I took in this '09 Smart Passion coupe as a trade in. The car is pretty sad looking, with scratches all over the car. I found out that it's cheaper to just change the panels than to repaint them. I called up my local dealer to price out the panels, when my rep there said he had a customer that had an extra set of panels in silver and wanted to sell them for cheap. Only thing is, they were in silver. Fine with me!

Anyway, here's the subject:



The lower paneling wasn't included in the panels, so I had to reuse them from the original car. They have residue on it from the previous owner applying wax on it when he cleaned the car at some point, so I have to condition the panels to get all the black out. Worst case, I can always buy them new, which I might do. They were quite the bitch to take off, so I'm really going to try to clean them first before thinking about wanting to take the whole frikkin thing apart again...

Rear comes off!


...and back on!


Front comes off!



....and back on!



I ran out of time, didn't have the chance to do the doors today, will do it this week.

In all, I was working slow, and it took me about 4 hours to do it. It was fairly easy to take the panels off and put them back on, but the time consuming part was taking all the lights, clips and grills off the old panels to put them on the new panels.

Most of you hate this car, but I had to share!

 

Damn that's crazy! Awesome alternative to repainting.

Still a horrid car that I want to set on fire though.

 

Nice job! That does seem like a lot of work but if it saves some money, I'm all for it!

 

Yeah I would have just burned it with fire

 

the pic where you changed the back first. That is actually a nice color combo for the car

I dont understand why people buy this car. Only way it would be reasonable is if it were 10k

 

It's very practical for suburbs/city driving..

I enjoy driving my Brabus, it's fun!

 

Crazy how it's cheaper to replace the panels, even if bought new, than to paint it.

As for the car itself, my only thing is I don't see how it's safe. I don't care what crash rating they say it has; if this thing is hit by a large car, SUV, or semi going at a reasonable speed, it becomes a bug on the windshield. Not where I'd want to be.

 

That's insane, no need to do a wrap for a color change, just buy a whole new shell

 

It is safe cause of the egg shape frame.

 

maybe i'd need to drive one. I'm fine with my acura haha I manage. But I will say finding parallel parking spots would be a million times easier in that

But would you choose the smart over a mini cooper????

 

Got the door panel off....now I just have to figure out how to put it back on...

 

 

Have you watched any of the numerous crash test vids? Well, then again, since the crash test rating doesn't matter, maybe an old vid from Fifth Gear will.

 

I saw it...many times.

Put it into perspective...They slammed it into a stationary wall at 70mph. The Smart held up surprisingly well, the tridion cell was as solid as it was before the impact. However they say that at 70mph, you probably won't survive the crash more because of the excessive G forces at that speed. How much better are the odds in a regular car at 70mph? Is there less G's exerted in a different car?

From 2008 to 2010 there have been 3 fatalities involving Smart cars. All had to do with being hit by something else at high speed.

Compared to other cars, the odds don't seem all that different..

 

I may be wrong but I think because most cars have a larger crumple zone, or cushion, the g-forces might be less.

 

Nope, haven't watch any vids, but I'm more concerned with this
than me hitting a wall. If a Suburban runs a red light going 50 and hits a Smart, what happens to the Smart? If that same Suburban hits a TL, how different is the result? That's my point. I don't see the Smart holding up as well as the TL, so I'd expect injuries to be greater to Smart occupants than TL occupants. And clearly without a test that replicates both of those situations, any statement, mine included, is just conjecture.

 

You don't see it holding up for the simple fact that the Smart car is tiny. What you don't seem to take into account is the car's shell is incredibly strong. The only downside to this is that instead of being "squished", it bounces back from whatever hit it.

A 30Mph hit looks like the Fortwo holds up perfectly well.

This is also from Wiki, but it had sources linked to back it up.
Does that fair as well as a TL? I don't know because I don't have the TL's ratings in front of me, that looks to be far from a car that will "be squished" like a bug. Yes, the bigger cars will almost always stand a better chance, but credit must given to Smart for what they've engineered.

 

That's true. But, most cars these days are built relatively similarly when it comes to safety construction (no need to show me a vid of the one dog from 2012; I said most, not all). Therefore, with a safety cage (of sorts) around the passenger compartment on all cars, I would expect a car with a larger passenger compartment to provide more safety, due to more room to spare/give, than a car with a smaller passenger compartment.

My point exactly. From your vids, it looks like the Smart holds up. Fair enough, but I still think a larger car would be safer (ie. would hold up better). And if I had to be in a wreck, I would much rather be in a car larger than a Smart.

 

You would also be safer in the Suburban then as well

 

Aside from being able to fit in tighter parking spaces, how is it more practical? There are quite a few larger cars that get better gas mileage.

I do find it interesting that it's cheaper to just replace the panels than repaint them. Does that include labor?

 

^ I would say parking and maneuverability in the city is a HUGE plus. You ever try to do either in Manhattan or one of the boroughs? A small car like that would be a definite advantage.

That said, I'd likely never get one myself... but I can see the urban appeal.

 

i actually like the two color combo...

 

This car needs to be stripped, have a roll cage installed...and have a Hyabusa motor installed...


I'd drive the shit out of that car.

 

Welcome to 2006 Austin. You saw that on your 6th birthday didn't you?

 

The most practical aspect is the fact that you can park damn near anywhere. It's key when you live in an area where parking is a real bitch on a daily basis. It's not as much about the fuel mileage, but whatever it gets is fine with me!

As for labor to replace the panels, I did it myself, so no charge for labor...But I would guess if I had a dealer do it, probably 3-4 hours in labor at whatever their hourly costs would be, who knows?

 

lol probably

But it's the only Smart I would drive

 

Almost done!

 

It is a (mostly) myth. I drove my Odyssey minivan in Brooklyn and city for almost 10 years, never really had a problem driving in the city. Parking, sure, this POS can fit in a tighter space but you WILL get scratched and dented to hell if you try.

 

Very nice work. That's pretty cool how you can just change out the panels like that.

 

 

Yeah, I'm originally from the area and have driven a variety of vehicles down there as well (most fun was a U-Haul helping a friend move). I think people like us who are automotive enthusiasts, can drive whatever. For the "regular" driver, a Smart might make them feel better b/c it's easier to zip around in. Me? Give me the u-haul any day and get the F*** out of my way

 

i dont think i would enjoy driving the Smart, but the interchangeable panels is great(you can even get custom design ones cheap). the parkability is def the best feature. i think this on the upper east side, like 78th and york or so

 

Private parking at home....This is my '13 Brabus I just got, not the one I changed panels on...

 

Eddie, how much would that Brabus cost to a customer? (my wife loves 'em)

 

We need to get cities to start allowing Smart Cars to be perpendicularly parked along streets. Think of all the extra parking spots.

 

IF you can find one, mid to upper teens'ish. Sticker price is $17,800, there isn't all that much money in Smart cars in general...

 

I wonder whether it's worth getting in on that $99 lease deal. It's so cheap, how could you not?

 

Anybody thinking about one who is even the slightest bit a car guy should go straight to the Brabus. it's a blast to drive and definitely offers something extra over the standard cars. (I had a 2012 "regular" one I traded in.)

Mine:

 

Tell 'em how much fun it is, Brandon!