Low Mile Sonics - The longevity Thread

[SoCalRs]

I kind of borrowed the last part but there are alot of high mile sonics that's great to see what to expect of longevity of the vehicle , I thought also what about the go to church on Sunday sonic owners or go out to the bingo game senior owners whatever you situation is be interesting be to see the condition of the car since new also how low miles it has any issues with such low mileage as well I will start ..

 

[Ksull72487]

I kind of borrowed the last part but there are alot of high mile sonics that's great to see what to expect of longevity of the vehicle , I thought also what about the go to church on Sunday sonic owners or go out to the bingo game senior owners whatever you situation is be interesting be to see the condition of the car since new also how low miles it has any issues with such low mileage as well I will start ..

This all depends. I had a Mini Cooper S that wouldn’t last as long as a Sonic, mainly because the repairs would drown you after high mileage. A BMW M235i that cost $900 for a thermostat since the parts expensive and the labor is insane due to where the parts located.

People say the Chevy Sonic is a cheaply made car. Lol you can put an engine in one of these things for what it costs to replace a Mass Airflow and Thermostat, Labor included from BMW $1700. All depends on what you want to pay and how long you keep the car. The car has low resale value so I imagine people get out of them when things go wrong. Then again your Honda and Toyota is going to be more expen

The entire car can be rebuilt at a local Auto-zone.

Even the little turbo and manifold is cheap to replace on these things.

So the guy that holds on to one probably sees 150k plus easy.

 

[SoCalRs]

I have a 2013 Sonic RS auto bought new in Oct 2013 mods ...CX racing coilovers , Band R throttle Body spacer , resonator muffler delete , zzp coil pack , trifecta tune . Zzp dash mount gauge pod boost / water temp phantom gauges pcv bypass mod V2 few others

41,000 Miles it's my daily problems I had. 1 battery replaced under warranty 2nd battery due to age and wear , EVAP solinoid went bad 35k miles , water neck cracked leaked coolant replaced 33,000 miles ...

 

[SoCalRs]

This all depends. I had a Mini Cooper S that wouldn’t last as long as a Sonic, mainly because the repairs would drown you after high mileage. A BMW M235i that cost $900 for a thermostat since the parts expensive and the labor is insane due to where the parts located.

People say the Chevy Sonic is a cheaply made car. Lol you can put an engine in one of these things for what it costs to replace a Mass Airflow and Thermostat Labor included from dealer $1700. All depends on what you want to pay and how long you keep the car. The car has low resale value so I imagine people get out of them when things go wrong. Then again your Honda and Toyota is going to be more expen

The entire car can be rebuilt at a local Auto-zone.

Even the little turbo and manifold is cheap to replace on these things.

So the guy that holds on to one probably sees 150k plus easy.

Yes I agree and scratch my head when I see a young guy now the muscle car scene is in so you need RWD 5.0 , etc and there's the guy with the BMW whick I am sure are fighting words to some but that car is so awesome looking sounds wicked looks even more then when they need to change the oil and they need to take off the intake to do it I'm wondering what were you thinking when you bought it . There so cheap used too no wonder why

 

[Ksull72487]

I have a 2013 Sonic RS auto bought new in Oct 2013 mods ...CX racing coilovers , Band R throttle Body spacer , resonator muffler delete , zzp coil pack , trifecta tune . Zzp dash mount gauge pod boost / water temp phantom gauges pcv bypass mod V2 few others

41,000 Miles it's my daily problems I had. 1 battery replaced under warranty 2nd battery due to age and wear , EVAP solinoid went bad 35k miles , water neck cracked leaked coolant replaced 33,000 miles ...

And All the stuff that went wrong guranteed cheaper then 1 problem on today’s Reliable cars like Honda and Toyota. As well as Today’s luxury cars. Trust me. That’s why I bought a 2019 last month. Needed something Cheap that had features and cheap repair ability. Lol I could fix half the issues on this car myself. BMW and Mini. Forget it. Lol. You’ll have high mileage Sonics on market for the guys that see that. And low mileage ones for the people that dispose of them and buy a new car.

So this is a good question. But a headlight on this car is around $25 bucks. The headlight housing probably $150 tops. On a BMW and Mini. The bulb is probably $200-$700. The housing for sure over $700. You ain’t fixing that. I think the screen in my Mini Cooper was $1700. In this Sonic lol probably $100 on eBay.

Lots of things can go wrong in a Sonic before it gets to expensive to fix. That’s the short story.

