2006 smart fortwo - city coupe Pulse review from North America

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.

If your 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.