I bought another smart

[Mike T]

So after over 5 years of great service and a desire to drive a smart again - my daughter is driving my 5 year old 90,000+ mile one all the time now, with two more drivers to come - I decided to get a new smart.

Well, not really new. It's new to me: a 2006 model smart convertible diesel modified in the BRABUS factory in Germany. This car was leased to a Ferrari dealer in Toronto for 3 years and they kept it in the Ferrari showroom all that time, barely driving it. It has under 350 km on the odometer.

Mercedes-Benz Canada got it back off lease in December and I decided to buy it. Only problem is that I live 4400 km away from Toronto. So my wife and I are flying there next week to pick it up and drive it back through the USA. We will have winter wheels and snow tires on it - the plan is to take I-90/I-94 all the way to Seattle. Maybe one of you will see us on the road!

The car is a diesel of course and the engine is not modified. There were only 4 or 5 of these made for Canada - they're painted all one colour, in the case of my car, all white, they have the BRABUS body kit as well as a leather and Alcantara interior. Of course the car has all the options too.

A friend of mine near Vancouver bought the red version of this same car and it too was at the same Ferrari dealer.....he's having his shipped out west.

Looking forward to getting it!





And here's a photo of the red one my friend bought.

[Fuel Miser]

Hey Mike,
Your recent post on a "People Powered" thread told us you weighed in at 225 pounds. I guess you've taken away the argument that the "Smart car is not big enough for me".
I can't look at one without smiling (I won't use the word "cute", promise.) I don't know how common the Smart is in Canada but you're likely to draw some attention (positive, I hope) here in the US.

Good luck and best wishes for a safe and pleasant road trip and with your new car.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I personally weigh around 235-240 (working on it) but I am only 5'7". I test drove one with my wife. I won't say her weight but we are comperable. we actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

the only problem we had. the ONLY problem is "three don't go". we adopted a child last year and now our family is too big. I was actually on the waiting list for about 9 months or so. I got off of the list because of the "3-don't-go" thing.

we have still considered it knowing it's drawbacks. if you have never driven one, take a test drive. it reminded me of when I was 9yrs old in my first go-kart. it is a ball to drive. the interior room isn't that bad at all. I may be biased since my first car was a 3cyl geo metro so space isn't that important to me nor is leg room (short dude)

kudos on the new smart, and the diesel is awesome. won't see that in the states.

[101mpg]

So why not get a Smart ForFour?

[GasSavers_BEEF]

they don't make it

(not to my knowledge anyway, do you know different? now I'm interested)


***edit****

I saw where it is rumored to be coming back out with the for4 in 2013. I knew they had different models but had dropped all but the for2. didn't know they were coming out with newer ones.

it may be a consideration in the future. thanks

[odiekokee]

I've been looking at these since I heard about 'em, but why the devil we can't have the diesels in the Deep South is beyond me.

My 70 mile drive is getting expensive, and my festiva project car is giving me fits with that spaghetti bowl carb setup that I don't know how to fix.

So how much does one of these things cost?

[Mike T]

Yeah I weigh about 223 right now to be exact and I am 6'3" tall so it's definitely not too small!

Used, the diesels can be cheap (the smart diesels), so they are a prospect for importation provided you can get a title in the USA (Mississippi is easy, so they say). Cost ranges from $6500 to $14,000 CAD depending on model, condition, mileage, options. A decent pulse coup? with air might be had for $8000. We know of about 20 in the USA but no doubt there are more. I refer here to Canadian-sourced diesels.

My white one was a little more than the top of that range mentioned above, but it's a bit unusual. Despite being 3.5 years old, it has full factory extended warranty to the end of October 2012 and 120,000 km (75,000 miles). I don't expect to put more than 60,000 km on in that time.

Thanks for the good wishes on the road trip!

[GasSavers_BEEF]

so you CAN import them to the US?????

this is news to me, I thought that emissions would keep them out? I really like the diesels and this is definitely an interesting idea to me.

I was always told that if it isn't available in the states, you couldn't get it.

[Fuel Miser]

Even if emisions regulations (not necessarily a bad thing) could be accomodated I believe it would be an expensive endeavor. The cost effectiveness would need to be considered carefully. Also, diesel fuel can be hard to find in many locales. Then there's maintenance, having a unique car will not work in your favor.

[odiekokee]

Diesel fuel is no problem here, up to and including b100 fuel. My problem is...where do I look?? I haven't seen any on ebay and beyond that, i'm just not sure what to try.