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Smart Cars - opinions?

Joined
26 July 2005
Messages
522
Location
Fort Myers, Florida
I'm looking at buying one as a daily driver. If you order... the wait is more than a year. Buy now for about $5,000 over invoice. Anyone have one?
 
Are you kidding? 5 grand over invoice. I thought these cars have been out for a few years. I myself think they are neat as hell.
 
I was just looking at them at the dealership on saturday. I kept asking myself "why wouldnt you just buy a honda fit?"

They must have had at least 8 of them at the store. I'm not sure if they were asking more than sticker--it wasnt reflected on the sticker. This was at the dealer in Bedford Ohio.
 
I was just looking at them at the dealership on saturday. I kept asking myself "why wouldnt you just buy a honda fit?"

They must have had at least 8 of them at the store. I'm not sure if they were asking more than sticker--it wasnt reflected on the sticker. This was at the dealer in Bedford Ohio.

Better... in the good, better, best scenerio starts at $ 13,500 no options and w/o all the dealer add ons. I called on a "good deal" this AM at $18,500. Think I'm kidding - check ebay and autotrader for prices on 2008's.
 
All I've seen is that is costs more than a Nissan Versa for similar gas mileage, less space and less power. I don't know but if they're $5k over, no one shouldn't have a reason to buy them other than for the wow factor.
 
I say wait and see. $5K over invoice or a one year wait, isnt worth it for an econo car. Save time and money and buy a Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, or if you don't mind paying a few bucks, maybe a Mini.

Just my 2 cents. :smile:
 
if you are serious about one I would try and find an imported euro spec one. The gas mileage is in the 50 mpg and they are 3 inches shorter. I was looking into one for my wife and found the difference. Some are on ebay and auto trader and are about what you would pay for a new US model at 5000 over invoice.
 
I've had my 2006 Euro Smart for almost 2 months (1,700 miles) and absolutely love it as my daily driver. I bought from this seller on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=270233289945&rd=1

Mine came with mirrored tint and this is the only privacy I have - be prepared for questions galore and people taking out their cameras while driving or while it is parked. Helpful site is www.asmartcar.com. I prefer the look of the original Smart to the U.S. version - performance is also better on the Euro version with the 3 cylinder turbo and 6 speeds vs. non-turbo and 5 speeds for the U.S.
 
I've had my 2006 Euro Smart for almost 2 months (1,700 miles) and absolutely love it as my daily driver. I bought from this seller on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=270233289945&rd=1

Mine came with mirrored tint and this is the only privacy I have - be prepared for questions galore and people taking out their cameras while driving or while it is parked. Helpful site is www.asmartcar.com. I prefer the look of the original Smart to the U.S. version - performance is also better on the Euro version with the 3 cylinder turbo and 6 speeds vs. non-turbo and 5 speeds for the U.S.

Thanks, I was hoping someone on the site had one.
 
That car should draw as much attention as your NSX. I would pick it over the Honda fit just for the neat factor of it. Are'nt these produced by Mercedes Benz?
 
All I've seen is that is costs more than a Nissan Versa for similar gas mileage, less space and less power. I don't know but if they're $5k over, no one shouldn't have a reason to buy them other than for the wow factor.

they have a wow factor? i think they're trash through-and-through. :tongue:
 
If you opt for the Honda FIT, you won't regret it. Gas mileage isn't that great but I live on a very steep hill and gas it all the time. It's my wife's daily driver and she loves it. As you may have read, the car's interior capacity/volume is amazing esp. w/ the "magic seats" in the rear. If you don't have a SUV/truck, believe me this will be more useful than the smart car. I've shopped at Costco w/ the big flat bed carts full of stuff and it all fits. People in the parking lot were doubters. Regardless, good luck.

Jeff
 
My dad just bought one about a month ago. Dealerships are not supposed to sell them for over the advertised price. If they are asking for more, call SmartUSA HQ and report it. They're like Saturns... set price, no haggling.

When my dad bought his, he went to the dealership "just to look", didn't call ahead, and got one off the lot. No ordering, no waiting. His color choice was limited to what they had but when he went back the next day to pick up his car, they already had 6 new cars on the lot.

Call around. Go to smartusa.com and find a dealership in your area. Mid models are right at $14,000. There are not a lot of option available so, unless you opt for the convertible model ($17,000) your price should be that plus all your TTL costs.

As for attention, it's amazing how people stare at those cars. The first day my dad had his he drove it to the grocery store, had to circle a few times to find a parking spot, and had several people waiting for him when he got out of the car. One guy even went to his vehicle to get his camera so he could take pics before leaving. People are in awe because they look like rolling tictacs.

Contrary to outward appearances, the interior driver/passenger room is great. At 5'11" (Yes, eleven) I had to move the seat up a lot to reach the peddles. With my dad and I inside together (he's 5'9"/230#) we had a lot of shoulder room and could move the seats up to allow a little more storage room in the back. (12 cubic feet is about all you'll get.)

I've been considering getting one to drive back and forth to college when I start back in the fall. If you dont need to carry more than 2 people and dont have a job that requires a huge amount of storage space, it might work for you.

I'm going to New Orleans in July and plan on taking dad's Smart. For me and a friend, I don't see any problems with room or storage at all. (By my guess, a couple of overnight bags could fit in the back with no problem... of course, that's by MY packing standards. If you've got a 'normal' chick, you're gonna need a roof rack or trailer if making any long trips in the Smart.)


