New Fisker Owner (To Be) - Deposit Put Down

2424 Views 9 Replies 7 Participants Last post by jvm728, Jun 21, 2015

jvm728

Discussion Starter · Jun 19, 2015 (Edited)

Found a good looking Fisker in my local area here in DFW. My wife and I went over to take a look and test drive on a whim today, fell in love, and put a deposit down. Shadow paint looks phenomenal, love the blue flakes/shimmer, and the all black interior is great.

Link here: http://www.texasimportsales.com/web/used/Fisker-Karma-2012-Dallas-Texas/1719052/

VIN Here: YH4K14AA1CA000534

Do you know the car at all? We would have gone home with it... BUT

A few observations and questions for my new friends here....

Problem #1 - Rolling from a stop, whether we were turning, straight, etc, we heard a rattle at low speeds coming from the front driver side wheel area. After research while we were at the dealer, I'm assuming this is the exhaust/muffler issue, before the Bosal model came out. Please confirm? They are going to take care of it but are already being the non-honest typical used car dealer.

Problem #2 - The touchscreen seemed to not save settings when we made changes or updates, just learning the car. IE: time zone

Concern #1 - Can i check to see what software the car has? 510/520/530?

Concern #2 - The electric battery was at 0mi range, so we were on gas engine power the whole time. Hopefully they didn't charge it, and its not that the car has a bad battery.

Concern #3 - VIN number lookup please. I found a link somewhere and viewed lots of recalls all which were complete, but one was open that just was announced in May. I don't understand this, could someone teach me a few things?

Question #1 - What does all of the cool looking clear plastic pieces do, like just in front of the touchscreen and from the backseat near/in front of the window switches and heated seats? It has depth... does it light up?

Question #2 - What trim is the car? I don't and haven't found clear answers how to tell them apart.

Please tell me if this is going to be a bad deal from the get-go or if we should be in a good spot. I think this is a relatively early VIN, but the original battery issues were the first 250 cars or so?

I've been reading a lot all day on these cars, but no clear answer on what to look for. It does look like the car has been seen by the local Fisker tech, and I also am pleased to see that New Fisker is supporting the cars somewhat

Are there any spots/or things I need to look at before commiting to the car?

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WATTGAS

· #2 · Jun 19, 2015

@jvm728 - nice looking car from the link.

If you haven't already, definitely suggest you read this thread in detail:

http://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/13-fisker-karma/4473-fisker-karma-buyers-checklist.html

Definitely also suggest you reach out to @Sigurd. He is an original Fisker owner in Dallas and he's had a great experience with Frank Kent Fisker.

The open "recall" on your potential purchase is just a baseline recommended software upgrade. New Fisker recently released software v5.20. The VIN you listed is on v5.10 according to the service website, which was the last official software before old Fisker went bankrupt. I recently upgraded my car to v5.20 and it went very smoothly and I've had no issues since (knock on wood). This upgrade can be done by Frank Kent Fisker. Another upgrade (v5.30) is coming in the fall of 2015, and a 3rd upgrade (v5.40) is coming in first half of 2016. Read about 5.20 and 5.30 here:

http://www.fiskerbuzz.com/forums/13...software-updates-our-karmas-5.html#post209505

Also, the Fisker Tech from Frank Kent Fisker is a member on the New Fisker forums (www.thenewfisker.com). I suggest you have this car looked at by the tech at Frank Kent BEFORE you buy it.

Good luck and welcome to Fisker Buzz!

P.S. If you buy the car, be sure to register at the New Fisker forums (www.thenewfisker.com).

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zainraza

· #3 · Jun 19, 2015

Running your vehicle's air conditioning is no worse for your gas mileage than driving with your windows down. As your vehicle speeds up, air flow creates a drag against the vehicle, making the engine work harder and hurting gas mileage. In fact, air conditioning can be a more efficient option at higher speeds.

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Fabulist

· #4 · Jun 19, 2015

@jvm728, Welcome to the Fisker community and the mercurial joy of owning a rolling piece of art. It sounds like you have done some research on the car and its idiosyncrasies. Just remember that Karmas are like snowflakes: no two are exactly alike and the more you can investigate and check out the specific one you are buying, the happier you will be in the long run.

Now to your questions:

jvm728 said:
Question #1 - What does all of the cool looking clear plastic pieces do, like just in front of the touchscreen and from the backseat near/in front of the window switches and heated seats? It has depth... does it light up?

