Where do we all live? Sparks are dispersing.

[Planerench]

I liberated my Spark EV from Arcata California to Nampa Idaho. There it is a rare breed indeed. I know of only 3 in this state. Two 2014, one silver L2 with DCFC and mine white no DCFC, one 2015. I have traveled to California twice since I got it and am on the lookout for others. I don’t need DCFC because there isn’t one in my state. Love this car.

 

[JMenacker]

Two 2015 Spark EVs here in eastern panhandle of WV. Haven't seen any others around here. We are less than 20 miles from MD, but none of the nearby MD dealers had 'em nearby. Both were purchased "used" (less than 100 miles on the odometer) within 70 miles of home and both made it here on a single full charge of non highway driving.

One has DCFC and the other not. We also have a paucity of L3 charging in the vicinity. No matter, both cars serve 99.9% of our driving needs and both of us remain extremely happy driving these little sleepers around.

Service (software updates) has been fine from the local dealer. They even have a single Bolt on their lot now!

Joe M in WV

 

[Planerench]

Looks like Norton is in Kansas and is well supported with infrastructure. I did not expect that!

 

[MrDRMorgan]

As I continue to read the postings on this forum, it never ceases to amaze me what drivers will go through to get their hands on a Spark EV. This is especially true for you drivers living outside of California and Oregon. The Spark EV is one great little car!

 

[charles]

Charles here in Arlington, TX. Black 2015 Spark EV LT2 with DCFC.
Drove to OKC to buy it used with 19k miles for $8600.
Dealer disclosed it was a "lemon law" buyback before I made the trip.
Claimed the issue ultimately was a "loose wire". I took my chances. So far, so good.
Towed it home with a Ford E150 van and U-Haul dolly.
It is indeed a fun car to drive!

 

[ncerna]

San Gabriel, CA

 

[JPL]

Vancouver, British Columbia

 

[CCIE]

Connecticut here. I took the train down to Maryland and then drove my Spark back up. It was a lot of fun! And I got very lucky that all of the DCFC stations I planned to use were available and working!

 

[PhilPen]

Also in CT bought it online got it shipped from TX. I've never seen another around here... at least yet.

 

[Jester84]

Charles here in Arlington, TX. Black 2015 Spark EV LT2 with DCFC.
Drove to OKC to buy it used with 19k miles for $8600.
Dealer disclosed it was a "lemon law" buyback before I made the trip.
Claimed the issue ultimately was a "loose wire". I took my chances. So far, so good.
Towed it home with a Ford E150 van and U-Haul dolly.
It is indeed a fun car to drive!

I looked at that online...just couldnt bring myself to buy the lemon law car.

But glad its working out for you. I am in OKC.
Next to no infastructure.

 

[NORTON]

.......just couldnt bring myself to buy the lemon law car.
....

That is in the history of the Spark EV that I bought in Ohio. That dealer trucked it in with a bunch of other auction cars from California.
You can get a dealer to give you the full history of a car.

Mine was technically a 'Buy Back Car' due to 'customer satisfaction'. It came with all the full warranties. It has been perfect.

Do you believe in Lemon Ghosts? Isn't a car a bunch of nuts and bolts, sheet metal and in this case a bigass Li-ion battery? What makes a lemon? Some spiritual mumbo?

 

[JeremyW]

Not a ghost believer here, but...

Taking a new tech car which has a (individual) history of not being reliable..
To place where there's probably a lot less dealer support...
Sounds like a massive headache waiting to happen.

I don't care if it's a bunch of nuts, bolts, sheet metal and a bigass Li-ion battery. If an intermittent, difficult to trace problem affected your car, you'd probably want to push it off a cliff.

Speaking from experience here (with a gas car which wasn't a lemon but had such "gremlins").

 

[MrDRMorgan]

Norton wrote - "Mine was technically a 'Buy Back Car' due to 'customer satisfaction'. It came with all the full warranties. It has been perfect.".

To be sure, it isn't too hard to find a legitimate story of a new or used car full of mechanical gremlins that was returned to the dealer. There are just as many stories of customers who are dissatisfied with their vehicle for other non-mechanical reasons and who may fabricate some phantom problem to justify returning the car to the dealer.

I am guessing the original owner of Norton's Spark EV was not happy with some non-mechanical problem with the car and used a "customer dissatisfaction" story to justify returning the vehicle. His loss and Norton's gain.

I have used www.cargurus.com to research and eventually purchase two used, very low mileage, Spark EVs. Both have been absolutely trouble-free.

 

[charles]

Charles here in Arlington, TX. Black 2015 Spark EV LT2 with DCFC.
Drove to OKC to buy it used with 19k miles for $8600.
Dealer disclosed it was a "lemon law" buyback before I made the trip.
Claimed the issue ultimately was a "loose wire". I took my chances. So far, so good.
Towed it home with a Ford E150 van and U-Haul dolly.
It is indeed a fun car to drive!

I looked at that online...just couldnt bring myself to buy the lemon law car.

But glad its working out for you. I am in OKC.
Next to no infastructure.

Buying this car for use in Texas was a leap of faith in so many ways it made the "lemon law" buyback easier to take.
The many positive reviews about the Spark EV's relative performance and fun got me to seriously looking. I gave up a 2006 Honda Civic SI (also fun) for this car.
Low cost of the vehicle (status and risk fairly considered) and anticipated low cost to fuel it are what sold me.
I have a unique situation where my $248/year university parking pass lets me L2 charge the car for free about a mile from my house.
L1 charging at home or elsewhere works in a pinch, and my one EVGO DCFC test charge was not only a success but fascinating to behold.
This Spark EV kind of is stuck on the DFW metro infrastructure island, but do have a second vehicle (the Ford E150 van) to mitigate risk and use for long range travel.

 

[Jedye]

2014 white LT2 no DCFC in Albuquerque, NM. Bought it from a dealership in Aurora, CO on my way to see the Eclipse and had it shipped to Albuquerque.

 

[twedelc]

White 2014 LT2 w/ DCFC and only 824 miles! 3 months of daily commuting from Lawrence Kansas to Topeka, now just passed 4,000 miles.

 

[NORTON]

.... 3 months of daily commuting from Lawrence Kansas to Topeka,....

Neighbor!
I'm trying to find a weekend to drive from KC, Mo. to Lawrence and charge at the Chevy dealer while I test drive a Bolt.
That round trip is not possible without a top up somewhere, and all the L2's are not near your new breweries!!

 

[christianmotox]

SAn Diego, Ca.
Just got mine over the weekend.
2015, 26000 miles

 

[twedelc]

L2 charger at HyVee which shares the parking lot with 23rd St Brewery... Sadly, no other public chargers in town.

 

[Anonymous]

Username says it all. Just picked up a CPO 2014 LT2 with DCFC from a dealer in Iowa with only 2600 miles for $11k. Definitely not the cheapest, but CPO, and less than a thousand miles away made all the difference. The closest DCFC charging location is 30 miles away, but I’ve got a 240v option about a mile from my house and office.

Looking forward to having fun with this car!