2004 Smart City Cabriolet 0.7L Petrol · LC54 ONH

The 2004 Smart City Cabriolet presents a stable and improving mechanical picture at its most recent MOT. The March 2025 test at 57,672 miles passed cleanly with zero defects, a marked contrast to the failed attempt on the same day where the tester flagged an offside front headlamp aim too high and too far to the left. That single lighting defect was evidently corrected immediately, suggesting responsive upkeep rather than neglect. The 2024 pass at 55,536 miles did carry an advisory for corroded front coil springs on both sides, a structural concern on a 20-year-old open-top car, but the absence of any repeat corrosion or suspension failure in 2025 indicates the issue was monitored and did not deteriorate to a dangerous level within the year. The mileage record raises questions that a buyer should probe carefully. The car shows 62,125 miles in June 2020, then drops to 59,102 miles by June 2019, and falls further to 55,536 miles in March 2024 before settling at 57,672 miles in March 2025. That backward step from 2020 to 2019 is almost certainly a data entry anomaly or a correction, but the overall trajectory suggests the car stood unused for extended periods between 2020 and 2024. The average annual mileage of roughly 2,621 miles is low for a 22-year-old vehicle, which can mean less mechanical wear but also raises the risk of dried seals, stale fuel, and corrosion from prolonged inactivity. Two areas deserve close physical inspection. The front coil springs carried a corrosion advisory in 2024, and on a cabriolet with a thin structural floor and sill design, spring corrosion can progress rapidly once it takes hold. A buyer should check for visible pitting, cracking, or sag at both front corners, particularly where the spring seats against the strut. The 2019 advisory for a slightly worn nearside rear shock absorber bush and a distorted nearside rear road wheel also warrants attention. A worn bush will introduce knocking over uneven surfaces and can accelerate tyre wear, while a bent wheel may cause vibration at speed or indicate the car was driven through a significant pothole. Inspect the nearside rear inner tyre wall for uneven wear and have the wheel spun on a balancer. The 2020 advisory for an offside rear tyre worn close to the legal limit and worn on edge points to possible tracking misalignment or a soft rear suspension component. Combined with the worn shock bush flagged the previous year, the rear axle has shown a pattern of minor but persistent issues. Check the rear tyres for uneven tread depth across each axle and feel for any play in the rear suspension bushes by rocking the car by hand. The clean 2025 result is encouraging, but the cluster of rear suspension and wheel advisories in 2019 and 2020 suggests this corner of the car was not attended to for several years, likely during the period the mileage went static.