Got the call Friday afternoon my reserved SMART is on the lot. We stopped by tonight after store hours to say hi. Due to changing priorities, I'm not sure if I'm going to take it or let it free. My avatar is my car: Passion, Blue/Silver, Comfort Package.
... Due to changing priorities, I'm not sure if I'm going to take it or let it free. My avatar is my car: Passion, Blue/Silver, Comfort Package.
Can't imagine why you would orphan your smart, must be really hard to do. Hope you come to the best decision for you. Good luck! Is there any thing we can do to help make up your mind? Your certainly have a handsome one.
Can't imagine why you would orphan your smart, must be really hard to do. Hope you come to the best decision for you. Good luck! Is there any thing we can do to help make up your mind? Your certainly have a handsome one.
Where to start...
I, as G.W. Bush says, am addicted to petroleum. SMART's non-hybrid fuel economy is the first of three attributes drawing me to SMART. The second is price and the third is SPM (Smiles Per Mile).
My commute is 500 miles a week and I've been doing it for more than 12 years. What I've learned in those 12 years is I need a disposable car; a utility to take me to and from work daily. Spending a lot of money on a car and driving it 25K per year is just, well, dumb. But because I’m in the car so much I’ve learned it can’t be dull either!
My addiction to petroleum isn't just with my daily commute. Mrs. 07C70 also has about 1/2 the commute I have or 250 miles a week.
Here is when it gets real fun: We also have a pair of snowmobiles and a waterski boat that runs on that liquid gold! Which means we need a significant size tow vehicle which happens to currently be a Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew Cab.
We rent a house in Vermont during the winter and our weekend commute there and back is 515 miles. Two important words in that sentence: Winter and Vermont, dumbed down: SNOW!
Snow and SMART - that is one of my problems. The others are my 2007 Volvo C70 and my 1999 VW Cabrio with 211K miles on it.
No issues with the C70. I absolutely love the car but other than my house it was the next most expensive thing I've ever purchased. Remember what I said earlier about it being dumb to spend a lot of money on a car because of my commute? Our C70 has 21K on it and we've only had it 19 months. I refuse to drive it in the winter which helps keeping the miles down.
Our VW: best and more reliable car I've ever owned, second to my last commuter car a Toyota Tercel (dull, dull, dull! Sold it at 70K after 2.5 years to get the VW). But, the VW has 211,000 miles on it and it is far from perfect. Besides being ready for new tires it needs a new exhaust. It just seems silly to spent $600~700 on a car that is only worth $600~700 and honestly doesn't get very good gas mileage. Tires and exhaust aren't the only issues but the other problems I can live with.
When I step away from the SMART and simply look at my needs, I really need an AWD car that gets the same MPG as the SMART. Reality is none of the AWD cars get good MPG and I really only need AWD from December thru March.
So the nutshell is, the VW probably should be replaced with something that is cheap, gets very good mileage and can make the winter trek from Connecticut to Vermont. It's the latter causing me pain. Nearly every ride up to Vermont this past season was white knuckle/bad conditions driving. I can't think of a single drive up where I didn't have to lock the truck into 4WD. I might have gotten away with a FWD car this past season with winter tires and some patience but “me thinks” a RWD SMART won't cut it. When it comes to work I will miss a day because of bad driving conditions thus no issues with a RWD SMART but when it comes to my weekend NOTHING stands in the way!
So that’s my story (or random thoughts). The only other concern I have with SMART/winter is a solution for carrying my bicycle that I like to ride at lunch time and occasionally on my way home from work but I’m sure there is or will be a solution to that problem.
Well my commute is 700 a week and I find the smart to be about perfect. I feel a twinge of pain knowing the kind of miles Im going to put on it and how fast I will "use it up" but I really enjoy driving it every day and the mileage is fantastic.
The snow issue may not be as bad as you think.
Remember the logic behind FWD in the snow is that the weight (engine) is over the drive wheels. Well in the smart the weight (engine again) is still over the drive wheels, just all in the back. Dont forget the original rear engined aircooled VWs were excellent in the snow (and I owned and drove quite a few of them in the snow)
HI, I am very new to the Smart car so excuse me for anything stupid I write. I am wondering why you just wouldn't "flip" this car if you decide you don't want it. With a waiting list quite long and demand greater than supply, why wouldn't you take delivery and turnaround and sell the car for a profit? Someone like me who is getting very interested in a smart but may not want to wait months (years?) may not mind paying more for a car now. Am I missing something?
The snow issue may not be as bad as you think. Well in the smart the weight (engine again) is still over the drive wheels, just all in the back.
Yah, I hear you. I had a 1992 Toyota MR2 ("M"id engine, "R"ear wheel drive "2" seats) and I drove that thing in snow so deep it was coming over the hood. Many Europeans drive RWD cars all winter long. That's all fine and well back and forth to work and home but when you are looking at a 250ish commute to the cabin up north!!! EEEK!
HI, I am very new to the Smart car so excuse me for anything stupid I write. I am wondering why you just wouldn't "flip" this car if you decide you don't want it. With a waiting list quite long and demand greater than supply, why wouldn't you take delivery and turnaround and sell the car for a profit? Someone like me who is getting very interested in a smart but may not want to wait months (years?) may not mind paying more for a car now. Am I missing something?
I'm just not that lucky and it's not my style. I figure my SMART out the door will be around $16.8K after MSRP, 6% CT TAX, Dealer Conveyance and Registration. Then take out ads or list it on ebay is fifty plus bucks then have to make myself available. bla bla bla. I don't see someone paying me $20K which would be a profit worth my time.
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