Hey Scotty,
With the high cost of fuel, I'm thinking of buying a pre-owned Smart Car Fortwo to commute to work and back only, approx year 2010. What are your thoughts on these little cars? Gas vs diesel? Reliable?
Thanks
Get a compact sedan instead.
My honest advise is to avoid them like wildfire - They make 0 sense.
approx year 2010
The "automated" transmission on those is so bad that it's borderline underivable.
high cost of fuel
They're not efficient, they're rated at 33mpg city - 1mpg difference from a 2.0L automatic Toyota Corolla non-hybrid.
pre-owned (...) Reliable?
We are talking about a 12 year old Mercedes with a Mitsubishi engine that not a single person knows how to fix.
Don't forget about life insurance! Owners get preferment disabilities from what would be a fender bender in a RAV4
This was an IIHS test where a Smart was crashed into a C class at 40mph, as you see the structure collapsed.
Also that was a frontal crash with a reasonably big overlap, what'll happen if you get T-boned? doors are paper thin.
Mercedes has shot a somewhat misleading "test", for real results check the IIHS test results.
And don't forget it was $11k MSRP and often sold for much less, I wouldn't pay a dollar over $2k for an unreliable inefficient uncomfortable nearly unusable deathtrap that was considered a bad joke even on it's intended market.
Tiny bikes with 4 wheels have never made sense.
It's crap car in all metrics; price, efficiency, reliability, performance, safety, comfort, longevity, etc.
It would not be a very "smart" purchase. (Hey, someone had to say it! 😛)
They're not even that great on gas really considering the tiny size and what you're giving up. If you really want a tiny death trap at least get one that's interesting like a BMW Isetta. 4-wheel hydraulic brakes, how can you go wrong?
I agree with Yaser. You can do a search on our forum as it’s been discussed before but, in short, don’t waste your money on the Smart car.
If it passes a mechanical inspection, the price is right and you don't mind driving a Clown Car, go for it.
I'm one of the few wierdos that likes them too
The prices are nonsensical, however. Those are worth $16,000 new at best
The Smart was a $10k car, it’s competition was the Mirage and Micra - both are cars that you could negotiate to under $10k at the time.
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$16k new is too much.
That’s what a new Scion iM would’ve been a few years ago - and that’s a proper car, the Euro version of the Corolla.
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also the car that the latest generation forTwo/forFour are based on, the Renault TwinGO was under $10k.
Wait wait wait
So let me get this straight your paying $30000 for new or $16000 for old small car which barely have space and only 3 cylinder with acceleration of 12 sec
ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR MIND
IF YOU REALLY WANT A SMALL CAR FOR THAT PRICE YOU CAN GET
Mazda miata
Civic hatch back
Corolla matrix
Why on God for saken land would anyone buy those car.
They aren't even safe.
If your asking if I driven one yes I did. Saw at dealership when helping my nephew out with his car. Those cars are walking tomb stone highway
Also for the asking price for both new and old
YOU CANNOT EVEN BUY THOSE JOKINGLY OR AS GIFT
TO DO DRIFTS OR FOR UR KIDS AS A TOY