Buying a 2013 Volt

Before you pull the trigger, make sure you get the in-service date on the vehicle and understand the warranties and when they expire. The Volt is not like a typical ICE vehicle. It has a B2B (definitely expired), a powertrain warranty (might be expired), an emissions warranty (probably not--usually 70 or 80K within 7 years); and then finally--and most important--the VOLTEC warranty that is 8/year; 100K miles. I don't think Michigan is a CARB state--some Volts in CARB states have a 10 year/150K mile warranty on the BATTERY (only). Look into it.

Also, the 2013s are solid but some of them had issues. I loved my 2013, but it needed several new radio units because they kept failing. Some 2013s had an issue of the charging ports getting stuck closed. I had mine replaced 3 times. These annoying issues could add up if outside of warranty. Also, some 2013s had issues with heat--while mine did not, you better put the car on maximum electric heat (no ICE) and make sure it's hot.

While the price is "ok" I would tell the owner that this is your first electric vehicle and you want the piece of mind of a zero-deductible GM extended warranty on the vehicle--especially since it's a private sale and you're not getting any implied warranty from the seller. Either he could include it as part of the sale, or you could go shop for it and drop the price you'll pay by the price of the warranty.

Stevelovescars said:

I met the owner at the local Chevy store and had a PPI inspection done. He was the original buyer of the car. The service manager confirmed the Voltec warranty is good through June of 2021, so just about three more years and another 50k Miles. I assume this means the traction motor, engine, batteries, transmission, etc. are all covered?

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No--there's been disputed issues over the ICE and whether it falls into the VOLTEC warranty, and I think the transmission as well. According to the 2018 warranty manual, the hybrid warranty (which is what they call it) covers the "propulsion" battery (main HV battery), traction motor, and the following:

High Voltage Wiring, HybridPowertrain and Battery ControlModules, Air Compressor ControlModule (Except Malibu Hybrid),Accessory DC Power ControlModule, High Voltage BatteryDisconnect Control Module, DriveMotor Generator Power InvertorModule, Battery Charger ControlModule.

Brakes
Brake Modulator Assembly

Electric/Hybrid Drive Unit
Electric drive unit assembly electricmotors, and all internal components,including the auxiliary fluid pump,auxiliary pump controller, electricmotor, and 3-phase cables.





Now, this is from the 2018 book so you'll need to dig (and this information is intentionally hard to find) for the 2013 book in case it's different. I remember reading reports on here before of dealers giving Volt owners trouble over covering ICE under VOLTEC and not under powertrain.

One other piece of information you should get -- how much has this 2013's ICE been run? What's the lifetime MPG? More importantly, do you plan to use the ICE a lot or will most of your driving be EV? Issues with the ICE seem rare, but has happened.