New Member Researching To Buy

[jcptools]

Hello, I am Looking into buying a smarfortwo. someone told me that they are not all that but then again they dont have one. i also heard premium is mandatory?

if any body have suggestions and testimonials please let me know.

Jon

[jefferios]

Originally Posted by jcptools

Hello, I am Looking into buying a smarfortwo. someone told me that they are not all that but then again they dont have one. i also heard premium is mandatory?

if any body have suggestions and testimonials please let me know.

Jon

Premium is recommended for best milage/performance. 91+ octane.

Also I think my Smart is "all that" I've gotten hundreds of compliments and a few complaints, Good outweigh's the negative eh'? The milage for me has been on average between 40-50. I got 52 mpg once. And the car has not had any issues/problems. I'm currently at 2000+ miles.

If I were you, reserve today for $99, you haveplenty of time to research and read reviews as you get in line.

[jimrb66]

Hi jt
If you need you car to be there for you every day than think twice about buying a smart until they work out all the bugs.I ordered one on 04/19/08 Silver passion w/black stripe and comfort pkg.Than as I followed other people's problems with reliability and quality on their new smarts I begin to have major doubts.Than as the dealers started screwing people with add on's to the orphans I had enough.On 6/16/08 after much research I bought a 08 honda Fit sport.It's a great car (not as cute as my smart would have been ) but I know It will start every day ,The shifter will not freeze,the A/c will work ect. ect.Don't get me wrong I WISH the smart was as reliable.I needed a car I could count on to go every day 24/7 and as of now the 08 smart is not yet there.I did not intend to offend any smart owners here,just laying out my reason for canceling my smart.
Jimrb66

[Kermit]

Originally Posted by jimrb66

Hi jt
If you need you car to be there for you every day than think twice about buying a smart until they work out all the bugs.I ordered one on 04/19/08 Silver passion w/black stripe and comfort pkg.Than as I followed other people's problems with reliability and quality on their new smarts I begin to have major doubts.Than as the dealers started screwing people with add on's to the orphans I had enough.On 6/16/08 after much research I bought a 08 honda Fit sport.It's a great car (not as cute as my smart would have been ) but I know It will start every day ,The shifter will not freeze,the A/c will work ect. ect.Don't get me wrong I WISH the smart was as reliable.I needed a car I could count on to go every day 24/7 and as of now the 08 smart is not yet there.I did not intend to offend any smart owners here,just laying out my reason for canceling my smart.
Jimrb66

Just remember Smart owners are VERY enthusiastic about their cars. One quality of that enthusiasm is being a forum member of a board such as SCOA. Sooo, when something goes wrong they report it to everyone else as something to keep an eye on. Now I know there a few Fit owners that are super enthusiastic but is the site just as big as SCOA with as many members? Same goes for the Yaris, another Smart fighter. That being said, both are great cars and I would almost bet that they are both a bit more reliable over a long period of time than the Smart.

[Dunerunner]

My smart Passion coupe has just over 1500 miles and, though I consider this to be a very limited period upon which to offer advice on a vehicle, at least I own one.

I made an online reservation and put down my plastic for $99. At that time, I wanted a Pure to equip for towing behind my motorhome. I also contacted my dealership within the next couple of days following reserving and had their sales staff put me on their Orphan list. 18 days later, I was driving my Yellow/black Passion Coupe home. I have had no equipment failures. The A/C will cool the cabin adequately, but I must add I live where a 69 degree day is considered to be warm! I am planning a 3 week trip to California, about 1500 miles and will report milage and A/C effect, etc. at a later time. Both my wife and myself love the car. It's practical for the short 100 mile day trips we do and for running shopping errands around town. Easy to park, easy to get in and out of, storage for groceries; you won't take this car to the lumber yard for decking materials! The ride can be a little harsh but I expected that with the short wheel base and 15" wheels. The car must be driven, it tends to track pavement grooving and is affected by cross winds but, all the handling issues from braking, acceleration (transmission is a clutchless manual), steering, etc. are adaptive issues. The smart learns your driving habits and adapts, you learn the smarts handling issues and you adapt. Today, a couple stopped us in a Rite Aid parking lot, asked us about the car(where to get it, milage, cost, the usual), then took a picture. I have never had another car, except my Land Rover Defender 90, that gets the attention that this little car does, that's not why I bought it, just a spin-off. I just got 40.6 MPG on a recent trip but average ~38. I drive normally, I don't baby the car. I drive mostly in "D" Auto mode but on my last day trip, I used the paddle shifters in manual mode to keep engine RPM above 2500.

My Passion Coupe has the comfort package, you can read about that on the smartUSA web page when you build and configure your own car before ordering. I recommend you play with the different models, configurations and options to help you decide what you want. The price you see in the "build me" program is what you will pay when your car arrives at the dealer 12 - 14 months later. Your $99 applies to the purchase or is refunded if you buy an Orphan or opt out of the reservation program. I also recommend a test drive before reserving a car.

