Newbie Question (2005 smart)

[rgaus]

Welcome, Bill. Let me know if you run into any problems or questions. Call anytime. 314-583-9935.

Ron Gaus, aSmartCar.com, St. Louis

[RIderInTX]

Originally Posted by rgaus

Welcome, Bill. Let me know if you run into any problems or questions. Call anytime. 314-583-9935.

Ron Gaus, aSmartCar.com, St. Louis

Ron, Thanks again for your help. I just ordered an oil filter from your site.

Bill

[briansmart]

Welcome to the 450 "club" Bill!

Congrats on the car. What are your thoughts so far? Likes and dislikes?

As far as having your car serviced, look for independent Mercedes repair shops usinghttp://www.benzshops.com

Parts can be sourced from Canada and England with SmartMadness.com (based in California) selling some 450 parts as well.

[RIderInTX]

Originally Posted by briansmart

Welcome to the 450 "club" Bill!

Congrats on the car. What are your thoughts so far? Likes and dislikes?

As far as having your car serviced, look for independent Mercedes repair shops usinghttp://www.benzshops.com

Parts can be sourced from Canada and England with SmartMadness.com (based in California) selling some 450 parts as well.

Well, after 700 miles I am still enjoying the "newness" of the driving experience, learning all I can about maintenance, breaking it in, and getting used to the stares and the questions. It has been a lot of fun.
I really love the car.

There are however some things about this car that I really dislilke.

First, the car itself. I hate the fact that:
1. There is no spare. I do not feel good about venturing too far from the city I live in because I have no option whatsoever should I have a major blow-out. I am trying to locate a spare wheel/tire combination but so far my questions regarding it have not been answered and also no one has responded to my "wanted" ad.
2. There is no drink holder. I think the company pushed the "profit" thing just a tad too far by not including any place to put a drink in the car. I mean, let's face it, everybody wants a drinkholder, but nobody gets one unless they pay $50 or more. I think that is ridiculous.

That's only minor stuff. This is what really bothers me, and I wish I had given it more thought, because if I had I may not have bought the car.
1. Keys. From what I have read so far, if I lose my keys or if the fob malfunctions I am screwed. It will take about $500 to fix the problem.
2. Manual or CD. I cannot legally obtain repair documentation. This is the first car I have ever owned that I could not easily lay my hands on this information. Everything is purposely kept away from the owner and I do not yet understand why this is so, especially considering the fact that it is so hard to find someone to service it. I love doing my own work and I am good at it but I don't want to have to play games to get my hands on proper information.
3. Parts availability and parts pricing. You've got to be kidding me. So far, the cheapest I've been able to find an oil filter (from source to my door) is $17.00. This is a $4.00 or $5.00 paper element. That was my first experience. You've got to find parts first, either from vendors here, eBay, Canada, Mexico, England, then pay an arm and a leg for them.
4. Service locations. So far, I have found no one to work on the car.

All of these things can be overcome. It is the price we pay for having something that is unique. I am not saying that I don't want the car any longer or that I want to sell it. I am just answering your question and telling you about the good and the bad.

To sum it up. I love the little car, but along with the car there are a few very irritating aspects of owership. No flames please. I am just stating my opinion, as asked.

[John_H]

I am glad to know that you have absolutely no issues with the car that weren't already covered.

While we didn't expressly reply to you about some issues (key cost, repair manual) those have been talked about significantly on the forum and would be part of the due diligence.

The spare tire and drink holder should have been obvious when you looked at the car but the spare issue is common and frequent on the board (and 451s come with drink holders - that's why the cars cost more).

We were completely vocal about parts and service.

I'm glad you're enjoying the heck out of your car. It's not only small, it's smaller than the Smart cars most everyone else is driving!

Many happy miles.

[RIderInTX]

Originally Posted by John_H

I am glad to know that you have absolutely no issues with the car that weren't already covered.

While we didn't expressly reply to you about some issues (key cost, repair manual) those have been talked about significantly on the forum and would be part of the due diligence.

The spare tire and drink holder should have been obvious when you looked at the car but the spare issue is common and frequent on the board (and 451s come with drink holders - that's why the cars cost more).

We were completely vocal about parts and service.

I'm glad you're enjoying the heck out of your car. It's not only small, it's smaller than the Smart cars most everyone else is driving!

Many happy miles.

John;

An opinion was asked of me and I gave it. I see you also have an opinion. You say the spare tire and drink holder should have been obvious when I looked at the car. Are you implying that I am stupid or something? Why should that have been "obvious?" MY opinion is that most people would automatically assume there is a drink holder and a spare tire in a car and the only real question would be "where" they are rather than "are they included." How many other cars do you know of that do not have those things on them. Secondly, I did not blame anyone or imply that someone left that information out. I only said I did not like it. I was not expecting someone to reply back that it "should have been obvious". I just did not notice it and then I did after I bought it. Is that a problem for you?

Next, you say "we didn't expressly reply to you about some issues..." Well, thank you for saying so, but I did not expect you, or anyone else to reply to me about those issues, especially considering the fact that I did not ASK anyone about those issues. What are you talking about?

Lastly, your insult regarding me not exercising "due diligence" was also not asked for. When I wrote about the smart car I was simply offering my opinions and thoughts about it. I did not ask any other member of this board to comment about my due diligence or observation skills nor did I assault anyone's character. John, did I miss a rule or something that says no one is allowed to express a negative opinion? Give me a break dude.

[briansmart]

I agree about the spare. I wish that there was one. Smart sold some sort of break-down kit that fits in foam under the carpet on the passenger footwell. I think it was basically a little bit of "fix-a-flat" or equivalent and an air compressor.

As far as a spare wheel and tire, the Smart is a 3-stud wheel so an extra Smart wheel is the best option. You can find many options at fortwo - Wheels & Tyres but as you also pointed, the cost of shipping is an additional burden.

[John_H]

Sorry for the extreme offense.

I saw the word "hate" in your "opinion" and took notice, concerned that the forum and the people on the forum may have fallen short of providing you with adequate information for your search.

If you came to the forum, asked which you should get - 450 or 451 - read those and left, then you did NOT do your reasearch. My assumption has always been that you made a true informed purchase by going through this forum and extracting as much information as you can about things that might impact your purchase, items like the key cost or the spare tire issue.

If modern cars come with spares, they're usually the "micro tires" designed for 50 miles or fewer only to get you to the dealer. If you didn't care what kind of spare you got, you're not the typical car buyer from my experience.

If your car came without a glovebox and you complained, I'd suggest it would have been obvious. If console storage or underseat drawers are important to you, I'd suggest it would be obvious it wasn't there if you sat in the car before purchase. If you don't care about those things, perhaps you wouldn't notice. You appear to care sincerely about the drink holder and the spare. My point: they are nowhere to be found and the only way to know they're not included is to not look for them when you encounter the vehicle before purchase.

I included the text in gray as a means to support my conjecture that all your issues were addressed before purchase to show I was not being sarcastic. I was genuinely concerned that you had been "wronged" in the purchase.

Not even.

[RIderInTX]

Okay John, thanks for the explanation.

Bill

[John_H]

Even temper goes a long way, especially among fellow Texans.