Truth / purchasing, owning, selling a SMART

[maverick1]

I would like to spend some time to get this message out as I fell it is very important to potential SMART owners and current ones. The items stated are from actual experiences.

Ordered my SMART by the $99.00 method.

Had every option and it retailed for about $18,600, we all pay list.

Traded in large car and and didn't get KBB prices as stated "Nobody wants large cars"

My car has been into the Dealer for real fixes many times. So many times the amount exceeds my last 11 cars, Non-German.
Mechanic verified complaint was real prior to arriving. Great Dealership and Mechanic, thank God! 160 miles round trip for SMART issues.

Now time to trade in and other Dealers have no idea what to give you. KBB is no good for a guideline as when they call around they use auction prices. I spoke to my SMART Dealer sales and they offered $12000.00. Also I must have the AREA 451 removed by a certified professional and then inspected by their mechanic before they will put it on their lot and close the deal. Other modification into the wiring must also follow the same process.

Additional information stated was if you have mileage the is over say 12000 miles then they must add the extended warranty to hope to sell my car so this must be deducted from the price proportionally.

Be careful if you intend to purchase a SMART and take the above items as fact from a real owner.

I could go on with stories but this will do for now. The bottom line is the car is overpriced and lacks basic quality standards at least with mine. I try to think this is my car only but my Dealers Tech confirms each fault.

Be careful on any modification made. I will remove my AREA 451 and hopefully My Dealer will just look to see it is removed as I know the Tech.

PS, two coupes are for sale locally and can not sell! Ask your Dealers and they will bring you up to speed. Anybody want to buy a SMART from me?

PM me and I will be glad to share the details but I do not want to bash my Dealer or put anybody on the spot.

[BigWarpGuy]

I really like my little car and accept all its little imperfections and faults.

[Duckhunter]

Bought mine to keep as the truck was very expensive to fill up. Have had no real problems with car, and will make a list of a couple of minor things to have checked as it is around 300 miles to the dealer. Cars always lose value as you drive them from the lot and do modifications. I can almost see the point of view from the dealer as they do not know how well the installation of the CC was done and this car is all electronic for almost all functions from the sam.

[mvaldes]

Sorry to hear you've had such a bad experience but it's not the case for all Smarts. I did need to have the alarm sensor replaced on day 2 of ownership,but since then the car has been a totally trouble free joy (14 months and 13,500 miles.)

[a2jack]

As an early model 08, ours was a real PIA for the first year. Shifter lockups, display lights. stop light switch (more shifter lockups), and the tires ran out the first year.

There were other small irritants as well, including an excessively loud rapping purge valve, theft alarm problems, and passenger seat belt hang ups and air bag lights .

All the fixes were promptly taken care of by the dealer, but there were other things I would rather have been doing than sitting in in a car dealers waiting room.

Our car has been trouble free for the last few months which is good as we hit the 24k mark last month.

We still love the car, but the thing that really irks us the most is, that Smart brought in the 09s with many of the same old problems still there.
What are they thinking ?

[JD10367]

Okay. Here we go.

Originally Posted by maverick1

Traded in large car and and didn't get KBB prices as stated "Nobody wants large cars"

Has no bearing on Smart or a discussion about Smart.

My car has been into the Dealer for real fixes many times. So many times the amount exceeds my last 11 cars, Non-German.

Not the usual case, plenty of satisfied owners with no problems, yada yada yada. Yeah, I know, almost no one tells about a great experience, but someone with a bad experience will tell 50 people. Yeah, I know, griping is what the Internet is for. Still, I'm damn sick and tired of Smart owners--or former owners, as the case may be--giving the impression that these cars are lemons.

160 miles round trip for SMART issues.

Again, no bearing on Smart or this discussion. It's not their fault that you, like many others, decided to buy a car without a nearby dealership.

Also I must have the AREA 451 removed by a certified professional and then inspected by their mechanic before they will put it on their lot and close the deal. Other modification into the wiring must also follow the same process.

Well, gee, that's what happens when you modify a car under warranty.

Additional information stated was if you have mileage the is over say 12000 miles then they must add the extended warranty to hope to sell my car so this must be deducted from the price proportionally.

