[Eric0096]

Hello everyone, I’m about to change my car and get a very low price 2013 Chevy Volt for like about 6k with 123k miles on it and I was wondering if it’s worth it to get the car with that high mileage and my question is, if I get an unlimited miles warranty on the car does that kind of warranties covers the replacement of the battery if it goes bad? Cuz I have search and it seems like a replacement is around 7k to 8k just for the battery plus labor. Is it really that expensive? I would really appreciate your answers since im completely new with hybrid cars plus I’ve been looking around the web about car warranties and none of them says if it covers or not a replacement for the battery of a hybrid car.
thank you!

 

[Off Oil]

The mileage wouldn't bother me, however I personally wouldn't buy one at 7+ years old. A battery failure would essentially total the car, and no newly manufactured replacements are available. That risk makes it not worth it to me, as other reliable vehicles can be bought without incurring this risk.

As far as extended warranties, I have yet to hear of one that will cover the high voltage battery. Extended warranties are like any other type of insurance. The insurer is betting that any payouts will be less than the premium paid. I believe in only buying insurance to cover those events that would be financially catastrophic for you.

 

[16falcon]

I have a 2013 and love it. But increasing instances of HV battery failures that have been reported here are making me nervous. I would not risk $6000 on a vehicle that might need a $10,000 battery replacement in the near future. I would not pay for a used HV battery that costs more than the entire vehicle is worth. If my HV battery fails, I will write the car off. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the car, wish me luck, lol.

 

[Eric0096]

I have a 2013 and love it. But increasing instances of HV battery failures that have been reported here are making me nervous. I would not risk $6000 on a vehicle that might need a $10,000 battery replacement in the near future. I would not pay for a used HV battery that costs more than the entire vehicle is worth. If my HV battery fails, I will write the car off. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy the car, wish me luck, lol.

I’ve got told that even if the battery fails I’ll still be good to use it only with gas, is that true or not?

 

[hellsop]

I’ve got told that even if the battery fails I’ll still be good to use it only with gas, is that true or not?

Nope, not true at all. It's still an electric car, and it still needs the main battery to be a buffer between "generation" (which cannot change rates quickly) and the demands of acceleration and braking (which will change rates quickly). The car TRIES, by inducing a "Propulsion power reduced" mode, but sometimes the battery can be too broken even for that to help.

 

[Sir*real]

I wouldn't necessarily say run away as fast as you can. There's some things to consider. What other vehicle in today's used market are you going to find with under 100,000 miles for $6000? Is that vehicle going to save you on gas ($1500 for most people a year for with $3.00/gal prices). It may be worth doing a little homework and finding if it's worth the risk of a battery failure. There have been some failures as you can see on the forum here, but then there are some Gen1 Volts with 200,000 and no battery issues. I would check its Carfax report and try to run the vin number at a Chevrolet dealer and see if all the software updates have been done and what repairs and maintenance history it has. If you can fully charge the car up and drive until gas engine starts, the energy screen shows total battery charge used. Anything over 10Kwh is fine, under could be a problem. My car is a 2013 with 74,000 miles. I bought a $20 OBDII bluetooth adapter and got the MyGreenVolt App on an old Android phone I use to scan the battery cell voltages every now and then. Normally I see 10 to 20 millivolts difference between the highest and lowest cell group. Anything over ~100 millivolts is a red flag. Over ~300 will set a trouble code and will need to be fixed before the car can be driven. I don't believe there are any extended warranties that would cover the HV battery, if there is it would not be cost effective to get it.

 

[Cloudnine]

Depends whether you can handle a total writeoff of the car in 1-2 years.

 

[Bushpilot]

It is a dice roll. I personally would buy at that price, but don't do it if you are not willing to risk losing it all if something goes awry.

Batteries cost closer to $10k, and extended warranties will not cover that.

 

[Eric0096]

It is a dice roll. I personally would buy at that price, but don't do it if you are not willing to risk losing it all if something goes awry.

Batteries cost closer to $10k, and extended warranties will not cover that.

