Life with Smart, the final chapter

So some 3 and a half years ago when I first purchased my Smart car I would post little updates here to discuss what it was like living with a Smart car. The updates tapered off because frankly there was nothing new to tell.

My Smart car adventure is now coming to an end. An E36 M3 has been purchased as her replacement and my daughter will be taking over ownership of the Smart when she gets her license this winter.

So, how was it? Well at 3.5 years she takes the title of longest owned DD by me. Longest owned car in general which was not a DD only lasted 4 years so its quite an acheivement. For my 70 miles each way commute she has been a stellar little commuter appliance returning an overall average of 43mpg, over the last 101,000 miles.

So, 101,000 miles in just over 3 years. Maintenance consisted of the standard LOF every 10,000 miles, engine and cabin air filter changes. 2 new sets of front tires, one new set of rear tires and at 100,000 she got new front brake pads. The only other maintenace issue I've had was the need to remove the heater blower and clean the brushes an commutator last winter. It's was a 10 minute job.

In her tenure with me the "impractical" car has hauled a set of 4 15" wheels with tires on 3 occasions. A 42" flat screen TV, a chevy 350, and 600lbs of tile. It never once left me with an "oh crap I need to go home for the truck" moment although a few times I though I would never make things fit.

I will miss the heated seats, the automatic wipers and headlights, and many of the other features she has. I will not miss the inability to pass someone while cruising at 80mph but at the same time that has probably kept me out of alot of trouble.

Did you ever autox it? And smart cars have really been stateside for that long? Christ I thought it was last year when I was pulling into the Smart dealer with my MINI and laughing at how much smaller the Smarts were.

mndsm wrote: Did you ever autox it? And smart cars have really been stateside for that long? Christ I thought it was last year when I was pulling into the Smart dealer with my MINI and laughing at how much smaller the Smarts were.

Never did, I know folks who track them and love it but other than the Challenge I haven't even done an autox in 4 years or so now.

They arrived in 2008, time flies doesnt it?

Is the Smart available with three pedals?

JThw8 wrote: In her tenure with me the "impractical" car has hauled a set of 4 15" wheels with tires on 3 occasions. A 42" flat screen TV, a chevy 350, and 600lbs of tile. It never once left me with an "oh crap I need to go home for the truck" moment although a few times I though I would never make things fit.

??!

I'm guessing a small trailer was involved?

Pictures? I suspect that'd be the most jaw-dropping thing I see all day.

Yeah, tell us about the 42" TV and the 350 Chevy...how did they fit in there?

It's nice to read about actual experience with the Smart - there's so much crap floating around on automotive boards written by people who've never even sat in one.

I will admit I keep getting tempted by the smart. Especially now that used prices are so low. With my 12 mile commute.. I would never have to fill her up.

stuart in mn wrote: Yeah, tell us about the 42" TV and the 350 Chevy...how did they fit in there?

+1

93EXCivic wrote: Is the Smart available with three pedals?

Sadly no, as discussed in the other thread its an automated manual, so a robotic clutch and shifter but a real 5 speed. Flappy paddle controls. It's an accquired taste.

ransom wrote: I'm guessing a small trailer was involved? Pictures? I suspect that'd be the most jaw-dropping thing I see all day.

No trailer involved. The passenger seat folds flat so there is alot more space than people think. The only one of those feats I have a photo of is the 350 chev, I'll dig that up. When I showed up at the engine builder's house 2 hours away, on a sunday he cursed me out that he took the time to meet me so I could get the motor on his day off and there was no way in hell it was going in my car. I had already tested with a dummy block, there was room to spare. To be fair it was just a shortblock but you can see that even fully dressed it would have fit.

I parked next to one of those the other day...

The 42" flat screen went in over top of the folded flat passenger seat, a little angle on the box and she slid right in.

The 600 lbs of tile was worse, sure it fit easy enough but that plus my um...larger frame, put a bit of strain on the suspension, luckily it was just a 5 mile trip.

The 15" wheels with tires were the worst ones just because of the akward shapes it made getting the fit difficult, but it was doable.

When I brought home the 6 ft corn stalks for halloween decorations it caused quite a bit of laughter at the farm stand (yes, I did have to leave the back window open for those)

In reply to JThw8:

That's impressive! Seems like it might've been tight with heads, valve covers, and an oil pan, but I believe it. That's a lot more capacity than I ever would have suspected...

No problems at all with that short block.

I hauled a 42" plasma TV in the back seat of my e30 BMW once, but it was a trick getting it in there - I had to push the front seats forward and carry it on a diagonal.

ransom wrote: In reply to JThw8: That's impressive! Seems like it might've been tight with heads, valve covers, and an oil pan, but I believe it. That's a *lot* more capacity than I ever would have suspected...

If it had been fully dressed I'd have turned it 90 degrees and dropped the passenger seat down but it would have worked.

I loved going to Costco and coming out with a cartload and watching everyone tell me it wouldnt fit. Um...it fit in a shopping cart it should sure as hell fit in my car.

One of my favorite comparo photos

Holy crap, it really IS as short as a lawnmower. I have an inordinate hatred of the things- BUT you keep selling me on the hilarity factor.

In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...

Abarth...Smart....ooooh. I think we have a winner here.

I was quite close to buying one around the same time you did, the area dealer was really the only thing that stopped me - they wanted a good $3000 over MSRP on every model. Think $15k for the no-AC base model. We ended up getting a new Honda Fit for a little less. No regrets really.

Actually the one thing I thought could be a saving grace of the Smart would be the resale value, and it really looks like they've taken a beating there too. It seems like the market got saturated with the Fortwo about a year back, and they've had trouble selling them since.

It's a shame it hasn't caught on more. I think they're great little cars other than the transmission. Wish it would have inspired a few other microcar importers.

Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...

You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus

Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...

Have you actually been near a 500 up close and personal? Far as I can tell, it is SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than any other current subcompact. It's a couple inches shorter than a Mazda 2 AFAIK, but it probably maintains a lot more "usability" compared to the Smart.

JThw8 wrote:

Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...

You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus

FTFY

Oddly enough the smart is pretty much the only modern vehicle that I get an instant thud of "want" in my chest when I see.

I can look at new M3's or whatever hot performance anything and feel nothing other than "thats a nice car" but I yearn for a fortwo.

JoeyM wrote:

JThw8 wrote:

Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...

You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus

FTFY

Yeah, I know everyone gets all worked up about the roadster but for some reason it never did it for me. Rumor has it though that Smart is talking about bringing back a new roadster an a new version of the forfour.

In reply to HiTempguy:

i've seen a couple, and they are TINY. i ran across an original 500 in california, and wonder how close the dimensions are between the two..

Strizzo wrote: In reply to HiTempguy: i've seen a couple, and they are TINY. i ran across an original 500 in california, and wonder how close the dimensions are between the two..

Not at all close, the original 500 looks like a pedal car next to the new one, kinda like the old mini v. new mini.