Should I buy a Smart Car?
Discussion
I've been thinking today about buying a Smart Car and wondered what anyone thought. I've never driven one, or even been inside it.
Background - I live in Portugal, in a small fishing village. My current cars are completely unsuitable. I'm getting various complaints re noise about the decatted Gallardo. Its not helped by the fact I live in the city centre, and all of that is a one way system. And its narrow streets with tall buildings on each... almost like being permanently in a tunnel. Sometimes I might need to even lap it twice to find a parking space so its the same poor people in the same apartments getting the brunt of the noise every time
Outside of annoyance of other people, parking is becoming a major issue, I'm always struggling to find somewhere I'm comfortable parking it. And as we get into the summer and more and more tourists arrive this is only getting worse.
I have a Cayenne GTS as well but its equally impractical. No noise issues but it suffers from the parking ones... s
t parking from other people often means there is a 'free' space but because they've went over the lines I can't fit in it. At least it was (relatively) cheap so I don't need to be quite so precious about where I park it, if it'll fit. Its been damaged a few times though, minor parking scrapes when I've not been there.
I live here on my own, but my family come out regularly. So basically I need a car for two purposes. The first is for me to potter around town in that will be simple to park and I don't need to care about it being damaged. The 2nd is to allow family trips - when they're all out, including myself there is 4 adults, 2 kids and a baby so the Cayenne is 2 seats short. I have an SLK too but my ex uses it - it would be a bit unfair to recall it and leave her carless for a few weeks at a time
So, I don't actually need anything more than a 2 seater here and a Smart Car would obviously be the simplest thing parking wise. I don't need to go to work so mileage in it is going to be extremely low - I seriously doubt it'll even do 30 miles a week.
Should I buy a Smart Car ? Or just buy some random old turd of a car like a Clio, Focus etc?
There is one downside I can see to buying a 2 seater - when my ex has her mother/sister over to visit, she is the only one who can drive. So if I buy a Smart Car it means the Cayenne going out on loan and she's a st driver. If I buy a Focus or whatever I can give it to her to use without a care what happens to it.
Here is my choices as far as Smart Cars goes - http://faro.olx.pt/nf/carros-cat-378/smart+fortwo/...
So, what do you ?
Background - I live in Portugal, in a small fishing village. My current cars are completely unsuitable. I'm getting various complaints re noise about the decatted Gallardo. Its not helped by the fact I live in the city centre, and all of that is a one way system. And its narrow streets with tall buildings on each... almost like being permanently in a tunnel. Sometimes I might need to even lap it twice to find a parking space so its the same poor people in the same apartments getting the brunt of the noise every time
Outside of annoyance of other people, parking is becoming a major issue, I'm always struggling to find somewhere I'm comfortable parking it. And as we get into the summer and more and more tourists arrive this is only getting worse.
I have a Cayenne GTS as well but its equally impractical. No noise issues but it suffers from the parking ones... s
t parking from other people often means there is a 'free' space but because they've went over the lines I can't fit in it. At least it was (relatively) cheap so I don't need to be quite so precious about where I park it, if it'll fit. Its been damaged a few times though, minor parking scrapes when I've not been there. I live here on my own, but my family come out regularly. So basically I need a car for two purposes. The first is for me to potter around town in that will be simple to park and I don't need to care about it being damaged. The 2nd is to allow family trips - when they're all out, including myself there is 4 adults, 2 kids and a baby so the Cayenne is 2 seats short. I have an SLK too but my ex uses it - it would be a bit unfair to recall it and leave her carless for a few weeks at a time
So, I don't actually need anything more than a 2 seater here and a Smart Car would obviously be the simplest thing parking wise. I don't need to go to work so mileage in it is going to be extremely low - I seriously doubt it'll even do 30 miles a week.
Should I buy a Smart Car ? Or just buy some random old turd of a car like a Clio, Focus etc?
There is one downside I can see to buying a 2 seater - when my ex has her mother/sister over to visit, she is the only one who can drive. So if I buy a Smart Car it means the Cayenne going out on loan and she's a s
t driver. If I buy a Focus or whatever I can give it to her to use without a care what happens to it.Here is my choices as far as Smart Cars goes - http://faro.olx.pt/nf/carros-cat-378/smart+fortwo/...
