Still Waiting for Smart Amazing!

[Schmimbo 0]

It's been a while since I participated on this board. Kind of lost insterest in participating with no smart to talk about. Not feeling sorry for myself just thought I would let you know I check by every now and then and looks like a ghost town in this section. Im within 60 days of my final DDE from smart and no news. No emails, no phone calls nothing from smart or the dealer. Called serveral times to check in and they dont have any news or VIN or anything on me as of yet. Looks like this will be a real 18+ month wait from reservation to delivery. Lesson learned. Should have bought a smart orphan and been done with it. This reservation first come first served is bull and only works if your in a non populated city. Terrible to wait almost 2 years for a car. I feel like a fool for the wait and buying into the launch of the car with the smart tour. Still look at the car and love the car and want the car still but the experience of waiting and watching others take delivery long after those reserved a year before is a little heart breaking and F'd. Its ruined the buying experience for me and the "fun" of buying a new smart car. Thought I would say hi to everyone and keep you posted. Im sure many others on here reserving around the same time as myself or earlier could still be waiting. Even after the delivery date comes in my opinion, no it will not be worth it in the end after almost 2 years wait. The car will be great and fun to drive and save on gas but the pain of everything before hand leading up oto delivery will not be forgotten trust me.Hope everybody is doing great. Talk to you soon,Tim

[yolanda 0]

Aw crap, maybe you could send a bitch letter up to MB about your wait? Or yeah, buy an orphan. But it *might* turn out to be worth the wait. I'm loving my car so much and so much and then some. I laugh when i see it (joy is precious) and it's fun to drive too.

[Snow_Dogs 0]

I understand that when the smart first came to Canada, there was a similar wait for the first cars to arrive. In the end the wait will be worth it, hang in there!

[Tardis 3]

Oh that's terrible. We had to wait little over 6 months but had wanted the car for about a year before that but to have put the actual order in and wait that long is disgraceful and I would let MB know this.On the other hand you will be so proud of this little beast. Unless of course something is wrong than I would be a tyrant myself so lets hope everything is great on it. Bug your dealer they, in my opinion, should be keeping you in the loop. Ours gave us a lttle toy car to look at while waiting.Hope it comes soon, keep us posted, we care.Karen

[MikeT 744]

Well let me drag out smart story number 79: I had a 908 day wait between pre-order in July 2002 and delivery in January 2005.....some people got their cars 4 months before me, even Johnny-Come-Latelys picking up orphans.....(I refused all offers of an orphan, as they were not well-equipped).In the end the wait is worth it, and the car you finally do get will likely be better than the first batch - the shifter issues should be totally resolved and some of the other little problems should be eliminated on a second year production car.Yes the US forum is dead here but then again the rest of the forum seems to be doing OK, so you and any others who want to breathe life into it are welcome. But the regional forums aren't the best part of this site anyway. Post in the other non-area specific forums!

[Schmimbo 0]

Thanks guys. Mike your story still always gets me about the 908 wait. I thought my 550 days was bad. In comparision to others here in the USA my 550 seems crazy. I dont think anybody will ever top that wait of yours Mike. Nor would I want anybody to wait that long. 1 year should be about the normal time to wait in my opinion. Smart USA just seems way inconsistant with their reservation holders to geographical areas. Wish they would have said something like this when I reserved or when I test drove the smart at the road show. At least then I would have known going in that It will be 2 years to get a smart. I probably would have then just waited for a fully loaded orphan. Seems like there is enough of them if one is willing to pay the premium for the have it now syndrome. They way Smart pitched it was we would start getting them in Jan (which they did) and it would be delivered by reservation (which they did but failed to tell us about geographical areas). Leading you to believe first come first serve. Nice to see people still look in the USA area of this website. Guess I will have to start participating in the general areas once my car is here and I feel like I actually would have something to chat about.Talk to you soon guys,Tim

[MikeT 744]

Yeah, but to be fair the 908 days I waited included about 800 days before even one car had been sold in Canada....most of my 908 day wait was during the "will they or won't they certify it for sale in Canada" period.So you are coming up to about 200+ days since the first US smarts were sold (is that right?), so actually you have beaten my record. There is nothing worse than knowing your car is coming but meanwhile there are thousands of others with the same car, on the road & in your face, already!Hang in there, buddy!

