Carvana 2015 Chevy Spark EV

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Doodle

New member
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Messages
3
Location
Illinois
Hey everyone, new poster here. I am hoping to purchase a 2015 Chevy Spark EV 2LT from Carvana with 30k miles. The vehicle was a personal lease car was owned in the Los Angeles, CA area.

My main concern, as I am not able to physically view the car, is the battery health/degradation. Since it was operated in southern California, would you be worried about the battery health? I have called the reps at Carvana, who indicated there is no way for them to prove or provide the battery health to me.

I have a 24 hour hold on the car, and am carefully weighing my options. Any ideas or suggestions for a newbie like me?

Thanks.
 
I thought they give you a 7 day return policy if you don't like it? I'd review what you don't have to like (scratches? dings? battery life?) to allow that return within 7 days.
 
Deal must have been attractive enough for you to place a hold on it. If you daily driving needs are less than 50 miles per day in winter or 60 miles per day in summer, then the battery is probably in good enough condition to serve needs over next several years.

If daily driving needs exceed the above, then I personally wouldn't purchase without having some metric for battery health. Easiest readily accessible method is to fully charge the high voltage battery then drive 40 or 50 miles and check the energy usage screen. The energy use screen shows Kwh used and battery percent used (so 8.5 Kwh used with 50% battery percent used = approximately 17.0 Kwh available when battery is fully charged).

We have two 2015 Spark EVs. Both still show better than 100 miles range in summer when fully charged. Driving style for both is 90% secondary roads and 10% highway so numbers are skewed a bit high (high speed driving uses more Kwh per mile than speeds below 50 mph).

Joe M in WV
 
I bought mine from Carvana in January of this year with 16,500 miles on it. It had ~16.0-16.5kwh capacity then, of the original ~18kwh. 7 months later, I now have almost 32,000 miles and ~15.7kwh battery capacity. Your driving style and weather conditions will determine how much range you will get (the EPA range of 82 miles assumed achieving 4 miles per kwh, much higher can be achieved if you drive conservative).

When I purchased, Carvana had zero shipping fees. At last check, they now have varying shipping fees ( I saw $0, $250, $500). Be mindful of this.
 
I just bought a 2015 with 15,000 miles on it from Carvana in June, and it was also a personal lease vehicle from somewhere in California. My capacity so far has been around 16-16.5 kWh, just like TheLondonBroiler. So far mine has been working out great (it's still only at around 17,000-18,000 miles though).

Carvana lets you return it for any reason, and they'll even let you swap it out if a better one pops up before your delivery date, so there's probably no harm in going for it and at least checking out the car. I would schedule an inspection with your local Chevy dealer in those 7 days just to make sure there's no battery problems that you wouldn't be able to see just from looking at your battery range. Also, when you schedule your appointment make sure the battery specialist is in that day, I made the "mistake" of having a Saturday appointment and then having to bring it back during the week since no one working Saturdays knew anything about electric cars.

One thing about Carvana that is potentially worrying is that they don't store the cars plugged in, so mine arrived with an empty battery (and no charger!). That means it went for potentially months without battery conditioning. Luckily, California has a really mild climate, and storing it with an empty battery supposedly is better than storing it with a full battery if you're not going to leave it plugged in, so I might have gotten lucky in that regard.

Oh and one last thing, if you do end up going with Carvana, make sure you use a referral code. I could give you one for $200 off, but if you go to their subreddit you could probably find someone that still has a $500 code (they're the older codes that are being phased out).
 
Thanks everyone. I went through with the purchase, it was listed at $10,000 but after the $500 referral credit, the total cost was reduced to $9,500 with no delivery fee. I take delivery on September 8th.

I feel pretty good about the price, as I live in rural Illinois with no Spark EVs for sale in my immediate area. I already called Carvana to request the car is delivered at a full charge.

Since I live outside their normal delivery market, I am picking it up in a community 84 road miles from my home. It looks like there are a few options for charging on the way home. Mainly wall plug options, and one NEMA 14-50.

From reviewing previous posts, I need to make sure I change the setting to charge at 12 amps before I plug into a public charger. Any other tips for me? The NEMA 14-50 is a viable option correct? However with the standard charging equipment that comes with the car, it will still only charge at 12 amps, correct? Thanks!
 
Doodle said:
From reviewing previous posts, I need to make sure I change the setting to charge at 12 amps before I plug into a public charger. Any other tips for me? The NEMA 14-50 is a viable option correct? However with the standard charging equipment that comes with the car, it will still only charge at 12 amps, correct? Thanks!

