Introduction -- kay

[kay]

Hi, everyone -- guess I'd best post my introduction as well.

I'm Katherine, but go by kay on the forums because it's just easier to type. I'm the very happy owner of a pure, black frame with white panels.

My husband and I lived in France for a number of years, where I would pine for having a smart -- if there had been any way to bring one back, I would have done it!

Oddly enough, someone had sent me the on-line survey about whether I'd be interested in a smart if they were to be introduced into Canada -- I filled that out while we were living in France, but then I completely forgot about it!

We were in the process of moving back to Canada and getting settled and living out of suitcases for several months, so we missed the car show in Toronto and the initial information about the introduction of them into Canada. We just happened to see that Victoria Star in Kitchener was going to have one on display, which is the first time we clued into the fact that having a smart might be a possibility. I needed a car, because transportation here really stinks, but I'd been leaning towards a second-hand car, or a less expensive new car.

We went to the dealership on a Sunday. My husband wanted to put down a deposit then and there, but I hesitated, still thinking that maybe for a second car I should settle for something cheaper. I hemmed and hawed for a couple of days -- then on the Tuesday, when I had to be in Kitchener for a knitter's guild meeting, my husband went to the dealership and placed the deposit for me.

Eleven months of anguish later, I've got my car, and boy, it was worth the wait. I keep wondering when the honeymoon will be over, but so far, a month and counting, I'm exquisitely happy with it.

[MikeT]

Excellent to see you here! Glad you're enjoying the car!

[kay]

"Enjoy" would be the understatement of the year, but I don't think there are words adequate enough to express how happy I am with it.

The decision I'm trying to make now is whether I should buy my snow tires without rims, put them on the current ones, and then save up to put the summer tires on a Real Nice set of rims. Still need to investigate the cost, but in theory it sounds like an excellent idea.

[spinner]

Kay, you got a pure, right? That's what I did when I buckled and decided to get snow tires on immediately. Having relatively inexpensive steel wheels makes the choice easier. So, I got the snow tires mounted on my existing rims (around $400), then purchased new steel rims ($300) this spring to permanently mount ($70, including valves) the summer tires. Those figures are approximate and may not account for all the taxes.

Tony Sacco at Let's Roll Tire Ltd. (aka Tirecraft) -- 750 Oakdale Rd. Unix #34 (Finch & 400), Toronto, 416-654-8433 - was where some of us went instead of the dealership. I've been a happy customer.

[spinner]

The rule of thumb is that dealerships always have a 10-30% mark-up on the fair market retail for tires/rims.

[kay]

Pure, yes -- It just occurred to us the other day that it didn't make a lot of sense to buy second set of rims unless we upgraded to something nice. And that it didn't make sense to use those in winter.

It'd be worth a drive into Toronto (All That Long Way! :wink: ) to check things out. If I can get the tires, I can probably get the guy who did the tires on our Matrix here in town to put them on.

Thanks!