Is Spark EV BEST Budget option? What should be looked over?

[djkenny]

Hello,

I have been considering a Spark EV. Goal is a 2015 with less than 10k miles for less than, or right around $8000, and including a Quick Charge. They come up, seem to sell if priced Right.

I ride a long tail and Bakfiet bike with my 3 year old, my wife has a new er Forester. I think an EV would fit our lifestyle well. Another baby is on the way, I wanted the flexibility of occasional car use.

1. My questions are if you are looking for the absolutely most affordable all around new or 2 year old car, what is my best bet? I am talking long term maintenance and cost of ownership.

A. New 17 Kia Rio LX for under 11 grand on close out. I got it up to 44 mpg on the highway with the standard 6 speed. Rear vision sucked, but most newer cars have this issue. Otherwise I liked it.
B. 2015 Prius C for 12 grand range with 25k ish miles. I see them reasonable on occasion. Over 50 mpg and excellent reliability is appealing
C. 2015 Spark EV with DCFC and under 10k miles for under $8500.
D. 2014+ Nissan Leaf SL or SV with similar miles and cost.
E. Just keep my 92 VW GTI 16v owned since 1999, it needs a headliner and a few minor things. 187k and runs Well. I have not been driving it, just starting it mostly, and taking it out 1 time a month for 9 years.

My top amount is under 11 grand. I might exceed by $1000 if it makes a lot of sense to me.

Driving Style:

I am going to drive less than 5k a year more than likely. I want to be able to go 30-40 miles each way about 4 times a year for camping. Will need a Recharge in between, likely? I might want to get really Wild and try a West Coast trip from Oregon to Northern CA and stop every 50 miles. Doable? Someone said they did just a couple hundred miles short of this to Roseville form PDX in a Leaf. Does the type of Charger SparkEV has make it harder to find charging stations for road trips? I might do this 1 time a year, if it is not so great, just use our Forester.

Finally, if I find one, whether it be a Used car dealer, or Private owner meeting my needs: Should I get it looked over? And by Who? Dealer? Or, at 7000 miles or similar, and it runs fine, clear Car Fax.. should I be concerned?

Charging:

I plan to just charge it on our 120 because I won't need it often enough to really see the point in an updated 240 volt. 12 hours?
But if I do this, what is the most affordable option?

 

[scrambler]

I would think the Spark EV will be the one that will cost you the least in ongoing maintenance and energy cost.

And it may be the most fun to drive too

Now going 40 miles both ways without a recharge could be a stretch based on driving conditions.

As far as inspection before buying, There is a physical inspection that you can do yourself if you have basic mechanical knowledge, or you can take it to a Chevy dealer and pay for one. Note: Check if the car is due for a free recall update. If it is, you can take the car to have the update made and they would probably do a free inspection at the same time. This is what happened when I bought mine.

But the one thing you should figure out, and that will not be covered by any inspection, is to verify the current battery capacity to make sure the battery is in normal condition.
There are a few threads here on how to do that (one link is below).
http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4841

 

[djkenny]

I couldn't help but thinking; wouldn't the battery be covered under manufacturer warranty?


What should come with the car? Is it a plug? Owner s nanual? And something else in the trunk? Generator was mentioned?

 

[djkenny]

I found a 2015 with 800 miles on it at a dealer without quick charge in LT2. Think the Quick Charge is important? How much should it cost?

 

[Taxman]

They came with owner's manuals, EVSE, and probably not much else.

EVSE looks like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevy-Volt-Charger-/302474983109

 

[scrambler]

I was not speaking of a fully defective battery (which is covered), but of a battery that would have lost too much capacity.
Battery capacity is covered if its capacity drops more than 35% after 8 years. Anything under that is not.

DCFC (quick Charge) is only important if you plan to do trips that are beyond the range. If you do, it will allow you to recharge on the go much faster at one of the DCFC stations.

In addition to the EVSE and the manual, there is a Tire inflator kit too.
https://insideevs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2014-Chevrolet-SparkEV-017.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvMDAnUB_4w

 

[JeremyW]

I found a 2015 with 800 miles on it at a dealer without quick charge in LT2. Think the Quick Charge is important? How much should it cost?

That's a long time to sit, hopefully not fully charged. Depending on your location, the value of DCFC could range from "really useful today" to "useless now, but prevents the car resale value from being nearly nothing in 5 years"

I would recommend getting DCFC unless the car is just a commuter appliance.