Um, maybe (or not quite, or maybe even "no"). If you use 'a public charger' (and not 'a public plug') then you don't need to set anything - the car will just charge. (A public charging location will have a unit with a " J1772 " plug on it - you won't need to use the 120V EVSE that came with the vehicle.) A public charging spot will charge at the maximum 3.3 kW rate the Spark will accept (about 15 miles range added each hour, depending on your speed, wind, rain, hills, etc.).

NEMA 14-50 is a 240V socket - you can't use that with the EVSE that comes with the car, you'd have to buy a 240V EVSE. (There are quite a few inexpensive 240V 'charging cords' available these days - around $300 - well worth it IF you are often going to be using your EV out of range of home.)

The included 120V EVSE gets plugged into a standard 120V household socket, and defaults to 8 amps of charge (at 120V, or about 0.95 kW charge rate). You would have to increase the draw to 12A each and every time you use the included 120V EVSE.

I *highly* recommend using a public charging location to get your car home (if it isn't too expensive) - as it will charge 3-4 times as fast as the default EVSE that comes with the car. How much is 3 hours of your time worth?

Use https://www.plugshare.com/ to find charging spots close to your route, and sign up for whatever charge companies have networks in your area BEFORE picking up your car. Also add the PlugShare and ChargePoint (and probably EVgo) apps to your smart phone TODAY. Many companies (such as greenlots) have free signup - if you don't ask for an RFid (physical) card - you can authorize over the phone (*IF* you have signal!).

It looks like Blink is present around Chicago - but then just about everybody is (I don't like Blink). SemaCharge has a few around here & there, as does GE. ChargePoint seems to be the biggest one in the area, followed by EVgo (depending on where you are, exactly). Heck, I've signed up for every network I can get for free - and I've only ever used ChargePoint. But I'm covered if I get 'almost stranded' somewhere.

And "Other" (which may be 'free', not networked, private installations) are *all over the place*.

Also, the plugshare app can list "home chargers" - people who have EVs and have said they are willing to let other EV drivers use their home charger for emergencies (and driving home a new purchase might just qualify). Check out the options in the ChargePoint app. You want to list "J1772" and "Wall" (i.e., 120V) home chargers.
 
Doodle said:
...From reviewing previous posts, I need to make sure I change the setting to charge at 12 amps before I plug into a public charger. Any other tips for me? The NEMA 14-50 is a viable option correct? However with the standard charging equipment that comes with the car, it will still only charge at 12 amps, correct? Thanks!
With the stock EVSE (charger) plugged into 120V, Yes, you always have to do the finger tap dance to set 12A.
There are public J1772 that are only 120V, then you'd need to select 12A also. I only ever saw one of those.
Most public charging is 240V L2 at which the car will charge at 3.3kW.

NEMA 14-50 is for RV's (I think). Some people buy/make a hoopty adapter that let's you plug in the L1 EVSE that came with the car into a 240V source, but since it is limited to 12A at 240 V it would be charging at 2.8 kW.

You have time to buy a dual voltage L1/L2 EVSE on amazon and it probably would come with a NEMA 14-50 plug, and maybe others, ready to go!
With one of those you'd be at the full 3.3kW when on this trip and at home if you have a 240V outlet available.

Have fun getting it home. You won't be sorry !!
 
NORTON said:
(1) NEMA 14-50 is for RV's (I think). (2) Some people buy/make a hoopty adapter that let's you plug in the L1 EVSE that came with the car into a 240V source, but since it is limited to 12A at 240 V it would be charging at 2.8 kW.

(1) NEMA (The National Electrical Manufacturers Association) is the largest trade association of electrical equipment manufacturers in the United States. NEMA 14-50 is a plug/socket standard. It is (one of) the most common (single phase) very-high-amperage (50 Amp) 240V sockets in the U.S. (another being NEMA 6-50, which is generally relegated to commercial arc welders). In the home, they are often found/installed for electric oven/stove hookups in the kitchen, and may be found as well in the garage (for electric water heaters, electric home heaters, or as a socket installed specifically for charging EVs). U.S. garages may have a NEMA 14-30 socket, a 240V providing 30 amps max, for electric dryers or water heaters. NEMA 14-50 sockets can be found in some (many) RV parks as well, along with the TT-30 (a 30A 120V socket).

