*grrr*
I saw a smart today that had pretty clearly not been taken care of. Cracked windshield, *really* dirty, low tire pressure on the right side, etc...
It affected me - how can you own a smart and not take care of it? I wished I had a way to pull that person over and give them a stern talking to.
It affected me - how can you own a smart and not take care of it? I wished I had a way to pull that person over and give them a stern talking to.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Daniel on -
Carl,
I thought every smart owner had to sign a contract on the day of purchase to: keep their smarts just dandy. I remember reading the penalties to be very severe i.e. loss of drivers license, double the vehicle taxes, public flogging … stuff like that! :)
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Permalink Reply by SandraK on -
Bummer! But maybe they are waiting for parts? For cash to fix the windshield and get new tires? I had to replace my windshield, and it wasn't cheap--though I agree that these cars need good owners who will take good care of them. ( I have a blackie with custom art on the back, so really feel the pressure to keep it clean.) Even after nearly two years, I still get smiles, honks, and thumbs up--like just yesterday!
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Permalink Reply by spicejax on -
Goes to show that to some folks a car is just a car. They don't know a Diamond from a Rock. Maybe they are low on cash (now most gas station charge for air) or they're 'too busy' to get a wash. I'd be interested in seeing a photo of the car.
I would have tried to talk to them as well, maybe get them in a susai club, but...'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink'.
MJB
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Permalink Reply by Ryan on -
I really gotta clean mine. No cracked windshield or anything like that.... but the tail end is looking rather awful. Just sucks now that it's getting quite cold outside. Not to mention warm water in a plastic bucket doesn't stay warm for long in these temps. Gotta get it all sparkly before December 6th.
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Permalink Reply by Carl Hamlin on -
> I thought every smart owner had to sign a contract on the day of
> purchase to: keep their smarts just dandy. I remember reading
> the penalties to be very severe...
Yep. When they showed us the documentation at the dealership, my wife and I thought it was a little heavy handed, but they told us we couldn't drive off the lot without a signature. So far, that hasn't been a problem.
> I'll bet that you have seen the car that belongs to 'ROB" (see
> Warning for all smart owners....You must read this)
Hmm. The car was being driven by a teenage girl. 'ROB' may have a daughter, though.
> But to cheer you up, my 2008 light yellow smart fortwo Passion
> Cabriolet is sparkling clean and shiney.
*beam*
Thank you. That does cheer me up.
> However if you see that unkempt car again, be careful, the owner
> may be a dork.
Let's hope they never make essential dorkitude a crime - I imagine many of us wouldn't stand up under heavy scrutiny. :D
> Bummer!
Indeed.
> But maybe they are waiting for parts? For cash to fix the windshield
> and get new tires?
Certainly possible, but with the tire pressure issue, I'm sure I wouldn't have been driving it even if I was waiting on parts for the other bits. I think that's the thing that got to me the most, is that this person didn't care enough to keep the right amount of air in the tires, and was driving on them with low pressure.
> ( I have a blackie with custom art on the back, so really feel the
> pressure to keep it clean.) Even after nearly two years, I still get smiles,
> honks, and thumbs up--like just yesterday!
I checked out your artwork. I'm jealous - nice work.
> Goes to show that to some folks a car is just a car. They don't know a
> Diamond from a Rock.
That was pretty much where I went with it, as well.
> Maybe they are low on cash (now most gas station charge for air) or
> they're 'too busy' to get a wash. I'd be interested in seeing a photo of the
> car.
If I see them about again, I'll try to snap a photograph on my phone.
> I would have tried to talk to them as well, maybe get them in a susai club,
> but...'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink'.
Unfortunately, we were travelling north on Interstate 25 at speed, so a stern talking to wasn't practical.
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Permalink Reply by Carl Hamlin on
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Ryan said:I really gotta clean mine. No cracked windshield or anything like that.... but the tail end is looking rather awful. Just sucks now that it's getting quite cold outside. Not to mention warm water in a plastic bucket doesn't stay warm for long in these temps. Gotta get it all sparkly before December 6th.
What's happening on December 6th?
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Permalink Reply by Ryan on
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yea.... they really do leave one hell of a wake behind them. It'll only get worse come snowy days with that stupid slurry they spray on the road. HATE that crap. what's so wrong about using plain old salt? Even cinders worked quite well. Yes, they weren't too friendly when they came flying up off the road, but at least they WORKED.