Strange policy, but if you gave it back to a dealership instead of selling private, them's the breaks.

Be careful if you intend to purchase a SMART and take the above items as fact from a real owner.

Be careful if you intend to purchase a SMART and do so by trading in a gas-guzzler, living far from the dealership, modifying the Smart, and then trying to trade it in again after a short period of time. Having a lemon, I grant you, probably wasn't your fault... I say "probably" because I have no idea how you treat a car.

The bottom line is the car is overpriced and lacks basic quality standards at least with mine. I try to think this is my car only but my Dealers Tech confirms each fault.

"The car is overpriced"? You're joking, right? It's one of the cheapest cars to buy, one of the cheapest cars to fill with gas, one of the cheapest cars to maintain, and has features rarely found on tiny cheap cars (such as ABS, and Traction Control. As for "I try to think this is my car only but my Dealers Tech confirms each fault", I have no idea what you're hinting at. Are you trying to say that EVERY Smart has "problems"? Again, wrong.

Be careful on any modification made.

Finally, a truth buried in this pile.

PS, two coupes are for sale locally and can not sell! Ask your Dealers and they will bring you up to speed. Anybody want to buy a SMART from me?

Yeah, I'm sure the buyers will line up.

Now I'll sit back and count the minutes until Westfield 11 chirps in on this one.

[JD10367]

Originally Posted by a2jack

As an early model 08, ours was a real PIA for the first year. Shifter lockups, display lights. stop light switch (more shifter lockups), and the tires ran out the first year.

There were other small irritants as well, including an excessively loud rapping purge valve, theft alarm problems, and passenger seat belt hang ups and air bag lights . . . We still love the car, but the thing that really irks us the most is, that Smart brought in the 09s with many of the same old problems still there.
What are they thinking ?

Please don't throw blanket bashing statements out there like your last sentence, as they're simply not true. First of all, the "excessively loud rapping purge valve" is much quieter on the '09s as proven by comments on this board. I have only heard of a few "theft alarm problems" and most of them seem to go away (i.e. the poster doesn't come back with the problem) so I'm chalking those up to the usual "inverted motion sensor" issue. "Passenger seat belt hang ups"? I haven't heard it. "Air bag lights"? Again, I've heard little complaint about that on this board. Truth be told, the biggest complaint I've heard on this board is about the transmission--and that's the one thing, with the flash update, that Smart DID improve, and improve greatly.

And the shifter lockups, by and large, were attributed to one '08 batch. Yes, some '09s have had the issue, but we don't know how everyone is driving their cars. This is an electronic gearbox. Are they fully depressing the button before shifting? Are they shifting and then trying to move the car before it's "settled" into its gear? Are people reporting "shifter problems" when in truth it's something like the "three bar, have to reteach because I shifted too fast or went over a huge bump" problem? And since when is a car company responsible for every single part on a car? Like any manufacturer, sometimes they have a problem with a particular distributor. I hear about massive recalls of 10s of 1000s of other cars, and no one bats an eye, but when it comes to the Smart I swear some people scrutinize the brand more than they're scrutinizing ....... ..... ...........

It's a car. It's a small, relatively cheaply-priced, good-on-gas, fun to drive little car. And like any new car, some have problems and some don't. Those are the breaks.

[Hedders]

Thanks JD10367. You said what I am thinking. My car has a 12-07 build date. I got it in late January of 08. I have had none of the "problems" quoted. I live 200 miles from both of my nearby dealers. I new going in a 400 mile rouond trip was in the works. Hey Maverick just for giggles, how old are you?

[Krootie]

Hum? Already trading in a Smart in such a short time period?

Reminds me of my girl friends who just have to purchase the "latest & expensive" shoes. They never wear them and then at a later date complain about the price and no special occasion for use.

Sorry, this is "The Female Opinion" on impulse purchases.

Why the did you originally want a Smart?

Sounds like my friends (& sometimes myself) - wanting the latest fad? *sigh*

[jdlynch99]

I bought mine to keep, and save gas since the truck was costing me way too much to drive to work and back.
I usally don't sell my cars, the last two I had someone else decided to do enough damage that the insurance companies decide to total them.

Will keep the smart for a long time..