Faults:

Clutch replaced at 15,000 km (Upgraded to 2009 clutch system).

Valve replaced.

Driver door latch replaced.

General Comments:

Although the car has costly maintenance ($200-$300 per service), it is a blast to drive. When I was looking for a new car, the rest bored me.

Acceleration is moderate, but these cars were not built for drag racing. Top speed is limited to 140 kmph, and I've managed to get mine to 145 kmph.

It's a love hate relationship with this car, but overall I am pleased with my decision.

Faults:

Seat belts would not retract, Mercedes ordered parts, drove 2 hours to take the car in for this service, which was going to be covered under warranty. Waited at the dealer for 3 hours to get no results and was told there was a part missing.

Made second trip two hours for the same issue, to be told that if I take the seat belt out of the seat belt holder on the side of the seat, that they retract fine...

Plastic rocker moldings not holding to the car, defective clips were replaced. Again another 2 hour drive each way to Mercedes.

Shifter not shifting... Replaced shift box under warranty.

Seat material is fraying in unusual places, which you would think would never wear.. Dealer escalated this to a field service manager manager, who said no to replacing seat covers.

Positive battery cable melted the outer plastic harness. Mercedes is cheap and just decided to splice the cable and re-fasten it back to the battery.

Also they had the car in twice to recall some stupid stickers that I will never see on the exhaust.

Shift knob non functional stuck in either park or drive or vice versa.

Premature brake wear at 25,000KM... time for another visit..

General Comments:

All in all fantastic idea, 26.00 of gas for 600 KM.. Excellent choice, you just need a lot of days off to go see the Mercedes service department.

They have been great at giving us a smart loan car since I am a distance from their dealer.

Would I buy another one, YES I would; the value of this car on blackbook is excellent.

Would I recommend this car to anyone interested in buying one... For sure..

Price wise I think it could be a bit of a better value, or else keep the price the same and improve the quality of the interior and plastic's as well as seat material.

The Cabriolet Passion costs 21,500 Canadian, and where is the leather interior that only would cost them 200.00 to install?? I don't know; instead I have crappy cloth seats that show so much as even a small spill of simple water!!!??

Faults:

Wow, this car is a nightmare, and it is for the other people I know who have one as well.

Water seeped into the roof and started to mold. Obviously a defective roof. The dealership said it was my fault because and I quote "You left it outside in heavy rain"

They quoted me $800 to fix... I told them to go pound themselves.

Transmission stopped working. $1200 to fix. Even though I had a 4 year bumper to bumper. They said it was my fault again because I "drove the car to hard and was shifting aggressively"

The only thing is... you CAN'T shift aggressively... it's all electronic and anyone who has driven a Smart knows how long the lag time between shifts is.

I had 4 count them 4 tires just randomly blow on the rear. The fronts are fine but the rears are not designed well. Of course the dealership would not even talk to me about compensation as I must have been driving over glass and nails, even though the tires were damaged from the inside.

Also they are custom, so you have to order them special, which costs lots of $$$. $150 a tire...

The block heater stopped working one month into the winter. This car is NOT properly tested for cold weather, so if you live in Canada or northern states, don't get one.

BOTH the TRACTION CONTROL and ABS cut out after it hits -20C... which is exactly when you need them... again the Germans didn't cold weather test this car.

Where I live, you have to take it to the dealership because you need a special tool to suck the oil out of the car. So they rape you on oil changes.

I got the oil changed and the dealership people forgot to reset the sensors. I didn't go back for a couple months because I knew the oil had been changed... this car will SIMULATE problems that are dangerous.

LIKE - not idling past 3000 - not going anywhere when you press the gas - I was at a steep intersection and almost got killed by oncoming traffic because some idiot designed this car to SIMULATE problems if you don't take it in for service.

I got the sensor reset as it should have been in the first place and everything was fine.

General Comments:

If you're looking for a cute car that's unique, and you don't care about safety or reliability, then buy this car.

I was finishing up University when I bought this car, because I needed something with a warranty that was good on gas.

50% of my complaints are towards my local dealership. These people are scum. They will smile and take your money, but if there are ANY service issues, their policy is to make it seem like it's your fault and to get you to pay. I know a bunch of the mechanics who work there, and they are trained in a certain way to talk to customers and make them think its their fault.

What goes around comes around; I have turned SO many of my friends away from buying new cars from there.

The other 50% is of course against the reliability. I honestly did not need these hassles when I was in my last year of University, which is why I am so annoyed at the service and the car. The last thing a student needs is the added stress of not being able to get to school, because your brand new car doesn't work, and on top of that your warranty doesn't count for crap and you have to pay.