...And it's goodbye from me too!

Anonymous · July 22, 2006, 17:32

Well, the time has finally come. s:(

s:(

This last Monday my ex said she'd lend me her car for a couple of weeks as she was on a training course this week and is goin on holiday next week, so it'd give me chance to have a think about what to do with my car and either get it sorted or sold, depending on opinions and stuff, instead of also having to worry about alternative transport and taking time off work and perhaps rushing into something.

So, after chilling and thinking for a few days, thursday night I decided i'd had enough, driving round in a reliable car really was a joy, i'd forgotten just how good it is to be able to just get in and drive and not be constantly on a knife edge about whether somethings going to break/blow up/fall off etc

Looking back, I think i've only ever truly been able to enjoy the car the first month I had it, cos then I had the accident s:oops: :oops: s:oops: and the associated incompetent repairs and ensuing complaint, which went on for about 9months and seriously dented my trust & enjoyment of the car. And then the whole engine fiasco of late which, i'm embarassed to say, has absolutely wiped me out financially. (needless to say that 'something' will be happening regarding getting some money back from the chap who sold me the engine s:evil: :evil: s:evil: s:wink: :wink: s:wink: )

At the moment it honestly did feel like another few miles and the engines going to blow up again like it did on that dual carriageway. s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

so, clear the CEL and down to the local 'car supermarket' and hope they don't want to take it for a drive before offering a part ex price, which they didn't, lucky me!!! that really was becoming one hell of a noisy engine s:? :? s:? and hopefully part ex it for something a little more troublefree s:)

s:)

Now, I don't have a huge budget, otherwise i'd have dropped a 2zz in it! s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted: so, my initial thoughts were of a Clio, I know several people who've got em and never had an issue, but I wanted something a little more fun, so, drum roll please.... I picked up a... Smart Roadster!!!!! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:oops: :oops: s:oops: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

It's the Light Special Edition, all in black (the best colour s:wink: :wink: s:wink: ), and comes with the hard top! it's on an '04 plate and has done 24,000 miles with a full service history. Unfortunately the weathers shocking up here today so I can't post any pics.

going on the quoted 0-60 times, i wasn't really expecting much more in the way of acceleration/speed than a basic clio to be honest, but it does actually pull quite well! When it's in gear anyway, the 'box is gonna take a bit of getting used to, it's a semi-auto, but i've already spied a performance clutch on smartarsedesign.com that seems to have a great reputation for speeding up the changes and power delivery, now, just to get the credit card down by £650! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: the engine itself is a great little unit which, combined with the 760Kg weight figure s:shock: :shock: s:shock: is apparently enough to easily get it from 0-60 in little over 6seconds without too much doing to it... (you can get it remapped straight away for £299 to get the power from 80Bhp to 115Bhp!, which is apparently good for an 8sec 0-60)

It's been great 'knowing' you all, and I'm sure I'll still be lurking around here for some time to come, everyone seems like a great bunch and it's just a shame i couldn't get to meet up with many of you! s:D

s:D

Wabbitkilla · July 22, 2006, 18:03

Hey really sorry about the experience you've had, it's a great shame.

But from what i've seen you've chosen a great replacement. To be honest this was one of the cars I considered before getting the 2, I'm just too big for them. s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

So stick around I'm sure everyone will still welcome you on runs. All you need is the remap, clutch, and a set of Brabus wheels and you're in business. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

loadswine · July 22, 2006, 18:47

Completely understand the reasoning matey, guess its not a bad result all told. Shame your 2 wasn't a bit more solid and your ownership experience happier. s:)

s:)

alancdavis · July 22, 2006, 22:45

we will see you back,,,,, s:?: :?: s:?: sounds like arnie,,,,,, s:?: :?: s:?: GOOD LUCK s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · July 23, 2006, 00:46

Thanks for the best wishes! I'd like to say i'll be coming back to the '2 in time, but in all honesty, i'm seriously expecting to keep the smart for 2 years and then to look for something with a bit more power, probably a VX220turbo... s:D

s:D

it's a BIG shame my experience of the '2 has been such a bad one, because as a car it fulfills just about all[/b] my requirements and, if they weren't stopping making them, I'd seriously consider buying a brand new one in 2 years time. But hey, who knows, MrT may replace it with something equally lightweight, useable and fun, although thats looking quite doubtful at the moment s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

The Smart has surprised me on several points though, just in the last 24hrs, so i think it'll keep me interested for 2yrs, especially considering the massive (and relatively inexpensive) aftermarket modding scene thats around for it, not to mention the extremely strong community spirit that there appears to be between smart owners. s:shock: :shock: s:shock: s:P

s:P

I've only seen a couple of smart owners on the road since last night (a ForTwo and a ForFour), and they both waved and smiled, without me even initiating it! the attention it attracts has really taken me by surprise!!! just in the last 24hrs I've had to get out and walk round it twice to make sure i've not got something hanging down underneath or my fog lights on or something!!! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: just about every time i've got out of it, someone has sparked up a conversation and asked what it is, what engine its got, what its like to drive, how much it was etc, it's really quite unnerving!!

