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Smart Cars

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  • 25-01-2008 12:08pm
    #1
    lubie76
    Registered Users Posts: 1,151 ✭✭✭


    What do you think of Smart cars. I'm a first time buyer (female) but finding it hard to get any information on how good they are. They seem quite cheap second hand so thinking there must be a catch. Apart from the fact they look a bit strange!


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    #2
    bennyx_o
    Registered Users Posts: 4,097 ✭✭✭bennyx_o


    I've had a few, and generally, they're good. They're great for city driving and parking, but shite on the motorways. Theres no official dealerships in the south anymore, so if anything should go wrong, it'd be a trip to Belfast to get it sorted.


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    #3
    MuffinsDa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,225 ✭✭✭MuffinsDa


    They are made by Mercedes Benz. I (male!) quite like them, and I think they present good value for money. If you live in city ForTwo would be very easy to live with and good for you, but I wouldn't like to go on motorways on that thing too much.

    http://www.channel4.com/4car/rt/smart/fortwo/1482/2

    I am considering buying/importing a second hand ForFour as a second family car actually, they are really good value and they share platform with Mitsubishi Colt, so reliability shouldn't be paroblem, and they are quite more characterful than Colt!

    http://www.channel4.com/4car/rt/superminis/full+road+test/328/2


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    #4
    MuffinsDa
    Registered Users Posts: 1,225 ✭✭✭MuffinsDa


    bennyx_o wrote: »
    I've had a few, and generally, they're good. They're great for city driving and parking, but shite on the motorways. Theres no official dealerships in the south anymore, so if anything should go wrong, it'd be a trip to Belfast to get it sorted.

    Wouldn't Merc dealers look after them?


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    #5
    beerbaron
    Registered Users Posts: 518 ✭✭✭beerbaron


    Ballsbridge motors were selling them a while back


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    #6
    bennyx_o
    Registered Users Posts: 4,097 ✭✭✭bennyx_o


    MuffinsDa wrote: »
    Wouldn't Merc dealers look after them?

    They should do, yes, but a friend of mine had terrible trouble finding a dealership that would work on his ForTwo.
    beerbaron wrote: »
    Ballsbridge motors were selling them a while back
    IIRC, they were selling the last of the cars from Europa when they closed down.


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    #7
    niceirishfella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,538 ✭✭✭niceirishfella


    my sister in law has one on mainland europe.
    She loves it.
    A real hoot to drive in the city - easy parking,easy on fuel...

    I dont think you can just park them(nose in) into the kerb here like other countries or can you?

    also,i'd say if you ask a mercedes servicing specialist they'd be happy to service it for you - they are a little merc after all.

    If you got exemption from the m50 toll or east link toll by driving one, you'd see a lot more of them on the road in dublin imho.


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    #8
    Del2005
    Registered Users Posts: 18,989 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    niceirishfella wrote: »

    If you got exemption from the m50 toll or east link toll by driving one, you'd see a lot more of them on the road in dublin imho.

    Why would they be entitled to an exemption? They are still a car and use roughly the same space as a car on the road. The only place they are any good is for parking in a city, where they have designated places. And most cities don't want any cars in them.


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    #9
    dingding
    Registered Users Posts: 4,931 ✭✭✭dingding


    I think they don't have a spare wheel and the tyre is not a standard size. I am not sure what would happen if you got a puncture / tyre failure. :confused:


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    #10
    niceirishfella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,538 ✭✭✭niceirishfella


    Del2005 wrote: »
    Why would they be entitled to an exemption? They are still a car and use roughly the same space as a car on the road. The only place they are any good is for parking in a city, where they have designated places. And most cities don't want any cars in them.

    A smart car 2 seater would have half the actual size footprint of a Crewcab, large SUV or the like.....

    and if parking was provided so that they could park nose in,square to a kerb, they would save parking spaces. i do agree tho' that most cities dont want cars in them - but imho the smart would be a space saver in most cities like dublin if more people drove them as thats what it was designed to do by smart/mercedes.


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    #11
    Del2005
    Registered Users Posts: 18,989 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    niceirishfella wrote: »
    A smart car 2 seater would have half the actual size footprint of a Crewcab, large SUV or the like.....

    and if parking was provided so that they could park nose in,square to a kerb, they would save parking spaces. i do agree tho' that most cities dont want cars in them - but imho the smart would be a space saver in most cities like dublin if more people drove them as thats what it was designed to do by smart/mercedes.

    I didn't explain correctly, on the road when driving. People would still have to leave gaps for safety when driving behind a SMART or an SUV. The only time their small size would come into play is when parked. The Smart is a city car. The problem with Dublin is that most people live outside it so need a big car to get into the city, I wouldn't like to drive one on a motorway. And if you live in Dublin most places are within walking/cycling distance. And according to this you'd still have to pay in Dublin

    http://www.independent.ie/national-news/all-your-eggs-in-one-basket----isnt-that-smart-1273272.html


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