Here's how to find if a prospective car has QC

 

[djkenny]

If the prospective Seller sends a picture of the charging port, that show both Present, that is a way to know, Right?

 

[NORTON]

Hello,
>I have been considering a Spark EV.
>>...Does the type of Charger SparkEV has make it harder to find charging stations for road trips?
>>>Finally, if I find one, .... Should I get it looked over? And by Who? Dealer? Or, at 7000 miles or similar, and it runs fine, clear Car Fax.. should I be concerned?
>>>>Charging:
I plan to just charge it on our 120 because I won't need it often enough to really see the point in an updated 240 volt. 12 hours?
But if I do this, what is the most affordable option?

>You won't be sorry!

>>A Spark EV uses the standard J1772 L1 at 1.2kW (if you do the finger tap dance at each shut down or L2 at 3.3kW.
You mentioned getting one with the optional DCFC. You NEED that. It's the typical SAE CCS format, 50kW.
(Quick note: DCFC are not for plugging in and going away for a long time. It's a 10-15 min. Chit and git.)
The CCS DCFC stations are out there and growing faster than the Tesla Supercharger network!
Will the Spark EV ever be a good road trip car? Not really, but in a pinch.....
Now the Bolt !, that's another story. I'm just waiting for a 'Super Cruise Control' to be offered. I want what a new Leaf can do with it's optional CC system.

>>>What can a dealer or independant mechanic do? Lay hands upon it and pronounce it healed? Sure, they can get it up in the air and have a looky look...
Or, You can lay down upon the ground yourself and use a good flashlight and look for any damage. You can easily see the brakes and suspension components.
SW updates,,, meh,,, imoh. I had my car to the dealer once when I first bought it for the required safety inspection to tag it. My car has not burped once in the over 2 yrs I've been driving it.
Save your dollars for a nice meal, driving there in silence, and getting some free food for your new car at a nearby free public L2!!

>>>> I agree, wait to see how you do on the L1, and do the finger tap dance each time.
Are you saying you won't be using the car that much? (mistake ).
Or are you saying you expect to charge mainly away from home? (Great idea!! That's how I do it! I have saved over a $1000 by using free public charging vs. if I had charged at home for the 39k miles of my ownership)
Is there a 240V outlet in your garage area? There are inexpensive plug-in, portable L2's available.
When camping if you pay for a slot 'with power', you'd have no problem with an 80 mile RT. Have a 25' 12 ga. extension cord in the car al as a first aid kit for the car.
With a portable L2 and adapters, when you go to a camp site, arriving at 3, plug in L2, set camp, and in not much time you'd have the charge for a sunset trip to a nearby mountain top for dinner!
And then, driving down the mountain with cool brakes!!! Gotta love BEV's !!

 

[djkenny]

Reason I won't drive much is that I live in a really dense city, and have services walking distance from our home. I bike to 90% of my needs, kids go to school on the back of the Long Tail bike. I mostly want the car for flexibility.

I am down to just repairing my GTI, buying a new Mirage SE for $11,000 new (mid model, well equipped), a new Kia Rio base for $10,800, an EV under 10 grand as the goal.

My main plan was something easy to park and as efficient as possible. I do hate to put gas in a car after 9 yrs of not really touching my own car. I use my wife's 2 times a month for DJ gigs and what not.

What really prompted wanting the car was because we have 2nd child on the way in a few weeks. I want more flexibility. Something small with 4 doors that will not break the bank or surprise me with problems (especially costly ones).

For City uses, the high MPG new Mirage (full 10 yr warranty, 50+ mpg possible on freeway, 40 city) or the used QC Spark EV seem to make the most sense.

 

[scrambler]

From what you are describing, I really cannot think of anything better than the Spark EV (non biased opinion )

 

[Taxman]

How old/large is your first child?
I have not heard much praise for the Spark's back seat.

 

[Jester84]

Just my opinion...There is not a snowballs chance in hell you will find one with less than 10k mi and DCFC for $8 Grand...Hell....Good luck finding that under $12k. I looked nation wide for 2 months solid....took that long to find one with 23k miles on it and it was no where near the 8k you are wanting to spend and I had to have it shipped from Washington lol.

I love the little car..but they are not that cheap with DCFC...the dealers have figured that out. Now on the flip side...I have seen TONS with non DCFC for $6000-$11000 with the miles you are looking at. So if DCFC is a big deal for you get ready for a long search unless you get lucky or the market suddenly got flooded with them. All the cars with DCFC have the heated Pleather seats too btw.

