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Another Dealer EV Horror Story

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eloder

Active Member
Mar 12, 2015
1,214
1,427
Ohio, USA
...or why I can't wait until the Model 3 is available for purchase and I never have to work with a dealer ever again.

To put it simply, I factory-ordered a smart electric drive from my local Mercedes dealership in late October, 2014. 3-4 month delivery time, no later than March. Not a huge deal! March rolls around, and I'm advised of a production delay, with the car becoming a MY2016 instead (no changes at all, one different option for body paint available). New ETA is now April/May for production and delivery.

My last deadline of May 14th, 2015 for delivery comes and goes, and then the fun starts. I had to go through the BBB to get this information, but this letter explains everything well enough...

DLD2E7n.jpg


Not sure whether to laugh or cry. My best explanation is that Mercedes needs to invent the technology necessary to emissions-test a BEV before they'll release my car :tongue:
 
I don't understand how even the government could take 15 months to emission test a vehicle. And why do they need to test a production car? Surely there are MB owned test vehicles for such things. Sounds completely unbelievable to me

I'm not sure. It has the smart car of America forums confused, too, especially since the MY2016 electric smart is a carryover from MY2014/MY2015.
 
Are we sure it's not a typo and they really meant to say end of July 2015?

Possibly, but that would still beg the question: emissions testing taking 2.5 months for an electric vehicle that's already 3-4 months overdue from original estimates? (2.5 months from the original 5/14 delivery date / SOP delivery date for factory orders).

I'm not questioning it anymore or trying. I personally will probably be picking up a used Leaf instead if there's no clarification on this shortly, even if the delivery date is indeed end of July 2015.

I can't believe there are still people out there who think traditional automakers will compete with Tesla :D
 
... so is no one seriously going to point out the "ED" in the name?

Assuming you talk about the "Smart ED"-thing: That stands for "electric drive".

Edit: Otherwise, I'm on board of the "probably a typo" crowd. Model year 2016 done with Testing by July '16 seems a tad late.
And emission testing an EV... :rolleyes: Maybe they really mean 'range testing'?
 
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I was billed for the full inspection (Safety, Emissions, Sticker) by the Lexus dealership when I took Pearlie May in. Since they had fed me good breakfast and coffee while waiting, I was very gentle when I pointed to the Emissions fee and asked, "fer what, exactly, y'all?" :)
Bill was corrected from $27 to $7 when they consulted the state guidelines sheet instead of the regional service boss dude.
(and they washed her too- nice!)
 
Assuming you talk about the "Smart ED"-thing: That stands for "electric drive".

Edit: Otherwise, I'm on board of the "probably a typo" crowd. Model year 2016 done with Testing by July '16 seems a tad late.
And emission testing an EV... :rolleyes: Maybe they really mean 'range testing'?

The only reason why July 2016 may not be a typo is that smart has discontinued electric drive production until likely September/October 2016 for the US, if the electric model follows the new gas generation timeline. But I'm sure it's a typo. I'm not even sure if I want to wait for the car if it's coming end of July 2015, and whatever the reason may be for the delay I highly doubt it's for emissions testing!
 
Am I the only one who is a bit confused why this became a BBB issue? I see no dealer horror story in the traditional sense. I see a production delay, which isn't uncommon and ALL visitors here should know Tesla is FAR from immune from (so I wouldn't hold my breath on an expeditious Model 3 rollout).

Also, didn't something similar happen with the S or Volt (maybe even fisker)? I can't remember which, but vaguely recall that cars were ready but could not be sold until EPA testing was complete and a monroney sticker could be applied.
 
Am I the only one who is a bit confused why this became a BBB issue? I see no dealer horror story in the traditional sense. I see a production delay, which isn't uncommon and ALL visitors here should know Tesla is FAR from immune from (so I wouldn't hold my breath on an expeditious Model 3 rollout).

Do Model S's have unexpected 5 month delays, on top of the original order time? The current gen smart ED has been available for order nationwide for over a year now, and sold in America for over 3 years. It's a decent-volume model worldwide, even if it's only a side player here in the US.

Fortunately, I finally found out today that it is indeed a typo and the delivery date is July. Still several months delayed.

It became a BBB issue because through dealer, corporate customer service, and escalated channels for both avenues I had "no ETA" and no explanation for delivery and silence after the 5/14 delivery deadline (which in itself was far from the first hard deadline given). I even was working with the same guy who responded to the BBB complaint. I never once was notified of any delays on any step of the way, even in mid February I was advised that the vehicle was due to arrive at the dealer within a week. I know delays happen, but I have never once heard of an ICE being sold for three years being delayed by 5+ months.

Even where Tesla has low volumes and long wait times, I have not heard a single report of unexpected delays longer than a month. And I certainly have never heard of a Tesla being delayed for "emissions testing" :p