Hey all. I found the perfect 2014 Volt with all of the options I want, which is mainly the backup camera. It has about 61,000 miles but a really great price and a clean Carfax. Is there anything I should worry about with these higher miles? I will be taking this car to college which is about 2 hours from my home and want to check to see if there is any preventative maintenance I should do? What should I look for on the test drive? Anything you can tell me will be immensely helpful. Thank you!
Higher mileage Volt?
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I purchased a high mileage '13 just over a year ago (93K) and have been extremely pleased. Fortunately the seller used the same dealership since new and I was able to get a complete service history printout from the dealership she used. Aside from general maintenance I did just after purchase including oil/filter, air filter and spark plugs, I've had to do nothing to the car. Being that you're looking at a '14 which is potentially 4 years old (build date), the only possible maintenance you may be looking at aside from and oil change is an upcoming coolant flush at 5 years/100K. You might also consider having the transmission fluid changed as although it's normally done around 100K, it's also listed as needing done around 45K under severe usage and without a record of how the previous owner drove it (if buying from a dealership) it's usually better to be safe than sorry. As for the test drive, definitely check the engine operation. This can be done either with a depleted battery or by placing it into hold mode. If the battery is less than about 1/2 charge, mountain mode will run to build the battery charge to 1/2 on the battery meter. This will give you a chance to hear how the engine operates. It shouldn't make any abnormal sounds and vibration should be minimal. In fact, only upon higher demand in charge sustain mode (battery depleted), its rare that I can hear my engine above a "normal" radio volume (12-15 on the volume dial). Also make sure the car has the included 120V EVSE charge cord. It's normally stored in the trunk. Verify it works, otherwise negotiate for a replacement or deduct cost from the price. Don't just plug it into a wall, but also plug into the car to verify the car does indicate it is charging.
I would also definitely push, twist and pull on any and every swtich/button you can find to make sure everything works. This includes the window switches on every door, not just the driver control panel. Also make sure all the quick access buttons on the each of the outer door handles locks/unlocks the car.
If everything checks out you should use your best judgement but I personally wouldn't hesitate if the car comes back with a clean bill of health. As I've said, I've had mine for almost a year and a half and I have taken several long drives in it, mostly 2-300 mile drives in a day and not a hiccup to be found.
A good indicator of engine mileage is to check the lifetime MPG of the car. It's found by pressing the button on the center console that looks like a leaf. Higher MPG indicates more EV and fewer gas miles. Mine had a lifetime rating of about 38 indicating mostly gas miles which onstar verified that out of my 93K miles, ~70K were gas miles, which is why I chose to change the spark plugs since those are due at 100K, which I felt 70K meant they were getting close anyway.
I would also definitely push, twist and pull on any and every swtich/button you can find to make sure everything works. This includes the window switches on every door, not just the driver control panel. Also make sure all the quick access buttons on the each of the outer door handles locks/unlocks the car.
If everything checks out you should use your best judgement but I personally wouldn't hesitate if the car comes back with a clean bill of health. As I've said, I've had mine for almost a year and a half and I have taken several long drives in it, mostly 2-300 mile drives in a day and not a hiccup to be found.
A good indicator of engine mileage is to check the lifetime MPG of the car. It's found by pressing the button on the center console that looks like a leaf. Higher MPG indicates more EV and fewer gas miles. Mine had a lifetime rating of about 38 indicating mostly gas miles which onstar verified that out of my 93K miles, ~70K were gas miles, which is why I chose to change the spark plugs since those are due at 100K, which I felt 70K meant they were getting close anyway.
This is hugely helpful! If everything goes through, I plan to keep this car for the next 5 years or so. Regarding the service history, this car is super clean with an extensive history. Well as extensive as you can get with oil/filter changes and tire rotations. But this is hugely appreciated!
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As stated before, coolant flush at 5 years and the better safe than sorry transmission flush are things to prepare for. At 61,000 you're just outside the powertrain warranty, but you still have the remainder of the 8yr/100k mile Voltec warranty that covers the battery and electric motors as well as a few other hybrid components. Those things are the most expensive to replace and you have that protection in place. Check the cabin and engine air filters, dealers don't typically replace those before resale. Oh and you'll probably need new wiper blades.
