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I’ve owned 2 Smarts and tried to do all maintenance and repairs myself. If you take one to a garage make absolutely certain that they know Smarts. Those issues with the air lock are very easy to avoid by following the well documented procedure. Also, the auto mode is kind of a waste of time, use manual shifts and it’s a lot better. Remove and re-grease the supposedly sealed but not sealed electric clutch actuator, or replace it with a faster updated one. Also, be extremely extremely careful to never overfill the oil. So many issues with these are caused my well meaning mechanics who just don’t know how to treat them. Ignore rumors of the suprex engine being weak, with attention to oil levels and as you have the oil cooler there is no reason for the engine to fail prematurely. Of course, as a used car, unless bought from a enthusiast you have no idea of how it’s been used or maintained in the past.. a service book full of oil changes is not much help. Great cars when you understand them. Keep it indoors in the rain though as no matter how hard you try, it will suffer water ingress and it can cause a lot of damage.

I've owned my roadster for 7 years now. Great fun and don't know what I'd swap it for. With a bit of practice you can remove the rear end bodywork in around 15 minutes and drop the engine within about another 30. Well work it to actually save time trying to reach hard to get to parts. Also u can get service bolts that allow u to drop the engine about 2 inches without removing anything but the 4 subframe bolts. You'd be surprised how much this helps when working on them. Hope this info helps someone. If u own / buy one there where only about 1500 registered for road tax last year so you have something that's very rare.

Been watching since your early days and now you have nearly 40k subscribers congratulations. Wishing you every success, you work very hard.

Great video as always mate, i love them little cars iv always wanted one, but there was always out of my price range. I was surprised to see you fit in the car 🎉

What a fun little car to have in stock!! It will be a classic and only go up in value I think 🤔 great video as always James

I have Brabus 450 remapped to around 120 hp. It surprises many people off the lights. Just keep an eye on the oil levels and make sure to grease the clutch actuator. There is a temperature sensor on the top of the engine, you can remove to bleed the coolant. The timing chains do stretch but are easy to change as a complete kit. Also, consider changing the sump pan. As new, they came with no drain plug. They are definitely going up in value, so hold onto it for a little while.

Great video Mr. Chops!!! My son had the normal roadster - really enjoyed it at first, but then got fed up of many intermittent electrical problems, water leaks, faulty micro switches, the "wet" ecu, etc. But glad to see you having fun Mr. Chops!

I thought this was my old Roadster, KU55KCV! They are a big ballache to fix when they go wrong - I had to trace a fault and had to strip the ENTIRE car (body panels, interior, engine) to fix a wiring loom fault. It took 12+ hour three days over Christmas a couple of years ago! I would have another one with a fault cheap as I just know everything about them completely now! Nobody is surprised by how fast they are (they are not fast whatever remap they have had), but they handle well.

Really good to see users of Smart cars chipping in with very good advice about them. Helps make the Internet worthwhile despite the Trolls. Well done. 👍

I miss my Brabus Roadster, such an amazing fun little car, it's like a micro sized supercar, all the noises and personality, cheers for the vid!

Hi Chops. Great video on the Roadster. Glad you are enjoying it! I have a Roadster Brabus Exculsive Coupe, so can attest to the journey you are on! Great fun for not much money, and at a speed that keeps your licence. The temperature your getting seems normal now. Mine runs at 70 on the move. Will quickly creep up in traffic. One other change for the Brabus was a larger TIK pipe to give more air to the turbo. How is yours doing for leaks? The door seals are the main issue and cause all sorts of fun with the SAM unit. Also try to keep away from potholes or manhole covers - the monoblock wheels buckle very easily. Two things are bugging me about yours - the bonnet badge is missing and the roof bars are black rather than silver. Apart from that, what a beastie! Loving the mix of cars on the channel. However I'm getting worried with the number of cars in the Chops fleet!

Loved the Suzuki cappuccino reference. I currently have one and I am looking at one of these as a daily whilst the suzuki remains for the weekends

Great video. Always fancied one of these. Great size guide for taller folk also

Having owned one of these they are great fun when they work, water ingress and electrical problems were a real problem though, ecu, dash pods, earth leads failing are all common..probably abit too fragile for British roads and weather but really good fun as a toy...best to keep garaged.

