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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Good bye van, hello smart....


JustGav

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Well, I may be doing something I regret here, but the trusty ol scrap it racing van is finally being rehomed (not far, hopefully next door ;)), but I'm off to look at/pick up a little smart car which is then going to have some loving ;)

 

image

 

Oh, dear what am I letting myself in for :)

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Hi chaps, dont wanna put a downer on this thread, but early smart cars 2000/ 01 / 02 etc are GOD DAMN AWFUL......as some of you may know i recently resprayed mine, poor build quality all round really.

 

Anyway.....i recently had an airlock problem with it, very common fault, so i thought ill change the thermostat aswell just to be sure......£30 for the part later (WTF?? i thought), and im off to the engine bay. Errr FAIL, after reading numerous guides etc you have to physically drop the engine out to get the inlet manifold off and to even get a chance of getting your hand in to remove the stat as its right at the back in some stupid place. (So i CBA)

 

Examples of sh*t design / problems, ive had and IMO

 

1. Thermostat location, inlet manifold bolts obscured by car ( have to drop engine on longer bolts to be able to get in, or drop engine out altogether), servicing anything on the engine bay is a complete pita.

 

2. Have to take the rear bumper off to change the spark plugs as its twin spark.

3. NO drain plug for oil changes, need to invest in sucker or get the oil out via dipstick tube. (i did this, easy enough once you have a good sucker)

4. Gear box has a drain point but according to smart service manuals is a NONE SERVICE item........how retarded! (i serviced mine anyway)

5. Leaks on rear windows,i fixed this but still poor design as the foam seals just arent enough as the foam breaks up over time.

6. Engines are prone to wear and need rebuilds after 40 - 60k . (Mines been rebuilt @38k)

7. No bleed values on coolent system, so as the radiator is in the front its very very prone to air locks!!!!

8. Exhausts are stupidly expensive for something thats 2 feet long.

9. Auto gear box is awful, clunky, very very slow shifts....nothing like a supra.

10. THEY ARE VERY SLOW!!! lol

11. Rear / side Visibility is CRAP esp if your a left hand drive version in the UK.

 

(I could go on forever this cars become one of my pet hates.........)

 

On the plus side one thats well setup and running well is stupidly good on fuel, but as stated above, stresses the car alot above 50-60 so they are not motorway cars. (Mines the 599cc)

 

I cannot express how badly designed for servicing this thing is.....hence why im selling ours.....it looks very "smart" in electric orange, drives great but so many got ya's when you come to service it.

 

Simon

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Hi chaps, dont wanna put a downer on this thread, but early smart cars 2000/ 01 / 02 etc are GOD DAMN AWFUL......as some of you may know i recently resprayed mine, poor build quality all round really.

 

Anyway.....i recently had an airlock problem with it, very common fault, so i thought ill change the thermostat aswell just to be sure......£30 for the part later (WTF?? i thought), and im off to the engine bay. Errr FAIL, after reading numerous guides etc you have to physically drop the engine out to get the inlet manifold off and to even get a chance of getting your hand in to remove the stat as its right at the back in some stupid place. (So i CBA)

 

Examples of sh*t design / problems, ive had and IMO

 

1. Thermostat location, inlet manifold bolts obscured by car ( have to drop engine on longer bolts to be able to get in, or drop engine out altogether), servicing anything on the engine bay is a complete pita.

 

2. Have to take the rear bumper off to change the spark plugs as its twin spark.

3. NO drain plug for oil changes, need to invest in sucker or get the oil out via dipstick tube. (i did this, easy enough once you have a good sucker)

4. Gear box has a drain point but according to smart service manuals is a NONE SERVICE item........how retarded! (i serviced mine anyway)

5. Leaks on rear windows,i fixed this but still poor design as the foam seals just arent enough as the foam breaks up over time.

6. Engines are prone to wear and need rebuilds after 40 - 60k . (Mines been rebuilt @38k)

7. No bleed values on coolent system, so as the radiator is in the front its very very prone to air locks!!!!

8. Exhausts are stupidly expensive for something thats 2 feet long.

9. Auto gear box is awful, clunky, very very slow shifts....nothing like a supra.

10. THEY ARE VERY SLOW!!! lol

11. Rear / side Visibility is CRAP esp if your a left hand drive version in the UK.

 

(I could go on forever this cars become one of my pet hates.........)

 

On the plus side one thats well setup and running well is stupidly good on fuel, but as stated above, stresses the car alot above 50-60 so they are not motorway cars. (Mines the 599cc)

 

I cannot express how badly designed for servicing this thing is.....hence why im selling ours.....it looks very "smart" in electric orange, drives great but so many got ya's when you come to service it.

 

Simon

 

I couldn't agree more! I sold my 2002 smart car last month, for around London it was ok but anything where you had to go over 30mph it was terrible. On the motorway or duel carriage way it was dangerous, the car was so light it would get blow around by the slightest cross wind.

 

Having said that it was great on petrol but it was seriously scary when you had to go over 50 mph.

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thing is, I don't care about the engine and gearbox :)

 

I wanted a decent rolling shell :) As mentioned above I have a few good friends who are building something for me to replace the 'troublesome parts' :)

 

Yes, it is slow at the moment, but the current lump needs to last one month :)

 

That said, 4 miles away from picking the thing up, the van snapped it's cam belt....AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH

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