Copen vs Smart Roadster vs Capuchino
Discussion
I am smitten with the idea of buying a tiny cheap (sub £3k) convertible for use to go to the station in, as my other car is too wide, and for use in the summer. I only want a stupidly small car though. Not interested in MX5 / MR2 / MG as I had 3 Porsche convertibles before and they will feel too low rent, however the Kai / micro cars are a different proposition so the lower quality wouldn't bother me as much as I would enjoy the silly little car fun factor
Biggest concern is low maintenance cost followed by fun (I already have one expensive maintenance car so can't justify another expensive car to run)
Cappuccino - decent ones seem to be about £3k+ and they seem very rust prone, however look really fun, win on size, and are manual and fastest of the 3
Copen - seem to start from £2k for one that isn't falling to bits, electric hardtop convertible is a plus as is more spontaneous than the Suzuki's roof panels, much slower than Capuchino and FWD, rust prone
Smart / Brabus roadster - RWD, no rust issues but seem leaky & not sure the leaking can every be fully sorted. Also gearbox looks questionable but like the R-tronic in the R8, people say you have to learn it and it has its fans.
I guess my main concern at this point really is what is less expense - the rust in the jap cars or the leaks & reliability in the Smart?
Biggest concern is low maintenance cost followed by fun (I already have one expensive maintenance car so can't justify another expensive car to run)
Cappuccino - decent ones seem to be about £3k+ and they seem very rust prone, however look really fun, win on size, and are manual and fastest of the 3
Copen - seem to start from £2k for one that isn't falling to bits, electric hardtop convertible is a plus as is more spontaneous than the Suzuki's roof panels, much slower than Capuchino and FWD, rust prone
Smart / Brabus roadster - RWD, no rust issues but seem leaky & not sure the leaking can every be fully sorted. Also gearbox looks questionable but like the R-tronic in the R8, people say you have to learn it and it has its fans.
I guess my main concern at this point really is what is less expense - the rust in the jap cars or the leaks & reliability in the Smart?
If you can find one within budget, go for a Smart Roadster Coupe! Seriously funny and trully great car!
Let the 3 cylinder get to temperature before you go over 3k revs (not that easy!) and get used to the gearbox.
Leaking is a far bigger problem on the internet than in reallity, I think. Also the Roadster can be had with, or sometimes only comes with a hard top roof instead of the fabric one.
The hard top one can be retrofitted on top of the fabric one, but not the other way round (IIRC).
The Brabus Coupe versions have gone really expensive, btw. Anywhere between 15k and POA in the classifieds.
Not to keen on the two other ones, but I prefer the Cappuccino over the Copen. Can't comment any further.
Ever thought about the StreetKA? You can pick up nice examples for very cheap and they're a good laugh. Certainly for what you're looking for anyway. I'd have thought parts would be much cheaper/easier to access if anything was to go wrong also.
Here are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
Here are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
All of the major leaks in the smart are DIY repairable. Even so far as taking the SAM unit (the fuse box under the scuttle) and coating it with millitary grade waterproofer.
Good little cars and way more fun than they should be. Fairly cheap to run (50ish mpg), not going to win a straight line race but can be chucked round corners without a care.
Good little cars and way more fun than they should be. Fairly cheap to run (50ish mpg), not going to win a straight line race but can be chucked round corners without a care.
Vocht said:
Ever thought about the StreetKA? You can pick up nice examples for very cheap and they're a good laugh. Certainly for what you're looking for anyway. I'd have thought parts would be much cheaper/easier to access if anything was to go wrong also.
Here are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
They are cheap for a reason...Here are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
We own one and have had dozens of KA's. I think they are great but you need to be prepared for lots of niggly faults. The streetKA is less prone to rust that the normal KA but I would look to pay no more than £900. We paid £360 for one with an overheating fault (common - thermostat fault) and wouldn't expect it to sell for more than £700 with 70k on the clock. Most roofs are now showing wear also.
They are fun mind.
Teocali said:
They are cheap for a reason...