I had a Smart Roadster back in 2006, when they were fairly new. Fun little car, but so many inherent faults made ownership not fun. Leaks were the main issue, front scuttle, roof, doors, you name it, they leaked water in. Mine was a standard Roadster, but with a remap it was at 120bhp which made a huge difference, also the gearbox was remapped which improved things too. Great fun to drive, but the reliability issues at the time were off putting.

Great video James,that should sell quick once it's up forsale,have a great monday👍

Friend had a standard roadster and that was fun. Gear changes were harsh as well when booting it. Normal steady speeds and it was smooth. Great fun car though. Future classic id say

The turbos are always on the exhaust headers so if you ever want to find them start looking on your exhaust headers and follow them to the turbos.

If you end up keeping it long term, get another set of roadster(15 or 16 inch) alloys. The brabus monoblock 17 inch alloys are known to bend on potholes. Check the tyre pressure regularly (it's 2 bar). Id not bother with the side skirts. Look good but catch / scrape everything. Many of the fixing points are destroyed. They're great fun but do break a lot. Drop the undertrays and check the break lines for unsighted rust (you can pop a line). The wiper bucket can leak as it has a compressed foam gasket that wasn't put on very well. Most reseal the bucket with tigerseal (or similar). Why do this?? The wiper tray is above the Sam unit. Leak here drops water onto the cars electronics - not good but unfortunately common. Having said that they're great fun. So much so I've got a coupe and notch back roadsters 😅

@15:00 sounds like a lawnmower on tickover. keep up the good work

Looks like a great little car. Nice to see your videos

I fancied 1 of those, probably would now struggle getting in & out of it.

Love these. I always thought that with a better gearbox (manual) these would have been a perfect modern MG Midget. At under £6k that seems like a steal!

You buy some interesting motors Mr Chops, one look at that little pocket rocket you can tell it would go round corners like it was on rails. Can't understand why anyone would prefer the auto change to manual, all part of the driving experience!😁

@1:40 It is a highend tuner. They still improve the Smart lineup for Smart but the new Renault Twingo GT is basically identical to the Brabus Smart fortwo but cheaper.

I was looking at a few Smart Brabus a while ago and saw yours. What put me off was the gap between the bonnet and the body. I have a Roadster and I know that it shouldn't be that large. I think that people will think "accident damage" as it certainly put me off. This may not be the case but I think I would look into why there is that gap between the bonnet and frame. P.S. I am a subscriber so I know you are an honest trader.

Exceptionally informative. You really DO know this model!

Great review! Even when you start thinking to sell it if you make one more ride you will change your mind. I love mine and made dedicated YT Channel with a lot of tutorials for the Roadster maintanance.

Cheap and Brabus only go together when the word trouble can join in. It's not just about power to weight, that only helps accelaration, for out right speed Colin Chapman from Lotus always said "Add lightness", then you can brake later, which means faster overall. Low end torque also helps with getting away :)

Have you ever driven a GTV? They are great fun to drive too. Loves the roads down herein Cornwall

Yeah engines low down too, my father had a Hillman Imp, I believe the braking force was 50/50 due to the engine being at the back.

If you want to improve the speed of the down change when in manual mode blip the throttle just after you flip the paddle down. The timing is like saying flip and blip at a normal speaking speed. I have owned a ForTwo and a roadster and now have a Brabus ForTwo which I am going to keep. It’s already doubled in value since I bought it. The roadster with out pace a Focus ST in the wet on a windy road.

The engine note and performance are very similar to the 110 HP 900cc Mk 4 Renault Twingo GT that I owned for 4 years and traded in for 75% of what I paid when new. (also made in Mercedes factory) That Brabus is a belter of a small sporty car.

Plastic pocket rocket seems like a lot of fun 😉

cool car, great to see one Indepth, the electric mirror switch makes me laugh since identical to a older 2000 era Vauxhall, feel like the roof light might be aswell, but not sure

Hello! So I recently bought a Smart Roadster coupe with soft top and it takes a bit of effort to close completly. Can you please give me a piece of advice regarding what to do with it to make it smoother?

