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Has anybody have any good things about this car?


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12 hours ago, Retired old Gearhead said:

Issue is not about having the recall done after you bought the car...should have been done long before you got the car or immediately after since the PCV failure usually occurred around the 20-30Kmi. point. By the time you got possession, it was only a few miles away from the failure point or already starting to fail. Had you done the research you could have found this issue and had it (PCV recall) done before the engine started drinking all that oil (the common PCV failure symptom)...Just in the nick of time, but all would be good. Many Sparks that had the PCV unit fail before the replacement was done via the recall usually ended up with irreversible damage to the engine and many had entire engines replaced under warranty...that's the short version of the  PCV recall issue. Although you would not have known this without research prior to purchase shows the importance of research prior to buying a vehicle...specially used... I do sympathize with your situation... A hard lesson though... 'Nuff said...

I dont know any other way to put this, to make you understand. I bought the car, barely put 10k miles on it, No issues at all. Got recall letter from chevrolet. Took it to dealer. They keep it for a few hours and said work was done, come get it. Put another 10k miles on car. Then the car started missing, and started using oil. I took it to a different dealer to have it checked out. Come to find out, the repairs had not been done. Now that the first dealer screwed me by not doing the work, Chevrolet claims its not their problem, and wants to wash their hands of it. So please spare me the it was only a few miles away from death. The car was fine, no issues at all when it was taken in the first time. Took another 10k miles, this is the dealers fault for not doing it the first time. Hence Chevrolet's fault for allowing one of their dealers to do this kind of thing to people, then washing their hands from it. 

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Yup..Got it. Car was OK at purchase..needed the PCV recall..dealer did not replace the PCV unit as per recall..THEN you started using oil...OK..My apologies for misreading all your data..not all the clear on the above details..Still the research bit spoken about applies, but that's a whole different subject as it your specific problem could have been avoided had the dealer done the PCV part replacement. And...I do agree with "Hence Chevrolet's fault for allowing one of their dealers to do this kind of thing to people, then washing their hands from it". Now you need to explain that very clearly with dates name and clear issue on the recall not done when the dealer said it was done. Get some documentation from the "different Dealer" etc..more paper and facts the better and sounds like they owe you a new engine under the warranty...not too sure how they handle the 'salvage' or whether they have a clause in there warranty agreement regarding that...Don't go all helter skelter on them..talk to a lawyer who specializes in that kinda thing first before you submit anything..keep every scrap of paper, dates and names etc...Good luck and keep us up to date as some members have had to go that route, ...one I know of had a successful outcome with a engine replaced..warranty was approved.

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Just to add one small point - talking to a lawyer is fine, but do not under any circumstances actually hire one until ALL of YOUR efforts hit a brick wall.

If you hire a lawyer, no one from Chevy or GM will talk to you any longer concerning your car.

If the lawyer then does his research into your problem and decides that the case is either unwinnable or too iffy to fight and drops it, you are SOL.

They will tell you that since you hired a lawyer (even though s/he no longer represents you) they can't talk to you and to hire another.

Needless to say, if one lawyer dumps your case it will be extremely hard (if not impossible) to find another that will take it on without paying them upfront.

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So far I love this little car. Bought a 2016 LS last month. It's almost been one month of owning it. Basically a brand new car since the previous owners only owned it for a couple weeks then had to give it back.

 

So far I've replaced the map/dome light, trunk light, and reverse lights to LED's, installed dark smoke wind deflectors, and new gunmetal color hubcaps.

 

Only regret is buying a base model. I miss having power everything like I do on my other car. The main reason why we bought this car from where we did is because every car they sell comes with a free lifetime powertrain warranty, free lifetime oil changes, and free lifetime car washes.

 

Here's a picture of the car from before buying it.

1488003113055.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
On August 18, 2016 at 1:45 PM, fatherofsalsa15spark2lt said:

Brand new to the family. 

Just got my daughter this car 2015 2lt

12000 miles.

All I have read is bad feedback.

Did I make a mistake on buying this car.

I like the feedback that gearhead gives. 

But all feedback is important thanks 

Note that spark is a mass produced car, so normal to expect 2 to 3% of cars will experience some problems. If want a problem free car, buy a $300,000+ car such as rolls Royce. Also note that people who have no serious problems will not bother to post on these forums. So you meet all the people  here who are angry that their car is crap. 

