[Carlssonpro]

Announcement

Sorry for one day delay in annoucement. We will officially open on Tuesday 2/26 . Concrete is being poured monday in front of location. Show room is done wih cars in showroom on display. Cars that have been ordered are in. I would really like to tell everyone that is bad mouthing that they have no idea or experience in opening a dealership. The inspections( Smart has been here three times) The city permits, inspections etc. You do not just throw tile on a floor etc and thats it. The Baranco family has worked hard on this(3 years) to get this off the ground. I am the only dealership in the country that has accessories like wheels, etc in stock. I will not sell any accessories to any other dealers at this time. These are for our loyal customers that have ordered Smart cars through us.The reason I know is that 10 Smart dealers from west to east coast have called me to buy accessories from us. I started my search last year and yesterday we signed a contract to have a ground effects company to build a kit exclusively for us that will be sold world wide. The kit will be priced much less than Lorinser, Brabus but will blow theirs out of the water. We are currently re styling a couple of Smart cars that will be available in the next month. Hopefully they will have our new kit on it. So to those that have been kind , I thank you. For those that have not, please keep in mind the politics we had to get through. Remmember, this is your Smart Center and we want it to be an excellent experience.

Kevin Ingold
Performance Director
Mercedes Benz of Buckhead
Smart Buckhead

 

[dirlink]

Kevin,

Congratulations to you and the rest of the smart center Buckhead team for surmounting the myriad of obstacles and opening on Tuesday next. I look forward to congratulating you in person and working with you all as I experience purchasing and enjoying my new smart.

All the best,

John Thompson

 

[partsrme928]

Thanks Kevin,
I have to admit, at first I did not want to drive in to atlanta. I'm not comformtable driving in big city traffic. also I'm just as close to knoxville, but I do like the option of having options and it sound like you got options. I'm guessing my smart want be here till june/july. Maybe I will make a few practice runs and look over your place.

Johnny
#1237

 

[bobnyuma]

Also a big thanks to Kevin and the Baranco family. I live in Brunswick and its a drive for me as well.. My dealership is scheduled to be JaxSmart. I look forward to the future when I can come up and see the custom parts and effects you will have to offer. Try to have a great weekend and Opening next week. bob geigle

 

[gnikkib]

Kevin / Emily,

How about free tickets to the 2008 Auto Show this April for those of us in Atlanta who purchase from Buckhead?

we usually get tickets to the atlanta auto show. i will contact the maada to make sure we are able to secure a decent amount this year. email me at (oh well, i guess i'm not allowed to post an email here yet **reply to this post) if you want some. i will contact you as soon as i have some. they will be "first come, first serve."

 

[gnikkib]

I think I'll have to sign up for a test drive...
Any idea on when that may start happening?

as you may already know, due to lack of demos, all test drives will be by appointment only starting Tuesday, february 26. please either visit our website at smartcenterbuckhead.com and look under the "new car" tab. there you will see a link to "test drive." you can schedule an appointment there or by calling us at 404-846-3500. we will have our smart phone number on tuesday (hopefully). until then we can be reached via our mercedes store at the above mentioned number.

while we all LOVE smart, we are also a business that has to cover our expenses, and hopefully, one day make a profit. therefore, we have a limited staff (although from what i hear, we have much more than most; the gm in san diego just told me that he only had one person working for smart and they worked bell to bell 7 days a week throughout january!). therefore, if you would like to come to the dealership and want someone to personally show you the vehicle, i would recommend an appointment as well.

of course you are welcome to come by and browse, but we cannot guarantee there will be someone to answer questions, etc. unless you have an appointment. i've been told this is the way they do it in europe as well. believe me, we would love to have a big staff, but we've got to grow there. by the way, did everyone on here know that Kevin, our super great accessories guy is doing all of this for free? he is not being compensated for all the time and energy he is putting in to smart. he actually just gets paid by mercedes. that is amazing! he doesn't have to do this. he just loves smart! Kevin, i just want to say a gigantic "THANK YOU!!!" we couldn't be here without you! and thanks for all the kind words regarding my family. it's nice to know you care. :~)

sorry about the super long post...

 

[2micro4u]

Less than 24 hrs to go and SMART CENTER OF BUCKHEAD will be opened. Georgia is very exited about this. Thanks Kevin, Emily, and the Baranco family for putting this together. I know at times we all have been alittle impatient including myself but after the smoke clears we know and understand opening up a new dealer line with a new product to the US is not an overnight task.
So I praise you guys up at the MB of Buckhead for all your hard work.

I will see you guys tommorow.

 

[alexpeister]

What hours are you going to be open tomorrow, the rest of the week and the weekend?

 

[Netcowboy]

Emily, Loni, and Grene,

I just wanted to officially thank all of you for the wonderful time I had on Saturday (2/23) at 3:00PM. You were all so helpful and friendly. Emily, you were right about becoming a pro with the shifting. I never use the automatic anymore. As you know, I work for AT&T Mobility and today (Monday) I used my lunch break to show off my new car. I parked it right out front and passed out informational sheets with a few web addresses, including your dealership site.

