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Hey guys - new car excitement alert!
So.... I quit my job. Long story short it was making me unwell and I accepted a different job which has made me feel much better but a little lighter in the old wallet! As such, I began looking for a daily that would tick the following boxes:
Be very economical
Rear wheel drive
Fun/interesting
For some reason, even though I haven't thought about them or even seen one for years, the Smart Roadster just screamed at me. The more I researched the more I was in agreement with myself.. Around 50mpg, mid-engined, turbo Mercedes Benz... What's not to love?!
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So, in my research I discovered a few things. Namely:
They can leak like a seive which can cause SAM unit electrical gremlins.
My favourite wheels are the 3 spoke 'Spike Line' alloys that came part of a sport package.
They have 3 cylinder, 0.7 litre turbo charged engines developing 80bhp.
You can get a coupe version but they're more expensive and difficult to work on due to the glass back. Apparently the clips break and it's just a bit of a pain.
The gearboxes are terrible. They're manual boxes that are electronically controlled and are therefore very slow.
Despite some of these revelations, I was no less excited. I began my nightly YouTube binge of all things Smart Roadster in earnest!!
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I found and enquired after a few but I was never too disappointed when the seller didn't respond or told me they'd sold their car. Every one in budget was a compromise - wrong alloys, not the best colour combo, horrible interior, high mileage.
Then I found one about 2 hours away that had me by the pics, then by the description - a very well looked after example with only 57k on it, Spikeline alloys with 4 matching Pirelli P Zeros (always a good sign) black and silver paintwork, and the coolest looking interior I'd seen in my trawl of every single roadster for sale in the country! I arranged to go see it immediately
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Owned by a wonderful old motorbike racer - a fantastic bloke with some great stories. His lovely wife entertained my children and he set about showing me the car. First off it was in its heated, carpeted garage - which was a pleasant way of viewing a car! It looked great and I couldn't wait to head out in it.
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Let's just say that he showed me what it was capable of! I haven't experienced lateral g force to that extent since I went for a passenger lap in a Lotus Elise driven by a racing driver - the thing was GRIPPING for days! It went around corners at an unbelievable pace and I couldn't stop grinning - as a passenger, the gear change seemed fine.
Before I'd even had a go I'd decided I was driving home in it - the little turbo behind my head was making chitter-chatter noises on gear changes, the whole experience was not what I was expecting at all. I'd read all about how slow they were, how bad the boxes were and I was mostly excited by the oddball nature and the mpg; until that passenger ride! On my drive he kept trying to get me to speed up on the corners, "it'll go twice that speed round that one!"
I found the gear change to be frustrating initially, and counter intuitive in the way you knocked the sequential lever forward to change up a gear and pulled back to change down. I don't know why, but I was clearly expecting the opposite seeing as I did it wrong about 15 times.. In just a short space of time, however, I got a pretty good handle on how to effectively use it and I actually found that in manual mode it's fine - a little slow but you adjust for it. Auto is a bit more unpredictable but still useful if you have a coffee in there!
We got back to his place and I was all set to grab the cash when we smelt oil... Smoke was pouring out the back and syrupy oil dripping on his drive. My heart sank... He ran off to get some rags and I looked in the bay for a possible culprit..
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The smoke, it transpired, was from oil covering the exhaust and burning. The oil seemed to be all of over the top right section of the engine and dripping down. It was very hard to see what it was. I checked the oil and it was still not bad, so it hadn't lost as much as it seemed. We did a bit of forum searching and found something that fit the symptoms - the top breather has a one way valve in it. They say to change it every 3 years and he wasn't aware of it. It can get blocked and then crank case pressure builds before popping the oil seal at the base of the dipstick. I couldn't find a leak but on sucking the pipe it seemed something freed off and the pipe was clear. We took it for a leasurely drive to see if it would happen again and, thankfully, it didn't. I decided to take the gamble and a better deal than originally anticipated was worked out due to the unfortunate events. It drove home the whole 2 hours impeccably, with no repeat performance.
I've ordered a new pipe and valve which arrived today, along with 3 tins of Gunk so I can check for leaks. I've used it every day since I bought it and it's been fine so I'm thinking that sucking the pipe removed a blockage. So hopefully it's worked out quite well in the end!
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On the drive home with the family bus 😂   |
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2003 Smart Roadster fr€$h&m1nt¥
@freshandminty
Club Retro Rides Member 99
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That brings back good memories, the interior looks nice and original with even the original stereo.  Hope the oil issue was as simple as the hose, the only oil issue i used to know about was when you lose compression on cylinder 3 and it drinks it on the inside rather than leaking out. |
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Touch wood it's been fine since. I check the valve before every drive in case it's stuck again. I'll be changing it on Monday and cleaning the engine, too.
Yes, all original inside. Love the orange! I've read that the original stereo is great for upgrades as it has a crossover built in so you can fit components and it's already wired up. I'll be looking for a nice set of component speakers and a compact sub and amp as the speakers leave a bit to be desired!
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Wheels are possibly my favourites on these.
Congrats.
Have fun.
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Wheels are possibly my favourites on these. Congrats. Have fun. Yeah, I love the wheels! Cheers Grizz 👌 |
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Very nice looking car,
Lovely to see a car of that age being totally original,
Looking forward to seeing future updates on this thread,
Nigel
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BMW E39 525i Sport
BMW E46 320d Sport Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 325 Touring (now sold on.)
BMW E30 320 Cabriolet (Project car - currently for sale.)
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,470
Club RR Member Number: 174
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2003 Smart Roadster stealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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They are hilariously fast round corners,one of the cars I look forward to test driving when we've done the engines at work. Overtaking around the outside lane of dual carriageway roundabouts is the most fun.
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They are hilariously fast round corners,one of the cars I look forward to test driving when we've done the engines at work. Overtaking around the outside lane of dual carriageway roundabouts is the most fun. It's strange that no one really mentions the handling in the reviews (unless I missed those ones?) it's all about the 'terrible' gearbox and slow official 0-60 figures - in fact, Clarkson states that Henry VIII was faster to 60 😂 I haven't pushed it yet because of the teething problems but it certainly doesn't feel slow - it's supposed to be like the old British roadsters like the MGB and Frogeye Sprite. It feels fizzy and alive |
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Ive always liked the look of these, and that opinion was improved when I test drove one. Have aged incredibly well and are, dare I say it, a classic?
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Very nice looking car, Lovely to see a car of that age being totally original, Looking forward to seeing future updates on this thread, Nigel Cheers, Nigel - yes it's in great nick and has been really well looked after. That's why I took the gamble on the little oil issue |
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jimi
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,083 
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Clarkson states that Henry VIII was faster to 60 😂 I wouldn't buy a packet of crisps based on what he says  Although it probably was slow dragging his lardy ass to 60 Very nice car always fancied one. |
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Last Edit: Jul 4, 2021 10:00:00 GMT by jimi
Black is not a colour ! .... Its the absence of colour
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Clarkson states that Henry VIII was faster to 60 😂 I wouldn't buy a packet of crisps based on what he says Although it probably was slow dragging his lardy ass to 60 Very nice car always fancied one. 😂 |
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Nothing too exciting but sometimes it's all about the small things! I didn't like the mats with the coloured binding so I ordered a new black set :   Satisfying! |
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LIKE 
Although it probably was slow dragging his lardy ass to 60