Hey Scotty,
Due to the chip shortage, prices have skyrocket on all vehicles including my all time favorite Toyota Corollas. I need a new car since my 2013 Hyundai Accent with 127K miles has transmission and engine problems. I have set my eyes on the Chevy Spark Manual transmission due to its model being under 20k. Is this a good buy?
No they’re terrible, tiny, and trashy.
I hope it’s no where near 20k for that junk.
This DISCONTINUED (those usually plummet in value) awful city car is so minuscule that it's a full 3 inches LESS wide than a modern Smart Fortwo.
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Just to illustrate how significant that that is:
3 in. width is bigger than the difference between a Corolla and a Camry (2.4 in.)
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Also isn't this engine the cheapest variant of the GM SGE? You can find posts on this forum of this type of engine exploding in the first 1k miles (I believe the latest case was with a GMC Terrain), and ins't it related to the 1.4T (Family 0 A14) that's on backorder for years because it's made so poorly?
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I mean somehow it's a car that's worse than the Mitsubishi Mirage... at least those aren't discontented (yet) and at least those cost what they're worth (with discounts often under $10k)
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I REALLY do NOT recommend buying Chevy Sparks, they're one of the worst cars ever made - it's one of the worst cars, in one of the most miserable categories.
The manual transmission is definitely better than the automatic but realize that it is still a GM produce. Why not spending your money on a slightly used Toyota? You will be much happier down the road.
I'd avoid it & go for something else with a stick. Generally late 90s/early 00 toyotas with a stick are around $2k-$3k in good shape even in this insane market because everyone wants an automatic.
Standard vehicles priced similar to autos just never sell.
You would really trust a 20 - 30 year old car over a new one?
These days? Absolutely!
This one might be a shocker but when my grandmother sold her 1990 Buick Lesabre & bought a brand new 2012 Accord, I couldn't believe how bad it was especially as time passed. It felt flimsy & anemic, couldn't get out of its own way.
From the factory it was pulling HARD to the right both just going along & braking (the latter actually got scary at times).
I checked to make sure a caliper wasn't locked or defective, etc & since it was still under warranty had her bring it to the dealer, only got worse.
I didn't want to void her warranty so I left it alone otherwise. By 2016 or so she stopped driving, not because she had any issues (never an accident or ticket in about 70 years on the road) but her kids claimed allowing her to "would be irresponsible & they'd have her license revoked if they found out she drove", so aside from when I'd bring her out & say "don't worry, you can drive, I'll lie & say I got hurt if we get caught" the thing didn't move unless I was over working on my truck & had to make a parts run. Just sat in the garage.
Despite routine maintainence & car washes it just went downhill both mechanically & with rot.
By the time she died in 2019 it got sold for some amount under $5k because it needed a bunch of work. It definitely had under 40k on the clock....from what I recall maybe 27k at most.
The Buick however, aside from one spot of rot I fixed in front of the pass rear wheel arch that extended under the floor, it was perfect. I'm still confused as to why she was forced to get rid of it.
Had between 60-70k of being babied. The only three people who ever touched that thing were my grandparents & I, so it never got abused.
I have a '13 Spark with the manual 5 speed and I love it. I've had it three years (paid $2500 for it) with 101k miles on it now with minimal issues. Keep the oil changed every 5000 miles and all is good. Had to replace front wheel bearings and that's been it. Around 40 mpg during this gas crunch is great.
Run away from it. Depending on how much you can afford either as other people have said get an older Toyota or Honda. Or depending on the price of used cars in your area and again how much you can afford take a look at the new Honda HR-V; it starts at $22k so the cheapest option from Honda or Toyota (Corolla Cross starts from near $22k too). But regardless of which one of these two you decide on don't get that Chevy Spark.