The back seat is small..the main concern is the door handle is easily accessible for kids in a car seat..so you MUST use the child lock to keep them safe as well as lock the windows as they can reach that switch as well.

Maintenance wise......WHAT maintenance lol!! The only real "maintenance" on these is the tires...they tend to get eaten up pretty quick with the torque the car produces and people typically enter turns too hard using regenerative breaking instead of brakes haha!

Good luck!

 

[Planerench]

How old/large is your first child?
I have not heard much praise for the Spark's back seat.

With my 5’2” wife at the wheel my daughter’s 6’3” boyfriend can sit in back no problem.

 

[JeremyW]

All the cars with DCFC have the heated Pleather seats too btw.

This is not completely true. There are 2016's with cloth seats and DCFC. However, they are rare. I originally was looking for a 2014 with cloth and DCFC and never found it. I also never found a 2015 with cloth and DCFC. I ended up settling for the vinyl/2015/DCFC.

So, maybe chevy made some only in 2016 in that configuration? Or, someone could have specifically ordered a (custom?) configuration for 2014 or 2015. The options are not inherently linked, although in practice they somewhat are.

Only the later 2014s had DCFC availability, it was not available at vehicle launch. 2014's with low serial numbers (last 5 of the VIN) or early build dates are most likely not going to have DCFC.

It's funny, nobody would ever think to take a picture of the gas cap when selling a gas car. But in an EV with optional DCFC, it's pretty important! Wish the used car dealers realized this...

 

[Jester84]

I know...its funny...they post 65 pics and not one of the door open...but they all post the door closed lol!!

I didnt realize there were any with cloth and DCFC...but again...16's might have had that option like you stated.

Funny little cars for sure. they are not quiet...they are not smooth...but they do what they are designed to do and do it well...and embarrass the hell out of a lot of other cars/trucks that think they will out accelerate from a 20-30mph roll on lol. I have found they are most impressive at that speed, anything below and the tires spin and kick in the overactive traction control...even though its off haha!!

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

1LT has cloth seats, 2LT=pleather. Both can come with DCFC option. I have 2015 1LT (cloth seats) and DCFC.

 

[NORTON]

...... The only real "maintenance" on these is the tires...they tend to get eaten up pretty quick with the torque the car produces and people typically enter turns too hard using regenerative breaking instead of brakes haha!...

I agree with the tire statement. That has been my only expense, seriously. Well I do plug in grudgingly at home when it is really cold over night. I spent $34 one winter on electrons....

I think there is so much confusion about Regen Braking. On the Spark EV it is always using Regen for most braking needs. You have to really press hard to max out Regen and get into Friction Brakes.
It seamlessly 'Blends' the two braking systems.
And then you have Chevy talking about the Bolt with "You must maximize Regen braking by blah, blah,,,,"
No, just drive like a normal person and almost all of your braking is Regen Braking,,, without even trying any new driving style!

Side Note: I came down Pikes Peak in my Volt, foot on brake pedal all the way, just like the dumb tourist in front of me with the smelly HOT brakes.
When we stopped at the Park Ranger safety stop, where they use an IR Temp reader through your wheels to measure brake temp, he told the tourist in front of me to pull over and wait for 15 minutes.
My Volt brakes were 75° on a 65° day !! And that may have been from coming to a complete stop at the safety stop.

But it is true, the front tires do the most work. Regen is front tires only.
To test the Friction brakes shift into N at speed and feel what just Friction Brakes feel like. I think it is important to warm up the discs once in awhile.
These brakes have an easy job and will last a really long time!!

As for asking for a picture of the charge port, (like when I was shopping for mine), it might be good not to stress that "I want the $750 optional DCFC". Don't give those dogs ammo. Be sly.....

 

[SparkevBlogspot]

it might be good not to stress that "I want the $750 optional DCFC". Don't give those dogs ammo. Be sly.....

Yup. Ask for a picture with port doors open (both outer and inner one, aka DCFC port) so that you can see that charge port is not damaged, not that you are looking for DCFC option.

 

[djkenny]

Very good point about the question when it comes to the QC. I will keep that in Mind...

My child is almost 3 and a half, btw. I have seen a neighbor with 2 car seats in his Spark EV so I think it will be Fine. For big trips we have my wife's 17 Forester. I hope to just make almost all local trips when driving instead of walking and cycling with the Family sans made big Costco Run-in the Subaru... Spark EV drives.

I owned a little 1987 Turbo Chevy Sprint from 93-2010. I miss it's Pint Size.