Swapping body panels
Lots of people are intrigued by the ability that SMART owners have to swap body panels around but there is a lot of mystery about how to do it. I was able to buy a complete set of panels on EBay recently and two-toned my SMART- It was all silver with a silver Tridion stripe- It is now silver and black. I swapped out the rear fenders, engine cover, and trunk. The whole process took an hour and 30 minutes, with no instructions. A second pair of hands would be helpful. So far "TINIBNZ" is the only one like it that I have seen. I think an exchange between two owners would be a natural- you could both end up with two-tone SMARTS at no extra cost
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jay on -
What a great bonus! Initially, when I read about the interchangeable panels, I was only thinking about getting them swapped out at the dealership. I thought "okay so how how is this any different than getting a paint job?" I didn't even think about swapping with another smart owner for free. Awesome!
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Permalink Reply by SmartPassion on -
There have been a number of panel exchanges. No need to do it at the dealer if you are even somewhat handy.
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Permalink Reply by clicker on -
Hey there- I am looking to exchange/ swap the rear panels from red to yellow. Anybody around Chicago interested?
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Permalink Reply by Evienne on -
How much would a complete set on panels cost and how much storage space would you need for something like that? I don't expect it would be that much considering the car doesn't even need that much space.
I've always wanted a green car so I've been thinking of looking around to see if anyone had some, or if I could just buy a set and paint them or get them painted.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Yedor on
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I called my local Mercedes dealer after I found the set on EBay. Each piece is priced separately and is a special order item. I didn't ask for all of the pricing over the phone but it would come to about $2,000 for a complete car. The rear end that I did would be $780 plus tax-and dealer labor if they installed it. The parts don't take up a lot room as each one is a separate piece- They come from Mercedes in big padded plastic bags.
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Permalink Reply by George MacDougall on -
Make sure you buy your solid color panels early as they will be proably not be available in a few years and you will have to get flat black and have them painted, which is alright except they show scratches if they are painted.
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Permalink Reply by RedBeardSean on -
One question I have is will the European panels (orange, green, et al.) fit on the American models? Does anyone have a source for these, other than Mercedes?
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Permalink Reply by Scott on -
The panel kits are available from smart dealers at the following suggested list prices:
$899 for standard colors
deep black A4516000026CA7L
crystal white A4516000026CA8L
light yellow A4516000026CA6L
$1099 for metallic colors
silver metallic A4516000026C50L
red metallic A4516000026CA3L
blue metallic A4516000026CA9L
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Permalink Reply by RedBeardSean on
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Okay, let me try this again; does anyone know of how or where to get the other, non-American available, colors, and are they a compatible fit?
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Permalink Reply by trzam400 on -
What about the autos registration. In NY the color of the car is on the regie. I can see the only time it would be an issue is when you get a ticket or in an accident. Something to think about
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Permalink Reply by Mike Knotts on -
Lots of people paint their cars different colors and don't change the registration. Happens every day. The only thing on the reg. that any cop, ins. co. etc. is going to look at is the vin #. Color of the car is not a concern to police or insurance co.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Knotts on
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T he panels RedBeard is thinking of are the 450 panels that came in some cool colors. They will not fit the 451. They are completly different. Too bad. I would love to have the numeric panels on my smart.
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