Today was to be the day I picked up my brand new smart car from the Mercedes dealer in SF. I BARTed over and on the walk to 8th & Bryant received this call:
 

smart: “Uh, Mr. Crandell? This is Mehdi from the smart center. We had you scheduled for a delivery meeting at 11am?”

me (a little breathless): “Yep, I should be there in about 10 minutes, running a few minutes behind.”

smart: “Yes, well, I’m sorry to say that Kristi had a little accident.”

me: “Oh, no, is she ok?”

smart: “Yes, yes, she’s fine, it was just a small accident.”

me: “Oh, good. Will someone else be able to help me with taking delivery of the car?”

smart: “Uh, well, she as driving your car when she had the accident…”

Oh. Great. Evidently the car was prepped and ready and had been driven off the dealership lot to have the tank topped off. On her return there was an accident. I think on the premises, on their own ramp. The car was unavailable for my inspection (at the repair facility already) but evidently only received scratches and a couple of dinks. Oh and the front suspension was hit hard. Now what?

They’re going to try and find another similar car or order a new one altogether. No real ETA at this time. Might happen faster if I’m flexible on color and options. Now I wait to hear back. They’re experiencing a 38% cancellation rate on pre-orders but the abandoned vehicles have been selling the same week so I may have a decent selection from which to consider.