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lunasa

Buying a Salvage/Rebuilt smart?

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Hello everyone!I'm a first time poster... and hoping to be a first time smart owner soon! I'm a new grad and new resident of BC. I've been hunting for my first car and have absolutely fallen in love with the smart.I'm looking for some opinions on a used smart I have my eye on. It's a 2008 Passion coupe w/15000kms. The dealer is asking just under $8000. My spouse and I checked it out thoroughly and everything was working perfectly except for one of the headlamps. The dealer gave me the vehicle history... and it's a salvage that has been rebuilt. It was a lease at first and had an accident 1 year 3 months in. It was written off and the ownership was transferred to ICBC who auctioned it off to a dealership who then repaired it. My dealer then bought it off of that dealer. He says the front bumper was replaced and that's the extent of the rebuild... but he can't provide me with any documentation regarding the repairs since he bought the car off another dealer and didn't do the repair himself. My plan is to get a thorough inspection by a good mechanic. Reading around the forum, it seems like the lower mainland smart owners absolutely rave about Fast Eddy. I'm going to give him a call tomorrow and see if I can book an appointment for him to take a look and see what he thinks. I'd love to hear some opinions. I'm wondering if I should just walk away... Thanks in advance!

Edited by lunasa

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Unknown history......not for me. Try driving one of the diesels, they are addicting :D

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walk away from it. theres plenty of good smarts out there.i know here in ontario a salvage has to have pics before an after, also a list of the replacement parts. seeing the dealer dont have this paper work puts up a red flag for me.

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You should be very careful about getting it properly checked at $4-5K for a salvage. At $8K don't bother, there are better deals out there. And Eddy is great, just don't waste his time with this overpriced POS.

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I would say not walk but run away. I personally would never buy a rebuild and one that has no paper trail is a big sign to leave it be. You may end up with more problems then you bargained for, so I would look around and find similar clean titled smart :)Brit and Marty Car :)

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They spotted you coming a mile away.You don't write off a wreck for only a front bumper.This whole transaction stinks.Run, don't walk. As a first time buyer, purchase a new vehicle of any brand rather than locking in on a love afair with a used vehicle.

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Another vote for RUN away!If they wrote off the car when it was only about 1 year old, there would have been at least $15,000 of damage. That is a hell of a lot more than just a "front bumper"

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Thank you everyone! I was feeling a little uneasy about it. I had best just wait for a smart to come along with a better history. Thanks again!I'm wondering, is it ever a good idea to buy a rebuild? I know it's probably not the best idea for me, since it would be my first car but I'm wondering if there are some good deals to be had on a rebuilt smart.I have heard that with leases, the dealership will often opt to write the car off even if the damage isn't that severe. This is because the dealership doesn't want to have a car on hand that has had any major repairs.Is there any truth to this?

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If the rebuild is well done by competent people, and more of a cosmetic nature than structural, and the price is attractive enough it may work out, but as a general rule they are done poorly by shysters.

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You seem to be young and inexperienced.Unless you are very hands on, with a good mechanical ability to do things yourself, the smart is not for you.Mercedes dealers charge $200-300 just to do an oil change.Do you know that you can lease or purchase a new base model smart for around $200 a month? (Used for price comparison)But then you have to take it to Mercedes for service, see above re cost of oil change.I love my smart, but I also love tinkering on it as well.Perhaps you should look at the Scion IQ which looks like a smart, but will probably cost less to maintain.CANMANp.s. I vote for Run away from that deal as well.

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In the Lower Mainland where we have Eddy and multiple dealers to compete for the service, I don't see a big problem with a gas smart for the original poster. Just not that rebuild! In a great many areas Canman is absolutely correct, the service available is a huge factor.I would however have a good look at the Scion if buying new, but I have a feeling Lunasa is on a budget. On a purely practical basis, you're not going to beat a well-maintained 5 year old Civic, Corrola, Echo etc. For very little more head-aches and expense (given an alternative to Mercedes oil changes) you can have more style and fun factor in the smart.

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Waaaaaaaaaaay too much money for a rebuilt salvaged car. Check this site further for people here who have properly looked after their cars (and no accidents) who are selling in order to get a newer model. An accident-free '08 with similar kms. on it should sell for between $7,000 and 9,000 depending on the model and options on it.

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Definitely walk away from that one. Salvaged vehicles should be priced thousands cheaper than a comparable clean titled model.

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If you can get the price way down to like under $6,000 and get some idea of what the dame was, then maybe... and be prepared to be stuck with it.Otherwise $8,000 should get you a clean used 2008 easily.

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You seem to be young and inexperienced.Unless you are very hands on, with a good mechanical ability to do things yourself, the smart is not for you.Mercedes dealers charge $200-300 just to do an oil change.Do you know that you can lease or purchase a new base model smart for around $200 a month? (Used for price comparison)

200-300 dollars for an oil change. You can't be serious, I have never paid a fraction of this price for oil changes, I get all my oil changes and tire changes at Garden Motorcar, MB dealership in Burlington and find them very reasonable. I am not mechanically inclined and find my Smart economical as any other car to have serviced. :jawdrop:

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Depends on area I think, my last service was $280 which was less then what I was quoted at $340 for my B, my A is about $200. Like I said I believe it goes on area and demand most likely :) Where I take my smart I don't mind paying that since I have had nothing but great experiences with the dealership :)Brit and Marty Car :D

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Thanks for your help everyone! I'm definitely walking away. I'll keep looking for a smart with a much better history.Leadwing, Thank you! I love the idea of buying off someone from the forum who is looking to upgrade to a newer model. What would be the best way to connect with these people? Post a 'Looking For' ad in the regional sections? Thanks so much for your help, you guys are awesome. Looking forward to becoming a full fledged member of the club soon!! :D

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@ Lunasa: You're quite welcome.

The easiest way to find cars for sale is to check the forum (click the word forum in the dark grey bar at the top of the page) and scroll down to the section titled "Member Classifieds".

To connect with the seller of something you are interested in, simply left click on that member's name and chose "send message" from the drop-down.

Good luck with your search.

Ron :bike:

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I would stay away.Note that yesterday, on csc, somebody in Calgary listed a 2008 cabrio with only 5400km for $10,500. So for only $2500 you get a cabrio that has been in no accidents and has full warranty until 2015.

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