In a word do.
After 5 years my wife still misses her cabrio.
Edited by daveyjp on 25/01/2010 at 20:01
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I've been vaguely looking at used Smart ForTwos as my wife quite likes them. Some of them have done incredible mileages. On the German website Mobile.de there is a July 2006 model that has done 250,000km. That's an average 70,000km (45,000 miles) per year. In a Smart!
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You`ve got to go with your heart, with cars. There are too many people driving around in boring tin boxes that have been chosen by ruthless logic.
cough.... ;-)
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I drove a Smart, I was shocked by the ride quality, don't people care any more? My spine felt like it'd been assaulted by a sledge hammer, even worse than the MK1 Audi TT I drove. Horrid thing. Gimmie my old Sunbeam Imp Sport any day. Faster, quieter, much better ride quality and more fun to drive toboot!
Oh and did I mention the gear change?!...
Edited by Webmaster on 26/01/2010 at 23:50
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I ran a LHD Smart cdi in London , bought new in Belgium ( Belgian Francs, worked out £4800 with a/c and metallic paint inter alia... ) in 2001 , flogged 2 and a bit years later for £5500 ( i did pay VAT on top too )
Great car, very flexible ( i did fit 2.1 metre long door lining sets inside, resting on the dash ) great economy, who cares about ' ride ' in an urban context - I for one don't ?
I would buy one again - bet they are very pricey now
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I had a Smart Fortwo (Mk 1) Brabus. Around town it was absolutely fantastic, and great fun to drive/park/nip around. It felt more like a 4-wheeled bike with excellent weather protection than a car at times. But out of town it's shortcomings were more apparent (ride, gear-change, susceptibility to cross-winds). Despite this I still miss it, if only because when going to the cinema I could legally park on a 6' long yellow line right outside Esher cinema in the evenings when no-one else could!
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in a word DONT. buy a proper car for the money.
I'm all ears if you've got any suggestions for similar cars for the same money, and I mean total cost factoring in fuel / tax / insurance etc.
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I remember a couple of years or so ago cruising at around 100 mph on a German autobahn being passed by a Smart forTwo which was going quite a lot quicker than me.
I do recall thinking that it was a lot faster than I had imagined. Maybe it had been interfered with in some way.
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 26/01/2010 at 17:41
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I had a ForTwo back on 2005, brand new. I had to sell it after just 3 months as id kicked the wife out who id bought it for and I needed a van more than a 2nd car, but I did love the car - the level of kit on it was fantastic - not many small cars you can get heated seats and crusie control on for less than £10k. I longingly look at the Brabus versions, they look a real hoot.
Ive not driven the latest model, but my wife has said that she would be very interested in a CDi Smart once her Sirion is paid off.
Its a proper car alright and one that was actually something new when launched, not a different version of an existing idea - anyone remember that Ford Kuga advert, suggesting they had reinvented the wheel the way they were going on, especially with mid-sized SUVs being about the biggest craze going for some years, it was hardly a new idea ( they were many years late to the market - the RAV-4 was the first car-like SUV ), which made the advert rather stupid.
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>>... cruising at around 100 mph ... being passed by a Smart forTwo which was going quite a lot quicker than me. Maybe it had been interfered with in some way.
I met someone a couple of years ago who worked at McLaren in Woking. Because of the Mercedes connection all the people there were offered Smarts on lease at "you'd have to be mad to turn it down" rates. He said they were a lot better than expected on his commute along the M25.
Now if they put a Smart through the workshop one night I wonder what they could come up with
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Aye...OC...maybe something like that.
;-)
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I suspect that the DPF issue is blown out of all proportion. I have a Polo 1.4 bluemotion. It seldom sees a run of more than 7 miles. I've seen the DPF light on and after RT()M regenerated it with a mile or two at 2500 rpm with the engine at normal temp. Needs third gear without a dual or motorway but it wroks.
My 1.2 petrol polo struggled to give 40 mpg. The 1.4 shows 67
Edited by Cymrogwyllt on 26/01/2010 at 19:33
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Re alternatives:
With the arrival of our daughter we chose an Aygo. £7k brand new for the five door + version (they cost a bit more now), 45-60+ mpg, £35 tax (£20 from April), £200 a year insurance.
In three years it's cost about £1,000 in depreciation.
Not as much fun as the smart though - ours was remapped and it topped out at just shy of 100 - with further tweaks 120mph is possible.
Edited by daveyjp on 26/01/2010 at 20:14
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@ daveyjp...
I appreciate its all about personal circumstances but for me the Aygo would never be an option...
I am leasing my Smart ForTwo Passion Coupe CDi @ £170 a month (3 + 23) over two years but thats for 15k miles not the usual 10k.
The lease on the Aygo (from Lings) is £177.41 a month for 15k but over 3 years...
I need the flexibility of only 2 years commitment (is that a paradox?) because with small cars like this, you never know what will happen in the future re kids... plus job security and changes in jobs etc.
I've never driven the Aygo so may be well wide of the mark, but I like the headroom, the higher seating position and the torque of the diesel Smart engine (even for a 0.8 litre). I don't imagine you get any of that in the aygo but as I say could be well wrong as I know they are well regarded.
Would also question how the spec of the Aygo compares to the Smart - the passion comes with panoramic roof, intergrated pioneer sat nav / bluetooth / mp3, automatic aircon... even small things like alloy wheels....
To try an add a semblance of balance, the Aygo does have 2 extra seats to it but in my circumstance thats not a great seller as there is only me and the missus.
