Supra Gaz Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My younger brother is finnaly getting rid of his pants Renault Clio 1.2 as it has given him so many problems. He is looking into Smart Roadsters as he likes the shape and idea of the fuel economy. He isnt into his driving very much any just wants something to run around in and look a bit different. I have done some digging and they have problems with seals in the roofs, does anyone know of any other problems having driven/owned or serviced them. any helps is appreciated cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Mitchell Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 yeah my sister has one, very nippy for what they are, tax is peanuts and insurance if cheap..... plus it can have a dump valve what targa/ aerotop dont leek over time?? servicing is a piece of cake and the oil filter is a joke lol looks like a cotton reel... no sump bung though so oil needs to be sucked out which is common now on most mercs now days headlight bulbs are a problem as the whole front end has to be removed but do it once its easy after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I worked for Mercedes in Milton Keynes a while back and they used to have a short stretch of road on which they tested the standing start on cars. Wasnt amazingly long but they found the Roadster was the quickest car on their standing start. Remember that's compared to all the AMG, Brabus and Project Black stuff!! So they are a nippy little car to around 40mph. They did say the boot space is shocking, so get one with the extra boot space on the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I quite like the look of the coupe model. Cool car for young uns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 a mate had one of these roller skates... and she loved it. The gear box is terrible (plant your foot, wait for the kick down, have a cup of tea, after growing the tea tree and you finally get the gear you want), the ride is harsh, the roof leaked and water gets into the ecu and kills it...... apart from these problems, I actually quite like em as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snooze Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Two colleagues of mine had these. BOTH ended up getting rid because of unrepairable (or economically unviable to repair) roof leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_jza80 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Pretty much as said, but i'll emphasize just how bad the gearbox is (in auto mode) it's very jerky, to the point of being violent. It handles like a go kart though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 As above the seals are a major issue as the water ruins the car's ECU and that is roughly 1/3 of the cost of the car LOL, they all leak no matter what you do to them. One thing that i didn't like was how low they are, at junctions where you have parked cars i.e like in london it would be a nightmare. I bought the Smart fortwo but sold that last week. I think you should have a look at all the smart forums and read the issues the roadsters have, they are a nice novel idea but once you have actually bought one and realise that it is your car, the novelty soon wears off. If you are determined to buy one then service history is a must as these cars along with all smart cars need regular oil and filter changes, once a year without fail. I wouldn't touch one that doesn't have a full service history and don't buy a modified or remapped one, they don't tend to last too long and engine rebuilds are quite common amongst all the smart cars. Oh and the cast turbo manifolds as they all have small turbos are prone to cracking due to a very very poor design and they run as stock 1.0 bar remapped they go to 1.4 bar and the turbo is tiny. Final point and quite important really, they don't do speed bumps very well, good lord no matter how slow you so they are so narrow it is a really rough ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Gaz Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thanks for all the input. The roof leaks are a concern, he needs something that he isn't going to have to throw tons of cash at to fix regularly. I will pass this all on and if he gets one I will take some pics Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Getting in and out is a pain as your practically on the floor, i almost bought one but for a daily driver the fun of that would soon wear off, i also felt very vulnerable in it when in traffic as you might as well be in a go kart. The worst part is the gearbox and is painfully slow changing gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoaster Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 The worst part is the gearbox and is painfully slow changing gear. Not so, Smart had a software update available in 2006 which addressed a load of the issues with the shift quality. If the change is slow then the clutch actuator needs lubricating and regular electronic clutch adjustments are an important part of servicing. I've had a Smart roadster coupe for 5 1/2 years and have put 45,000 miles in it in that time. It's been to the Stelvio Pass, the Grossglockner, the Millau Viadiuct and all over the highlands including the sublime Beallach na Ba road to Applecross and it's never let me down. The 0 - 60 is an unimpressive 10 seconds in standard 80bhp tune but being small and low it feels very fast and chuckable and has useful overtaking performance when on boost. I'm the site administrator on the dedicated Smart Roadster site The Roadster.Net or TR.n Best get little brother to register on there (free site) and he can ask all the relevant questions on there. To me it's an enthusiast's car, rather than just a set of wheels and they do require more tlc than a modern hatchback, but they reward with bags of character and miles of smiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoaster Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 As above the seals are a major issue as the water ruins the car's ECU and that is roughly 1/3 of the cost of the car LOL, they all leak no matter what you do to them. One thing that i didn't like was how low they are, at junctions where you have parked cars i.e like in london it would be a nightmare. I bought the Smart fortwo but sold that last week. I think you should have a look at all the smart forums and read the issues the roadsters have, they are a nice novel idea but once you have actually bought one and realise that it is your car, the novelty soon wears off. If you are determined to buy one then service history is a must as these cars along with all smart cars need regular oil and filter changes, once a year without fail. I wouldn't touch one that doesn't have a full service history and don't buy a modified or remapped one, they don't tend to last too long and engine rebuilds are quite common amongst all the smart cars. Oh and the cast turbo manifolds as they all have small turbos are prone to cracking due to a very very poor design and they run as stock 1.0 bar remapped they go to 1.4 bar and the turbo is tiny. Final point and quite important really, they don't do speed bumps very well, good lord no matter how slow you so they are so narrow it is a really rough ride. So much of what you write is just plain wrong that I can't be arsed to reply further! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 All the smarts i drove were *****ed then, even the new Brabus Roadster demonstrator, the only reason in my opinion it felt fast was because your ass was 6" off the tarmac. Not sure if i drove one with a gearbox update but it would need to be on hell of an update to make the change bearable Dont get me wrong i love the roadster but not as a daily driver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Feel free to alter what i've said if you have a different opinion For me living in London i couldn't stand a roadster with how low it is as coming to a junction i wouldn't be able to pull out safely as it is so low, thats a fact. The service history part is also a fact they do need regular servicing and by regular i mean yearly regardless of how many miles you do. Modified ones do push the limits of the tiny engines and they don't do speeds bumps very well infact just like my old fortwo i would rather get out and walk over them. It would be a nice second car or weekend toy but not a daily driver IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoaster Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Feel free to alter what i've said if you have a different opinion ...... like my old fortwo i would rather get out and walk over them. It would be a nice second car or weekend toy but not a daily driver IMO. There is you problem, you owned a ForTwo, not a roadster! The servicing on the roadster is every 7,000 miles and the oil required is Mobil 1 or a very good 0-40W fully synth. They have 6 plugs to change and the rear of the car has to come off to change the bottom 3 plugs. They are cheap on fuel, but not cheap to run. They are not fast cars, what 699cc car is? Re the gearchange, in Auto it is very poor, but then so is the Toyota MMT, the Citroen Sensonic and the Honda i - Shift. When specced with the steering wheel mounted paddles, the gearchanges takes less than a 1/4 second when properly set up. I wouldn't want one as a daily driver though, unless every day was sunny and you can take the roof off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 But i test drove many roadsters that is why i picked a forwo! Fair enough the servicing part might be off a little but the rest i stand by and actually for such a small engine they are quite quick, not something i would deny. One issue i have with a all smart cars is the fact they aren't as good on fuel as a cheap old diesel you could get for half the money. The roadster looks lovely but from a practical point of view they aren't great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoaster Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 One issue i have with a all smart cars is the fact they aren't as good on fuel as a cheap old diesel you could get for half the money. 2300 miles to Stelvio via Austria, Bavaria, Reims etc my roadster averaged 54.3 mpg and I wasn't hanging about, but who buys a rear engined 2 seater 'sports' car for economy? The roadster looks lovely but from a practical point of view they aren't great. The coupe has 2 luggage compartments which confuses people when seeing me put £150 worth of supermarket shopping in it, but who buys a rear engined, 2 seater 'sports' car for practicality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I would hardly call a smart roadster a sports car would you. Going back on topic i am giving the OP a practical sense of what these cars are like as an everyday driver, you would not get close to that MPG driving in the city. My simple point is for the money you would spend on a roadster it would be better to buy something else as a daily driver, even as a second car i'd rather have something other than a roadster. Insurance isn't as cheap as people think on them either as they aren't group 1 like the fortwo's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I will give you an example i bought the other half a Daewoo matiz for £550, perfect car late last year, is better on fuel than the smart fortwo and roadster, has 4 doors, more room and is cheaper for insure. Suspension is much better and is much better to drive in town and on the motorways. Why you would want to be sitting on the floor basically with seriously hard suspension and the state of our roads and pay £3k plus i don't know. The roadster might look sporty but when it hits max speed at just over 100mph and takes 11 seconds to get to 60 its hardly slick. To the OP, your brother will certainly be in something different but as a package he should look at something else IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westcoaster Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 The roadster might look sporty but when it hits max speed at just over 100mph and takes 11 seconds to get to 60 its hardly slick. Once again the wise guy who had a couple of 'test drives' gets it wrong! 119 mph by sat-nav on a stretch of autobahn near Munich was easily possible and I have the 80 bhp in standard tune! 0 - 60 fwiw is 10 seconds in the standard 80 bhp. The roadster is a 'sports car' in terms of it's purpose and performance, in the way that the MG Midget and Austin Healy Sprite were in their day. Choosing to buy a Daewoo Matiz and owning a Smart Fortwo tell me all I need to know about your car knowledge! So how can you give a realistic opinion on a car you've never actually owned or driven more than 'round the block'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I've got some experience of a Roadster. Shocking gearbox and build quality, and don't modify it unless you like big bills. That said, I had it properly sideways within minutes. Nice little chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Once again the wise guy who had a couple of 'test drives' gets it wrong! 119 mph by sat-nav on a stretch of autobahn near Munich was easily possible and I have the 80 bhp in standard tune! 0 - 60 fwiw is 10 seconds in the standard 80 bhp. The roadster is a 'sports car' in terms of it's purpose and performance, in the way that the MG Midget and Austin Healy Sprite were in their day. Choosing to buy a Daewoo Matiz and owning a Smart Fortwo tell me all I need to know about your car knowledge! So how can you give a realistic opinion on a car you've never actually owned or driven more than 'round the block'! Why you getting touchy for? who made this personal? did you get offended by my personal opinion of a car? tells me all about you then eh You have no idea on my car knowledge thank you very much, i will never know it all and never proclaim too, i'm simply giving an opinion, which is allowed isn't it? How can you put a smart roadster in the same class as a MG? nothing more to be said on that one. So i say 11 seconds 0-60 you say 10, who cares? it's hardly fast is it? you got an extra few mph, big deal, maybe your sat nav is wrong or is that not possible? Its horses for courses drive you and if you like it fine, if it fits the purpose then get one, if you want a 'sports' car as someone has put it then don't buy a roadster. wise guy over and out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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