No, they do not light up. They are merely windows into the soul of the car. The top of the battery, seen through the window directly below the touchscreen, and the PRND gear selector do however put on a light show at random intervals, which is affectionately known as "Disco PRND" or "Blinky PRND". You can read about it here and here.

jvm728 said:
Question #2 - What trim is the car? I don't and haven't found clear answers how to tell them apart.

The easiest way to figure this out is to look on the back right side of the car. if there is an "ES" badge, then the car is an Eco Sport, if the badge says "EC" then it is an Eco Chic. If there is no badge, then it is an Eco Standard.

There are differences in the trim levels as well, for example the Eco Chics did not come with Leather because their interior was animal free, and the Eco Standards did not come with NAV or a backup camera. So if you have leather seats and a backup camera, you are driving an Eco Sport.

Hope this helps.

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jvm728

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 19, 2015

Thanks guys. We are shopping around and asking plenty of questions. I emailed FiskerPhilly too.

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JCMorrill

· #6 · Jun 19, 2015

The low speed rattle near the front tires might just be the "Lug Nut" issue. Easy fix. Just replace the lug nuts. (There is a post somewhere here that talks about that).

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Bert Yetman

· #7 · Jun 20, 2015

JVM728 Go see what Fiskers Frank Kent in Ft. Worth has for sale. No matter the issue, he backs up his customers. Mine is in his shop now for the 20K checkup, and they noticed a leak in the RDM, which they are replacing at no charge. They've stuck by their buyers through the bankruptcy, and are the kind of dealership we all wish for.

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jvm728

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 21, 2015

Bert Yetman said:
JVM728 Go see what Fiskers Frank Kent in Ft. Worth has for sale. No matter the issue, he backs up his customers. Mine is in his shop now for the 20K checkup, and they noticed a leak in the RDM, which they are replacing at no charge. They've stuck by their buyers through the bankruptcy, and are the kind of dealership we all wish for.

I've called and talked to them a few times already. Wife is set on black on black on black. There is a few different options.

Option 1: I found one in Cali with 18k miles. It's on eBay and here on the forums. Werto88. Good price, and supposedly the traction motors and RDM and muffler has been done. I've seen the invoices. Lormax did the labor on the major issues fixed. I'm concerned because it was done only 500 miles ago, and he has a questionable reputation. He is clearly wildly knowledgable, but as of late there are 2 or 3 stories of concern. Did he really do the work or just take this guys money? Could he possibly just patched things up so this guy could unload a botched car across the country? Maybe. The seller has a really honest history on eBay and is a car guy. Says he needs to sell to get money for a business startup. I'm an entrepreneur and started my only company. I get that.

Option 2: deposit down on the one at Texas Import Sales. 4700 miles. It has current issues but is going to Frank Kent on Monday to be looked at. It drove fine, but we drove it BEFORE reading and learning the different things to look out for. I can get my $500 back, and probably will, because they are/have been sketchy to deal with. Guy said it was a trade in, it was bought at auction. Said they've had for 3 weeks, no they've had for 3 months. Clearly they haven't showed it off or had much luck selling otherwise the loud and obvious rattle/muffler issues would have been observed.

Option 3: two owner locally owned and serviced with 7700 miles. I looked underneath the rear and it DID NOT have the green circle, but I do like and know that Frank Kent has seen that car from day 1, and most likely was the original dealer and seller of the vehicle. This comes from a fantastic local used luxury exotic dealer.

All cars have a vin in the 500 range. What would you go with? My thinking is this- the 18k mile car has been owned for awhile and has had things fixed by Alex in Cali and by Travis. They were both/are both reputable people and know what they're doing and talking about.

The others are such low miles that there hasn't been as many things fixed most likely, but, they're lower mileage and probably in better overall condition. My gut tells me to buy option 3, but if Travis was playing honest and did do the rear, then I really want Option 1 assuming the guy is honest

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Harleyguy

· #9 · Jun 21, 2015

Stay away from anything Travis has touched that's all I can say or your taking a chance the work was actually performed . Unless someone like Alex can confirm that the traction motors were replaced .

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jvm728

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 21, 2015

I realize that, unfortauntely.

I'm just on the fence. Assuming nothing has been done, what's worse, 18k miles vs 7700 miles?

Or maybe it has been done and I'm better off?

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