 

[SoCalRs]

I agree and i spend time on here then go off to other projects I know alot of guys on here moved on I had my sonic almost 8 years now 41k miles I often wanted to sell it and buy something else cars are flipping expensive right now .
I'm going to hold on to it a little longer with the suspension mods when I had new tires in manual mode on auto trans I ran circles around alpha ramero , civic , Toyotas I smoked em she's a little Hooker on the Twisties I tell ya lol

 

[Ksull72487]

I agree and i spend time on here then go off to other projects I know alot of guys on here moved on I had my sonic almost 8 years now 41k miles I often wanted to sell it and buy something else cars are flipping expensive right now .
I'm going to hold on to it a little longer with the suspension mods when I had new tires in manual mode on auto trans I ran circles around alpha ramero , civic , Toyotas I smoked em she's a little Hooker on the Twisties I tell ya lol

That’s my biggest fear right now. When I totaled my BMW M2 last month I came out good. But when I bought the Sonic I said. Ohhhhhh **** if theirs a market correction I’m upside down fast on this car. Might need gap coverage. The point is it’s gonna drive and it’s gonna be cheap to fix. Chevy could of done better. They should of went the Hot Hatch approach. Put a little more power to it and put it up against Mini And Fiat Abarth But I’m not complaining. That 1.4T is a torquey little thing. So it moves when you need it too. Not fast but enough.

To answer your question guys are getting 200k on them. 150k is about the expected lifespan but people are blowing by 200k. Replacing a Turbo on most cars is just not feasible. On a Sonic it’s actually cheap lol. So it’s gonna depend on the person.

 

[Ksull72487]

Yeah the little car for the money impressed me as well. I figured it would have tons of body roll. Lol it definitely handles. That’s why I think Chevy should of bumped it a few categories.

 

[Mincemeat90]

I have a 2014 sonic 1.4 and have been the original owner of it. I just hit 106,000 miles. It’s all about routine maintenance. Keep up on oil changes and check for leaks often. I’ve always changed the oil every 5000 miles. I have zero check engine lights. I had one that was a lean code. It happens to be the purge valve. I love the car. It still runs great and I have bunch of zzp mods as well. Downpipe, exhaust, CAI, intercooler, high voltage coil pack, gm performance suspension.

 

[JTee2017]

Yeah the little car for the money impressed me as well. I figured it would have tons of body roll. Lol it definitely handles. That’s why I think Chevy should of bumped it a few categories.

What means " bumped it a few categories " ?

 

[SoCalRs]

I know it's a dream but for me bumping it would had been having say the RS model truly that instead of just interior/ exterior add ONS I have heated leather seats nice , shiny pedals , rear disc brakes etc nice options that I paid for but how about the RS coming from the factory with the bigger turbo and tune Gm offered with the GM Exaust package .
To give it say 180HP to compete with the fiesta ST when it came out ...man how many of those do you see anymore I seen maybe 1 in the last 3 years , when the hot hatch craze was going strong my dream was rear wheel drive at least 180 HP they couldn't keep them in stock if they did that they be on order one year in advance but it's easier to put a Buick body on the same frame ...

 

[Mad*Max]

Aside from the thermostat housing, the Sonic is a great car, you should keep one of those in stock at home at all times. I had mine for six years and it ran great save for this issue.

 

[MarkHarder]

2012 LT 1.4L Turbo, hatchback, 6-speed manual, bought new for $16K. Just turned 130,000. Only after market mods are Moog front sway bar links (at 80K), K&P cold air intake, and Michelin Cross Climates. Regular maintenance (oil, tire rotation). Average 40 mpg highway on 87 octane. Not one problem. Southern car, so no winter body rot. Been driving 50 years - foreign and domestic. Sonic is one of the most fun cars I've had. I wish I'd bought two. Chevy screwed the pooch with their lack of marketing. Shame. Great car.

 

[Calculon]

It's nothing fancy, but the Sonic is quiet and handles nicely, which makes it a very good commuter car. I live close to work, so in almost 10 years of ownership, I'm at 106,000. Other a couple minor issue when it was under warranty, it's just been routine maintenance for me. I live in a small town with no stoplights, so most of my miles are in 5th gear between 60-75MPH, which are the easiest for any car. I'd like to keep mine until at least 2040.

 

[2014 Blue RS]

42 something on mine. Engine assembly issues from the factory. Been sitting broken longer than I've been able to drive it. Should be drivable by end of this year LOL.