Oh, and if you go for one (and live in the US) make sure to buy the US model. The regulations are different than the Euro models. The US Smarts have been reworked to meet US regulations. Why take the chance? (You wont find Euro models on US lots so it shouldnt be a problem.)

I highly recommend you go through the SmartUSA website, read all the newsletters, etc... I've been researching the Smart for about a year and I'm amazed at how much information people miss about them. (I'm talking dealers here.) Educate yourself on the Smart by using their American website. After talking to some people who were supposed to know what the hell they were talking about, I realized the website was my most useful source of information. Also, the info about the environmental differences between manufacturing Smarts vs other cars is really interesting.


Just my penny and a half.......... sorry so long winded.
 
they have a wow factor? i think they're trash through-and-through. :tongue:

They sure do. In Europe they don't cause that's a normal car there, every other car is just a bit bigger than Smart. In the US however, I can see people staring at them when they're parked on the side of the road because most of the folks here have never seen anything that tiny.

I would not feel safe driving around in a Smart. What are your chances if you got hit by someone in a pickup truck? I could only imagine what would happen to one of those if it was driving 50mph on a highway and getting passed by a semi going 80mph. Flip?? No doubt! Or driving over a high bridge on a very windy day (anyone remember the Yugo that got swept of a bridge into the river by winds)?

Good car for Europe, unsafe for the US.
 
My girlfriend got the old 2006 model. Test drive one, the semi-auto is so slow you need to get used to it. It's like driving an 1960 auto but since it's a semi-auto you need to shift like, two seconds before you want the car to shift gears. The new model is supposed to shift faster but I haven't driven one yet. Also you need to get used to having other cars bumper about 50 centimetre behind your head. It's scary when driving in front of a truck or an SUV even knowing the car meets current and future safety regulations, it's not easy to believe because it's so small. Perfect car for city use, one parking space equals two smart parking spaces and you can fit it in gaps no other car could park in. Generally it's fun to drive, got this go-kart feeling, scary on the autobahn but since you guys don't have people passing at 250km/h + causing the thing to shake like a bike, you should be fine.

I think La-squared said everything about the space, it feels surprisingly big on the inside. The interior, the round gauges and all that coloured plastic, don't like it, but I don't like the looks of the whole thing. More plastic on the outside which is good, the girlfriend scratched the fenders few times, they're like ~100€ to replace.

Can't say much about the milage, she got the diesel which I don't think they're brining to the US plus I'm too lazy to convert the values to MPG. :)

Althoug it's sold since some years the car still draws quite some attention because it's hardly half as big as the other cars on the streets, but I don't think it's the attention from the right people...
 
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I have one you can have for free. You will have to pick it out of the tire tread on my Tundra though.
Gas is expensive. All the money in the world won't do you a bit of good when you get clobbered by a regular size car. I will spend the X.XX or even XX.XX on gas until everyone is required to drive smaller cars.
 
did you consider a mini?
 
I took the Domino's pizza delivery guy's Smart for a spin last night. Man that thing handles really well and the materials don't seem cheap. But I don't know what is up with that transmission. That thing takes like 2 seconds to shift from gear to gear, so much that the car literally dives, then squats again. I'd still buy one as its kind of a neat car around town. Not sure if I like it over a mini but its the kind of car girls will love. Its very "cute".
 
I took the Domino's pizza delivery guy's Smart for a spin last night. Man that thing handles really well and the materials don't seem cheap. But I don't know what is up with that transmission. That thing takes like 2 seconds to shift from gear to gear, so much that the car literally dives, then squats again. I'd still buy one as its kind of a neat car around town. Not sure if I like it over a mini but its the kind of car girls will love. Its very "cute".

I've owned 2 original mini coopers, so I was intrigued by this car.

I'm still looking for a "real" car without a huge mark-up. One cool thing is - if you don't like the color...it's very easy to change all the body panels out with others from the dealer - or just pull them and have them painted.
 
I would pay slightly more for a Fit. It is roomier, quicker, and it's mileage is only slightly worse than the Smart. Edmunds says the mileage of a Smart is not as incredible as some might believe.

The NHTSA safety ratings are out for the Smart.

4 stars for the driver in a frontal impact
3 starts for the passenger in a frontal impact
5 stars for side impact
 
I would pay slightly more for a Fit. It is roomier, quicker, and it's mileage is only slightly worse than the Smart. Edmunds says the mileage of a Smart is not as incredible as some might believe.

That's the problem with the Smart for me. It just doesn't get good enough gas mileage to justify its microsize. I'd want to see something in the 50-60mpg range, rather than the ~40 it actually gets. I'd take the Fit over it any day.

Remember the old CRX HF? That used to get >50 mpg on regular gas*. Why can't they make them like that anymore?

* Even with the revised mpg formulae, it's still at 45 mpg (Link). And that was 20 years ago.
 
I have one you can have for free. You will have to pick it out of the tire tread on my Tundra though.
Gas is expensive. All the money in the world won't do you a bit of good when you get clobbered by a regular size car. I will spend the X.XX or even XX.XX on gas until everyone is required to drive smaller cars.

We have a winner, going to save money to increase you chance of death by 5% is not worth it to me. Also I bought a Corolla for $7500 to drive, 2002 it get 36mpg. For the 5k diff you can buy gas for 10 years and get a little bigger car that has sold over 30 million and will last for 250k miles.
 
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