So, what do you ?
Fattyfat said:
A Smart doesn't do anything any better than a 1.2 Clio or suchlike IMHO.
I'll need to do some research on how they compare price wise to Clios, Focus and so on - I'm not really looking to spend much money here. juliethotel said:
You could buy a smart car, or you could not throw your dignity down the drain and buy something admirable! 
Also, I don't think any guy should use the phrase 'just to potter about town'
Just saying
Something admiral like what exactly? I'm open to suggestions Also, I don't think any guy should use the phrase 'just to potter about town'
Just saying
But in all seriousness I'm not looking for performance or fun - I can get that in the Gallardo. And I'm not looking for the ability to travel 200km in comfort, or carry 4 passengers and 3 suitcases - I can get that in the Cayenne. This really will be seen as 'white goods' and something to do A to B with no other real considerations.steveo3002 said:
they dont sound amazingly reliable vs a focus
Mm, I wasn't aware of that. I guess then the question is is the poor reliability a fair trade off to have the ability to fit into smaller parking spaces?loafer123 said:
The answer is to buy a classic.
Much smaller, everyone loves you, much cooler.
I've never had any real interest in classic cars to be honest and don't know the first thing about them. With my limited budget here (say £5k) I don't think that would get me anything that would change my mind at this point?Much smaller, everyone loves you, much cooler.
Impasse said:
Isn't the default suggestion not the MX5 but the Suzuki Swift Sport in these types of situations?
I'm not paying more for the 'Sport' version of anything - this is A to B only... I'd rather have a newer poverty spec of a model than an older bigger engine one...Axionknight said:
Should be IMO, my girlfriend had one and it was a great little car, pokey and revvy enough and handled well, it was a proper B road hoot, couldn't get enough of it on a quiet/early Saturday morning blast to the shops.
It might be fun.... but do you really think if I was going on a Sunday morning run I'm going to choose that over the Lambo ? This new car will have pretty much zero chance of ever going over 30mph - if I'm going out of town I'll take one of the others. So paying more for 'performance' anything would be a complete waste of money.loafer123 said:
Perhaps you should reallocate some budget from cars you don't drive to those you can...
I need a big jeep type car - I've got a dog cage in the back and it folds flat for when I need to pick people up at the airport and fill it with cases etc. I enjoy owning a Lambo. So there isn't any way to free up any budget there really. Trading in the Merc would piss the ex off unnecessarily and I have a financial interest in keeping her happy so thats a no go also.I suppose I could come up with more money - off the top of your head what would £5k or £10k get me in a classic car? The other issue there is cars just aren't that popular here - you'll probably suggest something and there will be none of them for sale here.
Edited by KFC on Saturday 3rd May 21:24
Big Fat Fatty said:
I'm not going to read any of the OP but I don't need to to know the answer is no.
Thanks very much for that valuable input 
RegMolehusband said:
My partner had one until recently against my advice. It wandered terribly on main roads and motorways and the auto gear change is laughable to dangerous.
Then a BMW hit her from behind. The lack of crumple zone resulted in a huge bruise the diameter of a football on her back and nasty whiplash. The car, worth £6000, was written off due to damage tothe engine and gearbox. Awful things IMHO.
The car would never see motorways or be in a position to be in a high speed crash - how did you/she find it around city centres?Then a BMW hit her from behind. The lack of crumple zone resulted in a huge bruise the diameter of a football on her back and nasty whiplash. The car, worth £6000, was written off due to damage tothe engine and gearbox. Awful things IMHO.
Eagerbeaver said:
Why don't you hire one for a few days.
You will find a lof of negativity from the kind of car enthusiasts that sneer at anything which isn't a fashion badge and those who expect something that Smart isn't.
It has it's good points but it doesn't do much better than other small cars, some stuff arguably not as well but it is good at being tiny.
I've only ever had them as cheap hire cars to zip me around cities and small villages. For a village, I'd probably go for a Renault Twizzy.
Back home, I've almost looked for an excuse to own one as I've found Smarts to be quiet at low speeds, the later gearboxes are entertaining to learn how to use and they are just altogether nice things. That is as long as the roads are smooth as they don't do potholes well.
As I say, hire one for a week and you'll either love if or hate it.
