[Jwem]

I looked at a Fisker Karma at a luxury car dealership today and was disturbed that I knew more about the car through my research than the salesman did. He could not tell me anything about this particular car's history or even anything about the car's equipment. He said they did not get an MSRP on the car, which I thought was odd. It has less than 2,000 miles on it.

What info should I be able to get on this car?

 

[Ira]

PM Harleyguy or Lormax for a pre-buy. There are Service Bulletins and recalls they can tell you about. I'd also have the one nearest you do an independent inspection.

 

[Ira]

PM Harleyguy or Lormax for a pre-buy. There are Service Bulletins and recalls they can tell you about. I'd also have the one nearest you do an independent inspection.

You should also contact Hybrid Support Solutions (HSS), who are also members of this forum. They have extensive information compiled on each of our cars.

 

[souza3]

Jwem-
Unfortunately your experience is not so unusual. THe same thing happened to me when I went to a dealer here in CT that had a Fisker for sale. I knew FAR more than they did. If you aren't buying directly from a Fisker dealership with qualified sales/engineers you aren't going to get much info. Ira's suggestions above are great. I don't know where you are located but doing a pre-buy inspection would be ideal. These cars are amazing but also come with their share of issues - some that can be quite costly.

 

[Fabulist]

You may have already seen this, but just in case, there is a fairly comprehensive thread on the topic of pre-purchase inquiries and inspections.

 

[Jwem]

I got a Carfax on the car that we are looking at, and there was some information that I thought was strange. First, the last four digits of the VIN are 1215, which I understand is pretty early, but it says that there are no recalls reported. Second, the car was imported into this country in February 2012, but there is no other activity listed until a complete year later, when it was registered as a corporate fleet vehicle in California in February 2013. Also, the Carfax says the car color is black, but it looks to me like a sparkly midnight blue. Do you guys think these things are suspicious?

 

[SC Karma]

I got a Carfax on the car that we are looking at, and there was some information that I thought was strange. First, the last four digits of the VIN are 1215, which I understand is pretty early, but it says that there are no recalls reported. Second, the car was imported into this country in February 2012, but there is no other activity listed until a complete year later, when it was registered as a corporate fleet vehicle in California in February 2013. Also, the Carfax says the car color is black, but it looks to me like a sparkly midnight blue. Do you guys think these things are suspicious?

I don't think you're going to get a lot on the CarFax report. I compared the service records on my car against the CarFax report on mine and 2/3 are missing.

The reason why there is no activity on the car for one year, I believe, is when the dealer was still trying to sell it as new. Once Fisker was in trouble and the car was losing value, the dealer registered the car to get the $7,500 tax credit to recoup some of the loss.

 

[Fabulist]

I got a Carfax on the car that we are looking at, and there was some information that I thought was strange. ... Also, the Carfax says the car color is black, but it looks to me like a sparkly midnight blue. Do you guys think these things are suspicious?

Karma's Eclipse (Black) has sparkling Blue highlights in it that you can see in bright light. Some of the digits of the VIN indicate the car's original color, as discussed in this thread.

My car is an Eco Sport Eclipse and the part of the VIN that specifies the Car's attributes is 4K14. I would expect your car to have the same four digits starting right after YH which identifies Finland as the where the car was built.

 

[souza3]

Having the service records on the car are far more important then the carfax report. IMHO. If you can't get the service records then I definitely wouldn't buy without talking to Lormax or Harleyguy if you are in Florida. FiskerPhilly is also another good resource and the guys from HSS are on here too. Don't buy blind. That's the best advice I can give you.