Not an owner...yet

[BigGuyTinyCar]

Hi everyone! I'm just here to find out more about these little cars. I'm retired, but I go to the gym daily. My gym, currently ~10 miles away, is opening up a new location in a month that is less than a mile from my house. I currently drive my ICE car, but given the fact the new gym is going to be so close and that daily short trips are terrible on ICE's, I thought getting a small, inexpensive EV would be a good idea. The Spark EV seems to fit that bill quite well, so I'm just here to look around and ask questions.

 

[Randy960]

They're great little commuters. With that amount of driving you probably don't even need to bother with a level 2 charger, you can just use the level 1 plugged into a wall outlet. I've put 50k on mine in the past 5 years, and the only unexpected maintenance was ball joints.

 

[BigGuyTinyCar]

Thanks for the reply, that's good to know. From my perusing so far, it looks like most people are very happy with these little cars. I agree it's unlikely I'll need the level 2 charger, although I do have a 220 outlet in my garage, so who knows, if I do get one and like it, I may want to drive it to more distant locations.

 

[BigGuyTinyCar]

I haven't sat in one yet (or even a regular Spark, for that matter). Do you have a feel for how well it fits tall people? I'm 6' 4" with kind of a long torso (rather than extra long legs). How is the driver head room? I'm not sure it matters that much since my planned use of the car is for very short trips, and I can easily stand being cramped in for periods, but it would be great if it was actually semi comfortable, too.

 

[SparkE]

I'm 6' 2", and have no problem with leg room or head room. I call it "the biggest inside of any small car" - it has more headroom than my Minivan did!

Info : you can program charge times. I set mine to tell the car that I leave my house at noon, so I need a full charge by noon (yes, I lie). That way. I can go into the garage and unplug it when the battery is around 80% full, which give me ~80 miles of range during summer. (It is best to not charge an EV up to 100% all the time, especially if you just let it sit.) The 2014 SparkEV's are rumored to have a longer lasting battery over time.

Condition of the battery is a big issue. You need to look at estimated range with a fully charged battery. And then check what the "miles per kWh" rating is from the last drive (because the car computer 'estimates' range based on past driving style). The batteries for SparkEV are supposedly no longer sold. You will NOT be able to buy a new battery.

I have a 2015 (10 years old) and still have about 80% original battery capacity, after 10 years and 50K miles, because I have been 'babying' my battery. I get 75-80 miles city range during the winter (night temps down to high 30s, low 40s) and 85-95 during the summer.

I have the SparkEV, and a high mileage ICE. I drive the EV 95% of the time, and only use to ICE for going places further than 40 miles away (I have fast charge).

I just checked on cargurus.com (I have no affiliation with them, I just use them to check prices) and saw a SparkEV, 56K miles, OK battery (shows 62 miles with 'fullish" charge, fine for use around town and the next few towns over, so if you keep your ICE, a perfect fit) WITH FREE SHIPPING to your house for only $5000. That is a fantastic price.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-Chevrolet-Spark-EV-Stockton-d2205_L2941#listing=406226274/NONE

You can search around your house by going to
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-Chevrolet-Spark-EV-Stockton-d2205_L2941

and typing in your zip code in the search parameter. Show cars within 100-200 miles. Or do a nationwide search. I just did, and couldn't find a better deal (with good mileage, any car lower or about the same price has worse estimated mileage).

Seriously, that is a great price. With a 7-day money-back guarantee.