Am looking to buy a smart car as a second car, have got 2.5 grand to play with,so are there any things that I need too look for/avoid regarding the car itself and also does it make any difference to the insurance premium if the car is a left hand drive model as a lot of the earlier ones appear to mainly be that,
Cheers

Why do you want one? Not that good of a car imo unless you are very pushed for space somehow. Tyres very expensive, and not anything like as economical as they should be.

You could do a lot better.

yeah I know but always fancied one and am aware of the tyres prices 🙁

Don't forget the hilarious "Smart Arse" sticker on the back

To be fair they really seem to hold their value so even if it isn't for you I doubt you'd lose out much, if at all.

Only the usual things as with most cars – check for a decent service history from a Merc dealer or Smart specialist. And make sure you get a top of the range model with a full auto box. Having a LHD one doesn't make much odds when it comes to driving it as it's so small and insuring it wasn't a problem either.

I'd make sure you've got a Smart specialist garage nearby rather than having to pay Mercedes mechanic prices 🙂 They're just too weird for a 'normal' garage to work on (there's no sump plug for example, to drain it you have to pump the oil out of the dipstick hole!).

We had one for just under a year in which time it managed to run up over £1000 of repairs: steering column, exhaust, air bag, alternator etc. Parts all cost as if they are gold-plated and as before all Merc mechanics cost big bucks.

Have a drive in one first 'cos the gearboxes take a bit of getting used to and the change can be a bit slow, although you can get them 'chipped' to get more power (50%!) and faster changes. They've also got the most comfortable seats of any car I've been in 🙂

Have a bit of a dig around for some Smart forums as there are lots out there able to offer advice…

When I looked there were a lot of blown up ones on Ebay, guess thats a consequence of turbocharging a small engine.
Also gearboxes are horrid, go to pull out on a roundabout and it can take several seconds to decide which gear it wants to be in. Not ideal when you are half way out!

They are brilliant on roundabouts! You can pull out into small gaps, without worrying that someone might hit your back-end ('cos there isn't one)

100% fun to drive

How about the Roadster – I fancy one of those

I like smarts in principle, but would never get a left hand drive car for here.

IMO you shouldn't bother. Use your money to buy a 2nd hand Fiat Panda. Seriously; it's a great car, just as dinky as the Smart but it has seats in the back that adults can fit into and a boot that you can actually put things in. I also think it is an underated modern design classic that has been overshadowed by the retro mess of the Fiat 500.

Yes, I have been drinking but I also drive a Panda on a regular basis and love it. Really can't see the point of a two seat car with no boot.

epicyclo – Member

How about the Roadster – I fancy one of those

I hired a the Smart 4 a couple of years ago, that was great fun to drive and quite a sensible size/layout. I'd imagine the Roadster would be moving towards frogs, bottles and mad territory.

A smart is smaller than other cars, even a 500, but the interior is huge due to it only having two seats.

I do like em I suppose, if they were as economical as they should be I'd be up for it in theory.

What I really want is a Smart EV all-electric 🙂

the panda looks a good buy.

Really can't see the point of a two seat car with no boot unless it does 0-60 in under 5s

fixed that for you. 😛

My mate has a Roadster with ~100bhp – I can confirm that it is absolutely bonkers and great fun to drive. Totally impractical, but that's not really the point, is it?

You can get together with like minded souls 🙂

We had one at work as Fire Brigade transport!

Fantastic little flying machine, would rather use it than the Isuzu Rodeo's we normally use.

Tight squeeze for two firefighters and all their gear though!

Had one for a year or so and it was fantastic, really, shot away when you hit the throttle and cornered like it was on rails (in the dry, wet and it could bet more interesting, lots of lights flashing on the dash to let you know it was fixing your errors).

Only got rid because the exhaust manifold was developing a crack, it also houses the turbo and is pretty expensive to replace. So I would say check the manifold, probably worth getting one of those AA checks if you settle on one, only got to save you one garage trip and it would have paid for itself.

Would have another though if we didn't have the little one to transport.

Smart EV all-electric

why in the name of god? No performance, no ability to drive for more than 100 miles and unless you have your own wind farm or other way of producing renewable energy you're still powering it by burning dinosaurs and the battery manufacture is very environmentally damaging.

the roadster is a great little car though

and these are mental

Was lent one for 6 months a couple of years back, felt a ****t the first 100meter then realised how stress free I was, used to make me smile alot too, sad day handing it back. Not sure if I'd buy one though unless it was purely for 'novelty reasons'.

I got rid of my VW Sharan TDi (scrappage) and bought a Smart CDi last year apart from the piss taking and not being able to carry a bike (I can always use the wife's car) its not been too bad, zero excise duty and 71mpg 🙄