I’m mostly trying to get it cuz I sold my car since used car prices went really high and got profit on it, so my plan was just to get it for like a year or two till prices go down again and in the meantime used it to do some DoorDash or Uber eats work. So my plan it’s no to keep it as a 5 or 6 years ride.
but if I get definitely will get an extended warranty cuz I know there’s a few things that can go bad besides the battery that can be really expensive plus I have checked and there’s a recall on the battery so I might as well take it to theFord dealership and see what they say.

 

[Eric0096]

I’m mostly trying to get it cuz I sold my car since used car prices went really high and got profit on it, so my plan was just to get it for like a year or two till prices go down again and in the meantime used it to do some DoorDash or Uber eats work. So my plan it’s no to keep it as a 5 or 6 years ride.
but if I get definitely will get an extended warranty cuz I know there’s a few things that can go bad besides the battery that can be really expensive plus I have checked and there’s a recall on the battery so I might as well take it to theFord dealership and see what they say.

I meant Chevy dealer not Ford lol

 

[FI Spyder]

but if I get definitely will get an extended warranty cuz I know there’s a few things that can go bad besides the battery that can be really expensive plus I have checked and there’s a recall on the battery so I might as well take it to theFord dealership and see what they say.

You have to really be careful as to what an extended warranty covers and what it doesn't. The policy is written by lawyers, for lawyers. What recall on battery? The Volt doesn't have any recall on batteries. The recall on batteries is for the Bolt (different battery, different car).

 

[Eric0096]

You have to really be careful as to what an extended warranty covers and what it doesn't. The policy is written by lawyers, for lawyers. What recall on battery? The Volt doesn't have any recall on batteries. The recall on batteries is for the Bolt (different battery, different car).

Yeah I’m gonna check with the warranty company to see what’s cover and what’s not, but according to different posts on the forum I have seen a couple post were warranty will cover something related with computer issue or sum like that.
And yes, there’s a recall cuz I use the vin number at the Chevy website to check for a recall and I got this one.

 

[Eric0096]

Yeah I’m gonna check with the warranty company to see what’s cover and what’s not, but according to different posts on the forum I have seen a couple post were warranty will cover something related with computer issue or sum like that.
And yes, there’s a recall cuz I use the vin number at the Chevy website to check for a recall and I got this one. View attachment 173116

If there’s a battery failure and the recall is still pending is the dealer gonna change the battery free of charge? Sorry for so many questions 😫 I’m completely new with this whole hybrid cars.

 

[pcasey]

Personally, I wouldn't do it for $6k. Maybe $3k. Any car that has over 100k miles on it is on borrowed time. Lots of complex, expensive, and often unobtainable devices are getting ready to fail. Besides that, there are 120somethingKmiles of "events" like unseen water leaks, undercarriage bang-ups, and various barely-functionals like the HVAC (which was notoriously failure prone in Gen One). If you could get it for a lot less than $6k, then your odds of being happy are improved. Your better bet, IMHO, is to make a $6k down payment on a brand new car.

 

[Sir*real]

The recall you found is a software update for the battery, not for the battery itself. There are no recalls to replace the battery in a Volt that I know of. A dealer would be able to run the vin # and make sure all software is up to date for no charge. Definitely wouldn't want to steer someone into a financial decision they may regret. But, there are still a lot of things to consider. The used car market has changed quite a bit recently due to supply chain issues with new cars, shortages of available used cars, and overall inflation of everything right now. Especially if you live in a high cost of living area (California, NY, etc) What other vehicles have you looked at in the price range of this Volt? Is that your limit to spend or are your willing to pay more for a newer vehicle with fewer miles? I pulled up the CarSheild website out of curiosity to see what they cover because Ice T told me to. Even on the most expensive Diamond plan it says under exclusions 'for repair or replacement of hybrid engine powered vehicle batteries or the the repair or replacement of parts associated with hybrid engine powered vehicle batteries' So they're not covering jack squat on hybrid batteries.

 

[hellsop]

I would, were I in this position, be much more inclined to make the deal if that service program were completed and the current owner willing to take a nice hour-long drive with you before closing the deal. We've seen a couple people report cars getting that update and the battery being too far gone to function afterward, and a smooth switch to ICE after is a good crosscheck.

