[Bigbusdriver]

I'm becoming a quick study in things EV. Thanks to those who responded to my initial post in the new member section. Is there one, more than another, used car guides which give the best indication of a vehicle price. I am thinking that an EV might be a different animal (maybe I'm wrong) and that determining the value of the vehicle might not be straight forward. I'm trying to find a 2017/2018, only because of the battery, but have no idea if I'm looking at a good deal or not. Mileage, as all vehicles, seems to have quite a spread, although I imagine the really high mileage might be a group share.
Thanks

 

[DudeInTheSmart]

Best bet is cars.com or other web sales sites to get an idea of what current prices are. I paid $9k for a base-trim 2017 in good condition and low miles early this year, but it looks like prices are going up because of shortages in the market. At the time, and equivalent i3 (other EV I looked at) was running about twice as much as the SMART. The 2018s do have some small updates, and another year of warranty (and a better battery warranty on paper at least). That would be worth something to me.

 

[DudeInTheSmart]

KBB does value estimates as well. https://www.kbb.com/smart/fortwo-electric-drive/2018/styles

 

[Bigbusdriver]

A little late, but thanks for the info. I have used KBB to input the cars to see if they are reasonably priced. I'm narrowing my search to MB dealerships who used to carry Smart Cars. I'm probably wrong, but I feel they just might have an idea about the batteries, which still concerns me. I don't want to bring a dead car home. Unfortunately, the dealer who carried Smart in Charlotte washed their hands of the brand.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

A little late, but thanks for the info. I have used KBB to input the cars to see if they are reasonably priced. I'm narrowing my search to MB dealerships who used to carry Smart Cars. I'm probably wrong, but I feel they just might have an idea about the batteries, which still concerns me. I don't want to bring a dead car home. Unfortunately, the dealer who carried Smart in Charlotte washed their hands of the brand.

Your choices for the total US are around 12-15 active dealers that sold and still service smarts. Maybe less.
This was NOT a car Mercedes wanted in their showrooms or on their lots.
It would be nice if you could buy from CarMax but because of smarts battery issues they refuse to sell any electric smart for any model year.

 

[DudeInTheSmart]

A little late, but thanks for the info. I have used KBB to input the cars to see if they are reasonably priced. I'm narrowing my search to MB dealerships who used to carry Smart Cars. I'm probably wrong, but I feel they just might have an idea about the batteries, which still concerns me. I don't want to bring a dead car home. Unfortunately, the dealer who carried Smart in Charlotte washed their hands of the brand.

I tried to deal with a dealership that hada couple of lease returns. They had more interest in trying to sell me a B class and didn't return my calls. I bought from a broker that had 3 lease returns.

 

[smark]

It’s strange Carmax, will sell used Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Bolt EV’s and Tesla’s. They don’t want anything to do with a smart EV/Ed.

 

[Bigbusdriver]

I tried to deal with a dealership that hada couple of lease returns. They had more interest in trying to sell me a B class and didn't return my calls. I bought from a broker that had 3 lease returns.

They are always interested in meeting "your needs" which makes them the most $$. Have seen a couple closer to me than the nearest MB dealer which is also selling a few used. But now going back to my original concern, do they have any EV knowledge, and the inability to really get an assessment on the health of the battery.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

It’s strange Carmax, will sell used Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Bolt EV’s and Tesla’s. They don’t want anything to do with a smart EV/Ed.

CarMax probably got burned a few times with the smart battery issues. Decision was most likely made that the smart EV/Ed wasn't worth the headaches. CarMax won't even buy a smart EV/Ed from anyone.

 

[smark]

CarMax probably got burned a few times with the smart battery issues. Decision was most likely made that the smart EV/Ed wasn't worth the headaches. CarMax won't even buy a smart EV/Ed from anyone.

Since the 451’s have no battery warranty. i can see why they don’t want to resell them.

 

[DudeInTheSmart]

They are always interested in meeting "your needs" which makes them the most $$. Have seen a couple closer to me than the nearest MB dealer which is also selling a few used. But now going back to my original concern, do they have any EV knowledge, and the inability to really get an assessment on the health of the battery.

The MB dealers have the ability to run a battery health report off of their STAR system. Other brokers are unlikely to be able to do so. My understanding is they have to run down and re-charge the battery to get this information, so they are not about to volunteer it. If they want to make the sale (big if), you could work something out, or you could sink the cost of a shop hour of their time into paying for it before you buy. Everything I have seen suggests the major concerns from the 451s were addressed on the 453s and the only stories I have heard are good battery life. If you purchase a 2018, the battery warranty is 7 or 8 years and at least 50k miles (I don't remember exactly, it was only 4 years in the warranty book on the 2017s, but that may actually not be compliant with federal law - but hopefully nobody ever has to test that). The SMARTUSA website still has the 2018 warranty information available on it, but not the 2017.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

Since the 451’s have no battery warranty. i can see why they don’t want to resell them.

What about 453?

 

[MB DNA]

I’m narrowing my search to MB dealerships who used to carry Smart Cars.

Unfortunately, the dealer who carried Smart in Charlotte washed their hands of the brand.

Warning, the South Charlotte M-B dealer can’t even spell ED!

They did have ONE trained EV technician, but he was seldom there and NEVER worked on Saturday?

They sold one 451 ED (but not to me?) forcing me to lease our ED in California and ship it to Charlotte. And on lease end I turned it back to them but they had NO interest in having ED preowned inventory on their lot!

M-B Cary was one of the better smart Centers in our region.

 

[Bigbusdriver]

Warning, the South Charlotte M-B dealer can’t even spell ED!

They did have ONE trained EV technician, but he was seldom there and NEVER worked on Saturday?

They sold one 451 ED (but not to me?) forcing me to lease our ED in California and ship it to Charlotte. And on lease end I turned it back to them but they had NO interest in having ED preowned inventory on their lot!

M-B Cary was one of the better smart Centers in our region.

That’s funny you said that. When I first started my search, I stopped in to see if anyone could work on an EV, and the reaction was priceless. My biggest concern is a problem, which no one in the city is capable of handling.