Buying a Smart Car

[benzmeister]

I've done a lot of reading about these cars and to be honest a lot of it is negative, too small, handles terribly on highway, transmission problems. On the plus side has a lot of room inside, comfortable. I am on the edge of buying one. But I a wondering if the car will stand up to highway driving for long periods, and how reliable it really is. Thanks

[Suze]

Welcome, benzmeister!

The smart is not for everyone, so I advise you make sure you really want one before you buy.

I love mine and don't see any negatives. I've had it for 21 months and have 24,000+ miles on it. It is my only car. I drive the freeway daily and my longest freeway trip was 5600 miles across 14 states in June. It handles beautifilly, in my mind. But it is a more "interactive" experience than a boring sub-compact would be. Again, its up to personal taste. I would never try to convince some one to buy; I can only share my own experience.

As for long-term reliability, that is still pretty much an unknown. This US model (451) is fairly new, so we're still just babies. There are some members here with over 30 and 40K miles. They seem to be happy.

Hey, the car smiles, of course it makes people happy!

[BigWarpGuy]

I agree, it might not be for you. This is a great place to see how those who own one feel about them and learn about the good and bad of them too.

I have had mine since March 2008. I really like my little car. I wanted a modern micro car and a small economical vehicle for going to and from work. It fits my needs and wants perfectly. I have only had to check and fill the tires with air and have an oil change done. I am six feet tall and weigh about 320 pounds. I fit into my little car without any problems. I have no problems getting into or out of my little car. I have driven on the highway and have had no problems with it. I keep up with traffic and occasionally pass them. Even though NJ has mild winters, I have had no real problem driving it in the snow. It took some adjustment to the automatic manual transmission but once I did, it was fun to drive. I have no regrets in getting Herb.

What is fits my needs might not fit yours. The above is just my experience.

[SubSlr88]

To be honest, the negative reports seem to come mostly from those writers and pundits who've only spent a little bit of time with the car. I don't think anyone has ever done an honest evaluation over a period of time. So many of them just point out the obvious attributes like they're failures: It's too small - (that's why I bought it) It's under-powered (higher gas mileage) it's transmission is quirky (that's true, but it's the only one like it on the road - how can you compare.) And the biggest of all - it's unsafe, which we all know is patently untrue. They feel it's unsafe because it's small - but feelings shouldn't enter into the equation - just facts. And fact is - these cars have survived crashes that would do in much larger vehicles. . .
Many of the writers are so used to being courted by the Detroit 3 and the larger European & Japanese makers that if a vehicle doesn't have 400hp, burn rubber for 100 feet and do 0-60 in under 6 seconds, it's open to contempt . . .
You pay your money and take the car for what it is - a small, efficient method of transportation that has some quirks and is lots and lots of fun to own and drive - or you buy into their brainwashing.
Like the smart slogan says "Open your mind."
And do your homework here, too. Gotta remember - we're biased toward the car.

[Big Panda]

First, welcome to the jungle.

As for your concerns regarding the smart, all I can tell you is that the smart isn't for everyone. Many have bought them and then appeared to have buyers remorse.

Like anything, there's at least two sides to the smart owner experience. Luckily for me, mine has been for the most part positive. I bought my smart for my daily commute to work....about 60 miles/day. It's made my boring trip fun and at the same time has saved me $$ on gas purchases, as I've about DOUBLED my MPG's from the Jeep I owned.

I certainly wouldn't recommend a smart for your only vehicle. It honestly isn't practical. BUT my wife has a nice 4dr which she hardly drives, so we have a larger car if we need it. My smart fills all MY needs and I have no regrets with my purchase.

All I can say is take several test drives.....SEVERAL, in various weather and road conditions. Only YOU can decide if a smart is for you.

[mvaldes]

You'll really need to think about what you need it for and how you use your vehicles. having said that my Passion coupe has been my daily driver on NY metro Interstates since May of last year. It's also the most fun I've had with a car since I was a teenager (back in the paleolithic era) so that covers a whole lot of other vehicles. For commuting and often for trips to our weekend house it's great. But, we also have other cars, so if I need to haul lumber for a project, move furniture, or carry a bunch of people, that's covered too.
In terms of reliability and troubles, I had to have the alarm sensor replaced on day 2 of ownership, but haven't had any problems since then.

