Smart Car or Scion IQ
 

We are considering a Smart Car or Scion IQ as a 2nd car for around the town. Anyone own either? Pros and cons? Think the Smart will be harder to repair because of the lack of local Mercedes dealers and their high hourly rate, while the Scion can be repaired at Toyota dealers, but is a foot longer. Definitely being able to get either with a golf cart into the garage was the major factor in our thinking

Along with the opinions you will get here, you might check, Consumer Reports, and AARP for some additional info. If you are a member of AARP, they have some kind of car buying service, not sure how it works, I have not tried it yet. I agree with your service concerns, at least for the warranty period.
Of course, you should drive each, I am fairly tall, and occasionally do not fit well in small cars.

Good luck with your quest.

Thanks. I should have added that we are looking at used vehicles with low miles.

On a smart cart you have to lift the body to get @ the spark plugs and it must use premium gas--the transmission and brakes are totally atrocious=

drive one & you'll walk away--the only good thing is it has the same foot print as a golf cart--so you can park it sideways & fit in like a golf cart

Consider a Fiat along with a smart car or scion

When buying a car, the first consideration I look at is, would I feel I had a chance if I had an major accident in this car.
A Smart Car or a Scion IQ?
Definitely. NO.
JMO.

You might be surprised at the safety rating for the smart car with the safety cage it uses.

I personally knew a couple Jan & Conrad Hess, approximately 1 year ago, they both died in a car crash in Umatilla--they were in a Kia Soul

Safety first--no do overs--IMHO--the primary function of any car is to protect you & yours'

We just bought a Honda FIT. The FIT is rated top in its size and class for both comfort and safety. Having a one and a half car garage, I have been looking for a car which could comfortably fit in the garage with a golf cart. You will be surprised at how roomy the interior is and the features include back up and side view cameras. The Villages is a perfect place for a smaller second car. Our larger car will stay up north for use in the summer months.

I did a ton of research before buying this car. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Pretty much anyone that can work on a foreign car can work on a smart car. They do have a good safety rating in an accident. 2008 with 64,000 miles so far the only thing that it needed was a muffler, brakes, tires. The normal things that a regular car would need. It has been a workhorse yes even in snow. It fits in a golf cart garage. There is one for sale on this site with very low miles. We were going to bring down Thor, aka smart car, but shipping is not worth the cost. You will find many smart cars here. I would feel very comfortable driving around TV with it. Depends on how much time you want to spend out of bubble, and trips to SAMs club.

:agree:

I have a 2014 Toyota Prius, getting 47+ mi. per gal. & a 4 passenger golf cart (rear facing seats) & BOTH fit fine in my 1 & a half cottage garage.

Happened to see this for sale posting on Nextdoor - another TV forum.
Just in case you'd like to check one out...

Nextdoor Gilchrist East: The website for Gilchrist East residents
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2012 Smart Passion TOW CAR READY 14k miles
Jeff Barrett from Dunedin · 3h ago
8 Photo from Jeff Barrett
2012 Smart Passion LOW MILES!

$7,500 SmartCar
$ 475 Blue Ox Tow Bar, Drop Down Hitch, Safety Cables and Accessories

TOW READY - BASE PLATE ATTACHED
BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH INSTALLED

13,450 Miles - EXCELLENT CONDITION

Non Smokers - Sold our Motorhome

Smart Fortwo Passion, 1.0L I3, 5 Speed Automatic with Smart-Shift, Silver Metallic/Black Stripes, ALLOY WHEELS, GREAT GAS MILEAGE WITHOUT SACRIFICING GREAT POWER, PANORAMA ROOF PANEL, FRONT AND REAR AIRBAGS, Alloy Wheels, 2 Speakers, ABS brakes, Air Conditioning, AM/FM radio, Brake Assist, Bumpers: body-color, Cloth Seat Trim, Delay-off headlights, Driver door bin, Dual front impact airbags, Dual front side impact airbags, Electronic Stability Control, Front anti-roll bar, Front Bucket Seats, Front wheel independent suspension, Fully automatic headlights, Heated & Power Adjustable Exterior Mirrors, Illuminated entry, Knee airbag, Low tire pressure warning, Occupant sensing airbag, Outside temperature display, Overhead airbag

Drove a smart car. Was glad to gat out of this imitation car

You might have problems finding an a used Scion IQ. In the fourth quarter of 2014 they only sold 288 in the US. They stopped importing the IQ after that, so 2014 is the last model. Their best sales was in early 2012 when they sold 1285 in the month of March alone. After that sales decreased every month. In comparison the Fiat 500 went on sale ten months before the IQ and generated more sales in those months than IQ did all together.