Finally the fuel economy figures on the Smart Diesel are astonishing and road tax is free... again I understand the economy of the Aygo is good and road tax is probably ony £35 too.
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Smart is a cult car. The Smart buyers don't consider pros & cons of it because as a car the cons far outweighs the pros if you see from a practical view point.
If you want Smart, then go for it. If you want a car and wondering whether Smart is suitable or not then you are already in wrong lane.
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I see what you mean about them being a cult car, but find the notion that "if you want a car and wondering whether Smart is suitable or not then you are already in wrong lane" very perplexing...
The way I worked was I thought about what I needed:
- something to get me from a to b
- doesn't need to be particularly fast
- reasonably comfortable
- cheap to lease
- cheap to run
There may well have been more than that but you get the point.
After all of that was considered we were left with the Smart, the C1/Aygo/107, Hyaundai i10, Daewoo Matiz, Ford Ka and a couple of others possibly...
Are you saying that at this point I should disregard the Smart because I wanted to weigh up the best car out of those for my money and for my requirements?
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Man without a plan - what's wrong with the Citroën C1 or one of the (more expensive) badge engineered alternatives? It's cheap, up to 60 mpg, low insurance group, utterly reliable, much more comfortable than a Smart. These cars are excellent, fun, cheap basic transport, they depreciate reasonably slowly too. I'd hunt down an ex demo jobbie and make and offer.
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we were left with the Smart, the C1/Aygo/107, Hyaundai i10, Daewoo Matiz, Ford Ka and a couple of others possibly..
Smart has 2 seats less, shorter warranty (2-yr?), less comfort etc.
What's wrong with other alternatives?
Also note that Smart doesn't appeal to most of the public, so you need to wait for right buyer when time comes for selling.
A mainstream car is much easier to sell, repair (out of warranty) and service.
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It's on a 2 year lease therefore ownership issues and selling it don't matter.
When I mentioned the Aygo this important piece of information wasn't mentioned.
The only cars we've had on PCPs were smarts, but this was nearly ten years ago when they were still a novelty - our first one was one of the first ones of UK spec, but was LHD.
Get it and enjoy it. It's only two years ownership.
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@ movilogo - as daveyjp says, I think most of your points were answered 3 posts above yours - warranty, selling on, repairs and 2 seats are irrelevant to me, comfort is a matter of opinion but I found the Smart perfectly fine, I can't imagine the C1/107/Aygo being any better expecially for a 6' 1" bloke.
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I'm 6'2" and find the C1 to very comfortable given the class of car, ride quality is night and day compared to the awful Smart. It you think it's fine - then - fine! Back to my original point where I cannot believe what awful ride quality people put up with today - apparently having your spine smashed through your skull is "sporty".
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I've mentioned these to my cousin who needs a city car for business use for which they get reimbursed. £400 down and £135/mth inc vat on contract hire for a new Smart from Ling Cars... I mean at that cost it's not worth the hassle of a used car. Park them anywhere and you don't get wet like walking.
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@ M.M - Lings are only selling the older 2007 model at the moment so if I were your cousin I would go direct to Smart and negotiate, they should match Lings prices.
I can highly recommend Smart Wolverhampton if you are local, ask for Robert and tell him Guy sent you. (Hope i'm allowed to recommend on here)
@ Dipstick - as mentioned, I have never driven a C1/107/Aygo so have nothing to compare against. When I tested the Smart it was the Cabriolet version and it felt solid to me. I thought the soft top might make it noisey bit it wasn't really. We took it down to the motorway and floored it as we thought it might struggle but the 0.8 turbo diesel engine was quick in comparison to our Fiesta 1.4 petrol. At 80, sorry I mean 70 ;) it cruised along the motorway fine. It was a bit windy that day and it didn't feel unsafe even when overtaking lorries.
One thing I would say, the ride height must be quite a bit higher on the Smart than the Aygo so if you did happen to have a side impact you are hopefully above the worst of the hit... or thats what their website says anyway.
As above, if you are near Wolverhampton, get down and see Robert and take one out on the Motorway... I think you will find it ok especially in the Diesel having the torque to floor it and cruise past lorries is a welcome treat... not sure you would get that in the Aygo with the petrol engine at 70.
Anyway mine is due for delivery in March so will report back then if you still want to know.
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As I've posted elsewhere, we are in the early throes of car changing. We currently have an Aygo, and I have looked at the Smart. The level of kit etc looked attractive to me, but Mrs D instantly said she didn't think it would feel safe on a motorway, as it's noticeably smaller etc.
Can I ask "man without a plan" his response to that objection, as I'd quite like to not throw it off the shortlist just yet even in the face of IFO (Implacable Female Override)?
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I drove my ForTwo at a steady 75mph on cruise control along a very bluster M6 and it didnt strike me as vunerable, nor do the crash test results - alot of thought has gone into that aspect of the cars.
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Smarts are extremely strong, you are sitting in a roll cage, the only prob is there's nothing in the way of crumble zones so there's more violent acceleration/deceleration forces during a crash compared to other cars.
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Thanks for that - I'll put those points to Mrs D and see what happens.
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Well, she took the plunge at the weekend and ordered a Smart Fortwo CDI so we'll see how she gets on. I'll be monitoring the fuel consuption closely and reporting back.
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Just read my own typo what's a "crumble zone"? :-)
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"crumble zone"?: its what you get when your Ford Ka goes rusty :-)
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I'll be reporting back.
Look forward to hearing how you get on.
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