Well, its been a loooooong year of waiting and my Smart is finally here.
First thing first! I want to thank and applaud Smart Center of Sugarland Texas for their amazing service, friendly staff, and upmost professionalism. My purchase went as smooth as possible and I can say this is THE BEST car purchase experience I have ever had. NO pressure, gimmicks, lies, etc.. at anytime during the final sale or during financing.
Cassie and Bryan the best! Thank you both soooo much! A+++++
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Okay, about the Smart.
Ordered: 5/13/07
Confirmed: 12/16/07
Arrived at dealership & Delivered: 4/25/07
Passion model, White & Black Cell, Pod gauges, Comfort package, Radio 10 upgrade, Foglights. + 4 year 48,000 mile extended warranty and OEM rubber floormats.
I drove the smart yesterday late afternoon after I took delivery and all day today and racked up about 300 miles on her with mixed city & highway miles. Overall, the Smart is exactly what I expected. I am neither thrilled nor disappointed. I am just happy I have it and will enjoy for quite some time.
Some mental notes I took.
Air Conditioning system 8/10: it works.. not the coldest, but it worked fine in 85 degree weather today.
Cruise Control (lack of) 0/10: totally sucks. I cannot believe it isn't available.
Headlights/Foglights 9.5/10: WOW. They are almost as bright as HID. The foglights are incredible.
Radio10 5/10: blah.. its okay. anything loud produces much distortion.. 6cd changer is nice. iPod jack location is ridiculous. Inside the glovebox?! c'mon.
Roadnoise: 5/10 you can hear every bump.
Windnoise: 8/10 its pretty darn quiet.
Ride quality: 6/10 its bumpy, harsh, bone jarring. try a few speedbumps and you'll see. At highway speeds, its stable enough. Big semi's will move you a little. No worries there.
Handling: 7/10 for the size, weight, tire size, etc.. its okay. not a canyon carver, but it'll handle better than a ford F150 or Chevy Tahoe. lol
Acceleration 3/10. wow.. its like a 50cc scooter. but remember, I am in break-in so im super gentle on the accelerator. I really hope this improves.
Transmission 6.5/10: ugggh... the tranny is pretty harsh right now. I assume and hope its because it is so new and needs to break in. Im sure things will smooth out by 1k-2k miles. I do the "shift & lift" but its so slow when you are trying to merge onto a freeway.
Seating/comfort 8/10: I am 6'2" 250lbs and fit very comfortably. The leather seats are a bit firm and lack a soft plushy feel. I have plenty of room and can't complain. I just wish the seating was better.
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Okay...the attention/questions/picture taking/curious cops/ laughs/ rude comments etc..
GET READY if you do not own a smart yet. In the 12 hours or so of combined driving, I have had countless comments, questions, pictures taken and have already been pulled over by a cop on the tollway! sigh... its fun but can get old really quickly. Wow, i was really blown away by the other motorists reactions today. Some people have a wonderful smile and give you a thumbs up! yet, some give you horrible mean looks. Shaking their head in disgust as they look you in the eye. The looks of disgusts came from mostly old trashy harley riding rednecks in the country. Sorry its not a ford, chevy, john deer, nascar etc.. and gangster thugs of Houston, I'll keep my mouth shut on this one.
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RANT#1
My Smartie in front of Smart Center North Houston.
I did NOT purchase my car from Smart North Houston. I was just there visiting while passing through. My Smartie was purchased from Smart Center Sugarland.
I did
not like the service and experience at Smart Center North Houston today when I visited. I clearly arrived in my new smart with temp tags... I was dumbfounded when the salesman came out and asked me to go inside and look at the 3 demo vehicles. ???! hellloooooooooo! I own a Smart and drove up in it! Yes he saw me get out of my new Smart. I then asked the salesman about a rear trunk cargo cover and he jotted down a part number and told me to go to the parts department across the street to ask. Why couldn't he just call for me or know to begin with?? The final thing that pissed me off is when he started badmouthing Smart Sugarland once he realized I bought my smart there! I could not believe that.. I left immediately.
Smart North Houston also keep all their Smarts waiting to be delivered to customers out in the open! About 15 Smarts were parked all along the circular driveway. Customers were allll over Smarts which have already been sold to other people!! I would be extremely PO'd if my smart was just sitting there for everyone to play with for days to weeks.
GOD I am sooo thankful I bought mine from Smart of Sugarland TX!
My dirty dirty interior. Actually its not bad. Just dirty rubber floormats and my wifes jacket.
My first mod! I purchased this at the Mercedes Sugarland
dealership parts department. Looks great to me and costs $8 bucks!
In Hunstsville TX.
Well, this is probably the worst review ever written, but hey.. I tried lol.
Don't get me wrong, I critiqued my smart very harshly but I still love her. I knew these things before I purchased so there was no surprise. The smart could use a ton of improvements, but the overall "charm and character" of the smart is lovely. It gets great gas mileage, makes people smile, affordable and very unique.
Feel free to ask me any questions.. I'll try my best to answer them.
Remember to check out the May 24th Houston Smart Meet thread!
Houston, TX First Smart Meet 5/24! Uptown Park
Today
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