Smart Roadster - The poo brown go-kart.

[cort16]

I see you've followed the autoshite mantra and bought the cheapest worst one available

You can't go too far wrong at that as even if you spent a grand on it , it's still cheap.

[Lacquer Peel]

Good person to buy from, he seems very honest.

I have liked these since they were new.

[Vince70]

I can't see how you can go wrong for the money..

I think the behind the seat leak is quite an easy fix and is fixed by Widgets which you make yourself if I remember rightly but if you get over to the roadster net they will put you right but it might be something really silly like the roof bars not connected in properly.

 

The leaks are all fixable and apart from a mastic gun and rubber sealant and some silicon grease there's not much else you need so it's time not money to fix a leaky roadster as long as you've got to the Sam unit in time before its too wet.

The main leak to fix on the roadster is the the one under the wiper panel as that's the one that gives you a soggy Sam unit then it's money as it involves someone with a star machine to code you up a new one.

 

I loved my roadster it was a fun little motor and Champagne remix and a silver tridion isn't bad and you paid extra for a silver tridion back in the day over the black one plus you have the optional wheels but I can't remember if these are spin line or spike line or some other line .

 

And I don't know how true it is but I was told by A Merc dealer that the leaks were caused by the Tridion going though the paint oven after the joint sealant had been applied so the sealant melted so it caused a lot of the ingress problems.

 

Also I think I saw a rolled roadster on eBay the other week (got to stop looking lol) that was more than yours so I would say it's well worth a gamble at that price, I really can't see how you can lose and it looks a very straight car.

 

I wouldn't let the mileage put you off to much as with regular oil changes and the top breather changed from time to time the engine should be ok and the 700cc is one to have for reliability

 

I've also had the earliest 600cc smart in the country and they are supposed to be the engine that grenades but that was on the original engine on a 19 year old car and I never had a single problem with it but the main problems are gummed piston rings that cause the valves to burn out on them so I just changed the oil every couple of thousand to keep the engine oil nice and clean as it only takes such a small amount and 5 minutes with a pela pump and a decent 5 litre fully synthetic can be had for under £20 which will do a couple of oil changes.

I also upgraded the sump on my last one to one that had the plug but to be honest I never used it as its so easy with a pela pump.

[Tickman]

Excellent purchase, looking forward to the collection and all the fixing posts.

[Guest Hooli]

Sounds fucked, it's perfect

[John F]

WEAPON.

 

Throw away original engine & revolting auto gearbox, fit 1000 cc bike engine. Enjoy. 

[Lacquer Peel]

Sounds fucked, it's perfect

It's probably just as fucked as the ones dishonestly advertised for £2k.

[oldcars]

Well bought, nice to find something that leaks more than my 75 and my Rialto.

[cort16]

There was a smart car doing the rounds with a 1275 a series engine in it a couple of years back. Bring that up to date with 1.4 k series and stepspeed box?

[SiC]

That's part of the adventure surely?

Yesterday I would have said no way, too risky.

 

Today, I just want to get it back, so might just actually just risk it... WPCGW.

I have breakdown cover after-all!

 

Insurance done. On Money Supermarket for a fresh quote on Tesco Car Insurance, it said £1400 (cheapest provider was £320). However phoning up and changing my policy, they gave me a refund of £30. I paid £350 for my policy on the Saab, so they're effectively quoting £300 as there is a ~£20 admin fee. I really don't get insurance.

[rainagain]

Excellent buy! I always fancied one of these. Can't believe you managed to get it so cheap

[cort16]

I want to see this transported home in the rear of an LDV pilot.

[Vince70]

It's most probably a long shot if it's not Sam related but you might be very lucky as a guy I know who's quite handy with cars had exactly the same problem with the three lines of death and no gears on a very low mileage 700cc 2006 fortwo which was a non runner which was also very damp/wet inside and it was a wet corroded brake light switch causing the problem. The way to tell is very simple just check the brake lights work it would be a right bonus if it is this.

 

He bought the car from someone in the trade for £150 as it was completely dead and had been sitting for a year after copious amounts of money had been thrown at it to fix the problem.

 

I think the switch was £20 odd quid for a new one so he fixed it then gave it a polish then sold it the following week with a fresh ticket for £2000.

 

The dealer who sold him the car for scrap wasn't impressed when he found out but it doesn't matter what smart it is they all leak it could be because frogs love water lol

 

On the city coupe it's normally the rear windows that let water in and also around the wing mirrors So it's not just the roadster.

[SiC]

Yeah I knew about the brake light switch, that is also an issue on the for-two too.

 

SAM fault doesn't bother me too much apart from second hand ones still are around £150, so not bargain basement part to throw at it to test. Easy enough to replace the SAM with a second hand one, just a case of copy/paste on the original EEPROM to the new second hand part EEPROM.

 

The SAM fault described was when a headlight bulb didn't light. He took it to Mercedes, who scanned it, said SAM fault and needed replacing and cleared the codes. Headlight bulb started working after they cleared the codes. It had been sat for a year, so it could be wet from condensation too. Underneath the seats was wet, so likely it is leaking from the rear somewhere - Google suggests run-off from the window channels and roof rubbers.

