I've been on the smart-usa mailing list for almost two years. I was among the first wave of reservations (1180) in March of last year. I test-drove a smart 450 at the event last summer. I configured in November, and got my "30-day" call three weeks ago.
But I just finally decided this is not the car for me. -_-
Before getting that 30-day call, I hadn't given the smart much thought, other than that it was a nifty-looking microcar. Shortly after getting the call, though, I began really giving it the thought which any major purchase deserves. But I found that the more I researched the smart (both here, and elsewhere on the net), the less-enchanted I became with the prospect of owning one as my singular, primary-driver vehicle.
I drive a 1997 Volkswagen Golf, which has been (and still is) a great, dependable little car. It gets between 30-35 mpg, and is pretty easy to park in spaces most regular-sized cars can't consider. So the smart's not necessarily that large a step away from where I already am.
My previous car, however, was a 1989 Ford Festiva .. another little workhorse, which got over 45 mpg! A car as tiny as the smart really ought to be able to do better than this, at its very least.
Insurance was a major factor in my decision.
AAA, whom I've used for the past 10 years with my Golf, gave me a quote of $1,465 for a year with the smart.
I pay $402 per year for the Golf .. so that
more than triples my cost! I'm a good driver (22 years on the road, no accidents or tickets), and average barely 5,000 miles per year ATM, so I really didn't see the reasoning for this. I tried obtaining a quote through
esurance, and got one response, from a tiny insurance company I'd never heard of: $632 for six months .. well, at least, that
only triples my current insurance cost.
The miniscule warranty is a turn-off, as are the third-party "extensions" of which I've read. The Golf was factory-warranteed for 5 years overall, and certain parts were under further warranty for 7 years, at very little extra cost. As stated, the Golf has been solidly dependable for the past 10 years, and has only just passed 105,000 on the odometer. There may be less life ahead of it than behind it .. but there's no question in my mind that it has given me far more than my money's worth already; and that there are many repairs and maintenance procedures I can do on it myself, if needed. With the smart, there are nothing
but question-marks, when it comes to maintenance.
AFAIC, the attention this car gets is also a turn-off, for me. This really is an extrovert's car .. and I am the exact opposite: a complete introvert; practically a recluse. I was contacted via PM, within
minutes of joining this forum, with an invitation to coffee from a total stranger who happens to live nearby, and it
freaked me out (no offense meant to the member who did so) .. so, being approached by similar strangers IRL, simply because I'm driving a car that caught their attention ** when I'm simply just trying to get to work or do my daily errands **
really doesn't appeal to me, at all. The Golf is wonderfully anonymous.
In conclusion, I still think the smart is a nifty-looking microcar. And certainly, it's very fun to drive. It would be a fantastic second car. But it's still not for me. Sorry for the long-winded post to explain why ..
Oh; if anyone's wondering, I did contact Todd at smart center of Universal City today, to let him know I had decided to cancel, and he said he has a long waiting-list for "orphans" .. so, someone on that list has likely already become a very happy person.
It's doubtful I will stick around on the forum, but I do wish everyone here well with their future, as smarties!
).
Today
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