High Mileage Sonic Turbos? Should I Buy One?

[Road Weazel]

Greetings.
I'm looking at purchasing a 2012 Sonic LTZ Turbo with a manual transmission from a coworker. I have a very long commute (150 miles round trip) and on National Guard weekends we can add another 300 to that. I drive around 40-45K a year.
My buddy lived in the same area as I do and the car currently has 77K on it. It's been well maintained and the only issues I know of with the car was that it had a weird, sudden, but occasional 'pull' to one side. The dealer changed the CV axles and the problem went away.
I was wondering if anyone here has racked up some serious mileage on their Sonics? I would need this car to get up around 150K without any serious issues.
I would also add that I'm currently driving a 2004 Toyota Avalon with 108K on it. I realize that these are two completely different cars, and I also realize that they will both require basic maintenance as the miles go up. I can do basic maintenance and mods (I'm a motorcycle mechanic by trade and a helicopter mechanic for the Army) but generally dislike working on cars.
Insurance will go up about $20 a month for the new Sonic, and tags will be more expensive. I will also save close to $1000 a year in gas if I switch to the Sonic.
He wants $7500 for the car and the total output from me to swap cars will be between $2000 and $2500. His Sonic is in excellent condition, with the only add-ons being 18" wheels, tint and a trailer hitch.
Do you guys think it would be worth it, or should I just keep the Toyota?
Thanx!
Weazel

 

[ahtoxa]

With all other things being equal, your chances of incurring greater maintenance/repair costs are higher with a turbocharged motor, mainly due to added complexity. Of course, there are members here that have high mileage with no/few issues, but it's all anecdotal.

Bottom line is, if you don't really care about 1.8 vs 1.4T, go with the 1.8 over long-term. If you want the 1.4T, then buy what you want and be happy with it.

 

[carsNskis]

Budget $1200 every year ($100/mo) for repairs. If something major comes up in two to three years you have something set aside to help. If nothing bad happens go on vacation!

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[Road Weazel]

Thanx, guys.
I have some experience with turbos, although that's on my race bike and it's a completely different animal.
My son has a 2012 Sonic 5 with the 1.8L and an auto, and his fuel economy isn't all that great. I'm only interested in the Sonic with the Turbo because I can get 35ish MPG running up and down the mountain, compared to the 25ish that I get now with the Toyota. If the fuel economy isn't 35 or higher it's not worth switching. Also, knowing me, once the Sonic has fulfilled it's duties as a commuter (I'm waiting for the Elio three wheeler to be released) it would be fun to rebuild/replace the motor and tune the heck out of it. (I'm just a 48 year old kid playing with bigger Hot Wheels)
I've been on a LOT of forums and have found that small problems will appear to be larger and more frequent when searching online. I would like to get into a Sonic Turbo but don't want to buy something that has proven to be problematic.
Thanx again,
Weazel

 

[The Champ]

That car still has 23,000 miles of powertrain warranty. Just sayin'...

 

[Brad Bruggeman]

Greetings.
I'm looking at purchasing a 2012 Sonic LTZ Turbo with a manual transmission from a coworker. I have a very long commute (150 miles round trip) and on National Guard weekends we can add another 300 to that. I drive around 40-45K a year.
My buddy lived in the same area as I do and the car currently has 77K on it. It's been well maintained and the only issues I know of with the car was that it had a weird, sudden, but occasional 'pull' to one side. The dealer changed the CV axles and the problem went away.
I was wondering if anyone here has racked up some serious mileage on their Sonics? I would need this car to get up around 150K without any serious issues.
I would also add that I'm currently driving a 2004 Toyota Avalon with 108K on it. I realize that these are two completely different cars, and I also realize that they will both require basic maintenance as the miles go up. I can do basic maintenance and mods (I'm a motorcycle mechanic by trade and a helicopter mechanic for the Army) but generally dislike working on cars.
Insurance will go up about $20 a month for the new Sonic, and tags will be more expensive. I will also save close to $1000 a year in gas if I switch to the Sonic.
He wants $7500 for the car and the total output from me to swap cars will be between $2000 and $2500. His Sonic is in excellent condition, with the only add-ons being 18" wheels, tint and a trailer hitch.
Do you guys think it would be worth it, or should I just keep the Toyota?
Thanx!
Weazel

Sounds cheap.Is their a difference between the value of a hatchback and a sedan?I purchased a 2012 ltz sedan with 70,000 on it a couple months ago and at that time it retailed for about $10,800 NADA.The dealer was asking 11,995,got him down to 10,000.

 

[4Flattires]

No Worries!

R. Weazel,

My '13 RS hatch (1.4) has 62,000 on it. It also has sixteen autocross events this year, which is about 16 x 6 = 96 one-minute at-the-limit runs on sticky tires without any trouble. Last year I abused the Cruze ECO 1.4 in the same way, with a Trifecta tune. No problems on either car. The Cruze needed a brake job at 65K miles, but I attribute that to the wife's driving driving in town. When I am the only driver, my cars never need a brake job.

Go for it.

 

[wy2sl0]

Dude a full crate motor including turbo from ZZP is under $2k.

From a powertrain standpoint, these cars are not going to be expensive to fix, and is if anything went wrong anyways. Drive it and enjoy it.

 

[MikeM]

I had a 2012 sonic I put 110,000 miles on in 3 years. I had them replace the transmission at like 95,000 because a bearing went bad. So that was covered under warranty. Other then that it was pretty mechanically sound. Original everything else but oil. I'm sure plugs and other stuff would have helped, but it ran good anyways.


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