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Guest TNT

What Would You Call High Milage?

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Hi I am new to the site and you have alot of Great information here. I live in Ontario and have been looking at smart's. Most of what I have been looking at are Diesel. What is considered high milage?. and what is the "life expectancy" for the diesel? I ave found some at good prices but they all seem to have 140,000kms + .. Again great site and glad to be part of it . thanks Rob

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Rob,140,000km is starting to get up there. If you can find out the full service history and get a really good aftermarket warranty or are able to do most maintenance yourself, a car with that mileage might be alright. A few engines have failed under 200,000km. Turbo/intercooler replacement pretty much a given before 200,000km. Possible wiring issues, mainly due to corrosion.Another factor is the amount of driving you plan on doing?The reason you are looking at smarts with over 100,000km?Do you have a back-up vehicle if the smart fails?I think the majority of the diesel owners on this site would not trade their car for the new gasser. If you need a car that is going to be nearly 100% reliable, the gas version would likely be a better choice.

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I agree with the above advice, very sound.Get something with lower km if you are looking for something you can rack up more km on. Look for oily bits under the engine of any cdi and if it's coated, offer $750 less right off the bat (probably needs a new intercooler). Turbochargers seem to be a crap shoot: mine is all but perfect at 150,000 km but I know people whose cars have eaten 3 turbochargers in less than half that distance.

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Ok what are tubo's and intercooolers worth? I have a 3/4 Dodge mega cab 4x4 Diesel ( Iknow total opposite form a smart..lol.. but still gets 26mpg with my edge chip)and a caravan for other vech. This is for back and forth to work about 30kms each wach way. and my band practices (200 twice a week). and my folks have a MCI bus and this would fit in the trailer we tow for a runabout. So it is for a double duty.. I was looking at the higher milage because I was tryin to keep the price down around 5-6g ish.. so if all matinace is good 200kms is about it?. before replacing big ticket stuff?.. Thanks for the help

Edited by TNT

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Intercoolers installed are the $750 I referred to above and $1500 should cover a new turbocharger and installation.I would call it a 5000 hour engine as far as design life is concerned. Meaning if your average speed is 50 km/h, 250K km.

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If you are handy and don't mind working on the car yourself, smarts seem to be fairly inexpensive. Don't for a second assume that your $5-6K car will be cheap to run if you intend to go the dealer service route. Some repairs require a dealer visit because sometimes the car needs to be plugged into a MB Star system and there aren't too many of these outside of Mercedes dealerships.I wouldn't touch a car without all the maintenance records and a very thorough inspection. If it has a/c, I'll almost be willing to bet that it isn't working. Ours has failed completely 5 summers in a row. We're still under 50K.If you're going to take it travelling behind the bus into the US, be aware that the 450 diesel smart is not supported by the dealer network down there. To get a duplicate key, for example, you basically have to return the car to Canada.It may be tiny, but the repair bills can be quite exciting. The engine (when they blow, they blow up real good) is about $8,000.I'm keeping mine for a while longer since smart doesn't sell anything like it anymore and it has been meticulously maintained. I'll be driving it from Toronto to Florida in a couple of weeks as I have done it before and it is a cheap way to go (from the cost of fuel standpoint).Remember, it was designed to be a city car, and I'm pretty sure M-B never intended for them to wander far from a dealer.

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Why am I starting to get that sinking feeling that this may not be the great little "cheap" commuter I was hoping for. I'm 6'4" and i thought the biggest problem would be fit..lol.. It seems that a 6g cars is gonna cost me another 2-3g within 2 years... Thanks for the help . I am glad i didn;t just buy one then ask questions.. Rob

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Dumb questions are far better than dumb mistakes... Not that your question was dumb. I believe a lot of the smart problems and expense are due to poor dealerships, but as pointed out you don't have a lot of options. I love my CDI, no intention of dumping it, I haven't had any unreasonable expenses in just shy of 100K km, but lots have. You have to put on a LOT of distance and love the car to truly justify it. For your cheap commuter car, hard to beat an older Corolla/Civic or if you're into camping check out a Suzuki X90. A Miata that loves to go camping. Since you were considering a smart, 2 seats and way too cute won't bother you, so have a look.

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There is a big difference between the pre-2008 diesel smart car and the next generation "451" which is only available as a non-turbo gasoline version.The earlier "450" is not an econobox. And it has weaknesses that others have noted above, that can make it relatively costly to maintain.The newer 2008-9-10 451 - a Mitsubishi gasser - still has all of the superior safety features of the earlier iteration, and much of the cachet, but is really more like the "'cheap' commuter" you are looking for.You can buy a new (or very low mileage) 451 for the same money as a used diesel. That may be the direction you want to go... if your main priority is a cheap commuter.Bil :sun:

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Thanks for all the feedback .. Tonight I found a 2006 cdi for 7G with 68000kms.. and a good load alum rims sunroof p/l p/w i think he said it had paddle shifters? that sounds like it would give me a allaround better start with a smart.. I think the extra money would be well spent for the lower kms..

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Thanks for all the feedback .. Tonight I found a 2006 cdi for 7G with 68000kms.. and a good load alum rims sunroof p/l p/w i think he said it had paddle shifters? that sounds like it would give me a allaround better start with a smart.. I think the extra money would be well spent for the lower kms..

Sweet price... SCORE!!! :thumbup:

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Paddle shifters make driving a smart fun. Does it have a/c? Does the a/c work? Just having the a/c indicator lights on doesn't mean it is working. Get it inside and confirm that the compressor clicks on.Ian

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Even if the compressor clicks on, that's not an indication that the Air Conditioning works. Mine lasts about 1.5 years before I need a recharge with DuraCool.-Iain

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The point is, if it has a/c, it is worth making sure it works. Bad time of year to be taking a guess or a guarantee that is not specifically worded on a legal contract of sale.Or, take a chance with duracool and never be able to have Mercedes properly fix (as if) the system.Ian

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I love my SMART but it is a relationship-mobile...consider anything over 1km high mileage;) Read lots here before you pull the trigger on one, they are great cars but you need to know what you are getting into!!

Edited by smstar

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If your into diesels, no problem. MOST smart owners never had the diesel experience before, they overdrove the car and under maintained it, remember GM diesels from the 80s, similar issues. The Mercedes dealers know very little about the car and don't really support it. Plus they have no idea how to drive the car nor inform the owner proper driving techniques for an under powered car. It will last forever if you drive in a manor to support that. It will not last to 200k if it is driving flat out all the time right from start up to shut down and the oil changed at 20k intervals and generally neglected/ignored. I have witnessed three like that so far, none of them own the car anymore. They are extrememly cheap to buy now, I am thinking about a second for winter neglect use. Check under the carpets for corrosion that is good tell tale sign if the car was taken care of or not. Maintenace parts are cheap too in the general scheme of things. You will not get much for power out of it though, just too small an engine. Listen for noisy turbos, valve train ticks, check that it has power off the line/quick clutch uptake. Many have problems the owners have no idea about cause they don't know what a diesel is. Just check out the ones for sale on trader right now, a few with dead engines sitting on Ontario dealer lots. The engines let go for a reason. I have an insider friend who claims the life expectancy from the design stage is 160k urban use. I would figure that into 400-500k highway use, again not flat out. Intercoolers fail from a design flaw, then the turbos go due to neglect or over use. Valve train failures similar to VW diesels, but much earlier (half the kms). Not sure on history of those ones, hydraulic lifter failures do not suddenly occur, there is always lots of warning signs before they fail (ticking, power issues etc).

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