I Give Up

[Sketch 0]

I am closing in on 4 years of enjoying my smart and I have finally given up on a company that doesn't back up it's products. In short, we still have a continuing problem with our A/C, which head office have not dealt with in spite of 3 years of communication (mostly one way). My warranty is going to end, and I don't want to be burdened with the cost of future A/C repairs. There are a few other little issues as one would expect with any product, but the A/C is the real issue.I purchased a Toyota Yaris today, so we willl be a 3 Toyota family. I also saved $1,400 because of a recent hail storm and they gave a discount on dinged cars. For 1,400 bucks, I can live with a few nearly invisible dents. We have owned Toyotas for over 20 years and their service has been excellent.I have had a great time with my smart and I still love it. I'm just afraid of the future and what it could cost me financially.I hope you enjoy your smarts as much as I have mine!

[The Rog Man 1]

I've been REALLY lucky in that I have had zero issues in 2 years with my smart, the AC has performed as well as can be expected of such a small system. I have done all my own servicing but i think i will have too bite the bullet and the next B service take in into the stealership for a clutch adjustment. As far as down the road I have thought the same things you have and I just hope i got a tuesday car and not a friday or a monday car I hope it doesn't come too that down the road for me as i really do love this car.But I completely understand your point about a dealer that hates the product that they are selling.Best of luck with the Toyota as that would have been my second choice had i not bought the smart. cheers.

[Duck 16]

Too bad, a $12 (Princess Auto) bottle of DuraCool could have ensured your future enjoyment of the smart!The Yaris is a solid vehicle, if a bit buzzy with it's over-revving automatic gearbox, but otherwise a worthy alternative, even if it is missing critical safety features like ABS, ESP and side impact airbags. You can't really lose with a Toyota, they are excellent vehicles.-Iain

[Sketch 0]

Too bad, a $12 (Princess Auto) bottle of DuraCool could have ensured your future enjoyment of the smart!The Yaris is a solid vehicle, if a bit buzzy with it's over-revving automatic gearbox, but otherwise a worthy alternative, even if it is missing critical safety features like ABS, ESP and side impact airbags. You can't really lose with a Toyota, they are excellent vehicles.-Iain

Keep in mind that my "future enjoyment of the smart" is not about how "I" can fix the A/C problem, but about the lack of support in the long term. Should I have to add DuraCool every year, or should MB solve the problem properly? My issue is not with the dealership, but with the lack of support from MB Canada, and they have not given me any reason to believe that it will improve.By the way, the Yaris does have ABS. Edited August 3, 2008 by Sketch

[yellow bumble bee 3]

Good luck Sketch. Our other car is a 2007 Yaris (know as the "Limo"). Ours has ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution, front and side air bags as well as front head/side curtain airbags. Gone from a 93 Camry so find it is a little tinny and buzzy at highway speeds but certainly acceptable. After 25,000 km have a 5.98 L per 100 km. Look up "Rollerskate" on Spirtmonitor for both cars.Anyways good luck.Roy

[Yeti 0]

Sold my smart last week. I got tired of having to plan services weeks in advance and spending a fortune to get them done.Last year I had a flat and even tough I bought two new tires they couldn't bring themselves to put them on the rims I had with me so I had to go to a tire shop close by.I can only imagine what would happened if my smart broke down waiting two weeks to replace a fuel-pump without courtesy car.I can stop by the locale dealer without any appointment and get My new Grand Cherokee CRD serviced for a lot less money.

[lebikerboy 96]

Non-believers...

[Evilution 0]

And that's the problem with such a long warranty, you get less chance to avoid the smart dealers and go to smart specialists or have a go yourself.

[Speedie 4]

A lot of the issues are with the dealerships - either not being willing to fix the problem when they are able - or not acting as an advocate for the client when it needs to be escalated to MB Canada. Caveat Emptor on choice of dealers is the message here.It is unfortunate for the people that live in the areas served by those dealers that missed the point and haven't fully gotten into the concept of the smart. As such the lesser dealers don't stock parts, don't make an effort to get technicans up to speed, and don't look after the clients.Those dealers that have are doing a great business - after all the money is not made on the sale of the car but the sale of service afterwards - and if you are happy with service then you have little incentive to go else where. What I find interesting is that at the local dealer - the shop always has either an equal or greater amount of smarts in for regular maintenance service vs. the MB brand - maybe they don't get as much for smart service but if you do it well it all goes to the bottom line.The air conditioning issue is a well known problem especially with the 2005 cars and can be successfully fixed. Unfortunately that is not your experience with your dealer - and apparently they are not acting to reinforce your situation with MB Canada.It should also be noted that A/C problems are not unique to the smart brand. The new refrigerants have a very small molecular size - as such it can seep out of even the slighted of marginal connections etc. It also doesn't have the same heat transfer capabilities so short of putting a system on the car that is almost heavy as the smart's engine you will not get the same cooling capacity.Good luck with your new car - hope it serves you well, meets your need and that any idiosyncrasies it has (all mechanical devices have 'em) you can tolerate.Cheers,Cameron

[yolanda 0]

We met an old fellow in Hannah, Alberta, who said he gave up on his smart after a couple years. Said he loved driving it, but when the starter gave out he sent it to the dealership "and they wouldn't give it back so I traded it in." I guess it was just taking too long to get parts or something. He said he's happier with something "that can fixed in town" as his transport. I agreed that it was probably best when living in such a remote small town as he did. Calgary is a bit far away to have to go for service from Hannah.

