Maybe its a case of "you only hear the complaints" but I have found that out of the relatively few smarts out there, there are quite a few out there with out of the box issues. Engine lights, gearing problems, ac problems, you name it. Normally I would attribute this to it being a new product and jumping on the bandwagon early, but smart has been in the game for years, only debuting in the US. Any thoughts? Am I over-analyzing? This is my 7th car and the first I have had to bring in for unscheduled service except when I was hit by a taxi in my Jeep.
yeah, i am a bit worried too, but to be honest I new this wasn't going to be a Toyota and issues may come up. Until they announced the USA release of the Smart I swore I would only buy Japanese but I had to submit to the Euro's, I just love the smart too damn much. I have had mine for 2 weeks today and love it, I hope I don't have any of the quirky issues I have read about, some of them are just goofy like power outage when taking a sharp corner...I almost wish the Smart was a more stripped down car so the problem would be easy to identify and fix..also it would be nice if my dealer wasn't 150 miles away. I bought an extended warranty but it will still suck to lose my Smart for awhile for some of these odd issues.
I received my drivers license in 1956 (I know, nobody is that old). The smart is my 22 car, the recent ones all purchased new, the early ones used (some beaters I had to rebuild). Got the smart March 1, it now has 4000 miles and I have had no trouble. I thought it would only be used for commuting but my better half loves it and we use it for all trips now. The smart took a little getting used to, but absolutely no problems and we are very happy with it.
I believe that we will know much more in about a year. By that time some of the rating folks will have gathered statistics as to repair frequency, initial quality etc. As of now we have a sample of about 5 to 6 thousand cars in the US and we only know what active members of this forum have posted. Many who have cars, both members here and non-members are driving trouble free 451s.
That being said, remember we are talking about a German car here, none of which are as trouble free as a Japanese marque. Also remember that MB is still in the recovery process from an era of rather poor quality and reliability.
Even my beloved BMW can't approach the reliability of Toyota.
Tome the bottom line is best stated in the Cadillac ad where the woman asks "When you turn your car on does it return the favor", that is what my smart and Bimmer do for me and for that I am willing to pay the price of more trouble and less reliability.
Stepping down off my soap box now to go drive a toy
I agree with you, Letsgo. Before this week, I've been a big proponent of the smart. Loved the car for years and was thrilled to finally get mine. I put aside the problems to a minority of the cars and that every car has problems. Then, one week and 300 miles in, I had transmission problems and the car had to be towed away. (It's even more discouraging that they won't bring my car back to me but expect me to get a ride 80 miles out there to get it!)
I can't help but see all the problems in a different light now. I'm glad I'll get my car back, but I don't feel the same way about it anymore. Now I'm afraid that there will be other problems, that it's only a matter of time. It's frustrating and discouraging. And I hate the fact that I'm not nearly as happy about my new car as I was. To be honest, I feel a little betrayed.
You are experiencing what some of did in the early 1950's when we were driving Jaguars and MGs and there were literally not more than a couple of dozen dealers in the entire country. The fact the I earlier, and you today, bought a car where there is no close dealer is always a risk of great inconvenience.
the worst part for me is that my smart was supposed to be my road trip car that I could rely on... I still love my smart and will end up using it, but the fear will always be in the back of my mind that I wont hear that sweet whine every time I turn the key.
This is a new model, almost everything different from the old 450. There are going to be first year new car problems. Period. And the differences required by the USA standards don't help. My smart was reserved 03/07, built 02/08, I got it 03/06/08, now has 3200 miles, so far (knock wood) nary a problem.
Kid. Most of your problems seem to be magnifyed by very poor dealer service, and a lack of communication between you and the dealer.
What is this dealers name and who is the service manager you are dealing with?
Have you talked to the GM of the dealership and what does he say. Is this really a trans problem ?
I know for a fact that the Smart corp. leadership reads these forums, so let's get some names out here, so every one will know who and what we are talking about here.
We have 8,200 on the ode and have gone though the shifter and a couple of other minor problems. But because our dealer and service manager have been very resposive, we will buy another Smart in July.
Kid, keep us posted on your progress. Your poor treatment makes us all unhappy with that dealer.
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