451 smart fortwo

Goodbye Smart Car...

2010-06-01T17:32:02.627Z

Hello,

I have visited this site every day for almost 2 years, but have only posted once or twice. This past weekend, I decided it was
time to trade in my Smart for something more reliable with a more
responsible company. My car's consistent problems with clutch /
shifting / break switch / seat belt switch / leaking transmission,
coupled with the dealer's non-friendly, uncaring attitude were bad
enough. When my dealer packed up and closed without even a phone call
to me to let me know where I could take my car WHEN it needed to be
fixed (not if, WHEN), that was the end for me. It turns out that I
would have had to drive over 45 minutes for any service. That means
half a day for an oil change. Since they don't offer any loaners / drop
off service, if I would have had to leave my car there for any reason
(very likely) I would have had to have my wife follow me 45 minutes to
the dealership and bring me back.

I loved everything about my Smart EXCEPT the company's unwillingness to stand by it's product. it
was always a fight to make sure anything was done that was supposed to
be done and even then, they treated you like you were trying to rob
them. I brought my Smart in once because they assembled my transmission
incorrectly on my last visit and NOT ONE person came up to me and said
sorry. In fact they didn't say anything to me.

So, in closing I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has knowingly or unknowingly
helped me with my cars various issued with your posts. It's great to
have a community where people can get together and discuss their
vehicles inside and out.

Keep it up and good luck!

Matt
Xcpe Pod

Have Smart dealerships lost their customer appreciation?

2010-03-06T01:14:58.968Z

I have been a Smart owner for a little over a year. I love my Smart and I had really great customer experiences with my dealership during the first year.

Recently, I have had a string of unusual and troublesome problems with the Smart. My break switch went out, which made it impossible to put the car into reverse. I took the car into the dealership, and after a week of waiting for the parts to arrive, (I also had the clutch plate replaced while it was in for a preventative measure) the told me that the switch was on back order and it would take 3 to 5 WEEKS to get it in. As you can imagine, I was really upset by this and told them that this was unacceptable. The receptionist told me she would speak to the manager and see what she could do. I decided that I would take it upon myself to locate a switch somewhere else. I had to call ONE other local dealership to find the switch. ONE. I called my dealership, told them and they send a driver to pick it up. I had my car back the next day.

I just wish they would have exhausted all possibilities before quoting the customer (me) 3 to five weeks on a switch replacement.

A week later, I saw a fluid dripping out of my engine area. I immediately thought oil and called Smart. It turned out to be transmission fluid leaking from one of the axle joints. (remember I had the clutch plate replaced) I drove the car in that day. It was fixed in a timely manner, but when I picked the car up, no one could explain to me exactly what went wrong and why. Was it the fault of the repair tech who replaced my clutch plate, was it a known fault in the joint, should I expect it again? The receptionist said the tech would call me that day to explain what went wrong, but I never got a call. I called frustrated that night and was forward to the dealer manager's voice mail...again, no call. I did get a call from the receptionist 2 days later saying that I could call to speak to the repair tech and he would explain it to me.

I called the tech. He said "I don't know. It could have been anything, maybe it was damaged when we worked on the transmission." Then I had to call the dealership back to explain that the repair guy who I was told would know why my car was leaking one of it's vital fluids actually didn't know. The manager then said that it could have been a number of things. (sound familiar?)

Now today my airbag light went on, on the dashboard. I called and spoke to the manager again and expressed my frustration with how many things have been going wrong on my Smart. He told me that he didn't know how to respond.

I brought my car in AGAIN and the manager didn't even come out to say hi, or anything. In fact, other than the receptionist speaking to me when I gave her my keys NO ONE SPOKE TO ME.

I guess my question is where is the customer service that existed when I bought my car. I guess it's a bad sign when you've read all of the magazines on the dealerships coffee table.

Really funny banned smart commercial!!

2009-01-08T19:47:30.188Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oph4fcJmPBk

Passenger seat goes back further than driver's seat?!?!

2008-12-24T08:00:12.593Z

Hi,

I have had my Passion for a little over a week now, (best car I've ever owned) and I just noticed that my passenger seat sits back a good 6 inches further than my driver seat. Is this supposed to be like this? Just curious.