CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I am tempted to buy one of these as a second car run around. I am led to believe that they can return about 65 MPG and are cheap to insure and tax. Has anyone ever owned one? Anybody heard of any bad reports or major problems to look out for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 eek! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 gatso has had one for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 eek! OK, so as long as I don't go round bends, I should be OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmark Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 Why not get a Lupo TDI they also return that kind of MPG and not quite as gay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkTheBoy Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 We've got one, its alright. Its a left hooker as we bought it when they first came out and it came badged up as a merc... but other than that its ok. The interior is a bit... er... quirky. Not much room for luggage either but plenty of room for two people very comfortably. We've had it years and the first problem we've had was a couple of days ago when it fell into a pot hole. Apparantly the impact forced the lube out from one of the ball joints so it makes a very strange noise now, cheap to fix though. Other than that its been very reliable. Test drive one before you commit to the idea though coz they're not your average runaround Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I have been considering one of these for a while as well (must be a fat bloke thing ). I like the idea of the decent mpg and the automatic gearbox. are there any other cars out there that are diesel and auto (or very good mpg on a petrol auto?) The smart cars seem to keep their value very well indeed, even the left hookers. JB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraWoman Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I bought Smart Brabus few weeks ago as a 2nd car to drive around. Brilliant little thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 Why not get a Lupo TDI they also return that kind of MPG and not quite as gay Quite a bit more expensive though eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJ Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I used to have a Smart Car. I used to well knock them as well until I had a play in one. Running costs they are dead cheap. It used to cost me £12.00 to fill it up and that would be good for a full week+ of commuting from Portsmouth to Farnham. I used to get about 55mpg out of it, and that's driving it flat out everywhere. If you drove it with a light foot then you can see much more than that, 65+, I'd never seen that much though. With the limiter in place they will sit at 83mph in sixth gear doing about 1.1k rpm, very ecconomical cars. The switchable 6 speed sequential box can be a bit funny if you drive it full auto as it can get a bit confused/slow through the gear change, drive it in semi-auto sequential mode and get used to it and you can get the thing going pretty well. Left hand drive isn't really an issue, it doesn't feel like you're driving a left hooker to be honest. Getting it chipped makes quite a bit of difference to the auto gerachange makes it alot smoother, as well as removing the limiter at the same time. Bailey do a dumpvalve kit on it which always used to put a smile on my face. All the little chavvy kids round my way used to laugh at the car until they heard the dump valve, then they were all like 'mister has that got a turbo' etc... It's also suprising how much you can get in them. I remember seeing the face of a Volvo driver just drop when I came out of B&Q with a brand new petrol mower, all boxed up. He looked at me then eyed up the car and you could see him thinking 'no chance pal'. That was when I just opened up the passenger door and slotted the thing into the cockpit sideways, the look on his face was priceless. When you open the doors you're opening up pretty much the entire side of the car. Options wise they usually come with ABS, twin airbags, semi-auto sequential 6 speed box, Air con, CD etc... I was quite impressed with the amount of kit that it had with it when you look at the price and size of the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 Great info there Peejay - many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I was driving Smart Four4 from Stansted airport to Wolves. Quiet, VERY economical, I just found gearbox to work kinda strange on auto settings, every gear change I was almost hitting windscreen with my head Well, 4 days before driving Smart i made 1000 miles at once in auto Supra so maybe I'm little biased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaz1 Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I am tempted to buy one of these as a second car run around. I am led to believe that they can return about 65 MPG and are cheap to insure and tax. Has anyone ever owned one? Anybody heard of any bad reports or major problems to look out for? what one for each foot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 it's possible to get a few extra horses out of them though PS, turn the volume down unless you like thrash metal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 what one for each foot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-macca Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I drove one of the little Smart roadsters a while ago, really enjoyed it, cool fun car. The only thing that let it down was the gearbox, they're pretty horrible until you get them remapped so that they change properly. I drove off down the road and thought I'd broken it, it took that long to drop in to second Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 It isn't the roadster I am thinking about. It is the small boxy thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I bet its cool, but i'd be trying to hide my face when stuck in traffic Gaz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 17, 2007 Author Share Posted March 17, 2007 I bet its cool, but i'd be trying to hide my face when stuck in traffic Gaz. I'd have a hard job hiding in that small space eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 I'd have a hard job hiding in that small space eh? You and me both Col me ol' mucker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colsoop Posted March 17, 2007 Share Posted March 17, 2007 They look like a good commuter / 2nd car choice. Are they really only £40 to tax ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathew Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 a guy i work with has one. got it chipped and with a little dump valve. very quirky little cars. apart from everyone calling him batty boy,poofter, shirt lifter, tart, bender etc etc etc when he turns up on site in it, its not a bad little car. he had a few problems with it and found it hard finding a place to do the repairs. but his is one of the very early left hookers. and apparently he gets more attention of girls (yes he is straight)in that than ay other car he's had lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJ Posted March 18, 2007 Author Share Posted March 18, 2007 ...and apparently he gets more attention of girls (yes he is straight)in that than ay other car he's had lol Well, that's convinced me and Branners! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_have Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 a guy i work with has one. got it chipped and with a little dump valve. very quirky little cars. apart from everyone calling him batty boy,poofter, shirt lifter, tart, bender etc etc etc CJ's used to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefgroover Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 My mate worked on smart every day for 3 years. Wiring problems are fairly common, and rattles and squeaks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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