Enjoy driving electric!
FYI there is a 2012 Volt out there with 400,000+ miles with few problems other than routine maintenance and replacing wear and tear items. These cars are in it for the long haul.
Enjoy driving electric!
FYI there is a 2012 Volt out there with 400,000+ miles with few problems other than routine maintenance and replacing wear and tear items. These cars are in it for the long haul.
Good point on the wipers. I changed mine a couple months after I bought as winter started approaching and I noticed they didn't perform well (they were "okay"). I'd suggest actually going with the dealership with the wipers. I bought mine at a local autoparts store and discovered they aren't designed for left and right side as the OEMs were. It probably doesn't make a huge difference except the wind reflector on the top of the wiper is upside down on one side.
All in all I've been very pleased with my '13. It's got a comfortable ride, it's quiet, and gets much better mileage than my previous car. I love not using gas except when I go out of town, or have a night at work when I have to deliver. Even on those work nights, gas use is typically .25-.5 gallons.
Since you're looking at a '14 and it looks like you're in CA. If the car is a CA car (green sticker eligible), you actually should benefit from a 150K mile Voltec warranty rather than the standard 100K the rest of the country received. As for the powertrain warranty, the '13 benefited from a 5yr/100K warranty, and a quick google search indicated it also applies to the '14 so you may still have coverage you don't know about.
Just for added peace of mind, you can also take it to a Volt qualified dealership and have it checked with an inspection. I bought mine in the LA area and took it to one of the more major Volt dealers (Keyes in Van Nuys), or rather the seller dropped it off the night before and it was ready by afternoon. The inspection takes a couple hours if you decide to do one. They basically check fluids, brakes, tires, etc. If you feel confident that the records offered from the seller are good, you can choose to not have the inspection but $1-200 is a small price to pay for that extra peace of mind.
Just for the record, my 93K car at purchase now has about 117K, so I definitely have put some miles on it since I bought it and it's still running like the day I got it.
All in all I've been very pleased with my '13. It's got a comfortable ride, it's quiet, and gets much better mileage than my previous car. I love not using gas except when I go out of town, or have a night at work when I have to deliver. Even on those work nights, gas use is typically .25-.5 gallons.
Since you're looking at a '14 and it looks like you're in CA. If the car is a CA car (green sticker eligible), you actually should benefit from a 150K mile Voltec warranty rather than the standard 100K the rest of the country received. As for the powertrain warranty, the '13 benefited from a 5yr/100K warranty, and a quick google search indicated it also applies to the '14 so you may still have coverage you don't know about.
Just for added peace of mind, you can also take it to a Volt qualified dealership and have it checked with an inspection. I bought mine in the LA area and took it to one of the more major Volt dealers (Keyes in Van Nuys), or rather the seller dropped it off the night before and it was ready by afternoon. The inspection takes a couple hours if you decide to do one. They basically check fluids, brakes, tires, etc. If you feel confident that the records offered from the seller are good, you can choose to not have the inspection but $1-200 is a small price to pay for that extra peace of mind.
Just for the record, my 93K car at purchase now has about 117K, so I definitely have put some miles on it since I bought it and it's still running like the day I got it.
i would suggest purchasing a warranty. I've had a number of major issues over the years with my '13. All of the major stuff was covered by Chevrolet. however, when the warranty expires, you could face sudden, rather expensive costs. I'm talking main battery, steering issues. I generally don't tout add on warranty's but if you can find something reasonable, might give you some piece of mind.
A GMPP wouldn't be possible since it's past the B2B warranty, but perhaps one of the other third party warranties might be possible. It might be incredibly more expensive though and may or may not be able to be added to the initial loan, if applicable. Outside of any electrical issues within the car (infotainment, etc), most everything else should be covered that would impact driveability.
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61K is not too bad, especially if you have a lot of EV miles. You should try to figure out how many miles are on the actual GAS engine as they will give you a better indication of usage for the likely more-troublesome propulsion system.
When I traded in my '13 with about 55K miles, I only had about 20K miles on the gas engine itself, which would still be considered fairly "new" if it were an ICE vehicle.
When I traded in my '13 with about 55K miles, I only had about 20K miles on the gas engine itself, which would still be considered fairly "new" if it were an ICE vehicle.
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