Edited October 16, 2008 by Mike T

[Razorback 0]

Sorry that your smart is taking so long....

[Schmimbo 0]

Just got the call from the dealer. I think it might be in. Ill keep you posted. No 30 day notice, no email no nothin? Amazing.

[MikeT 744]

Wow, that would be good news!

[Schmimbo 0]

My smart is here. 516 days from reservation to delivery. Or 16 months however you want to look at it. Too long in my books. Didnt expect it the next month after reserving but a normal wait time of maybe a year would have seemed more normal to me. But whatever at this point.No email from smart.No 30 day notice from the dealer.Just got the call from the dealer saying "sorry for not returning your calls from the week previously however your car came in today".I was honestly surprised. Happy and relieved but worried. Happy the wait is over. Worried with the credit crunch and the "economic collapse" that they would not qualify me for my long awaited smart and I would come home empty handed with just plain bad timing. Filled out my application, ran my credit score, no problems, they tried to nail me with a higher % interest rate but negotiated a better rate based on my credit score was better than good. Got a full percentage rate lower, gave my down payment I had saved for and brought her home within 2 hours of my scheduled appointment start time with the smart dealer. Very nice people and I was just happy to see my smart shined and filled up with fuel. Checked for scratches and defects and blemishes etc. Nothing I could spot. Went for a test drive with the dealer to show me how to operate everything. Was a little overwelmed with all the goodies and buttons etc. All I could say is WOW. What a world of difference from test driving at the road show and putt putting around the block to driving my own smart without the limitations etc. This smart can really move. Ive been easy on her for break in purposes but the dealer showed me how it could drive and I was honestly surprised at the performance of my little smart. Amazing. So far I put 92 miles on her on day 1. Im very pleased with my purchase. I Do not regret anything I added at configuration time. Glad I didnt settle. The only thing I might question is the extended warranty I bought for peace of mind. The only reason why was the price and the "Exceptions" to what they do not cover that I read on the contract which I will go into later here on the regular boards. Not too terribly worried since its fully refundable and pro rated should I want a refund. But very pleased with the fit and finish of the car and the drivability and performance of the smart car. Wanted to let everyone know I picked her up on Saturday and my wait is finally over and now maybe I can participate in the boards and having something to talk about here other than dreadful wait. Ill post some pictures of her. Youve already seen smarts but I feel proud to have taken a chance on smart and happy with my purchase.Thanks for reading and allowing me to vent and share my experience.Tim

[bilgladstone 13]

Very happy for you that your smartie has finally arrived! I don't expect we'll be hearing from you for several days as you will be driving around with a perma-grin in every spare hour

[Bailey24 0]

That's great news and sure is a heck of a good pick-me-up! Congrats!!

[Snow_Dogs 0]

Congratulations!Post some pictures let's see your new baby!

[MikeT 744]

It's about bloody time, and now the fun begins!

[Nextourer 1]

Congrats!

[Razorback 0]

Very happy that you finally received your smart. Now stop reading these post and go out and drive some more.

[Speedie 4]

Yeah! Happy smarting - the waiting is very hard - we had a 4 month wait - we knew where the car was better than the dealer by tracking it on the shipping info for the ship and rail (it was the 2 week wait for it to get from the rail end to Victoria that was a real bummer).Anyhow - happy belated arrival!Cheers,Cameron

[Guest Chobukov]

I am new when it comes to car thing, but why do you need to wait that long? I thought if you see a car that you want in a car dealer showroom, they have stocks. As soon as they process you're papers you can drive home your car.

[MikeT 744]

Do you own a smart, or just lease cars? There used to be a waiting list.