Do you have a Smart car?

No, but Sir Sterling Moss does so they can't be bad ?

I think Welshtotty has got one as a day to day runaround

Aye I do. My smart is for weekdays getting to work and back and I bought it as its nippy, cheap to run and I can literally park it sideways!

51 plate and before tend to be LHD as they didnt make RHD ones (I used to have a X plate LHD but now have an 08 RHD) They keep their value very well due to the fact theyre cheap to run and do about 60mpg and emissions are low hence low road tax (£35) Theyre all automatic, they dont do manual versions. The Pure is tiptronic semi auto, the Pulse is tiptronic with paddle shift gears and the Passion is tiptronic / fully auto.

I drive one at work - I actually really like it for city driving, it's quite fun and nippier than you might think, and bloody brilliant for parking. Not the most comfortable ride for a long journey but they do seem to go on for ever on a tank of petrol. The one I drive is semi automatic (has paddle gears) but is easy to drive.

With an 08 plate, I'm guessing you bought yours new. Would £3-4k seem reasonable for a 4yr old with low mileage?

I had a Seicento for 5 years and I loved it! I saw it in Sainsbuggers car park recently (3 years since I sold it) and I went over and sort of stroked it ?

Yeah I nought mine to order in April but had a wait for it as they were so popular! The dealers only had 3 used ones on the books at the time too, seems everyone wants one at the mo.

Id say £4k would be reasonable for a 4 year old Pulse maybe a Passion but not a Pure as they are the basic model and can be bought new for just over £6k

Step away from the Smart car!!

I bought a used one in January this year and got rid of it in July.

The turbo went just after I'd bought it (which I managed to get the garage to fix for free), the brake light switch (controls all back brake lights) went twice which I had to have repaired by Mercedes and finally one of the cylinders in the engine went!! Mercedes told me it was because it was high mileage - It had done 60,000 and it was 7 years old!!!

In addition to the above, I had to take it in to Mercedes just to change some bulbs that had gone. This is because the entire front (or back) has to be taken off just to gain access.

It was not a cheap car for me (apart from petrol). Apart from everything that went wrong with it the biggest problem I had was the fact that I had to take it to Mercedes everytime anything went wrong with it. Other garages weren't sure what to do with it as it is such a 'niche' car.

Oh, and my car tax was £126 for the year. I had a Smart Passion which is a top of the range one and the emissions were 1cc into the £126 bracket.

I'd rather walk. And if EY had listened to me in the first place, she wouldn't have had all that trouble. Tsk. ?

Ive got a Passion and mine fits into the £35 car tax bracket.

I know EY had probs with hers, but Im on my second one now and have never had a problem with either. I suppose as with any car now and again you get a duff one.

Having had both cars I can say that the smart is a million times better than the cinquecento provided you don't need back seats. I loved, loved, loved my smart and would have one again like a shot. (I only got rid of it because I got a company car and couldn't afford to keep them both going!)

I had a pulse cabrio which was fab. We took it down to Devon on holiday and it was great. It's nippy, economical and it's not too bad for long journeys either. They hold their value really well. I bought mine for 5.5k and sold it 18 months later for 5k. That's provided you can even get one second hand - they are pretty hard to come by around here. Mercedes services are expensive for your annual service so be warned. However, when I had mine you couldn't take it to any old garage which you can do now without invalidating your warranty. So that makes it even better!

Oh and they are really spacious too. I had much more room around me in my smart than I do in my polo. The driving position is really comfortable too. I'd recommend going to test drive one and see how you get on with it.

Yes yes Wonks ?

Buy a Citroen C1!! That's what I've got now. Much nicer to drive, bigger and cheaper all round!

I posted too soon - I meant to say I had my Seicento from 6 months old and I loved it. It never let me down. I only sold it because I moved to a new job and had a motorway commute and wanted a bigger car.

Have a read through the Smartz forum to get an idea of the MANY problems these cars have.

I did enjoy driving the car (but the suspension was horrific ?) but I would only ever buy one if it had a full 3 year warranty. Even then you would have to take it to Mercedes to get bulbs changed though!

Not really on topic, but if you're thinking of getting a car with good mpg for around £4k or a bit more, consider a honda jazz. we bought one for me last week, and i lurrve it. it's a bit grannytastic, but it's nippy (1.4l), insurance group 3, and i paid £4700 from a honda dealer for a 53 with 19,000 miles on it, 6 months tax (£120 pa), 12 months' guarantee and 12 months' full aa cover, and a week's insurance. no shortage of space inside, i like the sound system, and it is a real pleasure to drive. and have a look at the mpg. i get mid 40s for urban, up to 60 odd on the motorway, and it's petrol.

just a thought!

I have a T plate (99) LHD Passion for about 2 years, they are nippy and cheap but unless you buy a 51 plate plus then you are in the £100+ 12 months car tax band!

I neverhad any real issues with it and even when I had a blow out on the motorway at 60mph and skidded off the motorway, up the embankment and hit a tree backwards, it only cost me a new alloy and tyre to fix (£50) as I bough a new but cheap alloy off some guy who had bought new alloys for himself!

I'd only recommend it as a city care/communiting in the city car! Although I had it as my main car and drove distances of 350 mile round trip, it was uncomfortable, people pull out in front of you or try to cut you up. Theres allot more space in there then you'd think - enough to do a weekly shop etc

But I'd neverhave one again - I bought it in Oct 2004 for £3000 and part exchanges it for a lousy £800 in Sept 2006, with a crack in the back bumper (from hitting the tree).

We've just gone for a Citroen C1. It might not be the most exciting car around, but it's unbelievable economical. It looks like we're getting more than the published 68 mpg. Insurance is only around £100 per year and road tax is £35.

It's actually much nippier than I'd expected and because it's small, v. easy to park.

Are the parts expensive?

We have a Honda, actually, which I adore, I might have to have a look at the smaller ones...

Is the new fiat panda too big for you?

It got rave reviews when it was re-released a couple of years back - best city car or something like that.

Lots of people have them where I live- I counted 8 on the street the other day- Its central London and they are easy to park in what would only amount to half a space otherwise. Mind you, they are unlikely to need them for speed or space.

I'd have one, definatly. But i'd prefer one of those fiat 500s or whatever they've called- they match my new toaster and look prrettttyyyyy cool.

Luckily for MrH I can't drive.

Im loving your reasoning behind getting a fiat 500 cos it matches your toaster, theres no better reason for buying a car than that! lol

Fiats are right out. I hate them. Sorry <irrational>

Step away and then step back again from the Smart car and get thee to the toyota garage and ask the nice man to show you a Yaris. Failing that get thee to the Mazda garage and ask the nice man to show you the 2, not the old one mind, the current model. The Smart is a hateful driving machine with not a single redeeming feature I can think of other than being very very small indeed.

Monkey Fingers is (very reluctantly as she loves it) selling her Smart if you are looking to buy second hand. ? She's bought a Fiat 500 so there is room in the back for <scouse>the baybee</scouse> etc.

I don't mind them really, I quite like quirky cars and as you say, it's really econmical.

I don't have a Smart but test drove one as I was considering it, I really liked it. However, on fuel consumption according to the government figures last time I checked (probably about 6 months ago to be fair) the Toyota Aygo came out more economical than the Smart.

<OT> my first car was a brand new, off the forecourt, fiat cinquicento. I loved that car <wistful sigh> </OT>