Be careful when you wash it. The ecu (SAM) is under the dash and water gets in through the windscreen drains even when new. a wet SAM causes all sorts of problems 😂. I dont take mine out in the rain 😭

I predict James' personal collection expanding by one ... 🤣🤣

I’m so jealous 😭, I wish we got these in the us so bad

We’ve had two Smart cars. I used to yearn after a Brabus Roadster. We now have a last gen pre electric 2016 (64) petrol Fortwo, non Brabus, but turbo. 90bhp, 99mph allegedly! I think it’s a better car. It cruises happily on the motorway at 80+ The Brabus Roadsters were known for leaking like sieves and they’re now getting very long in the tooth. Our current Fourtwo is faster, better suspension, better gearbox, better handling, more toys, etc. etc. But it doesn’t look the biz like the Roadster and I still want one…. TonyS

I had the Coupé version of the Brabus. The charge cooler constantly lost its fluid - I could never find the leak. The doors would freeze either open or closed in winter. The leaks from the rear of the roof on the passenger side was epic and yet, it was the best fun I ever had. The first car I ever felt completely confident overtaking on a country lane in. If I went round a corner near a Police car - even at only 25-30mph I'd be pulled over and accused of speeding. The stops where the Police are blagging you rather than one where they have technology. Eventually I bought into a cruise control update then set the limiter to 28 before I went into a town centre. When the Police stopped me I'd leave the engine running and force them to look at it. Finally, mine also seized its alternator - and the gear actuator started playing up. Getting hold of parts started to get really difficult when Mercedes stopped supplying them. I gave up on it and sold it for a song when things started breaking and I was constantly needing to take it off the road - it was my daily driver. The guy I bought it from had had to completely dismantle the front of it and replace the SAM computer. On the right-hand drive versions, rain from the windscreen can end up pouring through the computer in the driver's footwell. It's to do with the RHD windscreen wiper set up. All in all, I loved it and hated it in equal proportions. I bought mine for £5,400 in 2013 - it was an 05 plate. Bloody massive steering wheel!!!

I am 5 ft 11 and my weight is 20st 4 ibs I have lost about 3 stone in a couple of years with being diabetic but I have reversed it with exercise cycling and low carb diet next year doctors said I should be in remission talking of cycling had my bike serviced yesterday and dropped my bike down the stairs I live in a top flat and bugged the gears on my bike £63 down the drain that's my weekend lol good channel mate

I had a Berlingo that had an automated manual gearbox and when it was changing up you had to back off the accelerator. It was just so slow though!

LOVE THAT ROADSTER ❤️😍

Great review, on a rare unusual car, worth keeping IMHO x

That's an awesome little car.

My roadster managed 70k on one set of brake pads because i just used the gear shift all the time, i miss the car big time with all its little gremlins, bit sketchy in the wet like so take your time, chops missed out the fact it has a kickdown from the start off, hoots of fun like, i think i need another one in my life again and put a smile on this miserable grumpy old git again

Cracking little thing, pitty after going to the effort of designing the engine they dropped the ball with the tranny. Did hear way back someone looked at fitting a manual as an aftermarket option, one that no anything came of it tho'. Cars this small, engine access is always going to be a problem, struck it lucky with the coolant issue. I wouldn't have been surprised if the therm had stuck if it had been sat a while.

Jeremy Clarkson did describe its as a Mid Engined Merc.

Question. Are you supposed to enjoy your work as much as you do? I love these cars, and always wanted to have one as a 2nd car...maybe one day 😃

Is the electric window switch out of a Mk3 Cav and Astra?

you can free up a seized alternator.. ive had 1 of these..21 mm socket on the alternator pulley and it frees it up..apparently they seize up after only 2 weeks..

If your 'battery boosters' are lithium, you should not leave them connected in the same way as a regular lead/acid battery.

Freshly got my driver's license, bought a smart Roadster as my first car

Think you need a word with car vertical mate . Put private plate on car two years ago. Can only find car on original reg

lets hope you've got a good one that wont have any of the electrical gremlins that seemed to plague them

Next door neighbour had one when they were quite new. Did very few miles and sold it in a year. Ride was just too hard for him .

