Did Me Some Figurin'

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
09/28/2016 at 10:29 • Filed to: Bad ideas

So, firstly, let me happily say that Miss Tesla and I are finally stable! I’ve never thought I’d get to the point where we actually have enough monies for fun projects while having a buffer on the side.

I’ve gotten the various issues on Tucker looked at, and the aggregate cost to ensure he’ll be safe to be on the road is a bit well, too much. It’ll cost me less to get a new smart than to keep Tucker, whose transmission may go at any point it feels like it. And then, even if I do fix him up, I know this car; it will find a way to catastrophically break again. So, I want to throw in the towel. As much as I loved setting model year mileage records, I’m going to bow out. :)

Hopefully my next smart will live a less stressful life. No more daily trips of 400 hard driven miles, and hopefully I’d get the alignments done sooner than later. That was a hard lesson learned.

The cool thing is, the exact next generation smart I’d want to replace him with will only cost $400 more than what I paid for him back in 2012. Plus, I get a manual transmission, bluetooth, and other awesome standard goodies Tucker never had. Win/Win.

I’d want my new one to be orange panels with white cell, and orange interior. I’d get the blue again, but that’s an expensive option in the USA (for some reason).

The interesting thing is that the two Chicago dealerships have 14 new smarts on hand. One of them is an orange manual with orange interior...but alas, the safety cell is black. $10 says that car will still be there in January.

DISCUSSION (20)

CalzoneGolem > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 10:45

Are you going to drive Tucker until you find the Smart you want and then trade him in?

bob and john > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 10:49

why not trade in for the black cell one, and use it as a bargining chip? then just get the cell wrapped.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 10:49

Wait....ACTUAL manual, or robo-manual like the old Smarts?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
09/28/2016 at 10:52

You can get a proper 3 pedal manual now. Something the Smart really should have had from the beginning.

Mercedes Streeter > bob and john
09/28/2016 at 10:58

Possibly. Depends on how much they want for the down payment. The black cell isn’t a dealbreaker to me at all, so I’d be cool with it. :)

FromCanadaWithLove > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 10:58

Why don’t they sell the ForFour in North America? Seems like a missed opportunity. I like the redesign, though. Looks good. Hope it all works out for you!

Mercedes Streeter > CalzoneGolem
09/28/2016 at 10:59

Yep! Just like I did with the Kia. Mercedes Benz Financial Services loves me (because I technically bought two of their products and always make my payments on time) so I should be able to slide into a new one without much issue with the trade-in.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/28/2016 at 10:59

Cool to know, then again, it does share platform with the Twingo now, which has a proper manual.

Mercedes Streeter > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
09/28/2016 at 10:59

Proper manual baby! :D

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 11:01

W00t w00t! :D

CalzoneGolem > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 11:03

It could take awhile to find the right one ... are there things Tucker might need in the interim?

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 11:08

There is a dude in my town with a monochromatic white W453 and it looks amazing. A monochromatic orange one with a wrapped tridion, wrapped mirrors, and painted grille would be amazing, especially because they sell it with an orange tridion in Europe, IIRC.

Mercedes Streeter > CalzoneGolem
09/28/2016 at 11:09

Nothing that I need to actually take care of in the meantime. The safety items were taken care of in July. Everything else are heavy mechanical stuff or other things that should be replaced in the future, but are serviceable for now.

CalzoneGolem > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 11:10

Awesome. I wish you luck in your search.

Mercedes Streeter > FromCanadaWithLove
09/28/2016 at 11:16

They don’t sell them in Canada? For shame! I know they won’t sell them in in the USA because the 4 passenger city car market is already incredibly saturated and the forfour costs more than any of the other city cars on the US market. Plus, the fortwos are really only in the US to pump up CAFE numbers in the first place.

FromCanadaWithLove > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 11:18

Nope, just the coupe and cabrio. :/ Here’s hoping. We do have a few odd ones like the Nissan Micra and the Mercedes B Class, which I don’t think the States gets, but there’s always room for more.

Mid Engine > FromCanadaWithLove
09/28/2016 at 11:34

B Class is now in the U.S. as an electric car, saw one in the wild this weekend. I never did understand why MB didn’t want to sell the ICE versions of it, I sure loved my B200 Turbo when I lived in Canada. Seats fold down in all kinds of wonderful ways, HUGE panoramic sunroof, and super reliable. Loved that car.

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 14:01

Yeah, I also bet that black and orange one will still be there in January. This time make sure they correct any problems BEFORE you sign the papers :)

Jonee > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 14:41

Orange Smart with a stick is a gigantic yes in my book. And, it’s almost Halloween, so the black cell is perfect. You’re making me want to get another Smart. I loved my last one, I just needed a back seat for a while.

zipfuel > Mercedes Streeter
09/28/2016 at 20:55

I love orange cars (and that interior is snazzy) but would be terrified of becoming a ticket magnet.

However I feel that the smart may be immune from this problem due to its defensive cuteness field and the judge may simply refuse to believe the radar...