Thanks, I'd love to hire one for a few days but I don't have a credit card so I can't use any of the big rental agencies. And none of the little independent places that I can use, have them in stock. You will find a lof of negativity from the kind of car enthusiasts that sneer at anything which isn't a fashion badge and those who expect something that Smart isn't.
It has it's good points but it doesn't do much better than other small cars, some stuff arguably not as well but it is good at being tiny.
I've only ever had them as cheap hire cars to zip me around cities and small villages. For a village, I'd probably go for a Renault Twizzy.
Back home, I've almost looked for an excuse to own one as I've found Smarts to be quiet at low speeds, the later gearboxes are entertaining to learn how to use and they are just altogether nice things. That is as long as the roads are smooth as they don't do potholes well.
As I say, hire one for a week and you'll either love if or hate it.
Those Twizy things look great - but I'm in an apartment with no place to charge it so any sort of electric vehicle is ruled out unfortunately. I'd have loved one of those though!
loafer123 said:
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/search-classic...
Plenty of local interest...the racing Mini classic looks good.
Thanks for the link, didn't realise there would be quite so much there. I don't think race spec and full harness seatbelts etc is a great fit for going 2 miles at 20kmh for a pint of milk though Plenty of local interest...the racing Mini classic looks good.
I quite look the look of that 1987 6 series BMW but at £26k its worth more than my Cayenne so it'd be completely pointless on the issue of having something cheap and not worrying about parking dings
Riley Blue said:
Get yourself a Renault 4. The one I hired in Portugal years ago was superbly suited to the local roads and was an absolute hoot to drive.
Just having a look but the Portuguese Autotrader (http://www.olx.pt) is near impossible to search for a model that is just a single number. I can see this old one http://baltar-porto.olx.pt/renault-4-gtl-1989-iid-... but I'm assuming you mean a modern one?bozzy101 said:
....just gonna leave this here.
Thanks for that Deerfoot - its great to hear some feedback from a long term owner.
I just had an idea to buy a motorbike instead but I phoned my mum and I'm not allowed. Well I'm allowed as I'm 32 and don't need permission, but I'm not allowed to put my brother on the back which would mean it won't work for 7 people traveling in the Cayenne & something else
I just had an idea to buy a motorbike instead but I phoned my mum and I'm not allowed. Well I'm allowed as I'm 32 and don't need permission, but I'm not allowed to put my brother on the back which would mean it won't work for 7 people traveling in the Cayenne & something else
How about this?
http://albufeira.olx.pt/audi-tt-1-8-turbo-180-cv-i...
Reasonably small, reasonably cheap, with the extra passenger seats if I occasionally need them.
Or is an ancient Audi with 190,000 km on the clock just asking for trouble?
http://albufeira.olx.pt/audi-tt-1-8-turbo-180-cv-i...
Reasonably small, reasonably cheap, with the extra passenger seats if I occasionally need them.
Or is an ancient Audi with 190,000 km on the clock just asking for trouble?
Tannedbaldhead said:
Company I worked for had one as a pool car for calls in and around London. I quite liked it, perfect for city work and if you made an effort (getting the revs right and using the godawful auto as a semiautomatic) the terrible gearbox can be worked around.. Unimpressive on the open road though with one of my biggest car related frights was getting caught by a sudden unexpected gust of sidewind whilst trotting along at 85mph on the M4 near Reading.
Not good that the auto mode is bad - I'd much prefer to use that. I never ever manually select gears in the Cayenne and only do it in the Gallardo for tunnels. Full auto is much preferred...Yadizzle1 said:
Smart Roadster?
Like a smart car but better looking and convertible too
They're double the price of the regular Smart Cars though Like a smart car but better looking and convertible too
http://guimaraes-braga.olx.pt/smart-roadster-101cv... I don't see me going anywhere that takes longer than 5 minutes to get there so I don't really think I could justify paying twice the price to have the roof off. I do like them better than the regular ones though...Tannedbaldhead said:
Could something like that realistically be used daily without having things go wrong with it constantly? It certainly looks different but I'd be a little wary when the same amount of money gets me something 20 years newer
Lewtyper said:
Most blatant "look at me thread" I've read in a long time.
Sorry your expensive cars are too loud, must be terrible for you.
Lol, did you get out of the wrong side of the bed today?Sorry your expensive cars are too loud, must be terrible for you.
The other cars I have are relevant to what I'm asking - it makes it absolutely clear that there is no point in suggesting things that are have decent performance or can carry a lot of luggage passengers, as I have that already.
If you don't like the thread, feel free to not read it or post in it
I'd perhaps consider the 1.1 Panda http://portocity.olx.pt/fiat-panda-1-1-economico-2...
There is absolutely no interest whatsoever in the 100bhp version though
There is absolutely no interest whatsoever in the 100bhp version though
BritishRacinGrin said:
Personally I wouldn't. Do Smart engines still expre prematurely? I think I'd keep it simple. Panda? Twingo? Fox? all of these will ride better and probably be more reliable.
What do the locals drive?
Cars are far more expensive than in UK but the wages are lower... so often you'll see locals driving around in things that would have been scrapped long ago in UK. What do the locals drive?
I'm not so sure what locals drive is going to be a brilliant comparison anyway really - they're all likely to need to have considerations of going on motorways, carrying passengers, boot space, etc - none of them are applicable to me.
I've been in a Twingo recently - completely unmemorable really (I can't even remember what colour it was) but it would certainly do the A>B job.
A couple of people now have mentioned reliability.... just how bad are we talking here?
Rammy76 said:
I'm struggling to understand where you live, is it in a village or in the city centre?
If you live in the centre of a city then I'd buy a bike or moped for getting about I'd fail to see the benefit of spending more money on a 3rd car which you'll still struggle to find a parking space for no matter how small it is!
Sorry, I could have been clearer with that. Its a smallish city/village, whatever you want to call it. I live in the centre of it in an apartment. All of the streets in the centre are narrow and its all a one way system. Parking is a nightmare in the summer months, to the point that realistically the Gallardo is going to be unusable and will need to go into 'occasional use' and stored away from home. If you live in the centre of a city then I'd buy a bike or moped for getting about I'd fail to see the benefit of spending more money on a 3rd car which you'll still struggle to find a parking space for no matter how small it is!
Edited by Rammy76 on Sunday 4th May 19:34
Edited by Rammy76 on Sunday 4th May 19:35
I don't see any major problems parking a smart car - it'll go in spaces my other cars won't, and it'll also go in spaces that my other cars would but I was worried about using. If it gets scratched or dinged, then I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. And if I do need to lap the one way system on occasion I'm not going to be pissing all my neighbours off by charging around town in a decatted v10....
A bike or moped isn't going to work - I need to be able to fit 7 people in my current car & what I buy now. My mum is refusing to let my little brother go on the back of a bike, so that is out unfortunately, so a small and cheap car is the only real alternative.
I suppose one other route would be to trade the Cayenne in for a 7 seater and then buy a bike to use myself. I don't really fancy that though as I can't see any 7 seaters that I like the look of.
valiant said:
I'll just leave this here...
There isn't a single one of them for sale in Portugal. Plus I can't get a car near enough to my apartment to charge it so anything electric is out. I'd have loved one of those Renault Twizzy things if that wasn't the case.
Lewtyper said:
Yes, sorry.
Honda Beat?
Thanks, but there isn't a single one for sale in Portugal.Honda Beat?
poing said:
In your situation I'd buy a Fiat Panda and be done, you want something simple to drive and park whilst not having to worry about it. I can't think of a car that better fits your needs and this one has the bonus of 4 seats which sounds like it would be an advantage.
I could get a 1.1 litre one cheaply - http://santoandre-setubal.olx.pt/fiat-panda-1-1-ac...skip_1 said:
I'm still not sure of the size of your town? Not very PH but is walking or a taxi an option to avoid parking? You could enjoy a few Super Bocks then.
Taxi's aren't really practical enough. I could get them from the taxi rank 60 seconds walk from my front door but getting them home from anywhere else would be a complete hassle - not worth it. Staying within the centre, I could walk from my front door to pretty much anywhere else in 20 minutes. But the supermarket is maybe 40 minutes walk away. A nice stroll in the sunshine on the way there - but it feels more like a type of torture on the way back carrying a few bags of shopping
The less touristy beaches etc are about the same distance.... the short answer is you won't starve without a car but realistically you need one.
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