[deluge]

Hello,

I'm new here and new to Smart cars, but I'm quite interested in owning one. I live in Seattle, so it would be helpful to have a smaller car. I found one for sale that only has 13K miles, and is in good condition, expect for the normal wear and tear and a couple scratches on the body. However, once I test drove it, and keep in mind this is the only Smart car I've ever driven, I was concerned with how rough it idled. There was also considerable delay when I'd accelerate. I also noticed a couple times where it shifted (automatic) slowly or couldn't decide what gear to be in. Maybe this is just normal for Smart cars? I'm not expecting it to feel like a sports car, but I was pleasantly surprised when merging on the highway with its performance. I'm just concerned that I could be buying into something that wouldn't be reliable - the warranty just expired on it. I can't post links here yet, but here's more info about it:

2016 Smart ForTwo Pure - $9000
Automatic
Brown/Black
13815 Miles

Sounds like a good deal to me? But should I be concerned with the issues I mentioned above?

 

[OliverB]

A 3 cylinder motor won’t be perfectly smooth at idle. Having owned both a 2013 and 2016 - each with different motors - I don’t feel either was/is rough at idle. The 2016 453 model has about 20 more hp, torque that comes on at lower rpm and is turbocharged. Performance is decent. This motor responds very well to power boost modules that are available from a couple different sources. Difficult to say if there is an issue with the one you test drove. Only 13k miles is good.

 

[Mailman]

The warranty may not be expired.
Call your local Mercedes/Smart Center with the VIN. They go by the 'In Service Date', not the model year.
I got a 2016 Edition #1 and the warranty doesn't expire until November 2020, since it was 'In Service' November 2016.
You'll probably have to go to a MB that services Smart to get any/all warranty work done if you still have warranty left.
There aren't that many trained Smart techs anymore.

The accelerator pedal delay can be fixed with a 'Go Pedal'. The accelerator is 'electronic', not the old days mechanical 'pushrod' and the device lets you select 'how fast' you want the pedal to feel.

A lot of people with the Automatic 453 (most of them) never try to put the shifter in 'D' and then push it LEFT.
Then you can 'manually' shift forward and back but again, it's electronic and you don't have the left pedal.
I have the paddle shifters but I prefer using the shifter in the center.
Shifting and downshifting in this way will show you how smooth the 453 motor really is.
There is no 'engine brake' downshifting though, probably because the transmission is electronically coupled.