[Megathread] Lusting After a Used Karma; What Now?

[Fabulist]

Should I buy this Karma? This is the question that has launched a thousand threads on Fisker Buzz. Despite its beauty, rarity, and fascinating backstory, a used Fisker Karma can be had for the price of a mid-range luxury car, which tempts a lot of potential buyers to venture into the market.

Of course, as we all know, buying a used Karma is not without its perils, and sooner or later, most admirers and new owners find their way here and ask, in the case of the former, “what should I do”, and the latter “what have I done?” To which, the members generously respond with warnings, advice, empathy, condolences, and names of Good Lemon Law lawyers, as the situation demands.

Since this topic comes up frequently, I thought it would be helpful to create a sticky top-level thread that links to some of the more complete threads on this topic to help the lovestruck, the weary, the despondent, and the ones seething with rage on the side of the road.

Here goes:

This thread is the most complete and authoritative one (to the extent anything here can be authoritative) that is curated and updated frequently to reflect the most current information. It is the best starting point for anyone lusting after a used Karma:

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/13-...html#post70441

The following threads were all started by a prospective buyer or recent buyer seeking information. They contain useful information, and the discussion often provides great context and background information as well:

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/18-...tml#post297970

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/18-...tml#post292666

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/18-...tml#post287858

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/18-...tml#post252514

https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/18-...tml#post302201

These threads should provide a convenient launching pad for anyone considering buying a Karma or anyone trying to cope with the resulting hangover. Of course, this is not meant to discourage new members from posting questions, and please feel free to do that.

[Fabulist]

Here is a particularly relevant post and selected responses from the Fisker Karma Owners and Fan Club, a private group on Facebook, which is definitely worth joining if you are on Facebook.

Note: I have removed the names of all the posters to maintain their privacy. If any of these are your responses and you want them removed, please DM me.

Just have a few questions for the people who actually drive the Fisker Karma, may be a potential owner in the next few months and just have some questions I'm hoping to have answered:
1. For those that daily drive their Karma, how do you like it? I've read that the electric charge isn't much, I believe only 32 miles on a full charge (?) Please correct me if I'm wrong.

2. Maintenance, how different is it from a normal petrol car?

3. Having never owned any sort of electric car, are there problems that I should look out for? The year I am looking at is 2012, and has very little mileage but I don't know really what to look out for. Do the batteries go bad or flat after a period of time?

Thank you for your help!

Selected Responses:

I own 2 of them. Bought them both brand new and they have 7 and 8,000 miles.
The only thing I've had done to them is taken them in for the software upgrades.

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I have that was new with 7k miles, the other garage had an r8, now it’s waiting for the emotion. While the karma was a work of art, the emotion will be a stunning encore!

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Hey there - I have 60,000 miles on mine now, which is a 2012. Drive it everywhere. I’ve had very few issues. Overall it’s been great. I’m considering selling it (....which is difficult because it’s such a beautiful car....). We’ll see! Good luck with your choice! I’d recommend ensuring you know where the closest shop is that can do work when needed.

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Mine has been my daily driver since I got it in January 2012. I have about 45K miles on it. During that time, my total daily commute has ranged from 15 to 90 miles, on both the US East Coast (New Hampshire) and US West Coast (California), and it has been the perfect daily driver everywhere.

1-After 6 years, my current EV range is around 35-40 miles. Using extreme hypermiling techniques, I managed to achieve an average 44 Miles on a 90-Mile commute loop a few years ago. (You can read about it here: https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/13-...html#post15798) but that was possibly the most boring drive I have ever had in my Karma and did not try to repeat that experience. Also, my car has a software and hardware upgrade that allows me to draw more power out of the HV battery for better performance, which means I get fewer EV miles when my driving is spirited. But 35-40 miles at reasonable highway speeds are achievable in my car. Of course, YMMV.

2- The EV parts of the car do not really require much regular maintenance. They typically are inspected visually or using diagnostic software at regular intervals. The GM gas engine/generator gets oil/filter change and typical service every 10K miles. The original Goodyear F1 tires wear out fairly quickly and need to be replaced 10K-15K miles, depending on the level of hooliganism displayed when driving the car, but there are alternative tires available that last longer. I recently had my small 12V battery replaced, even though it was still working, because it was getting too long in the tooth, and in this car, the 12V battery dying has a lot of dire consequences and better safe than sorry.

3-There are some very well-known failure points in the Karma, for which, fortunately there are well-known fixes. This is where having someone like Joe Ferrante @FiskerPhilly in your corner become crucial, because he can inspect the car before you take delivery and tell you if any evils lurk behind that gorgeous bodywork. You can find a partial list of the well-known issues here: https://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/13-...checklist.html

Clearly, buying a used Karma is not like buying a production car with a massive international company supporting it. But for many of us, that’s the whole point. You can minimize, quantify, and hedge risks by making a smart buying decision, however.

Good Luck and Good Karma.

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Drove mine 7000 km in 2017 with no problems; pure joy ��