe your issue is not tax-filing related.

This is what my genius dealer had to write me yesterday:



What a joker, I swear... I'm this close to giving up on "Ed" and get the Fiat 500e instead!

At least the Fiat guys have their sh!t together. Communication from Fiat USA has been much more clear from day 1, options and packages are straightforward, and the Fiat dealer in my area actually knows what he's talking about and does ACTUAL RESEARCH to answer my questions.

Examples:
 
#7 ·
On Fiat in general ...

When they first arrived around Chicago had stopped in to a North Shore area dealer and talked a bit with the sales rep. They had a 'remote' lot with new cars awaiting the showroom to be finished at the time (Fiat would not let them 'sell' any cars until it was completed) and the guy actually knew quite a bit about them, had to complete an off-site training program of course along with designated mechanics. I'd imagine the same would happen with the EV's they'll sell but it's interesting because its starting out in a very limited market area.
 
#8 ·
Back to main topic ...

some smart U.S. based dealers have these NOW

Have always liked the autotrader site as it shows dealer inventory, sometimes it's pre-orders for customers but other times it shows cars actually in stock. If anyone is in the Germantown, MD area please see if these are there! First non-launch color on a lot I've seen as well --- and its indeed a Gen III by its looks and pricing to me:

Cars for Sale: 2013 smart fortwo electric drive in Germantown, MD 20874: Coupe Details - 346576825 - AutoTrader.com





 
#9 ·
With a release date of May 15, shouldn't be any in inventory as the first wave should have been pre-sold?

Very odd that we have now gone a couple days with not even one delivery being acknowledged by smartUSA, sUSAi, smart USA FB, a smart Center with inventory to sell (?) or a new owner?

Appears that Ed "delayed" has only served to sell more Leafs and potentially 500e's? What a business model - smart continues to provide more questions than answers? :confused:

Popcorn to celebrate the first Ed delivery has become very stale . . . :popcorn:
 
#10 ·
I suppose those that are listed with this dealer could be cancelled customer orders (those who wanted them simply couldn't wait any longer and bought a LEAF) but who knows --- none of these appear to have the steering wheel 'paddle' option either but again probably just in the first batch -- did you happen to notice date of mfg, yes that's February 2013 ... kind of confirms the theory as they've been in the states waiting for smart to release them for awhile ?

 
#13 ·
First Electric Drive Delivered in NYC

Just picked up my Smart electric drive yesterday and it's amazing. Eerie Quiet, quick and thank god no transmission! I decided to get the Crystal White/Kinetic Green Combo and it looks great, especially with those white wheels. I traded my first 2008 Smart Cabrio (which was the second delivered in NYC).

So far I love it because it corrects my biggest complaint with my first one, the transmission.

More to come.

Jay
 

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#15 ·
Just picked up my Smart electric drive yesterday and it's amazing. Eerie Quiet, quick and thank god no transmission! I decided to get the Crystal White/Kinetic Green Combo and it looks great, especially with those white wheels. I traded my first 2008 Smart Cabrio (which was the second delivered in NYC).

So far I love it because it corrects my biggest complaint with my first one, the transmission.

More to come.

Jay
Congratulations, Jay!

Moved here to tally ED's deliveries. Thanks. :wink:
 
#19 · (Edited)
FWIW: Got mine too. :) First Cabrio gas delivered to smart Buffalo in 2008 (3rd car sold). This time I was first nationwide to take delivery for an 2013 ED. When the dealer called in to activate the warranty, needed to setup the on-line connection, she was told she was the first to register an ED in the continental US. Picked it up Friday morning, and drove it from Buffalo to Rochester (65 miles, used 75% of battery).

And yes, it's quite amazing. The ride is smooth, the pickup is just crazy. And I love the "UFO noise" it makes. Overall, awesome. Now if only I could figure out how to adjust the damn eco regen settings without paddles. Leave it to smart to introduce a feature that can only be set with custom equipment, and then not offer said equipment. :rolleyes:

I'm betting a software fix will later allow the setting to be set via the on-wheel cruise +/- when cruise is off. Would be the most logical thing to do, since you'd only really want to change it when not using cruise...
 
