New member with some questions

[Flashman]

Originally Posted by smartcarLINY

So, now, my questions. Am I foolish to get the Pure? It seems no one gets them. My dealer told me that nearly everyone gets the Passions. Part of me feels that I should be doing the same. However, I only need the car to get to work (14 miles round trip a day) and the supermarket, which is literally around the corner. The one I'm looking at comes with Air Conditioning and some silly door and wheel well coverings or whatever that the dealer threw in. I'm going to take the car to Circuit City or something and get a radio installed once I buy the car.

So, bottom line, for $13,000, am I making the right decision here? Am I going to be happy with a Pure?

YES yes and YES. I am getting a Pure and I honestly am not impressed by the Passion improvements. For one I don't care for the seat patterns. They are a left-over from when smart used to wrap the car with the same pattern. Now they no longer wrap the car with that pattern, but they left the seats. I prefer the "plain" grey seats of a Pure (or the plain leather, but that gets too hot in Florida). The tach and clock are not needed by me, but can easily be added for around $350 (250 for part, and 100 for labor). The wheel coverings are actually quite nice and since you have no serious investment in wheels you can always upgrade them later (tirerack already has some nice ones). Factory radio is limited (I'm putting in an Eclipse AVN2210p with built-in TomTom navigator). Power windows are not really needed as you can reach both sides of the car without leaning too far. The paddle shifters are gimmicky, having "tried" to use them in a couple cars I know I would just ignore them after a short while. The only key feature that you really want is A/C.

Go get it, save a bundle, and then welcome to the Pure club!

[smartcarLINY]

Well then, yes, it is the one in Roslyn. Unfortunately, the only one they have to offer me is the Yellow Pure with A/C. I kind of wish they could sell me a Passion, I'd probably consider doing it. I just don't want to wait. I want my car now!!! The Passions that Westchester has (or, at least, had last week) are CLEARLY being loaded up with crap like LoJack by the dealer. I'm not paying $18,000 for a Passion Coupe. I'd maybe pay that for a well equipped cabriolet, but not a coupe.

[dennyrex]

I'm getting the feeling that you should wait and order a passion.

Oddly enough, it seems that the pure is the elitist car here and not for everybody. if you are really concerned enough to mention it several times, then you should go ahead and get what you want (clearly the passion). adding to a pure can cost more than a passion if you're not careful.

regarding the wait, that's a different deal and it's like everything else:

cost
quality (eg. feature set, in this case)
schedule

choose two; low cost + feature set = long wait. instant gratification + feature set = high price. instant gratification + low cost = (lacking) feature set.

it looks like you have the money but don't want to spend if you don't have to. if you're that anxious, you'll probably have to spend the money.

I'm happy I waited and got what I wanted. I enjoyed the journey and did not obsess over the destination.

by the way there's already a clock standard in the speedo cluster, so the pod clock is superfluous, as would be the clock radio.

[smartcarLINY]

Well, I'm glad it hear it comes with some sort of clock standard. I do like to know what time it is when I'm driving to work.

For me, honestly, it does come down to cost. I really can't justify spending the money on a Passion. For that price, I can get a car (either used or new) that has similar features and a backseat. Sure, the mileage won't be as good, and it won't get the looks that a Smart does, but for the cost, I can get more for my money. That's why I think ultimately I'm going to have to stick with the Pure. I basically just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one out there who didn't feel like splurging. Thank you all for reassuring me!

One other thing....does the car come with a horn? I've seen things about people putting their own horns in...is something wrong with the car's standard horn?