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  • 1 month later...

Traded the Spark on an Accord coupe.

1. I dont have the time or patience to deal with this

2. I absolutely cant stand the way I was treated by service, and more importantly, GM/Chevy

Never again.

F*ck GM. I really hope you guys enjoy your cars, and I appreciate every bit of time I had here.

Deuces

LaughandDriveAway50Cent.gif

Ha ha. Traded my Spark in on a 2014 Paceman. Got $8500 (21860 miles on it) didn't care, I wanted out. Could not be happier with my second Mini (should not have gotten rid of 1st one when I did). ................I'm not saying I will never buy a GM again. I would not mind a C7 or maybe a Cadilac one day.

I didn't have problems with my dealer, very good dealer.....I just didn't have confidence in the car, long term, began to hate the car and driving it.

Edited by dbnspark
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I have 19 almost 20k miles on my Spark and my one year anniversary passed on 9/9. I think that getting rid of a car for one reason or another is a personal choice, obviously. But, another part of me feels that dumping it because of an issue that is currently being working on is short sided, and a monetary mistake. Yes, taking the car to the dealership can be a PITA, but eventually the lemon law will come into play, and you would be free and clear at that point. I had Civic's that were POS, Mazda's that were POS, and so on. I worked through the issues with the dealership until I was satisfied. My A/C is working really, really good now. However, my car has tinted windows, which may not be allowed in all states, and I also use a windshield shade when the car sits in the sun. The shade alone has helped immensely with the cooling effect of the A/C. Do I think the A/C could be better, absolutely. My 83, 911's A/C was a complete joke. It was an accepted flaw if you had an early 911. The Spark came from another markets, the A/C system was not well thought out, that is a fact. Unfortunately, it is what it is. They will do what they can to make it better, but it will never be perfect. I don't shill for anyone, but there are just limitations as what can be done.

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I'm waiting at least a few years before I unload mine at a Hyundai or Toyota dealer. I want out when the warranty is about up, I lost confidence in both the car and GM as a whole. Good news is my trip to another dealer 30 miles away fixed one of the worst rattles and they're replacing tires to fix that problem. Hopefully, Hyundai will start selling the I10 here in a few years. My local Toyota dealer now has 3 used private owned Sparks that were trade ins, and the Nissan dealer has 2, all of them owned less than 6 months and under 10k miles. That speaks for itself. I hate you, GM.

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Be careful about what you see at dealerships. They always swap cars between each other if they think the vehicle can draw potential customers onto a lot. The Nissan and Toyota dealerships may be needing traffic at their used car department especially if they don't have small cars to sell. I have not seen one used Spark in the area, but I know the local dealers cannot keep the new ones on the lots.

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I had trouble finding mine. (5 spd 1LT) I wanted green, but the closest cars were in NJ, 4 hours from me. The dealers wouldn't give them up, and logistically it's impossible for me to go get. My yellow (next choice) car came from the CT/NY border. 5 spds that were

A. not gray or white

and
B. Not an LS

Were hard to find. I would have just ordered one and waited, but no green in 2014. Oh well, I don't mind the yellow.

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Farwell, friend. Decisions like this are tough to make, but at least you are free of this one stress in your driving experience. I was halfway tempted to trade mine in for a Prius the last time I had mine serviced. The used car price was enough to jolt me back to the reality of my budget. Good luck, and God speed.

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I spent too much time in other cars that were comfortable.......Another issue I had was the car used oil. I have never had a car that used a significant (more than a quart between oil change intervals) amount of oil. On 1 trip to West Branch to check out Elio Motors 3 wheeler, the Spark used 1 & 3/4 quarts of oil (roundtrip 300+ miles). I drove the car like evryone else, meaning the speed limit or above, instead of my typical 65mph on the highway. When I drove the Spark for mpg (which was 95% of the time), the car did not use oil. If I merely kept up with traffic (from a stoplight), it used oil, I'm sure within "acceptable" levels, but to me a car that uses oil is not for me. Especially since traffic was picking up at the times I drive, so driving for mpg was getting harder, and keeping up with traffic was more important. Even my "oil" burner Jetta TDI didn't use oil. I bought an 11 year old Lincoln Town Car, it would use almost a quart between the 7500 mile oil change interval, that was it...BTW the Elio was comfortable (sure not final version). Seating is tandem, driver position was good. Had elbow room. The Spark is a throw away car, and insurance reflects it. My insurance went up $438 going into my second year (no tickets, no changes to policy,..excellent credit rating, continuous insurance coverage since I started driving). I made one claim on car, it was the first time I ever made a claim with the insurance company in the 19 years I have been with them. After I paid deductable it cost insurnace company $375.00. When I inquired about the increase, they said we have more data on the car now, blah, blah. Glad I'm done with it, good mpg is NICE, but it's not everything.

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I'm still in love with my Spark even though I have a few "oh come on moments". First was the windshield, second was the brakes releasing and last one was the check engine light, shuddering and clunking in reverse. Second and third mysteriously have never reoccured, more frustrating then anything that the dealer didn't find anything. However depends on what I will do once my financing comes to an end, see what's on the market :D

However I love the 2014 Toyota Corolla S much nicer then previous models (I love it in White looks exceptional) :)

2014-toyota-corolla-s-6mt-launch-gallery

Edited by Riverspark
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Koreans are pretty good at building cars. I'm more worried about rust than anything else.

