Newbie to Smart

[sylsim]

I ordered my Smart Car last April and it arrived in November. I live in Maine where Smart Dealers don't exist so I had to drive to Lynnfield, MA to pick up my car. Massachutts doesn't have paper or 10-day plates so I had to get the paperwork and drive to Maine amd back to Lynnfield to pick up my Putt-Putt. I have a blue Passion Coupe with silver, sunroof, heated seats, CD Et Cetera. I have just been told that an oil change is $350 because the Smart car doesn't have an oil plug and the pan must be dropped. Does anyone know if this is true?? My email is thelazyslave@fairpoint.net and I'd love to hear from other Smart owners.

Sylvia

[gbryers]

Sylvia,
First, welcome to the club! I am sure you will have many happy miles behind the wheel.

Second, the oil-change thing is absolutely false. The oil plug is located on the passenger-side of the engine, front corner (more or less). The filter is located more towards the rear of the engine (same side). And $350 is piracy!
As you get more familiar with the site, you will find pretty much anything you need to know - many of us have been discussing almost anything you can think of, related to the smart (and a lot of things that aren't) for the last year or so. The search function will help you out there, and if you can't find something, just ask!

And, while you are driving around Maine, beware of Moose - you could probably drive under them, but why take the chance?

[jwight]

Hope it wasn't the dealer that sold the car giving you the oil change info. That was the case with the previous version of the smart (the 450) but as pointed out above, not the case with the new version (451.) Any good auto mechanic can do the oil change - doesn't have to be the dealer. All you need is synthetic oil (Mobil 1 or equivalent), 0W-40 or 5W-30, and the right oil filter - available from a smart dealer or you can get the aftermarket filters from an auto parts store:

Mobil 1 M1-108 (Champion Labs)
Purolator PureOne Premium Plus PL14612 (full fleece)
K&N KN147 (Champion Labs)
Bosch Filtec 3300
AMSoil EAOM103 (full fleece)

to name a few.

[mvaldes]

Welcome and congratulations on your new Smart. Here are a few threads about oil and DIY oil changes that might interest you:
Changing Oil on my Smart Car.
Oil Filter Option
List of motor oils and oil filters: