Help me decide!

Hello everyone, new to the board and I'm from Toronto, Canada. I went to have a look at a used 2014 Spark EV 1LT with very low kms (<1500) and the on the road price would be about $20000, which I think is fantastic for essentially a brand new, four-door electric car. It's on hold for me while I investigate the insurance angle and think about it for a day or two.

I'm actually buying this for my wife (and it will be a surprise), who prefers smaller vehicles like the Yaris, Prius c, etc. She commutes about 40 km a day roundtrip. I love the idea of not being dependent on the oil companies anymore with this vehicle and during the test drive everything seemed fine - it's a blast to drive and has plenty of pep! In a way, I think I also like this car because it is more rare (yet doesn't look extraordinary) than the Nissan Leaf, Mitsu i-MiEV, etc. This car is currently not sold to consumers here, so it is more than just low sales numbers - even if someone wants to buy one brand new, they cannot at the moment (it is only sold as a fleet vehicle).

In theory, this is a great car that should have next to no maintenance/repairs with its simplistic powertrain. I'm only hesitating a bit due to the fact that it's a new model from a brand I've never bought from before. That plus the fact that from what I've read, this car is going to be discontinued, so how easy would it be to get parts, etc. if needed down the road (i.e. rarity is a double-edged sword)? Maybe I should hold out for the Bolt (although it would probably be quite a bit more expensive)? Also not sure how this would fare in terms of resale value if we wanted to sell it in a year or two, IF it was not meeting our needs anymore (longer commute or what have you). Any thoughts?

I'm not familiar with the Canadian auto market but you would lose a LOT of money if you bought a used Spark EV in the US for $20k and tried to sell it in a year or two. Remember, in the US people are paying net closer to $15k for brand new ones and given that the EV market is rapidly evolving I wouldn't want to do anything but lease one.

To each their own. If you feel it is a fair price and you can afford it I would say go for it. The fuel and service costs are hard to beat for any kind of car. I do worry about the car in snow. Korean built cars do not fare well in salt and snow.

sparkyps said:

I'm not familiar with the Canadian auto market but you would lose a LOT of money if you bought a used Spark EV in the US for $20k and tried to sell it in a year or two. Remember, in the US people are paying net closer to $15k for brand new ones and given that the EV market is rapidly evolving I wouldn't want to do anything but lease one.

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Is $15K an on the road price (taxes, rebates applied and everything)? In any case, you usually have to apply a minimum of 2-3K to most car prices to account for the currency exchange. Unfortunately as this vehicle is not available to end consumers here, I cannot just walk in to a dealership and buy or lease one. The other EVs are (Mitsu i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Smart fortwo electric) but unfortunately none of the others really appeal to me for some reason or another, otherwise I probably would have already got one.

I have a sister that lives in BC and 20k is a great deal for any car of its type with that low of kilos on it.

Update: I decided to go for the deal. Less than $20K for a car with that level of performance, which Car and Driver ranked #1 (and which will supposedly require a lot less maintenance) is a steal IMO. Hope to learn a lot on this forum.

NorthernSpark-

Just about any Spark EV question you have can probably be answered by someone on this forum. I just leased a 2015 Spark EV and, being a "newbie", posted many questions and received many answers that I could not have found anywhere else. I look forward to having some real fun with my Spark EV.

My thanks to all of the forum members who take the time to help those of us searching for answers to our Spark EV questions.

NorthernSpark said:

The other EVs are (Mitsu i-MiEV, Nissan Leaf, Smart fortwo electric) but unfortunately none of the others really appeal to me for some reason or another, otherwise I probably would have already got one.

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One reason or another... BMW i3 is closest competitor to SparkEV if not for cost: i3 is better, but more costly.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/05/vs-other-ev.html

KoreanMuscle said:

The fuel and service costs are hard to beat for any kind of car.

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I explore this in my various "vs" blog post. For gas car and hybrids,

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/05/vs-gas-car.html
http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/05/vs-hybrids.html

Latest I'm working on is to take on CA high speed rail (SUX!) It'll be cheaper and more environmentally friendly to give subsidy for 4 million (at 100% subsidy) or 16 million (25% subsidy) SparkEV than build the damn slow speed train. I explore how the electric grid and low income people can also benefit. Speed and traffic will be part 2.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/05/vs-california-high-speed-rail.html

KoreanMuscle said:

I do worry about the car in snow. Korean built cars do not fare well in salt and snow.

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SparkEV is not meant for snow tires / chains, so even without salt issue, it may not be good in cold areas. Hopefully, GM will have better cold weather capability for nationwide rollout. If they have nationwide rollout; I won't be getting EV if it's over 20K, which at this point Bolt (supposedly Spark replacement) seems to be over 30K after subsidy.

I finally wrote "Why SparkEV by SparkEV Blogspot". Unless there's some extreme reason, getting any car under $22,000 other than SparkEV is not a wise choice, EV, gas, Diesel, hybrid, or whatever else. In regard to any EV, SparkEV is best bang for the buck. Of course, this is only true up to now. If GM decides to jack up the price, it may not be the best car for the money, although performance will still hold.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/09/why-sparkev-by-sparkev-blogspot.html

Now the question is, is it better to get P90D ludicrous mode ($135K, 0-60mph=3sec) or Corvette Z06 ($90K, 0-60mph=2.9sec) + SparkEV? I don't know about you, but I don't race all the time, but I save on energy all the time by driving SparkEV rather than P90D.

By the way, P90D claim of 0-60mph 2.8sec is dubious now, which makes SparkEV the only EV that can claim that it's 0-60mph is QUICKER THAN ANY CAR in its price range.

http://sparkev.blogspot.com/2015/09/vw-fraud-tesla-p85d-fraud.html

SparkevBlogspot said:

...SparkEV is not meant for snow tires / chains, so even without salt issue, it may not be good in cold areas.....

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Why do you make this claim?
Do you know the difference between modern 'Winter Tires' compared to old fashioned 'snow tires'?
I see no reason why someone in snow areas can't install a set of Winter Tires seasonally on the Spark EV.
It's just another small front wheel drive car.

However, I am concerned about the Spark EV standing up to salt.
Have you seen all the nooks and small openings within the wheel wells?
Salty slush can get into the structure of the body/frame and there may not be much to prevent rust inside these areas.
Who know what's under the aero panels covering most of the bottom of the car?

I hope to seal these and spray a corrosion preventative in the holes first, a product like this: http://smile.amazon.com/Fluid-Corrosion-Protection-Aerosol-TY22032/dp/B008N3J4PS/ref=sr_1_7?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1443201571&sr=1-7&keywords=fluid+film+kit
Or this: http://smile.amazon.com/LPS-Heavy-Duty-Inhibitor-Trigger-Bottle/dp/B000HZJFD6/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1443201607&sr=1-1&keywords=lps+3

After blasting this product into the frame openings I'll seal them with a typical silicone sealant, at least on the upward facing ones. You don't want to totally seal the bottom openings just in case water/salt finds a way in and can't drain out somewhere.

NORTON said:

SparkevBlogspot said:

...SparkEV is not meant for snow tires / chains, so even without salt issue, it may not be good in cold areas.....

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Why do you make this claim?

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I think I read something in owner's manual. There were also some forum posts on inability to get even regular tires, let alone snow tires. But if you find ways to make it work in cold, please share. Since SparkEV will soon be sold in Canada, I'm sure they'll love to know more. Your tip on road salt would definitely help. Maybe you could start another thread for SparkEV in cold weather?

SparkevBlogspot said:

NORTON said:

SparkevBlogspot said:

...SparkEV is not meant for snow tires / chains, so even without salt issue, it may not be good in cold areas.....

Click to expand...

Why do you make this claim?

Click to expand...

I think I read something in owner's manual. There were also some forum posts on inability to get even regular tires, let alone snow tires. But if you find ways to make it work in cold, please share. Since SparkEV will soon be sold in Canada, I'm sure they'll love to know more. Your tip on road salt would definitely help. Maybe you could start another thread for SparkEV in cold weather?

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There are dozens of tires for the Spark, some are dedicated winter tires. Lots of good choices in the tire department.

nikwax said:

There are dozens of tires for the Spark, some are dedicated winter tires. Lots of good choices in the tire department.

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Lack of tires was from old forum post, so it's probably no longer valid.

Tires is another topic I'd like to get into. Since there's virtually no maintenance to speak of, tires would be high on SparkEV owner's interest. But I lack info on this matter. What would be helpful is what tires are good for efficiency, quiet, long wear, winter, all weather, cost, and so on and so forth. What would be the best way to find such info specifically regarding SparkEV tires? SparkEV specific testimonials AND test results is what I'm after, not just generic claims.

I'm a little late with this but the US dollar is 75c on Canadian dollar. So $20,000 Canadian = $15,000 US. Equally good deal and many to choose from at our neighbor to the north.

David

So me and my Spark EV have been in Edmonton, AB since January. I have put Michelin Ice X-3 tires on all four wheels. The traction is superb, and despite a couple of close calls on black ice, I feel very safe in them. Really, the traction control does most of the work, but the winter tires are definitely needed in really icey scenarios. The Michelin tires are also low rolling resistance, but not quite as good as the OEM tires. I would estimate that range suffers by about ~5% or so.

Edmonton can get down to -30 degrees or more during the winter. The key thing is to keep the car plugged in so the battery stays warm. As for rust, the rotors on the wheel has built up some, but I've heard that this is a problem in other wet/rainy areas as well. As you know, the Spark will start to be sold in Canada by the end of the year. Also, it has already been available up here to fleet customers. This doesn't mean that it's invulnerable to the challenges of cold weather climes, but it can handle them as well as other cars can. I drove my Spark up from California in the middle of winter, with it loaded down with all my stuff. Sure I have been cautious, but I have never broken down yet in Canada.