Print

[Ocracoke]

This is a bit of a odd one but bear with me.

Nearly 4 years ago (?!! - feels like last week), I took a friend of mine to the Gaydon meet. He wasn't really enamoured with the City-Coupe CDi I had at the time but when he saw a ForFour (a 1.1 AMT), he suddenly became a lot more interested in the Smart scene. Since then, he has gone and passed his test and now wants to get a ForFour himself having been in mine.

He insists it has to be a manual and preferably a 1.1 (however I don't think the engine size matters to him specifically). Apart from that, he is open to pretty much anything that has a MOT and is straight. He has a budget of about ~£800 but all the ForFours I have seen in and around that price bracket have varied wildly in quality and in distance from Liverpool (in places like Autotrader, eBay and Gumtree). I've said I'll drive him to wherever he needs to go to get it but I am conscious that as a new driver who hasn't driven since his test, I'd start worrying about him if it is a long slog.

Has anyone got any leads as to where we can look to find one?

[Problemchild]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-SMART-FORFOUR-PULSE-ORANGE-BLACK-BLUE-GREY-INTERIOR-56-5k-MILES-MOT-VGC-/182414900377?hash=item2a78c67c99:g:xWQAAOSwZQRYclu1

(but will prob exceed his budget)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-SMART-FORFOUR-PASSION-SILVER-/302184802626?hash=item465b9e2942:g:9pEAAOSwjDZYalJR

(worth £200 more for the spec)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/smart/smart-forfour-1.3l-2005-manual-petrol-5dr-/1205349486

(seems good value)

https://www.gumtree.com/p/smart/smart-forfour/1209160029

(language used worrying)

JJ

[Ocracoke]

Thanks JJ.

The first one looks really, really straight but yes, it is probably going to sail over budget. The second one is worth the money (especially those alloys, I seriously considered getting those for mine). Third one is OK, nothing a Sharpie wouldn't fix. The last one, though the interior is awesome, is a long, long way away.

[CrazyG]

Go for the 3rd one.....
A/ 2nd one is over budget, even considering the alloys that although
     nice looking are a pain to clean cos of all the spokes and small
     gaps between them...and if they're 17" then it'll affect the
     performance. (my CDi had more torque on 15" than 17" !)
     
B/ 3rd one is more or less spot on fa the price....
C/ 3rd one is younger than the 4th one...being an 05 v a 54.

[Problemchild]

just keep an eye on ebay and gumtree

also free car mags, autotrader, pistonheads etc etc

JJ

[mr singh]

something will crop up... its a shame that our cars have come below £1000.

[CrazyG]

Some...with high mileage or issues that wouldn't take much to resolve.
But people are vain and want 'newer' cars...many of whom would
get back in their previous ForFour after they've realised they made
a mistake and what a little gem they are.
But then they'd never admit to that....openly that is.

[Problemchild]

agreed

power steering failed so must get a new car

the forfour is hugely reliable and i've not seen any with rust problems

so if anything goes wrong, its small money (relatively) to fix vs investing in a new car

there are quite a few on there with issues

JJ

[cecil]

I recon the prices on the gen 1 cars is about at its minimum. Rarity will start to become a factor soon.

[Ocracoke]

Not according to one of those annoying motoring e-zine things I seem to have found myself subscribed to - apparently my ForFour is now worth about £900 with 161k on the clock...

Agreed about the reliability though, mine has been damned reliable up until now and even then, it is still not dead. Makes me wonder how many (AMTs in particular) have met a undeserved early death...

[mr singh]

my 1.1 with 133,000 miles was supposedly worth £800 trade in value, retail on a dealer forecourt was about £1300

[CrazyG]

The issue is with the dealers or second hand car traders.

They don't want to pay top money for something they see
as an 'old' car, irrespective of the reliability factor.
Strange though that VW and their dealers/agents sell all their
'older' models for relatively high prices...possibly due to them
buying them up if they see them going cheap so that they can
keep the resale value artificially inflated.  It's true....honest !

Dealers/traders also don't seem to see themselves getting as
good a profit/deal on a ForFour against a 'newer' car even IF
the mileage is as high or the reliability worse than an older ForFour.
It's the modern syndrome of  "if it's newer it's better".
If only.........   

And yes, as Ocracoke rightly says, many AMT's have been consigned
to scrap as a lot of owners took them to back street garages
who don't have a clue how to deal with them or fix them as they
don't/won't have a Star machine due to the cost and licencing fee
for the software on them. Couple that to the fact that few if any
owners take them to MB as they have not wanted to cough up
the excessive labour charge (and parts prices at one time) that
MB have wanted, let alone the £90 to plug it in to a Star. Then add
in the fact that MB dealers don't know or really want to work on
them anyway.  TBH, it's easy to see why MB have that attitude....
I mean, why have 'technicians' (they should really be called 'part
replacement specialists' as they have no repair skills whatsoever)
work on a Smart at £90 an hour when the same guys can get £150
an hour for working on a Mercedes....obvious really.
Long live Smart independants I say.

[mr singh]

Its all to do with how desirable a car it. You look at a 5 series, E Class and an XF. You will find that the XF will be cheaper than the German rivals with the same age and similar mileage. Same with the focus and its German rivals.

To the people that know of the forfour, they know how reliable they are... To others they are just another car on the road.

[Ocracoke]

We went up to Stockport to look at one today.

A 54 plate 1.1 Pulse with Aircon fitted with about 113k miles (I think). Mechanically sound, I took it out for a test drive and someone clearly had been looking after this, the gear selector mechanism had been lubricated much to my surprise. There was that much MB Service history with it as well. The bodywork is OK but worn.

A few minor complaints were...

• The key fob was held together with sticky tape
• The driver seat height adjuster was broken off
• The passenger side repeater lens was broken
• The headlamp covers inevitably need a clean
• The rubber key cover on the passenger door is missing

...but it drove perfectly well and obviously none of the above were car killers (I was just being nit-picky). He went and bought it. I am taking him back up next Saturday to go and pick it up once the insurance and tax is sorted out.



Hopefully I can get him to come to the Ace Cafe in April, he seemed to be interested.

[CrazyG]

Well done....
I'm sure some of your knowledge and expertise will be put to good use
by your friend....and possibly 'rub off' onto him, eh