 

Really thinking to just drive it back tonight.

[Vince70]

When I bought mine I picked it up from Cardiff then went straight back to Kent in it through the floods..

I was really lucky with mine as I bought it also on eBay and it had a starting figure of £6200 and was the only bidder for what was basically a new roadster with I think 3000 on the clock but being nearly new I had the manufacturer warranty.

 

I bid on the same car the week before and it went up over £8000 but when the buyer went to pick it up they fell in love with an SLK so the roadster ended up back on eBay.

 

At the time a new roadster was over £15000 for that particular model the dealership didn't believe I got the car for that but they honoured the price..I kept it for 3 years and I nearly got back what a paid for it.

 

I remember seeing one which was parked up in Tunbridge Wells and didn't know what it was but I was going to get one whatever and I've never been like that with any car before or since but it looked amazing and then top gear did an article on TV so I found out what it was called and ordered the brochure so I could then get in debt for one and is the only time I've ever had an expensive car.

 

It took me a year to find the right one at the right price in jack black and I look up the mot history from time to time and it's still going strong.

 

My mate also bought one but he actually paid £15000 for his Second hand but it looked amazing as it was black brabus exclusive edition coupe with every extra.

 

I remember him setting the GPS on the car to get a true speed and he got 122mpg flat out on a downhill section of a private motorway lol.

 

I kept getting asked is it a lotus when I pulled up at the pumps in the car.

 

Thinking about it I would most probably have kept it forever but redundancy forced my hand so the house and car had to go and doubt I would get another as I would be comparing it to an as new garage queen.

[SiC]

All systems go for collection tonight. Less risk now as the roads are quieter, so more likely I can have a straight run. Bringing socket set so I can do roadside reboot of the ECU if drive is lost!

 

Wish me luck and hope that I don't become the shape of a truck tyre tread on the motorway!

[SiC]

Will be radio silence on this one until either I get home or have FTP badly.

[beko1987]

Best of luck!

[trigger]

Godspeed!

[Noel Tidybeard]

are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet? are you there yet?

[Vince70]

Good luck and fingers crossed I'm hoping it's not the brake lights playing up now.

[Kiltox]

God speed sir!

[scaryoldcortina]

DON'T hit a fuggin pothole whatever you do!

 

PS, I was on my way to collect a forfour automatic that won't select gears. Mucho cheapness.

[SiC]

Got me home just fine.

 

I kept it in manual to try and reduce the number of gear changes as much as possible - until I can look at that gear actuator. Seemed to change gear fine though to be honest. Felt bit of a jolt when cruising along, might be a slight misfire. It's overdue a full service with spark plugs, so hopefully that'll make it nice and smooth

 

Seller was a top chap again. Really friendly guy. Was chatting so much that I almost forgot to hand over the money! Luckily my wife reminded us.

 

Loads of history

 

Service book not stamped since he had it HOWEVER he gave me all the original dealers and specialists receipts from the services - which is what I far more like to see!

 

He also included an AutoExpress and Car magazine articles on the Smart Roadster and also the original Dealer Brochure. Apparently he's been driving Smart Roadsters for the last 14 years. Also he said he's only ever used super unleaded in it too (which is what is recommended by Smart).

 

Things like this is what made me really want this particular one - even if it wasn't my preferred choice of the Coupe. Just needs a bit of TLC to bring it back up to A1 again.

[Tickman]

Excellent

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Get it fixed quick and roffle it before summer

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[Kiltox]

Well bought sir!

[Guest Hooli]

Wish me luck and hope that I don't become the shape of a truck tyre tread on the motorway!

 

I used to run a Midget as a daily, I know that feeling about truck tyres on motorways rather well. Being able to drive under the car park barriers made up for it though

[Clevtrev]

Here's my Brabus Coupe. It came in as a trade in last summer and I couldn't resist. I've had the wheels refurbished and given it a good service but that's about all. Had a couple of strange electrical gremlins such as the power steering failing and the accelerator failing to respond while driving down the A14. Both were solved by stopping and restarting though. I am cautious about getting it properly wet though. All the same, I love it. The gearbox is quicker reacting in the Brabus model. And there is a (sort of) launch control. The has a notch you push past which brings the revs up higher for quicker standing starts. Not sure if non Brabus models have this feature.

 

 

 

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[SiC]

Nice!! I'm jealous! That's pretty much what I really wanted - coupé and brabus. Except it's in silver. I believe though, the Brabus only came in silver. I don't like silver!

 

Standard Roadster can be remapped from 80bhp to 100bhp. Apparently quicker than a stock Brabus as it's lighter - Brabus added bigger turbo, injector and a charge cooler so extra weight compared to the standard Roadster. But because of the extras, you can remap the Brabus to 130bhp - which makes for a very quick car!

 

I did see a cheap Brabus (£2.5k) but the fact that there was so many unique parts to the Brabus put me off that one - was high miles too. Especially as most parts aren't available new anymore.

 

For good ones, you're looking at £3.5k-4.5k for a Brabus which for me is Z4 money.