Brabus Waiting Period

What has been the waiting experiences for people that have configured their Brabus models?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 12, 2009 at 8:03pm

Simply put, I reserved on 28 Aug 08; converted to Brabus - 23 Oct 08 [one reason, I liked the wheels, secondly it could speed up delivery - dealer had said 18 to 24 months for regular order]; received acceptance email 19 Nov 08 assuming that is the "configuration" date; mid-December 08 to mid-January 09 began receiving 90 day DDE's. On 13 Jan 09 the DDE's disappeared into "cannot estimate." 2 months have past & still no word. A month ago the dealer alluded to a mid to late spring delivery. No specific dates, just vague generalities. My res # is 1700. Not exceptionally low. I would like to know if the dealership has anything to do with the number/dates of delivery to each respective showroom?

Permalink Reply by Walt Marini on March 12, 2009 at 8:12pm

Thank you kdfcogwheel. How did you get your reservation number? What does the 1700 mean?

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 14, 2009 at 7:44pm

Walt, it is pretty simple. When you originally placed your $99 reservation you should have received a confirmation email. It should have come with a statement like "Thank you for your smart fortwo reservation. Your confirmation number is: XXXXXXXXXX. It is a ten digit number. The first 6 digits are a 'time stamp' (in reverse) in Pacific Time. the last 4 digits is your unique res #. In my example, 5585801700. The time stamp is 08:58:55 (H:M:S) and 1700 is the res #. Now the res #'s are the total number of days starting from 01/01/04. Why? I don't know, but suffice it to say that the very first res # starts at 1123 (01/01/08). The very first day smartUSA began delivering reservations. I hope this helps and can make some sense out of all this DDE madness.

Permalink Reply by Walt Marini on March 17, 2009 at 3:19pm

My reservation number was 1569, but I changed my order to a Brabus in October 2008. I got my confirmation notice on October 27,2008 that stated my original reservation was cancelled. Since they are only making the Brabus between January and June 2009 what is the waiting period?

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 17, 2009 at 4:09pm

Walt, I am not really the one to answer your question. I am sorry if I have mislead you. I too like you are WAITING. I can only speculate and interpolate from others experiences. I find your dates for confirmation strange. I have kept meticulous records. I placed my reservation on August 28, 2008. I received an announcement about the Brabus on Oct 22, 2008. [Note: We had not configured original order yet.] Then a few days later on Oct 28th we were allowed to convert our $99 reservation to the Brabus model [assuming this is the configuration part]. Then the wait began. On November 19, 2008 we received our congratulatory email on their acceptance and placing us in the program. Mid-December 08 through Mid-January of 09 we had 4 different DDE's. Then on Jan 13, 09 it went "dark." Cannot Estimate. Now I have no idea when I will ever receive my car. It seems as though, judging from other orders, that it may be June or July. May would be stretching into wishful thinking. There are so many varying factors. One gentleman had a DDE for May-June and last week end his dealer called and told him his car was in and ready for pick-up. Others get DDE's and then it begins changing and shifting daily. Their system reads like a mystery novel. Just when I thought I had it figured out, someone else has a radically different experience throwing everything that I have come to know out the window. Some say the DDE doesn't work well for the Brabus models. Who knows! My dealer says that they are to only get 2 cars per month for the duration of the production. I don't see any correlation with Res #'s. Since we all supposedly "configured" on the same day, how do they place all 1500 in some semblance of priority order? Do some dealers get more cars than others? Is there some volume sales at play here? So many questions with no answers. Thanks for your comments. I'll continue to monitor the boards for any glimmer of hope.

Permalink Reply by CW Clark on March 23, 2009 at 9:59am

Just for a point of reference, I made my reservation on June 14, 2008 and my reservation number is 1626. I also converted to the Brabus in October and my DDE first came up in January as April-June 2009, then Mar-May 2009, then Feb-Apr 2009 and then on March 3rd changed to "Your vehicle delivery date cannot be estimated at this time." I have talked to the local dealer (Round Rock, TX) and they do not yet see my vehicle on their list. About a week ago I called the 1-800 number and she claimed that the DDE page did not work well for Brabus models, but had nothing more to offer. I have heard some of the same issues that kdfcogwheel has heard regarding quotas at dealers on the Brabus models. My dealer has yet to deliver a Brabus model but has one in the showroom and expect their first delivery of one late this month or early next. Not mine, unfortunately.

