[mdgreenster]

Hi Folks,

My son is looking at buying one of two low mileage 2015 Volts from a Chevy dealer here in Maryland. Reports on both of them show that they were subjects of Lemon Laws in California. I'm guessing that the dealer should have access to the service reports on both vehicles. I see from the latest issue of Consumer Reports that the (In car electronics) was a big source of trouble for this model year. Has anyone here had issues like this with a MY2105 Volt that were not able to be corrected?

 

[firehawk72]

Hi Folks,

My son is looking at buying one of two low mileage 2015 Volts from a Chevy dealer here in Maryland. Reports on both of them show that they were subjects of Lemon Laws in California. I'm guessing that the dealer should have access to the service reports on both vehicles. I see from the latest issue of Consumer Reports that the (In car electronics) was a big source of trouble for this model year. Has anyone here had issues like this with a MY2105 Volt that were not able to be corrected?

I personally have no experience in this area. First, I would check on how "being a lemon" affects warranty. Second, I would want to know exactly what those problems were that led to it being declared a lemon. And third, it would have to be a very large discount over a similar car to even consider one being labeled a lemon. Maybe someone can chime in with personal experience...

 

[1612202]

I have a 2015 Volt now with 13,000 miles. The only problem I have ever had with the car is that after not being used for a month this winter the 12 volt battery was low and needed to be recharged. I think lemon law buy back cars do not have a valid manufactures warranty. I believe GM has the warranty info on line or u can call them.

 

[BAZINGA]

I'd want two items addressed.

1. Get a copy of the GMVIS report. And dealer can pull this. In fact on the Corvette Forum there are several dealers that do it for free for folks out shopping for a pre-owned vette.

2. Status of the factory warranty and can an extended warranty be purchased.

and lastly have you compared their asking price to vehicles listed on say CARMAX or CARS.COM? It better be a great deal else I'd walk.

 

[trm2]

I have a '15 also, 12,500 on the clock and it has been great, no problems at all. Consumer Reports' problem may be that it isn't a Toyota.

 

[AtomicPowered]

Only a couple really minor problems with my 2015 in 36k miles. I really wonder what these lemons are. Since you can get a used Volt with 20k miles under $15000 I wouldn't bother with a lemon unless it was half price and you were willing to put up with the potential repairs.

 

[bjrosen]

The definition of a lemon is a car that has a serious defect that couldn't be fixed, if these cars were lemon law buybacks then you should stay far away.

 

[Fourdoor]

The definition of a lemon is a car that has a serious defect that couldn't be fixed, if these cars were lemon law buybacks then you should stay far away.

correction: Couldn't be fixed to the satisfaction of the owner.

There are some people out there that would drive a 1G Volt at 85/90 mph all the time, and then take it back to the dealer multiple times for a "defective battery" since they don't get 38 miles of range... that is just one example, some owners hear a phantom noise that nobody else hears, or some other BS complaint... when they encounter things like this sometimes a dealership will give up and buy back to get them to go away. Other times their really IS a defect that they can't seem to track down and get ride of.

Unless I was firmly convinced that a real problem existed that was fixed, or that the original owner was a nutbag (or suffered from buyers remorse and pulled a scam to get out of the vehicle) I would not purchase a car that had lemon fresh scent

Keith

 

[garyg]

I have 2 2015 Volts that are 16 and 13 months old with 16 and 18 k miles with 2 minor issues (steering sticking, fixed by software update) and a slow mode change knob in cold weather which I have have not had time to take to the shop.

As a former service manager most of the lemon law cars were non-issues but once the owner had latched onto this path, it is just easier to just go along with them. Although I am sure some had serious issues. But I would think that the issues were resolved before they were resold.

 

[bobrad]

Hi, I have a 2015 Volt (also had a 2012). The 2015 has 25k miles on it. I have had zero issues, with the exception of the infotainment system occasionally going dead and then rebooting. There was a software update recently that addressed this. Since I got that update, it's done it once in maybe 8k miles or so. BTW, this car is a Premiere with all options including Nav and Bose.

The problem was a bit annoying, especially since it did it while I was depending on the Nav system, but seconds later it was back on. I wouldn't let that keep you from buying the car. It's just not that serious.

 

[turboguy327]

correction: Couldn't be fixed to the satisfaction of the owner.

