I have a dealer friend that will get me any car for $300 over his cost from the dealer auctions and the Smart is one of the cars I have him watch out for. Anyway, there is a wrecked '05 that is coming up soon and I want some opinions on what it's worth. It's not running and the mileage in unknown so it would be an interesting project. The current bid is at $1,500 with a few days to go. Here are some photos:
Looks like its just missing the back bumper and has some pimped out wheels. How much should I tell him to bid keeping in mind that I would drive it a few months and flip it in the spring.
atikovi, if it ain't running it has potential serious engine problems. Look at the rear bumper and the way it is misaligned. There is an engine bracket mounted to that bumper just in front. For $1,500 it is worth it as a parts car if nothing else. Hell, I would even consider it at $1,500 only because I own an 05 Pulse model which isn't going to run forever. Wish I lived closer as we might have a bidding war. Best of luck.
So lets say I get it running, fix the body and get some decent looking wheels, and for the sake of argument assume it has 30,000 miles. How much could I get for it on Ebay? I see some dealer from Texas currently listing a bunch of new '06's for $22,000! So shouldn't I be able to get at least half that? $11,000?
unknown mileage would make it what we call a "box C" car which is a significant hit on value, also, is it salvage title? Heck, is it titled? That does not help either. Parts would most likely need to be shipped from Europe, cheapest to get them from Germany rather than the UK; have a contact?
Can you do the work yourself? Otherwise, you could easily go broke fixing it. I do all my own work on such things, but where you gonna go for the work is a big question. Not running, I always assume a motor exchange is necessary. I occasionally get lucky on an auction car that does not run, but usually not. Where can you get the motor for it? Nobody rebuilds anymore. Just looking at what I see here, you had better weigh all the possible costs, because looking at the way this car is set up now, I would suspect every part of it....looks like an abused one to me. Could be a nightmare.
You could easily spend thousands on cosmetics too, but you could sell the wheels seperately to defray some of the cost. I would not think that those wheels would help your resale value. Amazing, but fancy wheels like that may make it harder to sell. I always try and have more conservative wheels on it as you don't want your future buyer to think it was owned by a 17 year old ghetto kid who drag raced against Metros every weekend.
Actually, I thought it was a Buick when I first saw the portholes.....LOL
The odds are that it will never run again. It appears to have been rear ended and the motor and transmission have probably been damaged; perhaps beyond repair. The wheels and the 'portholes' are a detriment, as is its age and the lack of easily available parts in the USA. If it is titled and were available for parts, you might get a few hundred dollars worth of pesos or Canadian dollars in either Mexico or Canada. However, that isn't likely because of import restrictions. The present owner would be wise to sell it part by part on the internet; specifying that it is a 2005 450 model. Panels, tires, seats, pods and other instruments, radio, glass, etc. might be of value and could be mailed into Canada or Mexico, where there are a lot of 450s, for minimal costs as used parts at a low invoiced cost declaration.
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Missing skirts too. Those wheels make me sick. 
2009 Smart Passion Cabrio
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