Looking.. and looking.. for my first EV

[TheLondonBroiler]

I told the sales guy I'm willing to take a chance at a low enough price which I stated and he said, sure, let's sit down and "work it out". At that point I say nice to meet you, bye.

Well played. I've taken their business card and written my price out the door on the back, along with my phone number, said thanks for letting me check the vehicle out and don't waste my time, hand them back their card. They've never called, but as it turns out, those were all vehicles I'm glad I didn't end up owning anyways

[ZNuts]

I just saw a 2016 show up at one of the local dealer, the first 2016 since I began to look for a Spark EV. The price is actually reasonable IMO.

Does anyone know why the rarity so far is because they are still mostly under lease? If there are bunch of 2016 coming off lease that may affect my strategy.

[SparkE]

I just saw a 2016 show up at one of the local dealer, the first 2016 since I began to look for a Spark EV. The price is actually reasonable IMO.

Does anyone know why the rarity so far is because they are still mostly under lease? If there are bunch of 2016 coming off lease that may affect my strategy.

There aren't many because not that many were sold in the US (around 8K, I belive, over 4 years 2013-2016).

And most of the leases should have been returned by now (only a handful of leftover 2016s were sold in 2017). What is on the market now are ones that couldn't be sold over the past 6-12 months or so. There won't ever be any new ones made.

[ZNuts]

It's done, I just joined the club. Just bought a 2016 LT1 for under $8k (tab and RTA tax extra).

The interior needs some cleaning so the dealer will detail it and I'll pick up next week. It's first registered in Oregon around mid-2016 so I'll have a few years of battery warranty left. It's the first 2016 I see in this area too.

Battery capacity per Torque Pro is 15.2, which isn't great for its age and the color isn't what I care for but I'm not shooting for perfection.

My hope is to get 5-6 years out of this than pick up a longer range EV then.

[TheLondonBroiler]

It's done, I just joined the club. Just bought a 2016 LT1 for under $8k (tab and RTA tax extra).

Congrats dude! I'll send you a t shirt.

Just kidding. I made this to have fun with another forum member in the Charlotte area.

[ZNuts]

Hey, that's the color of one I got.

Picking up tomorrow morning. The dealer is about 51 miles from my house so will be a bit of adventure,

[NORTON]

....Picking up tomorrow morning. The dealer is about 51 miles from my house so will be a bit of adventure,

You'll be fine.
Set the CC to a slower speed at first and see how it goes. No AC if you can...

Good luck having those dogs actually charge the car fully for your trip home.

Tell them if it's not fully charged, you are walking away.
You have to get their limited attention somehow....

Do you know how to tell if a car salesman is lying?

You wont' be sorry !!

[Bigbusdriver]

Hello,
I'm new here. I was reading the Smart ED Forum for some time, but realized that the vehicle is really an orphan.
Now searching for a little Spark EV, which I should have been doing from the start. With Chevy dealerships, maybe you could get
service if you had a major issue? At least they haven't washed their hands of the car as Mercedes did.
I have my eye on a 2016 with 45K miles. Things to look for, I know about the fast charge port, the different trim levels, battery makes.
I will be charging from 110V, as at home I do not have a 220 option. That is just fine, and as I am retired and these
smaller EV's fit my lifestyle just fine.
My biggest concern obviously is the battery health. What is the best test for battery health? I really don't want to end up
with an expensive paper weight.
Thanks

[NORTON]

...
My biggest concern obviously is the battery health. What is the best test for battery health? .

If you don't have an OBD2 to BT dongle and the app, fortunately the Spark EV can give you direct info on the display about the current battery capacity.
It would involve an extended test drive starting with a 100% SOC and driving it down to < 50% SOC, lower than that would even be better. You then do the math from the X kWh used / X SOC %.

There was a post here about some owner recently getting a warranty replacement pack from Chevy!
You'd be covered!
Also, it wouldn't be a 'paper weight', just an EV with less and less range as time went on.
Would you toss it if it ever became a 50 mile range EV?

How can the Smart EV be orphaned? Isn't there a law covering cars less than 10 years old? Or is that a myth?

You won't be sorry!
Have both hands on the wheel when you punch it!!

[SparkE]

Yeah, I love my Spark EV. My wife and I have discussions almost every day "so, where are you driving today" and "what errands need to be done today", "do we need groceries", etc. BECAUSE we both want to drive the Spark instead of the gasmobile (which we use for long trips).

I am also retired (since I was 45) and so my schedule is very flexible and I can fit my schedule around hers. And I 'second' the advice to hold onto the steering wheel when you accelerate hard. The car is a bullet, but it does have torque steer issues (car pulling to one side or the other under heavy accel). Do *not* accelerate heavy when turning the car (right or left). You may end up crashing the car. You turn, get straight, THEN you accelerate like a madman.

This car is so quick. What I used to do on the local exprressways, when some jerk on a motorcycle would pull up and rev his engine over and over at the red light (I knew he was going to accelerate like a racecar driver), I would punch the Spark off the line and beat him to the next red light. Then I would just look at him and smile. Invariably he would push up his helmet shield to talk to me "what the he11 is that little car !!!" I would answer "it's electric - instant full torque from 0 rpm". And smile again, and then when the light changed I would do my normal driving, slow off the line, ...