Ted: There are mud flaps for the Smart.... can find them on SmartMadness..... but they require modification to be used on the rear of the car. Not only that.... i don't really see how having mud flaps would help keep the rear of the car clean. a lot of what gets stirred up is from just the overall movement of the car. flaps might help some... but i wouldn't expect breakthrough results.
Carl: December 6th is the Smartmas party for the Smart Alec's Car Club of the Lehigh Valley. Don't wanna show up at the joint with my car being possibly the dirtiest one there.
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Permalink Reply by SMARTY on -
oh well im riden DIRTY!!! & now its rainy. I'll go for a spin and get a natural rinse.
Does that dirty bothers the paint job?
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Permalink Reply by epbrown01 on -
I want to see more Smarts in this condition - it shows we're part of the automotive landscape, accepted, one of the crowd.
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Permalink Reply by Joe on -
I don't really mean to be a downer here, but if you had pulled *me* over and given me a "stern talking to" about the fact that my car was *dirty*, I would likely have wound up getting arrested for punching your lights out right then and there.
I appreciate your pride for our cars, a pride which I also share myself, but bear in mind that there's no requirement for that sense of pride or community amongst *any* fellow car owners of any make or kind. Your pride for your car does not translate into your permission to berate other owners for behavior which you find unacceptable. You don't know who that other driver is, or their situation, and your attitude that they need a stern "talking to" makes you come across as pompous at the very least, or worse.
As far as a dirty car, look on the roads around you. It's the dead of winter where I live, and since your profile says you live in Colorado, I presume it's the dead of winter there as well (at least the last time I was in Denver in late December/early January it was). People tend not to wash their cars as much in the winter. Why? It's freaking COLD out. It's been well below freezing and windy for several WEEKS here where I live, and I live a lot farther south than you do. Is my car dirty? You bet it is. Drive-through car washes around here are totally ineffective on my Smart because of it's size - the front gets clean and the back never sees a drop of water - which means I have to hand wash my smart, a task that I normally enjoy and welcome. However, when it's 18 degrees and windy outside, getting out with a hose and a bucket of water seems a little less attractive to me. Ergo, I love my car but this week, it's dirty. Deal.
As far as the cracked windshield, you know that's not going to be under warranty, and you have no idea the situation the driver is in. Many insurance companies won't replace a cracked windshield unless it's cracked beyond a certain amount, you have no idea if the driver tried to get it replaced and couldn't. You have no idea how much it may cost the driver to replace that windshield. You don't know if the driver was recently laid off and decided that the deductible for a cracked windshield might be better spent on food or shelter or finding another job instead of making their car pretty enough to pass your standards. Good luck to you to not ever have to worry about being in a bad financial position but not everyone is so lucky. The end of the year is a popular time to lay off workers.
As far as the low tire, look around here in the forums - it seems to be a very common thing that the TPMS monitors seem to be very flaky in very cold weather. My tires are properly inflated (at least as of a couple of days ago) but my TPMS shows low tire pressure constantly when the weather here is below freezing, as it's been for weeks. I could, in theory, have a low tire at any time and not notice it right away, because for the last week or two when the TPMS goes off I don't freak out and go check my tire pressure, because for the last few weeks the TPMS has been *wrong* 100% of the time. This could easily be the case with the other driver (since that seems to be a common issue here on the forums) and they may just not have been aware of it. I'm sure you pulling them over and yelling at them would have been a much-appreciated way to let them know there was a problem. Berating them for the windshield and the dirty car would have really put the icing on the cake to make that driver think that other smart drivers were arrogant jerks.
So in short, I'm glad you're proud of your car, as we all are here, but please, don't be a jerk about it.
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Permalink Reply by mike on -
Unfortunately my red passion cabriolet also has a cracked windshield. I caught a small pebble from a go fast driver passing and it immediately cracked from the top and curves toward the passenger side just under the rear view mirror. With the replacement cost at $1000.00 or more it will have to stay cracked. I keep her clean and aired up though. I work at a large warehouse type building at night and I pull her inside and close the doors to keep her warm & dry.
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Permalink Reply by Ken & Cheryl Gonska on -
Mine is way dirty...
Tired of winter....
Would like to put the top down ......
Where's spring......
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