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austex04

Spark Member
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austex04 last won the day on September 13 2014

austex04 had the most liked content!

About austex04

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  1. Well, the Spark has two out of three things your looking for. It's great for cummuting, cheap to buy, but is not reliable, at least not for me. The shifter is rubbery and the clutch feel is vague, like most cheap cars are, this is no Mini Cooper but more of a appliance to get from a to b. I suggest looking at a base Ford Fiesta or Hyundai Accent first. You'll probably be glad you did after you read more threads on the Spark.
  2. I do agree if the GM dealer network improved on customer satisfaction and correcting issues on the cars they sell, I would be much happier with owning both the brand, and my Spark, and others would probably hold onto their Sparks longer. I already knew enough about the Fiat 500 when I bought my Spark, which is why I'm here, lol.
  3. It could be worse, if you bought a Spark, lol. Many of us have taken their Sparks into dealers multiple times for the same issues, or multiple unresolved issues that dealers can't replicate. At least you only had one issue with a defective transmission that the dealer is actually fixing, without giving you the run around. Some of us here regret not getting the Sonic for little more cost than a Spark, or just sticking with our beloved import brands, or just got rid of the Spark less than a year of purchase becouse we need reliable transportation and tired of the unresolved issues. Hopefully thi
  4. Yesterday morning when I started the car, I got another major missfire with a blinking cel and traction control light for the first 30 seconds. This is the first time thats happened since the pcv recall was done. This time no pending missfire codes were stored according to my scanner. I'm waiting until I get the pending missfire code before I bring it back in, since I'll be wasting my time otherwise. I wonder if the dealer actually replaced #4 spark plug? If they did, something else is wrong. I'm closer to getting rid of this crappy new car for a Fiesta or back to another Hyundai. At least I'm
  5. That's nice, but most of us here need the converter in place becouse we have emissions inspections. It would also void warranty, which is a good thing to have on these cars.
  6. Have you been using off brand gas? Maybe you have deposit built up in the injectors and/or the combustion chamber. Every 10k miles I do run a bottle of Techron in a tank, even though I only use top tier gas, it makes no difference in power or anything, but keeps deposits from building up. Premium gas makes my Spark run funny and takes a little longer cranking during cold starting, so I avoid it and stick with 87 octane. I do think the oem spark plugs are not really lasting very long, at some point I'd like to change them with NGK or Denso plugs provided they even make them for the Spark.
  7. Try Jet Chevrolet in Federal Way. It did take them a few hrs, but not 17 days. I tried to get it in at Gillcrest for the a/c recall and I would have had to wait 2 weeks just to have them look at it. Just double check the oil level if you have them change it. Jet is the only dealer that I've been somewhat happy with so far. The only bad thing about Jet is that it's a long walk to the bus stop on Pacific to get back home, since I don't like waiting rooms. So far the pcv recall fixed my oil consumption issue. Avoid the dealer in Puyallup, those clowns never follow through on parts.
  8. If you took away all the problems with the dealer service departments, and some of the inital problems that took GM about a year to resolve, I do like the Spark. What made me dislike the car as well as the brand as a whole is the dealer network , and some build/enginering quaility issues. This is coming from multiple service visits at five dealers in two very different states.
  9. I think that dealer is full of it by telling you that you can't drive the car unless you buy it. Pass up the Spark, and GM for that matter, becouse of how the dealer network treats customers. I suggest looking at the base Ford Fiesta S, or Nissan Versa, which is close to this price range. The Mitsubishi Mirage is also close in price, but it's too new to determine if it's reliable or a dud like the Spark,
  10. Good news! Looks like getting the pcv valve recall done fixed my oil consumption problem. Over 1k miles driven over the month and the oil level has not moved, yay! The question is did any hidden damage occur? My idle seems a little rough when the engine is not warmed up all the way. I wonder if the dealer actually replaced #4 spark plug, or did they just say they did? Only one way to find out would be to pull it out myself. I don't trust any of these dealers to do anything right, by my own experiences as well as others on this forum.
  11. I hear nothing but bad things about those E3 spark plugs. Don't use anything other than single electrode plugs in these cars. NGK, Denso, and oem Delco iridium plugs work best in Asian and Korean cars, platinum would be a step down but should still work good.
  12. Don't drive ANY car until you get insurance! You can still get insurance even if you don't own a car, it's just for driving only, and is cheap. Many who don't own a car, but rent one from time to time get this type of insurance. You may also be required to show proof of insurance when you apply for your drivers license.
  13. Welcome! As far as the price is concerned, your price is about average for the auto LS, although I've seen better, around 12999 for a auto LS around here in the NW. The Spark can't pull anything larger than a motorcycle trailer (under 500lbs), so you'll need to look at other options. I did a U-box from Uhaul for my cross country move, there's also Door to Door moving pods as well. I did the math, and it was cheaper to do U-box than to rent a truck and car dollies, becouse of the cost to fuel a truck. I could not have a moving box brought to me becouse of being in a apt, but U-boxes can stay at
  14. Of course not, all they said was they replaced cylinder 4 spark plug as part of the recall, and cleaned the throttle plate before overfilling my oil by almost a qt. Their goal is to get me in and outa there, not explanations for problems I may or may not have, which seems to be the norm for most dealers who hate seeing these cars in for service.
  15. I just had the pcv valve recall done, but I'm waiting until I have at least 1k miles before I check the oil again. Mine did use about half a qt during a 1k mile period, so I'm going to see if that recall fixed it. I also had a cyclinder 4 missfire before recall was done, and noticed lack of power at times. They replaced cylinder 4 spark plug, and it seems better. I had to take it back becouse they overfilled the oil. My impression is that the dealers don't know and/or want to work on these cars, after over 8 visits to 4 different dealers in the Austin and Puget Sound areas. Right now I'm worri
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