We own one and have had dozens of KA's. I think they are great but you need to be prepared for lots of niggly faults. The streetKA is less prone to rust that the normal KA but I would look to pay no more than £900. We paid £360 for one with an overheating fault (common - thermostat fault) and wouldn't expect it to sell for more than £700 with 70k on the clock. Most roofs are now showing wear also.
They are fun mind.
We have one too and always hear stories of them having issues/niggles but we've had ours for 5+ years now and it's not had a single fault. Maybe because it's a 55' plate (end of the line) or maybe we're just lucky. I still think they're a great buy for the money We own one and have had dozens of KA's. I think they are great but you need to be prepared for lots of niggly faults. The streetKA is less prone to rust that the normal KA but I would look to pay no more than £900. We paid £360 for one with an overheating fault (common - thermostat fault) and wouldn't expect it to sell for more than £700 with 70k on the clock. Most roofs are now showing wear also.
They are fun mind.
Vocht said:
Ever thought about the StreetKA? You can pick up nice examples for very cheap and they're a good laugh. Certainly for what you're looking for anyway. I'd have thought parts would be much cheaper/easier to access if anything was to go wrong also.
Here are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
That top one is great condition in the pics anywayHere are two decent examples from a quick search:
£1900, 2004, 46k, One owner, Hardtop, Heated cream leather seats. Air-con, Electric Mirros etc. Nice example.
£1949, 2006, 42k, Hardtop, Heated leather seats, Air-con, Electric mirrors etc...
Food for thought anyway
The smart Roadster is a proper little sports car. Feels a lot more nimble than an MGF or MX-5 and is huge fun to drive. Mine lived outside 24/7 and I never really had any leaking issues with it. The gearbox is, in my opinion brilliant fun and one of the best bits about the car.
Overall mine was fairly cheap to run. Used daily for 5 1/2 years and over 70,000 miles. Sadly at nearly 130,000 miles on the clock the engine dropped a valve and needs a rebuild. Still not that expensive when you look at the pence per mile cost. And mine consistently did 52-55mpg.
Doubt you'll get a Brabus for your money. Although arguably they aren't worth the extra money, but the name certainly inflates the price.
They aren't 100% trouble free cars. But I'm not convinced any car is tbh. Mine is layed up at the moment, but I'll be doing the engine next year and getting it back on the road.
Overall mine was fairly cheap to run. Used daily for 5 1/2 years and over 70,000 miles. Sadly at nearly 130,000 miles on the clock the engine dropped a valve and needs a rebuild. Still not that expensive when you look at the pence per mile cost. And mine consistently did 52-55mpg.
Doubt you'll get a Brabus for your money. Although arguably they aren't worth the extra money, but the name certainly inflates the price.
They aren't 100% trouble free cars. But I'm not convinced any car is tbh. Mine is layed up at the moment, but I'll be doing the engine next year and getting it back on the road.
DMN said:
All of the major leaks in the smart are DIY repairable. Even so far as taking the SAM unit (the fuse box under the scuttle) and coating it with millitary grade waterproofer.
Good little cars and way more fun than they should be. Fairly cheap to run (50ish mpg), not going to win a straight line race but can be chucked round corners without a care.
A tube of tigerseal will fix most of the potential leak points fairly easily. Good little cars and way more fun than they should be. Fairly cheap to run (50ish mpg), not going to win a straight line race but can be chucked round corners without a care.
Had a roadster just as they stopped making them back in 05/06.
Brilliant car - liked the look of the 3 spoke 17" wheels but massively over tyred the car.
The light on the other hand with the 15" steel wheels was a hoot.
Used to drive it from Bolton to Basingstoke during the summer - scary at times as your ar*e was so close to the road.
As said - 50+ MPG without even trying.
Loved it. Oh and mine never leaked.
S.
Brilliant car - liked the look of the 3 spoke 17" wheels but massively over tyred the car.
The light on the other hand with the 15" steel wheels was a hoot.
Used to drive it from Bolton to Basingstoke during the summer - scary at times as your ar*e was so close to the road.
As said - 50+ MPG without even trying.
Loved it. Oh and mine never leaked.
S.
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