#21 ·
Update: the San Francisco smart center just called me to say the EDs have arrived. Or at least so they claim. When asked why the person I've been dealing with over email for the past 6 months hasn't told me earlier, they said "he's no longer with the company". :rolleyes:

So I have an appointment with the smart manager tonight to talk about price, specifics of the battery lease, etc. Will keep you posted, but let me tell you it's not looking promising with the way these guys do business.
 
#27 ·
Is it official?

Has smart officially released the ED? Was it one of those quite releases. No photo ops, no newspaper or web articles, no one from smart saying ta da, look what we have created and are now selling, not a peep, not even an email to those of us that had signed up to be notified in advance. They may be selling them, but have not had the official release ceremony. The whole thing is just plain strange. Who is in charge at smart? Am I the only one that thinks this is out of the ordinary?
 
#28 ·
Has smart officially released the ED?
They have, but only to those that officially put down a deposit. I was called some time ago asking if I'd like to do a pre-order, and put down a nice size deposit. My bet is they're selling those first and are waiting to make the big announce when they have actual electrics on the floor to show. Some places (with standing pre-orders) appear to be getting them sooner than others.
 
#30 ·
Yea, finally got it today!

I was able to buy the white cab at MB of Oxnard today, it was the car Jim photographed a few days ago.

The Dealer and salesmen were friendly and helpful ( Thanks, Kenny and Eder!) This was the first Electric Drive sold at this dealership.

One potential problem that could have popped up was the fact that the distance to my home is farther than the car's range, I had discussed this problem but really didn't have a good solution- well, the guys had also been discussing it and decided to split the shipping cost on a flatbed to have it delivered to my home. I was very satisfied with this deal.

I was offered the "Battery Assurance Plan" but elected to buy the battery.

I will try to document performance of this car, should be interesting as I have hills and occasional strong winds to effect performance.
 
#32 ·
I was able to buy the white cab at MB of Oxnard today, it was the car Jim photographed a few days ago.

The Dealer and salesmen were friendly and helpful ( Thanks, Kenny and Eder!) This was the first Electric Drive sold at this dealership.

One potential problem that could have popped up was the fact that the distance to my home is farther than the car's range, I had discussed this problem but really didn't have a good solution- well, the guys had also been discussing it and decided to split the shipping cost on a flatbed to have it delivered to my home. I was very satisfied with this deal.

I was offered the "Battery Assurance Plan" but elected to buy the battery.

I will try to document performance of this car, should be interesting as I have hills and occasional strong winds to effect performance.
Many congrats ... we won't see these out this way (Midwest) until this fall so you have more than a few months of reporting how it goes. Sounds like you decided to throw the dice on battery longevity as well ... in your climate I doubt you'll have any problems especially as the smart has a battery cooling system versus just air cooled like my LEAF. I'm still debating on a lease as this model will be quickly changed in about 2 years (or possibly less) but as you picked the open top model that may be unique enough to keep a bit of its value intact. We plan to keep our LEAF at the very least 8 to 10 years as long as the body doesn't rust through --- no concerns over the battery as we have 4 seasons and a heated garage in winter. We're still waiting for Nissan to 'publish' what they will sell the replacement batteries for as its the heart of the car but if history follows they'll keep it competitive with what other car makes have done; if its a 'decent' price we would simply replace it in the 8 to 10 year time frame and have another 8 to 10 of life for it.
 
#37 ·
very nice


the facelift on the new smarts makes them the best looking smarts yet :cool:


question: do the daytime running lights turn on automatically when you turn the key? and how much power do you think they drain? i would assume a very minuscule amount to even notice, but just wondering... if you dont know then obviously they barely drain anything :pimp:
 
#42 ·
Ambient temperature so far seems to be the greatest factor impacting range. We've had a pretty crappy spring here in Ontario and I've been able to observe range at a variety of temperatures. I've also experimented with the AC and heater off so my results are untainted. From 25 Celsius (77F) to 10 Celcius (50F) you can expect a 20 - 25% decrease in range. It hasn't been overly hot here yet, but so far I have observed no significant impact on range by using the AC on fan speed 2 with the temp set to 22C. I haven't used the heater much at all so I don't have any results on that yet. The heated seats don't seem to affect range at all (at least nothing noticeable).
 
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