I don't know, when searching air conditioning problems, it sure seemed like alot of the cars with issues were Korean cars..........Rust, yes a friends Hyundai minivan had problems. It was a leased vehicle and Hyundai was saying they were responsible for rust....I knew if I didn't undercoat Spark, there would be problems. I noticed rust at bottom of doors (drain holes in doors) after a couple months of ownership. I know they wouldn't do anything about it until it rusted through, that's when I decided to have Krown http://www.krown.com/ undercoat car. That would be the only thing to make car last. The deer that tried to commit suicide didn't help. A 12 foot long car, and the deer hit the last foot of the car. Two baseball size dents, scratched tail light. (The claim I made). One day when washing the car I noticed front fender really flexing, everything attached correctly, no problems (wind nosie, flopping around) but made me feel uneasy about car. My 1979 Fiesta doesn't do that, and it's 7, 800lbs lighter. I wasn't scared of driving car, or worried about safety in the car, I just didn't feel it would last, and get out now. The clutch never felt right from day one, the 1st Spark I drove the clutch seemed "right," mine sometimes takeup felt like it was slipping, dealer couldn't find an issue. I don't blame the dealer, the clutch was like that. 95% of the time perfect. The air conditioning issue I can't complain about dealer, took it in an hour before closing(no appt), back to me and working the next day by 2:30pm.The car on the other hand, just didn't feel confident in the over the long haul. I like the way the car looks, but.......Best of luck to everyone with their Spark. The Mini dealer traded/sold car to another dealer, the price they are asking is outrageous.http://www.moranchevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/certified-2013-Chevrolet-Spark-Hatch_1LT_%28Manual%29-Clinton_Township-MI/2085617513 Never going to happen at that price. I'm saying that based on this listing:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/4056874487.html

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Looks like a cross between a Focus and a Dart. Change the black in the wheels to match the blue, that would be sharp. The black wheel fad is nearly over.

However I love the 2014 Toyota Corolla S much nicer then previous models (I love it in White looks exceptional) :)

2014-toyota-corolla-s-6mt-launch-gallery

Edited by dbnspark
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^^^ The new Corolla looks like a Korean car, namely a Kia. If Toyota can't beat them in style, then they might as well join them. Hyundai and Kia are still the kings of bang for the buck. My parents have a 2004 Santa Fe since new, and they haven't had any issues with the car at all. That could not be said about the Mercedes ML that they traded to get the Santa Fe. That car was a pile o'crap. My last Japanese car was a Prius. If I ever get another Japanese car again it will be a Miata. Other than that, the Japanese do not make anything that I would want to drive. I will go back to the German marques.

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  • 1 month later...

Ha ha. Traded my Spark in on a 2014 Paceman. Got $8500 (21860 miles on it) didn't care, I wanted out. Could not be happier with my second Mini (should not have gotten rid of 1st one when I did). ................I'm not saying I will never buy a GM again. I would not mind a C7 or maybe a Cadilac one day.

I didn't have problems with my dealer, very good dealer.....I just didn't have confidence in the car, long term, began to hate the car and driving it.

I have been very close to trading mine in, mainly because when I drive long distances after it sits overnight it seems to mess up. When I went to New York that was the finally straw not changing out of 1st gear and doing the same thing (CEL light flashing, stability control illuminated, clunking into reverse and rough idling), turn it off and on it's like nothing ever happened. Brought it to the dealer (which they have been amazing) and said to them I don't want it back till it's fixed. Went to New York again last weekend and it seems to be fixed, something to do with the spark plug, coil etc. This weekend driving into New York City so if I have another successful weekend then I will hang on :D

Edited by Riverspark
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I have been very close to trading mine in, mainly because when I drive long distances after it sits overnight it seems to mess up. When I went to New York that was the finally straw not changing out of 1st gear and doing the same thing (CEL light flashing, stability control illuminated, clunking into reverse and rough idling), turn it off and on it's like nothing ever happened. Brought it to the dealer (which they have been amazing) and said to them I don't want it back till it's fixed. Went to New York again last weekend and it seems to be fixed, something to do with the spark plug, coil etc. This weekend driving into New York City so if I have another successful weekend then I will hang on :D

Sounds pretty frustrating, hopefully it is fixed. Keep us informed as to how your trip to NYC goes, and how your Spark behaves.

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Sounds pretty frustrating, hopefully it is fixed. Keep us informed as to how your trip to NYC goes, and how your Spark behaves.

It went well, drove like a champ for the 10 hour drive to NYC….sat for a day, did a small clunk when it went into reverse and seems to be drinking gas like a V6….the dealer said give it another week and see if the gas mileage improves if not then bring it in again and hopefully fix it.

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It went well, drove like a champ for the 10 hour drive to NYC….sat for a day, did a small clunk when it went into reverse and seems to be drinking gas like a V6….the dealer said give it another week and see if the gas mileage improves if not then bring it in again and hopefully fix it.

Sounds like it just needs a little tweaking, glad to hear that all else went well as far as the performance, hang in there, it will be fine.

Edited by WaltK
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I find it very weird that so many people have problems with their Sparks. Mine still acts like new and has 14k on it already. I guess I was lucky. As for A/C, used it once and it was ok, I rarely use A/C anyway. I'm more interested in heaters and such seeing I live in the Midwest with the cold winters.

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I find it very weird that so many people have problems with their Sparks. Mine still acts like new and has 14k on it already. I guess I was lucky. As for A/C, used it once and it was ok, I rarely use A/C anyway. I'm more interested in heaters and such seeing I live in the Midwest with the cold winters.

Remember, the vast majority of complaints on the interwebs represents a very small portion of actual owners. Those that are completely satisfies rarely venture to forums to rave about how trouble free their cars are :)

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