My favourite was always B.A. Barabus.

James chill m8 people know your a decent guy👍

Very cool wee car

Sounds pretty noisy wee car! Fun video cheers James

Not many people also know that the Smart for four is virtually the same basic car as the Renault Twingo mark 4. My daughter has a Twingo but N/A , but it's also available with the 897cc three cylinder turbo like the Later Clios. It's also rear engined like the Smart you have..

i dont doubt your opinions but i bet 50 to 60 on a skateboard would feel quick 😆 super little car though, hope you do well out of it

Good afternoon James 👌👌

and shared to FB too

You'd believe a herring with a feather stuck up it's arse is a sea pheasant 🤣🤣🤣

Fun Motor. What's Not to Like ? 👍😁

I had a very nice black coupé Xclusive remapped to 120hp with various other mods including a forge dump valve, carbon trim, polished throttle body and the eyewateringly expensive V6 steering wheel. It was good fun but had the suspension lifted from a skateboard and the wheels are made of cheese so you were constantly scanning for potholes. It wasn't quick off the line but in gear performance was surprisingly good. It never broke down but I never really trusted it 100% so ended up selling it for more than I paid just before the kung flu outbreak. Ideally they need specialist care and I used to do a 50 mile round trip to Teignmouth for servicing and maintenance which got a bit tiresome. Interesting comments on the mx5, I ran mine alongside a 1993 Eunos roadster which I still have. In my opinion the mk1 is far easier to live with plus the steering, gearbox, handling and reliability are way superior. I'm glad I owned one but I don't think I'd have another.

Used too be in expressway car's that wee car a think

Good fun cars mate you had much interest in it

You looked like Donkey Kong in Mario kart whenever you climbed into it.

They are definitely a dry day fun car , don't like the rain , water leaks and electrical gremlins really common. Definitely needs to be garaged overnight.

Got a smart roadster brabus. In for service mot at the moment. Costing £1900…..

A complete change of transmission fluid will transform even the auto mode.

Would like to see how people convert these with a motorcycle engine

Eye spie an old alfa in the corner of the car park 👀

That’s a keeper then James? 😂

I have a 800 cc smart diesel cars. Love it 😀 had chip 3000 to 4000. On the rev counter goes like Fu@,k .Down side is when you're over taking car at 85 mph under 50 to the gallon. But 95 mph down hall is not to bad

I zoned out as soon as you compared to a MG ZT190 lol MG TF maybe but that's it

Afternoon

My mate bought a Vito brabus van new in 2007,think it was 35k,stupid purchase, he used it as a painter and decorators van so all the black leather got paint on it, ride was absolutely awful as well, he always likes to show off.

Sorry .I WAS going to donate £2 and the attached google account wanted my password. I never had to use it before, so I couldn't remember it. So I tried to set up a new one. But the system wasn't having any of it. So I can't donate I'm afraid!

Nice buy mucker

Looks like just an air lock then bud. Good news.

You were well rid of that jag trade mate, should have stayed away, crazy driving more than a few yards with no water pump going round bud tbh.

Running a car on a lithium jump pac isn't a good idea for the ecu, or for the jump pac, there designed to just give an instant boost, couldn't you just put a battery on it bud?

🤣"we'll pull over so the car in front can gain some distance!" in a real sports car, you'd have blasted past the car in front ;-) does look smart though.

Hope they've not driven for any distance with water pump not running, head will have gone if they have,hope not.

these cars go for about 3000-4000

Are you aware how many adverts there are now on your posts? too many imho

Avoid potholes with those Brabus alloys. They're made of cheese!

You've got as much idea about cars as her in doors has about kitchen management...FFS have a day off

the worst click bait channel I've seen, title never matches the video and just a pure adfest for carchecking apps joke.

Barabus he was a Murderer what a name for company to give the car lol not much thought behind it at all

What’s the mileage on it mate

It's an Automated Manual Transmission, James, so the gearbox and clutch are doing exactly the same as a manual box, but without you having to shift gears or press the clutch, so the changes will never be as slick as a 'proper' auto.

it is a cheep gold fish bowl piss in water all the time shite got rid