There are some people out there that would drive a 1G Volt at 85/90 mph all the time, and then take it back to the dealer multiple times for a "defective battery" since they don't get 38 miles of range... that is just one example, some owners hear a phantom noise that nobody else hears, or some other BS complaint... when they encounter things like this sometimes a dealership will give up and buy back to get them to go away. Other times their really IS a defect that they can't seem to track down and get ride of.

Unless I was firmly convinced that a real problem existed that was fixed, or that the original owner was a nutbag (or suffered from buyers remorse and pulled a scam to get out of the vehicle) I would not purchase a car that had lemon fresh scent

Keith

That's not exactly how it works. In order for it to be a repair attempt parts need to be installed on the car. That was written so dealers would have to admit there was a problem and scams wouldn't be successful.

 

[DonC]

As a former service manager most of the lemon law cars were non-issues but once the owner had latched onto this path, it is just easier to just go along with them. Although I am sure some had serious issues. But I would think that the issues were resolved before they were resold.

Interesting information. I assumed this was the case but nice to get confirmation.

 

[VoltenRock]

Are these listed as a "manufacturer vehicle"--just curious how you got the information. I definitely would want the GMVIS report--lots of useful information. You should get it and have us all take a look.

Just took a look at CA's lemon law--besides the "serious" issues, there are two other ways to make a car a "lemon" in California:
(2) the same problem has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer or its agents and the buyer has at least once directly notified the manufacturer of the need for the repair of the problem as provided in the warranty or owner's manual or (3) the vehicle is out of service because of the repair of any number of problems by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 days since delivery of the vehicle. https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/cars

I can tell you from personal experience that having a low volume vehicle can make a 30-day "out-of-service" time very possible. There are sometimes just issues with getting parts, even if it's a minor problem. And the way this is read--it's cumulative, which means just a couple of repairs that took more than a couple weeks each could possibly trigger this right. An angry customer could very well have exercised this.

Either way, get the information on repairs and also make sure the dealer knows you're VERY concerned about this history--and demand a corresponding discount in price to help quell your unease.

 

[Bonacci15Volt]

I have a 2015. Currently in the shop because I keep getting a message that the battery is cold plug in to warm. It's 80+ degrees in Florida. Luckily I took a picture of the DIC before it went away. They have had my car for 2 days now. 35K miles are on it. This is the only issue that I have had with the car.

 

[Aseras]

As someone else mentioned, get the GMVIS report which is the entire service history of the car.

My 2015 was in the shop from October until mid December and still wasn't fixed. Add to it that they left the windows down when they "killed" the car by pulling the HV battery and had to "shrink wrap" the windows. and it spent a good month outside in the rain and sun etc.

My car smelled like mold and ass when I got it back. It used to smell like a new car still. It had dead frogs and lizards in it too...

Dealership didn't even try. They couldv'e at least tried to cover it up by spraying some air freshener or febreeze in there but they didn't give a crap and that same attitude was present in their work too.

If you see something like that, run away. I really doubt someone would lemon law a car that wasn't a real problem car. It's a royal PITA.

 

[RePo]

It comes down to price. I could take a calculated risk for a substantial discount. You'll always have a parts value if it won't drive.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

My car smelled like mold and ass when I got it back. It used to smell like a new car still. It had dead frogs and lizards in it too...

One resold like that would call for a moldy ass and unintended wildlife discount.

Mike

 

[VoltenRock]

I have a 2015. Currently in the shop because I keep getting a message that the battery is cold plug in to warm. It's 80+ degrees in Florida. Luckily I took a picture of the DIC before it went away. They have had my car for 2 days now. 35K miles are on it. This is the only issue that I have had with the car.

Sounds like the classic temp sensor failure that plagued my '13 (and many other Gen 1's). This resulted in partial HV battery replacement as the sensor is non-serviceable.

 

[JRRF]

Why would you even take this risk?!? It's a fools gamble. Even if the car came with a full warranty, do you really want your son driving around in a car that had some un-fixable problem at some point? How much is it worth to get stuck on the freeway and then be without a car as they continually try and fix this one? You couldn't give me this car. And remember every time it's in the shop you continue to pay for the car and the insurance. Pitch in a few more bucks and get your son a newer, non-lemon model that he's more likely to enjoy, and will create less worry for you.

 

[Jester84]

Correct me if I am wrong but it could be as simple as the radio not working properly...and after several failed attempts they lemoned it...or a slight vibration that the owner only can feel. Silly things like that are known to happen.