[Notti]

About 3 months ago, I had the same doubts.
But what I did was: TESTDRIVE!!!
I drove it on the highway, and it felt great!
It's even fun because since 'you're' so small, you can squeze in
between other cars and move like a cat through traffic.
In the meanwhile I bought a 451 and it will be delivered within about 3 weeks.
The only advice I can give you is:

TESTDRIVE!

[Lil'Blue]

I will echo everyone's response especially the fact of "consider your needs" and "testdrive"-I'll add "a long one".
My Smart dealer was very accomadating on that. I had their "tester" for over 4 hours and put over 150 miles on it in all types of driving: metro stop and go, interstate, rural twistys, etc.
For myself, I needed a good little car with extreme mileage numbers. My commute is 114 miles a day. 98% is interstate traveling at 70mph.
The car has its quirks-mainly you can't really skylark when driving it, its quick and nimble and will change lanes before you think about changing lanes. You have to be alert and stay on focus-which is a good thing in my opinion...I think most accidents are because of distractions.
I also would not recomend this as a only car...it is what it is...a 2 seater, the proverbial "grocery getter" and commuter car.
With that said, and over 5000 miles on it in less than a month, I have had zero issues, and actually smile when I put 18.00 bucks of gas in it a week instead of the 60+ bucks twice a week in my Titan!
And yes, we are a bit biased

[forestacademy]

If you look at a lot of those "reviews" about the smart you will see the same phrases over and over. One that leads me to believe they never dove it is "Sacrifices Passenger room". Take a look at this thread and You will see why that is not true.
Big guys stand up Also, any time I let someone sit inside they are amazed by the amount of room inside the car.

As for Highway driving, the only problem on long trips is the lack of Factory Cruise Control. However, their are two aftermarket Cruise controls available today for the smart fortwo. I find it a lit easier on the body to try and maintain 65 MPH than 80 MPH because the Gas pedal gets harder to push the further down it goes. Or at least that's how it seems to me. But hey you get much better MPG at 65 than 80.

Don't short change yourself on a test drive. Make an appointment on a weekday if you can and get the attention a new car buyer deserves.

Make sure you count the Number of seats before you buy the car and that you are OK with that. Plenty of other cars on the Market have the same number of seats and no one seems to mention anything about them.

Make sure you listen to your brand specialist about the shifting option on this car so you can take advantage of the transmission rather than be limited by it.

And just in case it comes up, Visit www.Safeandsmart.com to help you fend off any safety naysayers in your inner group of friends. Don't worry about the strangers opinions.

[rfernatt]

I can only echo what everyone else has said, it's not for everyone, consider your needs, and test drive, test drive, test drive...

I just returned from 1,200 mile round trip of driving from central WV to the Delaware shore last night. I drove I-81, I-66, I-95/495 around DC, etc. and didn't have any problems with two passengers and enough luggage for over a week (two suitcases, two travel bags, laptop, sheets, towels, jackets, etc.). Of course, I've also been to Philly, Indy, Atlanta, Montgomery, AL and the list goes on. I have nearly 25,000 miles on the car in 13 months.

My wife and I typically commute in the car every day about 75 miles round trip on both interstate and two-lane WV back roads and it works fine. I drive with the transmission in manual mode 99% of the time and can shift as smooth as any other manual transmission I've driven.

My biggest complaint for interstate travel was lack of cruise control, but I installed an aftermarket (Area451) system recently before my latest big trips and have been very pleased.

As far as passenger room, not a problem for me. I'm 6'2" and 285 lbs and have more room than my previous Honda Civic.

I also have a Nissan 4WD crew cab truck, but it doesn't see much use unless I need 4WD (I do live in a rural area), to tow something, to haul cargo, or carry more than 2 people. The truck is a few months older but has less than half the mileage of the smart, so you know which one sees the most usage.

In summary, it is what it is. Just make sure you don't need more than 2 seats, don't need to tow anything substantial, don't need to shop for the Brady Bunch at SAMS, don't expect the 0-60 of a Z28, etc. If your expectations are in line, it can deliver great fuel economy and lots of safe driving pleasure.