As for the cvt, if it's predecessor (geared automatic) is so Reliable then why is Armco flourishing? They make a good living repairing geared automatics! The cvt uses special oil and should be changed as recommended.

Edited by Bobby MSME
Typo
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9 hours ago, Bobby MSME said:

Also note that people who have no serious problems will not bother to post on these forums. So you meet all the people  here who are angry that their car is crap.

I agree with that. Mine is problem free so far so I don't complain. Forums are usually flooded with people looking for help to solve a problem without spending money.

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On 3/27/2017 at 1:48 AM, Bobby MSME said:

As for the cvt, if it's predecessor (geared automatic) is so Reliable then why is Armco flourishing? They make a good living repairing geared automatics! The cvt uses special oil and should be changed as recommended.

How many conventional auto tranny's are in service compared to CVT's? Probably close to a million to every CVT, since wide use of the CVT in cars is a fairly new thing. That is why places like Armco do a good business on conventional auto trannies..Mind you, the newer (1995 and up) auto trannys are far better than earlier models. I have owned auto tranny cars..many makes and models since 1970 and only once had an issue (seal leak on a 1976 Firebird..big torque-396-V.8). With the Spark alone there have been many CVT's replaced, damaged belts etc.. a disproportionate number. So I can safely say that the Spark model years 2014-2016 had issues with the CVT..seems to be ironed out somewhat with the new 1.4 wide torque engine introduced in 2016 and from what I gather so far..the 2017 works very well with the Jatco-7 CVT.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/10/2017 at 2:26 AM, Mike68 said:

Now to MR Ray. For your information, Chevrolet said they would take care of the recall even though it had a salvage title. And also for your information, I did not have to check if it had a recall, chevrolet sent me a recall notice. But the dealership I took it to, said they did the work, and did not. I was having no issues with the car. I thought the issues was taken care of, so I did not worry about it. Put another 10k miles on it and now I have a bad engine.  So no, it is not on me. Please don't assume you know anything about my situation, when you obviously don't. Cant stand an self righteous know it all. You obviously cant comprehend either, seeing how this is all in my post. SMH. 

 

First of all, you could have posted your original angry missive in a separate thread, rather than hijacking someone else's unrelated thread. If you have problems with your own car, don't "borrow" this discussion just because this is where people seem to be hanging out.

 

Second, you posted on a public forum. If you weren't prepared for people to have their own opinions about what you say, then you should have posted this on a personal blog and turned off the comments.

 

Now, to your situation. Yes, it sucks that your engine is failing or has failed. It also sucks that your local dealer was not clear about which recall they were performing. I'm guessing the notice you received was in reference to the radio chime problem and not the PCV recall.

 

I'm also guessing that, based on what I have read online about the PCV recall, it was correctly completed but the wrong (incorrect type) part was used mistakenly by whoever did the PCV fix on your car. This is, from what I understand, an easy mistake to make, because the only visual difference between the old PCV and the new one is that the new part is gray in color, while the old part is black. So if the oil usage problem continued after they said it was fixed, that might be part of the cause.

 

But what sucks even more is that, at the very heart of it all, you bought a car with a salvage title and expected it to be all hunky-dory. You say that it was "hit in the fender" on the front of the car. I assume that you have looked at the front of this car? There's not much there, so a crash can affect lots of other things beyond just the body without actually looking like it. How do you actually know that it was just the fender?

 

Generally, there has to be a fairly good reason for any state to issue a salvage title. One of those reasons is often flood damage, which is very easy to hide, but can also cause a host of problems to arise if you don't know what you're looking for. For instance, if the car was ever submerged, that could have something to do with your engine problems.

 

I find it very hard to blame the dealer in this case - they're not obligated to do any factory-sanctioned work on a car with a salvage title, as any warranty it might have had instantly becomes null and void at that point. You also say they didn't provide documentation of the work they did - that's possibly because, had they actually run the VIN through their computer, they would most likely have been told not to perform any warranty or recall work on that vehicle due to the salvage title status. If they didn't actually do the PCV replacement at all when they said they did, then I can see your point. But even so, they didn't have to do recall work on your car in the first place, so...?

