[sparketh]

Hi there!
I was looking at the smart for 4 and since now they are giving
the most excellent discount i am seriously considering it. Good fuel
consumption, and fact that its like the cheapest mercedes to buy plus its
tricked out with all kinds of safety gadgetry makes it very appealing.
But being a daimler marque wouldnt the maintenance be very high? Are they
places outside the service centre that can do the servicing at a cheaper
rate? I heard the timing belt is changed every 60K and totaly cost of the
whole affair is about RM1500, even the 2nd service cost RM1200! THats a
bleeder! Anyone driving this car care to input on this?
thanks a lot!

[prozac51]

Timing belt at RM1500 is not too bad, considering a similar procedure on a
Satria GTi costs like RM1200.

As for the 2nd service, let's not just dwell on hearsay. I too hear that
typical services cost ~RM400+. So it all depends on the condition of the
car being serviced i.e. any repairs or parts replaced.

[erictck]

why don't you ask them directly? ask for the full schedule maintenance
costs.

i only ask for the regular service and was told it'll costs about 400-500.

[gameover]

RM400-500 *is* expensive for regular maintenance. How long is the service
interval? The price for non-premium European cars that I've surveyed
(Puegeot, Volvo, Skoda) I believe are less than that for a typical service
at every 10-20k km for fully synth plus labor at RM70-80/hour.

I seriously looked at the Smart for four as well, but I was turned off by
the plastic inside plus the possibly high maintenance cost.

[sparketh]

Well i did some digging around and the first maintenance is supposed to
be around RM500 which is done at 20K. The next 20K cost Rm800 and by the
time it reaches 60K it cost around RM600. I'm not sure if thats the
correct price cos i was also told timing belt was changed at 60K so
surely RM600 can't be engine oil, etc AND timing belt. The inside
shouldn't have been fabric laden but then that was the concept of the
car, trying to be different. I keep telling myself not to take the risk
of spare parts being difficult to get unless one has a mechanic well
versed in mitsubishi parts and willing to take the time to find the 60%
of the parts in the four thats same with the mitsubishi colt. Too bad,
engine is fantastic, giving 109HP and only a 1.5CC, mainly cos its a
variable timing machine. Campro 1.6 and the Waja 1.6 has about 110HP-
112HP so one can see performance would be great and its a much lighter
car. Also since the doors are plastic so no more worrying about silly
malaysians opening their doors and denting the side of the car.

[rcrossz7]

then it's cheap laa... RM500 for 20000km. perodua/proton every 5000km must
service right?

my car every 10000km costs +/-RM220. (Mobil 1 + OEM Oil Filter)

[ahpek]

Not to offend anyone, but RM500 expensive It just shows that us
Malaysians still have this "maintenance" issue. A maintenance fee that's
less than 1% (or less than 0.5% if original price) for 20K (or even say
10K) ... first class infrastructure but 3rd class maintenance.

[nylonbody]

Does this apply to smart for 2 as well?

[acbc2k]

For smart forfour, the maintenance is more or less same as any typical Japanese marque because 60% of the parts are shared between a 2003 Mitsubishi Colt and Proton Waja/Wira/GEN2 making it affordable.

[bobchoo]

just did my 2nd maint. @ 40,000km. The bill came up to slightly over RM500. That's with Mobil 1 0W. Other things that were changed are the oil filter and o-ring.