But like I said, i'll most likely be hanging around, it's a good bunch of people we've got here and it's a good club, I certainly hope i'll be welcome to future meets... s:?: :?: s:?: s:D

s:D (I'm not sure I could bring myself to go to a Smart meet, I think that would be a bit too hairdresser-ish even for me!!! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: )

Anonymous · July 23, 2006, 07:51

Quoteand they both waved and smiled, without me even initiating it!

.........like every 2 owner i see then s:cry: :cry: s:cry: yeah right

red_leicester · July 23, 2006, 09:21

Sorry to hear about your troubles. But I also think you've got a good replacement car. There's one in the carpark at work and it does look pretty cool.

(And apparently the full Brabus version goes like SOAS so you may be able to 'up' the performance quite easily s:!: :!: s:!: s:?: :?: s:?: ) Best of luck with it James.

Anonymous · July 23, 2006, 21:45

Well, here she is!! s:)

s:) And before anyone says it, I know, I seriously need some alloys! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anonymous · July 23, 2006, 22:00

hi, i had a brabus roadster and it was the most fun car i have had. i only sold it because i bought a boxster, but you know what, i wish i still had it. get onto the owners club and get your name down for the london to brighton run. its a good day out.
tommy

Anonymous · July 23, 2006, 23:57

Any chance of a pic from further away s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Anonymous · July 24, 2006, 11:29

Smart Roadster, eh? I was this close (he says, holding up finger and thumb) to buying a brand new Brabus, before finding my 2. I'm sure I ended up with the right choice. I was very disconcerted with the delay in getting the thing moving away from stationary - the SMT is positively lightening-fast in comparison, but I'm interested to hear that there are aftermarket clutch options. Also, the luggage space in the Smart is very restricted - again, anyone who complains about the 2 obviously hasn't tried a Smart. However, the Smart is a fun little car.

If I had ended up with the Smart, it would have been a totally different experience - no chance of weekends away for two, or even two of us going to badminton with our bags!!

Anonymous · July 29, 2006, 19:17

I'd like to take a moment to wish James the best of luck with his new hair dressing busines s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

kanujunkie · July 30, 2006, 13:33

on track the little smart engine can really push its lightweight body fast round the bends, i had the rather interesting experience of going head to head with Matt Neil (BTC champion) in one when i was NA and whilst he didn't annailate me, i was struggling like a bugger to keep up, good car in the right hands

PET3R · July 31, 2006, 08:06

Quote from: "mr-s_turbo"Any chance of a pic from further away s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

To hide that it isnt clean (because its black and a nightmare to keep clean) and that its scratched s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

lol only joking, will look the business when you get those wheels sorted lol!

Anonymous · July 31, 2006, 17:32

yeah, sorry about the pic! I was in a hurry with a car park attendant hassling me for using the place like a free studio! there were other pics closer up but they came out blurred, so I decided to post this one.

re: the handling. My god! it's phenomenal!!! s:shock: :shock: s:shock: obviously straight line performance is crap compared to the '2, mx5 etc, but on the corners it's bloody brilliant! (and yes, by that I DO mean 'better than the 2'!!! s:wink: :wink: s:wink: )

All of the let-down in acceleration is due to the 'box, it's better once you get used to it, but it's still a fairly slow change and it doesn't help that 1st 2nd and 3rd are all way too close together, which is a shame, cos when it's actually in gear it pulls about as well as the '2, it's just that going from 1st -> 2nd throws you back in at about 5k rpm, and you're changing up again at 6-6.5k. It's pretty much the same from 2nd-3rd. Would've been much better if it was done so that you came back into gear at about 3.5-4k, but hey, i'm no automotive engineer, no doubt it was done like that for a reason s:roll: :roll: s:roll: s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

overall though, it's pretty damn suprising for a 700cc turbo! must be the 760Kg weight, makes the '2 seem positively chubby! s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:P

s:P

And besides, I think it was BF Goodrich who said "Fun is not a straight line"!! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Wabbitkilla · July 31, 2006, 18:04

When these are back in production next year in South Wales un the Healey badge (rumour), there was talk of a manual 'box - that sounds interesting s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

Anonymous · July 31, 2006, 23:40

Quote from: "Wabbitkilla"When these are back in production next year in South Wales un the Healey badge (rumour), there was talk of a manual 'box - that sounds interesting s:wink: :wink: s:wink: s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

I know, I heard that one as well! as well as talk of a 1litre turbo'd unit as well... s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted: