Want to buy a Spark EV with 96K miles. Bad idea?

[NickSP]

I hope this great forum can help me. A friend of mine is selling his Spark EV with about 96K miles on it. He wants 3K for it. It is a 2014 model. In California the battery has a 10 year/150K mile degradation protection. Will it apply if I purchased the car?

Is it worth for 3K? Thanks.

 

[TheLondonBroiler]

If the vehicle has no issues, I think that price is a steal. Is it the right vehicle for you? Only you can determine that.

 

[NickSP]

If the vehicle has no issues, I think that price is a steal. Is it the right vehicle for you? Only you can determine that.

If the vehicle has no issues, I think that price is a steal. Is it the right vehicle for you? Only you can determine that.

Sorry the price is 4k. I'm used to an EV. Returned a i3 at end of lease. Daily commute is 36 miles RT.
Worried about battery degradation.

 

[TheLondonBroiler]

Sorry the price is 4k. I'm used to an EV. Returned a i3 at end of lease. Daily commute is 36 miles RT.
Worried about battery degradation.

$4k is still cheap IMO. I'm guessing it doesn't have DC fast charging? The onboard ac charger is 3.3kw.

From reports here and first hand experience, the Spark EV battery, while not as bad as early LEAFs, does seem to suffer from significant degradation. I got as much information as I could, reading through the forum and other resources, prior to my purchase. If I could do it again, I would have bought a Volt instead of a Spark. I like the Spark, but between the degradation, and fast chargers going offline in my region with as much driving as I do, it wasn't feasible for my needs anymore. GM EV service blows petty hard IMO, but what can you do?

 

[Kermit]

$4k seems fair according to KBB assuming it has not been in an accident and is fairly good shape. Fully charge it and make sure the GOM range will work for you. If your route is on the highway vs. slower roads makes a difference.

If you can buy a bluetooth OBDII adapter a program for your phone and load the Bolt PIDs to check the battery capacity that could be helpful in making your decision. The battery may have degraded enough to be eligible for a new battery as soon as you buy it, which could make the deal even better but may be a headache depending on your dealership.

Putting the VIN into the Chevy website will tell you about the warranty. The warranty on mine is just to 100k miles but I'm not sure if that's because of the year or because I don't live in California.

 

[NickSP]

$4k seems fair according to KBB assuming it has not been in an accident and is fairly good shape. Fully charge it and make sure the GOM range will work for you. If your route is on the highway vs. slower roads makes a difference.

If you can buy a bluetooth OBDII adapter a program for your phone and load the Bolt PIDs to check the battery capacity that could be helpful in making your decision. The battery may have degraded enough to be eligible for a new battery as soon as you buy it, which could make the deal even better but may be a headache depending on your dealership.

Putting the VIN into the Chevy website will tell you about the warranty. The warranty on mine is just to 100k miles but I'm not sure if that's because of the year or because I don't live in California.

Yes I do have the BT adapter. Which app do you want me to buy? Also the battery warranty in CA is up to 10 yrs/150k whichever comes first. Maybe someone can confirm that.
I'm thinking if I can get even 70 mile range I'm good. The car is serviced as per requirements and looks very sharp. Everything works.

 

[NORTON]

...I'm thinking if I can get even 70 mile range I'm good.
The car is serviced as per requirements and looks very sharp. Everything works.

I'm curious what service has been performed as claimed by the seller? Does he have a list of service documentation from a dealership?
Asking for a friend....

Don't get me wrong, sir, you are getting a bargain and won't be sorry!

 

[Kermit]

$4k seems fair according to KBB assuming it has not been in an accident and is fairly good shape. Fully charge it and make sure the GOM range will work for you. If your route is on the highway vs. slower roads makes a difference.

If you can buy a bluetooth OBDII adapter a program for your phone and load the Bolt PIDs to check the battery capacity that could be helpful in making your decision. The battery may have degraded enough to be eligible for a new battery as soon as you buy it, which could make the deal even better but may be a headache depending on your dealership.

Putting the VIN into the Chevy website will tell you about the warranty. The warranty on mine is just to 100k miles but I'm not sure if that's because of the year or because I don't live in California.

Yes I do have the BT adapter. Which app do you want me to buy? Also the battery warranty in CA is up to 10 yrs/150k whichever comes first. Maybe someone can confirm that.
I'm thinking if I can get even 70 mile range I'm good. The car is serviced as per requirements and looks very sharp. Everything works.

