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Service Manual?

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MSOEMiller

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Is a service/shop manual available for the Smart cars, like a Haynes or Bentley manual? I saw something about the official Mercedes manual. I work on my cars and depend on manuals to save me big $$$. I have so many questions already.

The Haynes website lists this for the Smart car . . .

The manual for this model has been short-listed for consideration.

Book No: NMP023
ISBN: 0000025690
Web price: No price available.
 
R

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#2 ·
Smart Manual

As we understand it, there are no requirements for repair manual information to be furnished by a manufacturer in countries other than the US. With the 2008 smart car, there should be information available for someone such as Haynes to make one available. For the currently available converted smarts in this country, the best source of repair and overall vehicle information can be found at www.evilution.co.uk. We provide this website to our customers and their mechanics as a huge asset to their smart car knowledge. The guy that runs the site, Kane, is brilliant, and the site also provides little known tricks about the smarts.

Ron Gaus, aSmartCar.com, St. Louis
 
a2jack

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#4 ·
Msoe. I too have depended on the Haynes books for years.

The repair information is getting harder to get than ever before.

This repair information greed thing started with VW when they went after all the "Idiot" series books back in th late 60s.

I believe our best bet is still with Haynes or Bentley as I don't believe MB will release any info without big, big, bucks changing hands.

Or We can continue to take them apart, photo them, and post piece by piece, as Evilution is now doing. :) A2Jack
 
jwight

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30,158 Posts
#16 ·
What's the fuss?

Where has smart (Daimler) restricted access to repair/service information? We all know the links at smart USA where service professionals or owners can subscribe to the service data. It isn't free but then why should it be? As far as I know anyone can buy a STAR service computer (the M-B owners get them from China) and M-B service tools are also available for purchase (www.startekinfo.com/.) Now we see that the Alldata folks also have smart service info (again, not free) so there's another source. Much ado about nothing IMHO. :)

BTW, if you think the smart USA $495/year fee is too high, the subscription fee for the M-B STAR TekInfo service is $2950/year. :eek:
 
10632

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#18 ·
oldbike said:
The information is available. There is no reason it has to be "no-charge". I am not aware of any automotive manufacturer that supplies complete service info for free.
Click to expand...

No one said it should be free - but it should be available without having to pay for the rest of your life, or pay a fee that is only suitable to someone who makes a good living repairing them. As I said before, I am quite happy with a Chilton's manual, which has NEVER cost anything even close to a one-year fee, and the book doesn't expire, unless you burn it or shred it somehow.
That is what this is all about - being able to do your own work, without being tied to paying MB (or any other manufacturer) for the privilege.

If you are happy without having this info, or happy to fork over the money for a subscription, fine - please continue to do so. Not all of us have the money, or the desire to part with that amount of money, for a document that should be available for purchase (rather than rent).
 
O

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#20 ·
Not knocking Chilton's/Hayes manuals, but our cars are not old enough yet.

Not knocking Chilton's or Hayes manuals, but if we want low-cost manuals, history has shown us that we have to wait until the vehicles get middle-aged. Them, if there is a market for then to recover development expenses, these two companies will do the incredible amount of work necessary to compile the repair information. They don't do brand new cars unless it is an update of earlier work they have produced.
Once again, this is just my experienced opinion
 
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Firea100
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