CW

Permalink Reply by Romeo on March 23, 2009 at 10:35am

YOUR NOT THE ONLY ONE. I HAVE SIMILAR SITUATION. HOPING TO HEAR FROM THEM NEXT MONTH.

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 23, 2009 at 5:53pm

Well, here is a repost of a comment I made on Mar 21 with regard to these slow Brabus orders --

"Well, let's see - if #1521 (aka Not so smart) got his Brabus on Feb 28 and #1533 (aka Ron) should receive his by April 8, then that equals res # difference of 12 and a time space difference of 6 weeks. Doing a little math, then I (res # 1700) should receive mine in about 194 weeks. That comes out to about 3 years and 9 months. Now THAT is a long wait. I do believe that I will have walked away from Smart by then."

As far as I know #1569, #1618 and now #1626 have yet to see any 'real' DDE's or even a hint as to when we will get our Brabus models. I hope the mental math doesn't scare you. It was just me thinking out loud.

Permalink Reply by CW Clark on March 24, 2009 at 8:41am

kdfcogwheel said:

Well, here is a repost of a comment I made on Mar 21 with regard to these slow Brabus orders --

"Well, let's see - if #1521 (aka Not so smart) got his Brabus on Feb 28 and #1533 (aka Ron) should receive his by April 8, then that equals res # difference of 12 and a time space difference of 6 weeks. Doing a little math, then I (res # 1700) should receive mine in about 194 weeks. That comes out to about 3 years and 9 months. Now THAT is a long wait. I do believe that I will have walked away from Smart by then."

As far as I know #1569, #1618 and now #1626 have yet to see any 'real' DDE's or even a hint as to when we will get our Brabus models. I hope the mental math doesn't scare you. It was just me thinking out loud.

Well as we get more data points it may make us feel either more or less confident that ours may be coming soon. I appreciate your stab at correlation, but remember not every reservation number has switched to a Brabus, so you may have a significantly less time to wait.

CW

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 24, 2009 at 4:52pm

"Well as we get more data points it may make us feel either more or less confident that ours may be coming soon. I appreciate your stab at correlation, but remember not every reservation number has switched to a Brabus, so you may have a significantly less time to wait.

CW"

Yes, I may sound rather ominous, but when I look at the relative close proximity in which the numbers appear it seems like it can take quite some time. I also remind myself of the criteria in play at the time the conversions took place. You had to have had a reservation and not configured yet. So, what does that mean? How many people fit that description? In what order are they following? My dealership has received several Brabus models. Round Rock, TX hasn't received any. Does that mean that there were not that many conversions assigned to that dealership? Are the dealerships complying with the territorial restrictions? It would be nice to receive a bit of a hint either way. The economy is tough out there. How long do they (smartUSA) think people are willing to hold on? Can you see how many orphans are available today? A lot from what I read. I feel that the lines of communication should be opened up a bit more and the dealers should offer more customer care to ease the 'pain' of a long wait. The conditions are not in their favor at this time. My wife at the time and still to this moment is set on getting the little bugger, but enough is enough. At some point in time you just give up and follow some other star. We have mutually agreed that August 09 is it! Any thoughts?

Permalink Reply by kdfcogwheel on March 25, 2009 at 5:03pm

CW, Romeo, Walt -- Hey you guys! You ain't gonna believe this. I checked my DDE at 4pm today and I now have a real live DDE!!!!! 5/23/2009 to 8/21/2009. I would expect under normal conditions to receive my Silver Brabus Cabrio between 6/23/09 and 6/30/09. Although I haven't yet received any correspondence from the dealer, we will be in contact with them soon to confirm the DDE. I will keep you posted as to the progress. Hang in there!

kdfcogwheel

Permalink Reply by CW Clark on March 26, 2009 at 10:17am

kdfcogwheel said:

CW, Romeo, Walt -- Hey you guys! You ain't gonna believe this. I checked my DDE at 4pm today and I now have a real live DDE!!!!! 5/23/2009 to 8/21/2009. I would expect under normal conditions to receive my Silver Brabus Cabrio between 6/23/09 and 6/30/09. Although I haven't yet received any correspondence from the dealer, we will be in contact with them soon to confirm the DDE. I will keep you posted as to the progress. Hang in there!

kdfcogwheel

Congratulations.

Well Gentlemen, it appears things may be moving in a more finite direction; my DDE has now changed also and is listed as 5/18/2009 to 8/16/2009. I will have to check with the dealer and see if it is on their radar screen.

CW