Search for Torque Pro (Android) or EngineLink (iOS) on here both will give you what you need as far as battery capacity when the correct PIDS are loaded. How to do this has been covered well on here if you do a search you'll even find a helpful video from TheLondonBroiler.

 

[NickSP]

The car does not have a DCFS. Bummer!

 

[SparkE]

{...} the battery warranty in CA is up to 10 yrs/150k whichever comes first. Maybe someone can confirm that.

Sorry, you are mistaken. A (somewhat) common misconception. The statutory battery warranty in CA of 10 yrs/150k is for HYBRIDS . I am not going to look up the relevant code (yet again - google it if you really care). The warranty for BEVs is whatever the manufacturer says it is. I think that for a 2014 Spark EV, that is for 8 years and / or 100k miles, and guarantees less than 35% loss.

But it comes down to : does the car meet your needs? Does it barely meet you needs today? I bought my (used) Spark EV as a 2nd car, knowing I would be using it 90-95% of the time, but having an older ICE available when needed (that normally just sits in my driveway).

Edit: um, with 96k miles, you have a very small window. A strategy you may wish to pursue is to test the battery capacity (using an OBD II reader), and if more than 35% loss, immediately bring it to Chevy for a warranty repair. You might get a new battery out of the deal. $4K for a Spark EV is really cheap (IMO). Especially if you can get a refurbished (or new) battery replacement under warranty.

 

[TheLondonBroiler]

But it comes down to : does the car meet your needs? Does it barely meet you needs today?

You might get a new battery out of the deal. $4K for a Spark EV is really cheap (IMO). Especially if you can get a refurbished (or new) battery replacement under warranty.[/i]

Emphasis on MIGHT. Although I seem to remember owners getting new packs, the warranty states that bringing it back up to 65% capacity is all that's required. EPA rated range is 82 miles (which is definitely conservative in good conditions), 65% is 53 miles.

I'm thinking if I can get even 70 mile range I'm good.

Will the Spark be your only vehicle? If the answer is yes, I wouldn't recommend the purchase. With no DCFC and slow 3.3kw AC charging, if you want to drive more, you'll need to keep a supply of snickers bars, because it's going to be a while.

I was fortunate that the folks on the IMIEV forum were blunt with me. They more or less told me that I'd hate my life having to stop to charge at some point on my commute everyday or have daily range anxiety because I had no at work charge capability and my commute distance was the same as the EPA range. They were right.

I bought a Spark before not insignificant battery degradation was becoming apparent. Had I known what I know now, I'd have bought a Volt, or kept driving my gasser and saved my pennies for a Model Y, Cyber Truck, RAV4 prime, or something else. I like more people driving pure EVs, but you should buy what's going to be most sensible for you.

(Edited to change incorrect wording due to swipe input)

 

[NickSP]

Thanks to all your excellent replies. Great input. I would have been comfortable with a range drop of 70 miles or so. My BMW i3 was rated similarly. My daily commute is only 40 miles and I have level 2 charging at home.
But, not having DCFS was a deal breaker. I've taken my i3 Rex on EV alone to San Diego by charging half way.
Also thanks for letting me know that the 150K Warranty only applies to hybrids.

 

[SparkE]

{...} Also thanks for letting me know that the 150K Warranty only applies to hybrids.

OK, I located a post I made a while ago about this :

I spent a little time googling it a year or so ago, and the CA law (well, technically it is a regulation) that requires a battery warranty of 10 years/150K miles is for hybrids (plug-in or not) if the vendor wants it to be classified as a PZEV (and thus help the vendor meet its CA requirements of fleet mileage and ZEV percentages). I believe the idea was that the battery was considered part of the "emission control system" (since it allows lower emissions). It is in CCR §1962 ("Zero-Emission Vehicle Standards for 2005 through 2008 Model Year Passenger Cars, Light-Duty Trucks, and Medium-Duty Vehicles."), specifically 1962(c)(2)(D) ("Partial ZEV Allowance Vehicles (PZEVs).", Extended Warranty)

Battery electric vehicles aren't classified as PZEVs, they are classified as ZEVs , so the battery warranty requirement for PZEVs doesn't apply.

 

[Sam12345]

You can get a 2015 or newer battery pack for 4300 so don't get a 2014

 

[ElDobro]

You can get a 2015 or newer battery pack for 4300 so don't get a 2014

Actually $10,761.66 for the battery, discounted.