While I wish you the best, please stop by and post your maintenance and repair costs for the next 24 months/24000 miles. Also the lose in equity you take when you resell it.
I wish you well, too, but have to echo what was said above about maintenance and repair costs. I used to drive a Golf TDI. I loved the car, but not the $1000 repair bills once I got up to around 60,000 miles. Plus, have you seen what diesel fuel is selling for these days?
While I wish you the best, please stop by and post your maintenance and repair costs for the next 24 months/24000 miles. Also the lose in equity you take when you resell it.
as for the equity issue, marcrhodes will probably get most of that money back. out here in Cali, anything diesel is currently selling for a tremendous premium. even when 50 state diesels come on line later this year, i expect that used diesels will still command a healthy premium. if i would have bought one of the last jetta, 5 speed, diesel wagons sold in CA i could have driven it all these years and still have gotten most of my money back. i kick myself almost every day for passing that car up.
Some buy for high mileage. Some buy for looks. Some buy for prestige. Some buy for low price. Some buy for high price. Some buy used. Some buy new. Some buy for utility. Some buy for "green". Some buy for power. Some buy for safety. There are cars on the market that specialize in each of these areas. To say that one car is the "best" or the "worst" makes an assumption about the personal tastes of everybody else. For economy, the diesel VW may well be the best selection. In our two year selling experience of these cars, with our customer feedback, there is no car that will attract more positive attention, at any price, than the smart. There are few cars that combine the pricing value than the smart. There is no car in the 2008 model year that has a better EPA rating. The car is 100% recyclable and the smart has a longer backlog (prestige) than any car in the country right now. From a small car perspective, it is at least in the top third of offerings in safety, if not higher. Comparing all its attributes, the smart goes a long way in meeting many of the varied criteria listed above. It is the looks, however, that will set this car apart from the competition, folks. There simply is no competition to the design of this car. It may not be the answer for everyone, and certainly may not be the highest mpg available within the used car market, but what a joy it is to own this little guy!
Everyone has different needs and wants for their cars, and many have different circumstances that drive what they buy. I marvel at the number of people who have three or more cars (or list dozens they've owned) on this board. I definitely feel like a minority when I mention I have two (and will sell off one when I get my smart), so my wife and I can get to work.
The mileage numbers, the more I look into it, both irk and impress me. It irks me because people keep tossing around numbers saying the fortwo's numbers are "disappointing". Compared to what? Diesels? Hybrids? Any pure-gasser car being sold today is left in the dust.
That's not to say that anyone makes a bad choice when they go elsewhere - they made a choice. Yes, we may laugh at them for their choice (although let's not, please) - but they may turn around and do the same thing if the whole smart in the US thing goes belly-up.
With the money we pay for the smart car, we can probably get something else, that is true. But I can tell you that probably none of those other cars will get the attention that the smart gets.
As for gas mileage? It may or may not make the advertised rating. But remember, none of us have had our cars long enough for it to be completely broken in. From my experience, your mileage tend to improve as the engine gets settled.
While I wish you the best, please stop by and post your maintenance and repair costs for the next 24 months/24000 miles. Also the loss in equity you take when you resell it.
haha you really are a nut carnut
glad you have the b**-s to say it...
Because posting what he did, he's bound to get some critism, it's a smart forum.
Mercedes, BMW and VW all had new diesel models at the Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS) that will be here in the next year or so. Don't expect the first two companies to deliver high mpg, but the new VW diesels should be very good. And all will be more expensive than the smart. Plenty of rumors and speculation as to what PAG has cooking for 2010 or 2011 - diesel, MHD, full electric?
At a guess, MHD will be easiest. If the US really starts driving smart sales worldwide, we may see the diesel, but it's a lot of work to satisfy one country. Pure electrics need a revolution in batteries before they're commercially viable.
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