Strange buying opportunity

[lneesbye]

So, I am really interested in purchasing a Soul EV and unfortunately, I can't really wait until next year for the 2020.

But one of my local dealers has two for sale. But I'm a little concerned because one has 55 miles (yep 55) and the other 550 miles. This is an authorized KIA dealer and they have a mileage report. The dealer told me they were part of a fleet program and just got turned in....

Anything I should be asking them specifically since the batteries have been sitting for a while?

Some used KIAs I see for sale are 'certified', but these are not. I don't really know what that means anyway.

Many thanks in advance,

Lene

 

[Calaveras]

What month was in manufactured?
What is the vehicle history on Carfax?
Has it been sitting fully charged in a Dealer lot in a hot climate?
Are they selling them as new or used? Will you be able to use the tax cr dit I r was it used already?
Big price break?
Seems suspicious, but I bought a 2016 Nissan Leaf in early 2017 with less than 1,000 miles.
I put 30,000 miles on it with no issues and little degradation of the battery capacity.

 

[Tcalp]

Anything I should be asking them specifically since the batteries have been sitting for a while?

Some used KIAs I see for sale are 'certified', but these are not. I don't really know what that means anyway.

Certified typically just means that it is being delivered to standards for the state/province it is selling (aka per-inspected), generally you can assume this from a dealer as long as they are not stating 'as is'. I would ask if they can fully charge it up, and if you can take it out on a long drive to see how the battery fairs.

 

[lneesbye]

Yep, I agree it is a little suspicious. But I'm pretty convinced that it was some type of fleet car. (It had a little label with a 1 next to the start button, a 2 next to the shifter, a 3 next to the parking break, and a 4 next to the range gauge And I looked at the drive history log and it has barely moved! The dealer 'doesn't' know much about other than it was turned in, off a lease. I'm going to guess that it was sitting being charged in a garage (paint looks good).

The mechanic who is EV certified said that the battery health indicated 100%. But I don't know whether that 100% would show even if the battery only had 50 miles of range....

This dealer doesn't even have a place to charge it except in their detail department. When I drove it, it said 50 miles of range, but the charge gauge was at about 75%. I don't know what that tells me. But on the short ride I took (5 miles), it dropped one mile of range for every mile traveled (pretty level ground - and super hot).

I asked that it be charged fully and to go and drive it for a longer time (10-15 miles).

It is being sold as used - no tax credit. But it is for sale for $14K.

On the Carfax, the dealer sent me a competing report to Carfax....

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions. It is much appreciated!

Lene

What month was in manufactured?
What is the vehicle history on Carfax?
Has it been sitting fully charged in a Dealer lot in a hot climate?
Are they selling them as new or used? Will you be able to use the tax cr dit I r was it used already?
Big price break?
Seems suspicious, but I bought a 2016 Nissan Leaf in early 2017 with less than 1,000 miles.
I put 30,000 miles on it with no issues and little degradation of the battery capacity.

 

[lneesbye]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to ask them to let me drive it for about 10-15 miles to see what happens.

The mechanic who is EV certified said that the battery health indicated 100%. But I don't know whether that 100% would show even if the battery only had 50 miles of range....

This dealer doesn't even have a place to charge it except in their detail department. When I drove it, it said 50 miles of range, but the charge gauge was at about 75%. I don't know what that tells me. But on the short ride I took (5 miles), it dropped one mile of range for every mile traveled (pretty level ground - and super hot).

Thanks for taking time to answer my questions. It is much appreciated!

Lene




Certified typically just means that it is being delivered to standards for the state/province it is selling (aka per-inspected), generally you can assume this from a dealer as long as they are not stating 'as is'. I would ask if they can fully charge it up, and if you can take it out on a long drive to see how the battery fairs.[/quote]

 

[warren55]

I highly recommend that you download the Soul Spy app and get an appropriate dongle, assuming you have an Android device you can pair it to. It will give you a good idea what the battery condition is. Bear in mind that there is a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty on the battery in the U.S., which transfers to all owners.
Where are you located? $14K is a pretty good price. That's what I paid for mine a few months ago with 8500 miles on it.