Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

[sidejam]

Anyone on here have a 2008 Smart Car? Unfortunately, I'm debating about getting rid of my current car and I would love something that's relatively inexpensive and good on gas. Part of me would have prefered the diesel, however the power increase on the new Smart Car's gas engine seems quite good.

Is there much aftermarket for these cars? Rims/tires? Lowering springs? Exhaust? Tuning? Both my last car and my current car have not had a lot of aftermarket support and it's been a bit hard to mod them. I'm not looking to set any land speed records or beat any quarter mile times, but just want to set it apart from the rest.

Any opinions or suggestions are appreciated.

[JustALilBit]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

Your best bet would be to talk to Blair (Canadian Turbo) as he does have a rather impressive smart car. From what ive gathered he seems to really like it and it looks amazing.

[Red90]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

The gas engine is quite poor on mileage. I would try and get a diesel if I were you. Despite what you think of the power numbers, the diesels are "faster" to drive and can be tuned up quickly and easily.

If it is just mileage, then there are many similar mileage and more practical car to be had than the gasoline Smart. But the diesel can not be beat.

[sidejam]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

What can the diesels be tuned up to? One of the main reasons I want to go with a 2008 is the $2000 government rebate. As well, the new Smart Car got some pretty good reviews and seems to have been greatly improved over the earlier model.

I did find it sort of amusing that the gas engine needs to be 91 octane. If only they made the 08's with diesel!!! Apparently with them launching the 2008 Smart Car in the States, it made more sense to switch it over to gas.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

The 2008 Smart was designed to be sold all over the world and with tough emissions standards in places like California the CDI engine was dropped for North America. The gas engine has more power for sure but the mileage is not nearly as good as the diesel and some cars offer better mileage, but most people buy Smart's for more than just economy as they are an attention getter (not always positive though).

I have had my 2005 for just about 3 years now so I am pretty familiar with them so I can answer most questions. The aftermarket is there for these cars but it is primarily based in Europe so parts are there but often hard to get and not cheap. The version I have (450) has a lot more options at this point then the new 2008 (451) version as it is newer and hardly any parts will work from one to the other. The CDI version does offer very good economy and with a chip the performance is a lot closer to the new gas version. My car runs at about 60hp and over 100 lb/ft of torque with the new one being 70hp & 70lb/ft.

I prefer the look of the 2008s but unless they had a diesel or the 100+ hp Brabus version I would not switch. The $2,000 rebate is attractive but I would look at CDIs as there are usually some nice low mileage examples out there which maybe save you more in the long run and I think the re-sale will be better.

Let me know if you have any other specific questions as I have a few mods on my car and keep my eyes on the Smart scene. One other thing you should know is dealer servicing of these cars is also expensive, probably 7-800 a year for your regular maintenance.

[sidejam]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

Hmmmm... Maybe I will look to see if I can find a lower mileage 2007 around. If only they still made the 2008 with the diesel, my decision would be much easier!!! As far as the maintenance goes, considering it's a Mercedes, that's not really too expensive.

Do you have a standard reflash? Is that a lot of mods to get up to 100 ft-lbs of torque? Also, with a reflash, did that help the slow shifting of the transmission?

Thanks for the tips!

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Considering Purchasing a 2008 Smart Car!

I have an Upsolute chip, gives about 50% gains over stock, I would highly recommend it for sure. The shifting is a little improved but I think time helps as both you and the car adapt to the driving, just taking the car on a test drive does not give a fair evaluation of the tranny, especially if it is a demo car. Another improvement was a suspension system, which also eliminates the rocking while shifting making things feel smoother, my car runs on a H&R cup kit.