(2) NO! NO! NO !!! The standard 120V EVSE shipped with the Spark EV will NOT accept 240V without (internal) modification. While the Chevy Bolt EVSE can be plugged into 240V with an adapter as shipped, that is NOT true of the EVSE that comes with the Spark. Seriously, DO NOT try plugging the Spark's EVSE into 240V.

NORTON said:
You have time to buy a dual voltage L1/L2 EVSE on amazon and it probably would come with a NEMA 14-50 plug, and maybe others, ready to go! With one of those you'd be at the full 3.3kW when on this trip and at home if you have a 240V outlet available.

If you want a portable 240V EVSE, yes, you will have to buy one. The good news is that (a) there a several inexpensive ones available on amazon these days, and (b) you only need to buy a (less expensive) 16A EVSE to get the max charge rate for the Spark EV.
 
I am also waiting on delivery of a Spark from Carvana. When I called to ask if it had the DC fast charge option I was put on hold for awhile and then told none of the L1 cars had this it was only on L2..... WRONG ANSWER :) If you are expecting this option I would check the charging port as soon as it arrives. I suggested they start opening the fuel/charging door in the pic where they open all hood/doors/trunk etc.
 
Carvana appears to be run predominantly by clowns.... and not the haha funny type with a big red nose, that jump out of a tiny car. In all seriousness, it was the best way for me and many others to acquire a Spark EV. Below is a post I made a while back describing how to determine if a Spark on Carvana has dcfc. Someone replied with a nice picture that showed the view I described, but I can't find the thread. Best of luck.

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4786

Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:55 am

If you're buying from Carvana, you can do a 360° view with all doors open, and even though they generally photograph with the charging door closed*edited*(even though I told them this on two occasions, both times the company rep checked their website as to tell me I was wrong, then admitted I was right and they still don't do it!), what I've found is that you can look under the hood while facing the front driver's door, and you can see the Orange DCFC cables that run from the front middle of the car, to the driver's side, around-a-bouts where you'd normally find the radiator. I wish I had figured this out instead of giving GM all my personal info to have them check using the vin. This "trick" may be applicable to other cars for sale, if their photos have a similar angle under the hood. While not as readily visible as say the bolt, hopefully it helps someone, because asking a sales person or company rep, sadly, usually just leads to frustration.
 
Probably the easiest way to check if a Carvana Spark EV has quick charge is to use the Chevy online chat and tell them to look up the VIN number. Carvana has the VIN number in the CarFax once it becomes available, and Chevy's chat is usually pretty helpful for looking up things like that.
 
Yesterday, we took delivery of our 2015 Chevy Spark EV with fast charging provisions. The car is great! The GOM at full charge this morning indicates a max of 80, middle 67, and min of 53. I am taking it to the Chevy dealer on Tuesday to check the car over, as well as the battery health.

It was a southern California car, and came off a three year lease. I live in rural Illinois, and the temp here is in the 60s currently. My concern is the battery health may be degraded more than normal. I haven't really driven the car much, so I am not sure if that impacts the GOM. I did delete the energy usage history when I received the car. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!
 
I think Norton's capacity test using the energy screen is perfectly adequate. I believe he advises to charge to full, then drive on a high speed (60mph+) highway or interstate, hopefully avoiding regen (braking) as much as possible. When you're driving usage % and climate settings usage % equal 50%, then simply double the energy used at the bottom (you should not have any battery conditioning). Here is a picture that somewhat accurate (this was from my daily usage, so I had lots of regen, and I used the climate controls while parked at work on a hot day, so I had "battery conditioning" usage).
8P6Fox4.png
 
Doodle said:
Yesterday, we took delivery of our 2015 Chevy Spark EV with fast charging provisions. The car is great! The GOM at full charge this morning indicates a max of 80, middle 67, and min of 53. I am taking it to the Chevy dealer on Tuesday to check the car over, as well as the battery health.

It was a southern California car, and came off a three year lease. I live in rural Illinois, and the temp here is in the 60s currently. My concern is the battery health may be degraded more than normal. I haven't really driven the car much, so I am not sure if that impacts the GOM. I did delete the energy usage history when I received the car. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, your driving habits definitely affect the GOM. When you reset, the energy usage estimate (visible, printed) should go back to 4.4 m/kWh. It will take a hundred miles (or maybe more) for the GOM to 'zero in' on your driving habits and common usage (although the energy usage estimate will reflect {and be updated after} every outing).
 
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