Once past that speed bump, a lot of the risk of total car death go off the table.

 

[Off Oil]

If there’s a battery failure and the recall is still pending is the dealer gonna change the battery free of charge? Sorry for so many questions 😫 I’m completely new with this whole hybrid cars.

No, it's out of warranty.

Don't worry about asking questions. It's better to ask now and make an informed decision, then don't and suffer the consequences later.

 

[TheYonderGod]

I’m mostly trying to get it cuz I sold my car since used car prices went really high and got profit on it, so my plan was just to get it for like a year or two till prices go down again and in the meantime used it to do some DoorDash or Uber eats work. So my plan it’s no to keep it as a 5 or 6 years ride.
but if I get definitely will get an extended warranty cuz I know there’s a few things that can go bad besides the battery that can be really expensive plus I have checked and there’s a recall on the battery so I might as well take it to theFord dealership and see what they say.

I use my 2013 Volt (currently at 170k) for DoorDash and Uber Eats. It works, it's pretty good. But make sure you do all the math to see if it's gonna be worth it. Only 30 miles per charge and then only 30 mpg (on PREMIUM GAS) isn't the best(or the worst) when you're driving 100+ miles a day. You might get a little better if you don't have a lead foot like I do.

I haven't looked at prices of other cars recently, and I'm not saying don't do it, just make sure you're doing the math with real numbers and not the EPA BS.

On a positive note, it is quick to accelerate and fun. And the remote start feature is amazing in California summers when I'm running in to get an order.

 

[gthomson]

I'm looking at it from the other side...
I bought a 2013 in 2016 - it was previously leased.
Had about 32,000 miles on it I think. Bought it for $12,000.
In the past 5 years it has definitely paid for itself on gas savings for my daily commute - 20 miles each way. The gas savings compared to my Ridgeline pretty much covered the cost of the car, and left me with about 50,000 less miles on the Ridgeline, meaning I could keep it longer for desert trips, etc...

On the 2013 Volt, I'm now coming up on 90,000 miles.
A full charge gets me about 32 miles per charge.
Will have to bump up the tire pressure to see if that can get me back up a bit further

Now recently retired, I won't be driving it more than about 2,000-3,000 miles per year.
And I'm hoping to sell it in about 2025, along with the Ridgeline, to then get an EV truck.
Will probably be about 100,000 miles on it at that point.

Lots of variables, obviously...
But at that point I'd be happy to get $3000-$4000 for it.
And one of the reasons I'd be selling it is because I'd be worried about the high voltage battery going bad, and then getting nothing for it. And also not wanting to pay to replace it.

In addition to checking CarFAX, check AutoCheck report - they have better options to info on cars sold at auction if I understand right. AutoCheck showed things that CarFAX didn't for me.

 

[CCTalbert]

Any car that has over 100k miles on it is on borrowed time. Lots of complex, expensive, and often unobtainable devices are getting ready to fail.

I have mixed feelings about this mode of thought... the last car I replaced had 312k miles on it- commuting and a lot of road trips- I sold it to switch to a Volt because I switched jobs and had a 5mi commute, and very few days over 20 miles or so (with the occasional 250mi road trip), so the Volt was a better fit, and I wanted to go Electric. Vehicle before that was at 246k... it was starting to have some rust issues but was running great. I do service my cars rather obsessively, anything I work on I do with the intent of it being good as or better than new, no short cuts.

Anyway, 100k doesn't bother me at all, on a well cared for vehicle. So long as you're not talking about something exotic most anything can be fixed for less than a couple new-car payments. BUT, the Volt is a bit different critter.

I think there are quite a few 200k Volts out there. We don't hear about them much, while we do hear about problems. The "HV battery failure = $10k" gottcha is a game changer. Most any traditional vehicle you can replace an engine or transmission for much less. The more "common" the vehicle, the cheaper.

Me, personally, I worry a bit (I've got a 2012 with 110k now), but I'm going to keep rolling for now. If it comes to it I'll drop a battery pack, either replace from salvage or diagnose/swap cells. But I'm a geek and I'm comfortable with that. I'm not your average owner.