[Diesel Dave 11]

This may come as a shock but, even I have jumped on the "sold my smart" bandwagon. For real this time. With much sadness, my scratch black beauty is gone. For me it was also the A/C issue that drove me over the edge. Even with Duracool, it's no longer any good in the hot sun and there is no way MB will ever solve it. I only had 1000kms of warranty left so, it was now or never for trade in value. I am also tired of dodging every pothole in town. How many times can you sue the city? I'm guessing once.I wasn't planning on a new car but, the signs were there. I would stop in at dealerships and look at cars. Any car I bought had to be really good on fuel like the smart but, loaded with luxury and be of high quality too. I wasn't sure if you could have all that in one car. I wanted the Mercedes B class but it was a tad too expensive and not that good on gas. It turned out that the right car came from the last company I would have thought of. Honda. I bought a new Honda Civic coupe. It's a new model for this year called the EX-L. It is top of the line and has every possible option including power moon roof, 350 watt sound system and for the first time ever, leather interior with heated seats. It's finished in black pearl metallic. The Civic is no longer the miserable little box it used to be. It is now a big, and roomy comfort cruiser but still has a tiny 1.8 liter engine.I wish I could have kept the smart too but, I can't afford to insure two cars. If I had a huge house, I would have put it in my living room but, my house is small. Call me a traitor, call me spinner II , now was the right time for me to do this. It was a tough choice to make. Dave.

[Duck 16]

Oh shit.

[42Kruiser 0]

Oh duck shit!

[Sketch 0]

DaveMy 19 year old son asked me if we could put our smart in our living room as you have dreamed.I really believe that we have owned a piece of vehicle history during an important transitional period. I would have loved to keep my smart, give it to one of my kids and buy a new one for me. Unfortunately, that is not an option. You have opted for a Honda. It is the other company that I was considering purchasing from. The Japanese manufacturers seem to be the leaders right now on the qualtiy and service of automobiles. I hope you enjoy your Honda as I hope to enjoy my new Toyota.

[Francesco 71]

Whoa.With all the extras on your car, how much did you get for it? Did you think of selling off some of the extras separately? Or of selling it privately... perhaps even here on CsC?

[Diesel Dave 11]

Thanks Sketch. Yes, the Toyota is the other fine choice and as you know, I understand where you are coming from. The hardest thing was giving up the scratch black. One concern though, was that it was beginning to look impossible to replace damaged panels if I got in a minor crash. In fact, I did lightly rear end a mini van and cracked the center panel above the licence plate. I had to glue it the best I could. I certainly got the maximum fun possible out of that car but, I saw that things had to change.

[Diesel Dave 11]

Whoa.With all the extras on your car, how much did you get for it? Did you think of selling off some of the extras separately? Or of selling it privately... perhaps even here on CsC?

SameGuy, I did take off some of the extras including the coreline wheels. I'm going to make up a list in the next couple of days.

[ETHICAL BEEF 2]

Hey Dave,Sorry to hear of your decision : (Glad we got a chance to see both you and your scratch black @ Grand Bend and again @ the Niagara meet. Happy trucking! Drive safe as always!James

[Sketch 0]

Non-believers...

I know that I should ignore a response as cryptic as this, but i just can't let it go. What the ___ do you mean? Non believers in what? Quality, ergonomics, safety, efficiency, originality, comfort, durability, customer serivce?

[Speedie 4]

I think he was jesting - happens around here - lebike - que?Cheers,Cameron

[MikeT 744]

This may come as a shock but, even I have jumped on the "sold my smart" bandwagon

.Gah...Dave!..... and you didn't sell your panels to me first?!?

[Diesel Dave 11]

I knew you would say that Mike. I did think about you but, there just was no time. I didn't even have time to salvage my HID kits. Just the wheels and a few other things. Hey, if you want, you can have the whole car. I tracked it down and it is now for sale again. My Honda dealer sent it to the auction and it was purched by the Nissan/Infinity Dealer in Guelph Ontario. Have a look here. http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mk...;ADS=7153694%7C I went by there and saw the car on the lot. The salesman is Sayed Shah. Please tell him I referred you. Dave.

[smart142 605]

WOW! You sold a piece of history! Only once in a blue moon does a car come along like the smart. And then a smart with the scratch black.....nah, this has got to be a bad dreamWe'll miss you and Pam at the smart meets

Edited August 4, 2008 by smart142

[42Kruiser 0]

"telescopic steering wheel" Dave when did you add that?

[Diesel Dave 11]

WOW! You sold a piece of history! Only once in a blue moon does a car come along like the smart. And then a smart with the scratch black.....nah, this has got to be a bad dreamWe'll miss you and Pam at the smart meets

I can't blame you for thinking it's a joke. Rich Helms has been here and he has wisely witheld comment until there's proof . Yes missing out on the meets is the hardest part but, I already considered that. My new work hours means I'll miss most of them anyhow. Here is the new car.