I did equip my smart for towing. I am looking forward to many trips with it in the future. Enjoy shopping and Welcome to the forum.

There is one issue which is a bother, that being the distance from a dealership. I am 2 1/2 hours, 138 miles from my dealership. That is close compared to other owners. When the car needs dealer attention for warranty service, it has to be transported to the dealership (driven or towed). For some, this is an issue.

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by jimrb66

Hi jt
If you need you car to be there for you every day than think twice about buying a smart until they work out all the bugs.I ordered one on 04/19/08 Silver passion w/black stripe and comfort pkg.Than as I followed other people's problems with reliability and quality on their new smarts I begin to have major doubts.Than as the dealers started screwing people with add on's to the orphans I had enough.On 6/16/08 after much research I bought a 08 honda Fit sport.It's a great car (not as cute as my smart would have been ) but I know It will start every day ,The shifter will not freeze,the A/c will work ect. ect.Don't get me wrong I WISH the smart was as reliable.I needed a car I could count on to go every day 24/7 and as of now the 08 smart is not yet there.I did not intend to offend any smart owners here,just laying out my reason for canceling my smart.
Jimrb66

I would respectfully submit that there's not much more guarantee your Fit would start every day. The Fit is also a new design and could have just as many problems as the smart. I believe the smart problem rate is under 5%, maybe even 1%. The problems reported may appear epidemic on the forums here, but I chalk that up to the nature of forums - one person complains, and the 15 others (out of 500+) that have the problem all jump in to say "me too" even if there are 20 threads on the same issue. So it looks like a lot, but count the different names... there really aren't that many people having problems. I had doubts as well when I came here and saw problems mentioned, but I drove 500 miles and picked mine up anyway. In 1700 miles or so, I haven't had a problem.

On a positive note, your cancellation made someone else happy to get an orphan, and if you were on the fence or predisposed to doubt the car's quality before even owning it, you probably would have found faults pretty quickly anyway and been unhappy as an owner.

The 2008 smart's not for everyone, I guess... but I think it excels in so many areas that I'm willing to overlook a couple of flaws. I couldn't picture myself in a Fit or Yaris... to me, I wouldn't get a rush while driving one of those. I find any excuse possible to drive my smart. Why? I love zipping into a parking space between two large pickups and a minivan, doing 3 point turns in a driveway, and making kids at McD's smile at the "little car." Tripling my MPGs is only one of the reasons. Driving the world's cheapest Mercedes is a bonus. I got a heck of a lot for $15,825. I didn't need a back seat to get me to work.

[angel]

Originally Posted by jcptools

Hello, I am Looking into buying a smarfortwo. someone told me that they are not all that but then again they dont have one. i also heard premium is mandatory?

if any body have suggestions and testimonials please let me know.

Jon

It's not for everyone. I love mine. Had her a little over 2 months now. Been to Louisiana twice now. Been to Gulfport, MS. Done a lot of driving here locally and to Dallas.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by jimrb66

Hi jt
If you need you car to be there for you every day than think twice about buying a smart until they work out all the bugs.I ordered one on 04/19/08 Silver passion w/black stripe and comfort pkg.Than as I followed other people's problems with reliability and quality on their new smarts I begin to have major doubts.Than as the dealers started screwing people with add on's to the orphans I had enough.On 6/16/08 after much research I bought a 08 honda Fit sport.It's a great car (not as cute as my smart would have been ) but I know It will start every day ,The shifter will not freeze,the A/c will work ect. ect.Don't get me wrong I WISH the smart was as reliable.I needed a car I could count on to go every day 24/7 and as of now the 08 smart is not yet there.I did not intend to offend any smart owners here,just laying out my reason for canceling my smart.
Jimrb66

Mods ----

Could you move this to the Honda Fit boards, please?

Thanks.

In the meantime - I love my smart - have had it since Feb. and NO PROBLEMS!


Sheesh, it's almost as if some people actually think the smart is in the same category with other cars... wtf??

[SunDiego]

Personally, I'd take the ForTwo over the Fit anyday...

[rwjrn]

Everything is relative. It depends on what you want out of a car. I've put about 3000 miles on my smart and I love it. I have not been back to the dealer since I bought it. I have a 90mile/day commute. My Ford Edge which is a really nice car has been out of the driveway twice since I've owned my smart. I needed to get some large furniture once and there were more than 2 people in the carpool one day when it was my turn to drive. That being said, the smart is for you if:
You are looking for good gas mileage.
You want reasonable comfort, not luxury.
You like to talk to a lot of people
You want to be able to park it just about anywhere. (I now take all the spots at work other cars can't fit into)
You want a car with an excellent safety rating.
You want leather

This car isn't for you if:
The extra $1.60-$3.20 it costs to fill an 8 gallon tank with premium is cost prohibitive for you (even though you're getting 35-40mpg)
You want to race.
You are looking for anonymity
You have more than one passenger or a need for extra cargo space.
You want a Cadillac type ride or an S200 type ride

I haven't had any issues with my transmission and my A/C works awesome and it's been over 100 where I live