 

To close, you mention that this PCV issue is a problem that has been plaguing Spark owners. I will have to correct you there, as it is actually a problem that WAS plaguing Spark owners before Chevrolet figured it out and fixed it on the Spark and several other vehicles. You don't see much mention of it in newer posts, because it's mostly ceased to be an issue (except in rare cases where the recall somehow hasn't been performed yet, potentially including your own car). The same is true of several other maladies affecting this car that many people initially complained about, the most prominent being CVT transmission issues (again, mostly fixed by an aggressive recall campaign to replace the drive belts). I appreciate Chevrolet (and GM as a whole) for their willingness to work through problems and do their best to fix them - that's what a good company does. In your case, as best I understand it, it appears they went above and beyond to try and fix your car the same way, even though they had no legal requirement to do so - that's what a good company does.

 

If I am in any way misreading or not understanding your situation, please feel free to provide more information. Until then, it's hard to read your words in any way other than grinding an ax that has very little blade left.

 

I would ask the moderators, however, if this growing separate discussion could be pulled out of this particular thread? I don't think it's fair to the original poster (fatherofsalsa), or to anyone attempting to respond to either him or Mike in this thread as it currently stands.

 

Duncan B)

Edited by Duncan
Adjusting for missed information the first time around
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On 3/10/2017 at 10:52 PM, Retired old Gearhead said:

Yup..Got it. Car was OK at purchase..needed the PCV recall..dealer did not replace the PCV unit as per recall..THEN you started using oil...OK..My apologies for misreading all your data..not all the clear on the above details..Still the research bit spoken about applies, but that's a whole different subject as it your specific problem could have been avoided had the dealer done the PCV part replacement. And...I do agree with "Hence Chevrolet's fault for allowing one of their dealers to do this kind of thing to people, then washing their hands from it". Now you need to explain that very clearly with dates name and clear issue on the recall not done when the dealer said it was done. Get some documentation from the "different Dealer" etc..more paper and facts the better and sounds like they owe you a new engine under the warranty...not too sure how they handle the 'salvage' or whether they have a clause in there warranty agreement regarding that...Don't go all helter skelter on them..talk to a lawyer who specializes in that kinda thing first before you submit anything..keep every scrap of paper, dates and names etc...Good luck and keep us up to date as some members have had to go that route, ...one I know of had a successful outcome with a engine replaced..warranty was approved.

 

Note - I had responded originally before I saw Mike's added info on this second page of the thread, so I edited that original post a bit. But my main points still stand.

 

If I were him, I don't know how much of a case there is for a lawyer to handle. As mentioned in my other response, due to the car's salvage title, no dealer is in any way obligated to perform any warranty work. I'm not totally sure if that applies to safety-related recalls as well, but it's enough gray area that it might be a problem in court.

 

He might be able to settle with Chevrolet (or at least the local auto dealer association) somehow, if he can prove that the dealer willingly misled him to believe that they performed the requested service work when they in fact did not, but it sounds like that might be difficult without enough documentation. Lemon laws won't necessarily help either since, again, the car has a salvage title that I assume was disclosed to the buyer.

 

Mike, I wish you well, but I think you may have a long road ahead of you if you choose the courts.

 

Duncan B)

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On 3/16/2017 at 8:00 AM, Eric1984 said:

So far I love this little car. Bought a 2016 LS last month. It's almost been one month of owning it. Basically a brand new car since the previous owners only owned it for a couple weeks then had to give it back.

 

So far I've replaced the map/dome light, trunk light, and reverse lights to LED's, installed dark smoke wind deflectors, and new gunmetal color hubcaps.

 

Only regret is buying a base model. I miss having power everything like I do on my other car. The main reason why we bought this car from where we did is because every car they sell comes with a free lifetime powertrain warranty, free lifetime oil changes, and free lifetime car washes.

 

Here's a picture of the car from before buying it.

1488003113055.jpg

 

That color is great. My wife and I enjoy our current 2014 in Salsa, but we fell in love with the '17 model at the auto show.

 

That one was a loaded LT (heated "leatherette" seats, sunroof, premium wheels) in the lovely mint green pearl color, with matching interior accents. It literally matches all of her workout gear. :) And the touchscreen radio now has a much-needed knob! (Didn't know how much I wanted that until I saw it, really.)

 

We were very tempted to trade up, but we're sticking with Wednesday for now. Maybe in a couple more years...?

 

Duncan B)

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