[jpcjpc69]

I'm in Northern California and I'm looking at a 2014 with only ~14k on it. The car seems to run excellent, and I've negotiated for 18k out the door (including taxes, license, etc). However, I'm not quite sure if this is a good idea as it's a bit more than i was wanting to pay for a used car. It's being sold by a used car dealer, so there's not much records or info other than a clean carfax. They also did a silly thing and painted the wheels black (without taking the tires off!) so it would "look different". It does look kind of neat, even if it was a total cheeze-ball thing to do.

Should I buy?
Thanks for any suggestions!
-pat

 

[jpcjpc69]

(not sure my first post went though - so trying again)
Hi I'm negotiating with a local used car dealer for a 2014 Volt with 13,700 miles. We are in Northern California and there is a good amount of demand for these cars I think. They are asking for 18k out the door (including taxes / fees). I'm considering since the car seemed nearly mint and drove/looked well. I'm a little unclear on the warranty situation though - is it 8years/100k miles on the drivetrain?
It's the leather one with the backup camera. Still has the new car smell pretty much!
Should I go for it?
Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[llninja]

I thought Cali had their own laws that cover the battery for 10 years 150K miles, but maybe the powertrain is 8 years,100k miles.

Alas, a $18K, you might as well get a gen2. We're starting to see deals around $20K after the state rebate and fed tax credit.

 

[schwartzeneger]

18 seams high to me, even considering it's low miles. One thing you may want to check is to see if the wheels are coated with plastidip, not painted. Plasti dip can be easily removed and is commonly painted on wheels without removing them from the car. Plasti dip is like a rubberized coating. So it wont feel like normal paint and you can usually remove it if you scrape it with your fingernail.

 

[Total_Idiot]

I paid 19.5K (out the door) for new (after tax credit) 2014....last june.

18K still seems high to me.

 

[Mister Dave]

Considering where you are $18K is about right I think. I'd hit them on the painted tires and ask for a grand off. I'd also be concerned about the durability of the wheel paint, but a fresh set of aftermarket wheels would make that a moot point. You could replace the wheels for much less than $1K. Maybe the painted side of the tires could be turned to the inside.

 

[wizard_of-ahs]

Plug the VIN into www.research.com and it will give you vehicle history

 

[VoltenRock]

Alas, a $18K, you might as well get a gen2. We're starting to see deals around $20K after the state rebate and fed tax credit.

llninja said it best. It's just not a good deal and I doubt the dealer paid anywhere close to 18K for that car. For a little more, get a brand new Gen 2 LT--with the extra range, Android Auto/Apple Carplay/backup camera, etc.

 

[jpcjpc69]

Thanks for the input folks. I looked pretty hard and the best I could find on the retail market were cars with 30k for ~15-16k - and that was not including taxes. These guys eventually sold it to me tonight for 18k out the door, which ended up being 15,8xx or so for them, which I think is a reasonably good deal considering the car has 13,700 miles. I'll post a picture in a bit, but I need to read more forums and know where to start... I figure there's an app, I read about some screen for the lower radiator and a few other basics I need to learn! So far I'm pretty stoked though!

 

[CCIE]

Car markets can be very local, especially for cars priced low enough to make shipping a large percentage of the purchase price. But, I wouldn't pay any more than $15k for any Gen1.


Don't get me wrong, the Gen1 is a great car. But, with the actual selling price of the Gen2 after tax credit being in the low 20s, it doesn't make sense to buy a used car unless it's $15k or less.

 

[jpcjpc69]

all good

I ended up going for it because I couldn't find a lower mileage one at that price. In fact, to get it out the door for 18k, they had to sell it to me for 15.8k which was lower than many other local cars with 30-40k miles. After buying I discovered the car has only used 66gallons of gas in it's lifetime, so I effectively have a nearly-new car. I don't think it's had any dealer service in a while and since the inital 3 year warrantee may be up, I wanted to quickly get it into the dealer for some service - this was all I could think of right now - any ideas on other things I should have them check/warrantee?
-Rear view mirror loose
-check battery coolant levels
-check and update software versions for the system

 

[llninja]

I ended up going for it because I couldn't find a lower mileage one at that price. In fact, to get it out the door for 18k, they had to sell it to me for 15.8k which was lower than many other local cars with 30-40k miles. After buying I discovered the car has only used 66gallons of gas in it's lifetime, so I effectively have a nearly-new car. I don't think it's had any dealer service in a while and since the inital 3 year warrantee may be up, I wanted to quickly get it into the dealer for some service - this was all I could think of right now - any ideas on other things I should have them check/warrantee?
-Rear view mirror loose
-check battery coolant levels
-check and update software versions for the system

Congrats. Many of the suggestions are the same as a regular car. Many of these you can do yourself.

a. Make sure the emissions system recall and the hatch stut recall were performed.
b. Listen carefully when you accelerate and decelerate. If you hear a popping noise each time, you might need to have your axle nuts torqued, or nuts and washers replaced, or worst case scenario bearing replacement.
c. Check the oil life indicator on the DIC (and look at the dipstick). My first oil change wasn't needed until 22.5k miles, but there's also a 2 year rule
d. Check the condition of all 4 tires.
e. Replace the cabin filter behind the glove compartment (empty the glove compartment and look for videos online on how to access it)
f. Check to see if you need new wiper blades. I found the GM ones to fit better than 3rd party ones - I struggled to get the passenger side Bosch ones on
g. Seriously consider getting a VoltShelf and VoltScreen
h. Go buy an L2 EVSE

 

[Mister Dave]

In fact, to get it out the door for 18k, they had to sell it to me for 15.8k.....

Taxes ?

 

[CCIE]

Taxes ?

I know CA taxes are high, but that would be over 13%. I'm guessing the dealer threw in some "stuff."

 

[akaslips]

Is that website always correct? Is it usually accurate? Just curious because I was thinking about buying a used 2012 Volt. I typed the vin in and it stated 02/02/2012 4 mi 1/22/2014 193232 Then it states 7/17/2017 21706 So how would the odometer roll back by 171,526 miles???