As a owner of 2 Sports And a D90 i Concur.
What is the riskiest used car to buy?
- Thread starter brages
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Topics like this always turn into posts about personal preferences and observations as well as preconceived biases or experiences. ALL used cars are risky to buy if you go in with blinders on without doing some research.
Yeah no Bose system here. Other things to note about the first gen Volt it scrapes on everything leaving every parking lot… I’m contemplating removing the black plastic thing underneath the front bumper. Also the stock headlights suck. LEDs make it tolerable but it’s just a crappy projector design I think because it’s still mediocre at best. I’ll probably post a full review soon.
i kinda like my german cars, they are a pain to work on. most cars have little problems where the blinkers or radio or something small doesn't work or is finicky, German cars its always something expensive you have to fix right away, but it's easy to diagnose. (like the throughout bearing shattering) German cars always drive really good and are comfortable. don't buy one if you can't fix it yourself.
My guess would be a used, 22,000 mile, 7 speed manual trans Porsche 911 with rotors worn to the point where there is a visible lip on all 4 corners. I'd say that saw a few track days.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
Remember Johnny Carson wanted prisoners to ride in one with a full tank of gas and Firestone radials...
1) The Pinto was gone before people began routinely rear ending cars due to texting.....wheew!
2) Johnny Carson actually told a joke involving burning prisoners (presumably, to death)?
Was that aired or reported in a gossip rag?
2) Johnny Carson actually told a joke involving burning prisoners (presumably, to death)?
Was that aired or reported in a gossip rag?
That would be $6-8K today in that shape. More style than any modern Corolla or Civic.
Probably on TV, people were not woke idiots in those days.
Anything with a salvage title. It's like Russia. Roulette
Anything with a N63.
Any car in the dark!
As a former Volt owner, you are correct.
I had a 2014 purchased new and was my wife's favorite car of all time. It was perfect for 8 years (56K miles) and then, just out of warranty, the battery failed. Dealer wanted $20K to replace it. Car was worth $13K. Swapped in a junkyard battery and sent it packing. No more EV's for me.
The Volt is a very cool car. It's a shame GM cancelled it. It was way ahead of its time. GM spent a massive amount of R&D money on the Volt. On the first gen, they actually used a CT Scanner to X-Ray every battery to check for defects.
In addition, I would add to your list, very few people know how to work on them (including dealers) and new parts are hard to find.
There are a number of battery repair places that can take care of or extend the life. You want risky an early model Tesla hands down. Many early model S literally vary in parts and fitment year-to-year. The first year model y had 3 frunk revisions in 4 months. A 2015 model s is a one year only when it comes to the bumper bolt bracket and bolt pattern. My dads boss' sister had a 2015 model s. It was hit in the rear bumper. Tesla said the 2016 was completely different and not compatible nor able to be retrofitted. It was totalled by insurance.
Actually if you want REALLY risky and odd a VW Touareg Hybrid. I think they only were offered for 3ish years. I didn't even know they offered a hybrid model until I worked at a VW dealership. They (VW) somehow completely messed up. The Touareg hybrid could only be repaired at specific dealerships with extensive training unlike a Prius that could be repaired at any Toyota dealership. That and from what vw VW dealership owners said it was a huge investment to be able to sell any.
That’s sad to hear. Hope my 15’s battery makes it all the way through my 72 month loan haha. What was the failure? Did it just run the ICE all the time? Less range? Or undriveable?
'79 Ford Granada
You could make a lot of lemonade with one of these.
You could make a lot of lemonade with one of these.
Here's the whole story. That Volt was hands down the most reliable and inexpensive car we ever owned (until it wasn't). It is also the only car that has ever left us stranded (albeit, at home). Volty led a sheltered life. At home, it lived in a heated and cooled garage, and at work, an underground garage. It looked brand new.
Then, one morning, my wife got in the trusty Volt to go to work. She pushed the start button and... everything looked normal, but the check engine light was on and there was a cryptic error message on the display. The gear shifter was locked and the car wouldn't move. It was DRT. I put her in our gas-powered Toyota and sent her off to work.
It took a while to figure out what had happened. There is a circuit inside the battery case that runs a routine at startup to make sure there is no high voltage "leaking" to ground. This is a safety check to ensure the high voltage system is isolated. It permanently disconnects the battery if the check fails. The circuit failed, and by default, disconnected the battery. Replacement requires pulling the battery and cracking it open. I was unable to find the part and didn't really want to work around a 400 volt battery anyway, so I swapped the whole thing. The battery itself was in great shape. I sold it to a guy that was setting up an off-grid power supply.
The Volt is incredibly well engineered, but also incredibly complex. It will not run on just the engine. The battery and high voltage system must be operational.
If your Volt was originally sold in California, it should have a 10 year 150k mile warranty on the battery and maybe other related (Voltec) components. If that is the case, you should be good to go for a couple of more years (but don't keep it out of warranty).
I wish you the best of luck with it.