I never got to meet Kevin, but I will be back soon to pick out my accessories.

I am so happy! Thank you - Thank you - Thank you

Jason

 

[meaux61]

Smart Center Doc fee is 499.00. FYI

Meaux

 

[meaux61]

Whoops.....they JUST lowered it to 399.00 due to heavy discussion on the original dealer fees thread last night. CHeck out the thread.

Still a bummer I am sure for those of you who reserved on March 19th and had to rent a car etc, only to go to buy yours and have to pay 350 dollars more than the folks in California, Texas, Oregon, Washington, New York...etc.

Meaux

 

[Old smart]

OK, who's next!

 

[bobnyuma]

I dont like the disparage in dealer fees either. However, all dealers have the extra fees. You dont blame GM or Ford for add ons from the dealer. Dont blame PAG either. I dont see much savings going 3 or 4 states away to buy the same car. You still gotta get it home and that cost money too. I do like the fact some of them have come down due to pressure from the forum and PAG because they were out of reason. The states control the fees elsewhere. Or they would be up there as well. Rather than so much focus on the dealer fees, it would be nice to see where are vehicles are in the cue for us.

 

[GABadger]

$399, not out of line in Atlanta

For anyone who has purchased a car in Atlanta, you know that $399 is pretty much a standard "doc fee" for many dealers. Not saying it is fun to pay or anything but it is pretty much a given here in the ATL.

I'm not going to argue with anyone as to whether it is fair or not but those of you who live in areas with lower fees, pay them and don't get on the people here in Atlanta trying to make some pennies selling these things. And no, I do not work for smart center Buckhead, I'm a customer who paid my $399 and had the best delivery experience of my life. Seriously.

Lovin' my black smart and the looks I'm getting!!!

Happy Grand Opening day!!!

 

[mattlimbaugh]

already taken delivery?

am i ready this correctly that you have already taken delivery? If so congrats...but I didnt think buckhead was going to sell until today. Maybe I misunderstood.

 

[skyzdlimit]

For anyone who has purchased a car in Atlanta, you know that $399 is pretty much a standard "doc fee" for many dealers. Not saying it is fun to pay or anything but it is pretty much a given here in the ATL.

I'm not going to argue with anyone as to whether it is fair or not but those of you who live in areas with lower fees, pay them and don't get on the people here in Atlanta trying to make some pennies selling these things. And no, I do not work for smart center Buckhead, I'm a customer who paid my $399 and had the best delivery experience of my life. Seriously.

Lovin' my black smart and the looks I'm getting!!!

Happy Grand Opening day!!!

GABadger, congrats on your new smartie. Enjoy it! But keep in mind that questioning a standard fee is not a bad thing. It lowered your fee from $499 and another fee in Florida. Asking questions is empowerment and most of us don't like the feeling of being taken advantage of. If you are feeling otherwise, good for you.

 

[GABadger]

GABadger, congrats on your new smartie. Enjoy it! But keep in mind that questioning a standard fee is not a bad thing. It lowered your fee from $499 and another fee in Florida. Asking questions is empowerment and most of us don't like the feeling of being taken advantage of. If you are feeling otherwise, good for you.

Agreed 100% and well put. Like you said, the questioning saved me $100. I was primarily responding to those who don't live in areas with doc fees like us who were particularly vocal about them being obscene and excessive.

Again, I really hate doc fees but since prices are set by the distributor, thus limiting gross profit from each sale, dealers with big overhead (not always in their control with taxes, local utilities, etc) don't have much of a choice but to charge something in order to make a profit.

By the way, a local MINI dealer was charging $595 doc fee AND $495 Dealer prep fee as recently as 3 years ago. I drove 150 miles to the dealer in the next state for my car and I believe paid a doc fee under $200.

Doc fees aside, the car is a blast!!!!!!!

 

[meaux61]

Well said skyzdlimit59!

Thank you

Meaux

 

[2micro4u]

Im not worried about the doc fee because no matter how you look at it most dealers charge it and fees unfortunatley are becoming a part of society. Just look at your home phone/utility/or any other bill and you will find added fees.
I think all we can do is educate ourselves about it so we can be better prepared to asorb that cost....


BTW THE SMARTCENTER of BUCKHEAD is now open. It looks great, I walked around the showroom and the staff was perfessional and informative. I feel personaly that ATLANTA has the best SMARTCENTER on the East Coast. Especialy when you take into count the knowledge Kevin has and what he can get for us enthusiast.
Hands down I am satisfied with just about every aspect of the dealer I have for my home.

 

[bobnyuma]

Cool, I am happy at the more upbeat tone now. Waiting for JaxSmart to get my car. Talked to Deniz today, they were fast with answers and upbeat. But no work on my delivery yet. Well they say patience is a virture. Guess most of us are pretty virtueous. hehhehehe NOT.