Kill Switch - Scam or Real
03-02-2018, 07:04 PM
#1
Kill Switch - Scam or Real
I've wanted a Corvette for years and recently went to test drive a 2012. The salesman hit the unlock button, but the car wouldn't unlock. He made a comment about the battery not working and said that he had told "the guys" about leaving the lights on. I started getting an uneasy feeling. (I once bought a car that wouldn't crank at the dealership without being jumped. I believed their baloney about it having sat on the lot for a while and the battery had died. I wound up taking it back the next day after realizing that it had a major electrical problem.) Anyway, the guy went to get a battery charger and I excused myself to use the restroom. On my way back outside, I noticed the manager rolling the battery charger back in. The salesman then told me that he had not had to jump the car and the only problem had been that he had accidentally hit the "kill switch". Later, in a conversation, I heard him tell someone that he had indeed had to use the battery charger to crank it. My question - was he feeding me a line or could this actually have been the problem? The car is beautiful and a good price (I assume) but I am very leery of buying it now. Thank you!
03-02-2018, 07:09 PM
#2
Electrical issues on a corvette pre-purchase? I'd run.
OTOH, corvettes seem to have pretty high battery consumption while sitting so it could've just been no started for a while. I wouldnt risk it though.
OTOH, corvettes seem to have pretty high battery consumption while sitting so it could've just been no started for a while. I wouldnt risk it though.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:10 PM
#3
Race Director
If the salesman can't be honest about something as simple as having to jump the battery, what else will or is he lying to you about? Ask him to show you this "kill switch."
Last edited by RadarP3C; 03-02-2018 at 07:12 PM.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:30 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Oct 2005
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Walk away. Done. End of story.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:43 PM
#5
Please do not let "Corvette Fever" cloud your judgement. Walk away. I'm currently looking to trade my vette and get into a Viper. Vipers are much less abundant than vettes. There are literally dozens and dozens of Corvettes for sale at every price point and condition level. You'll find the one. Good luck.
Last edited by Randy_in_MD; 03-02-2018 at 07:45 PM.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:51 PM
#6
The short version,
C6 brand new fully charged battery will last about 3 weeks before the car drains it down flat by the amperage that the car is pulling not being driving to recharge the battery when in its sleep mode. Each time the battery is drained flat, it kill the battery more a touch each time. Also, it takes about 20 mins of driving the car before it will fully charge the battery back up.
Because of this, if you are not driving the car for say three days, you put the car on a battery tender to keep the battery fully charged.
So Vet sitting on a parking lot without a tender on it, its going to drain the battery, Hence no two ways to look at it. The fact that the dealer did not bring this up, is not out of the norm, but bad form not stating that it needed to be jump since it was sitting too long in the lot without being driving instead.
So when buying a used vet off a dealers lot, just consider the battery toasted from it being drain flat too many times from just sitting without a tender, and make part of the deal that the dealer not only replaces the battery with a brand new Ac/Delco battery, but throws in a GM corvette battery tender in as as part of the deal too.
Note, The Gm OEM corvette battery tender is just a re-branded CTEK 3300. So if you can only get a brand new battery out of the deal, then pick up a CTEK 3300 for when you have the vet sitting and not be driven for a few days instead.
As for the vet, I would not right it off yet due to the salesman crap (would use it again him come money time hence free new battery and charger), since you have not seen the carfax report, the GM service history report, not had a independent shop do a full inspection on it to make sure it does not have problems that need to be corrected before the deal is finalized.
Bottom line, sounds like you don't have a clue on the C6's, nor what to look for when buying one to start with. So before you go to look at another one, put the time to learn the vet first, and what to look for/at when buying one to start with.
If you list your location, should be someone in your area on the forums that do a quick one on one to get you up to speed, before you buy you even think about buying a C6.
C6 brand new fully charged battery will last about 3 weeks before the car drains it down flat by the amperage that the car is pulling not being driving to recharge the battery when in its sleep mode. Each time the battery is drained flat, it kill the battery more a touch each time. Also, it takes about 20 mins of driving the car before it will fully charge the battery back up.
Because of this, if you are not driving the car for say three days, you put the car on a battery tender to keep the battery fully charged.
So Vet sitting on a parking lot without a tender on it, its going to drain the battery, Hence no two ways to look at it. The fact that the dealer did not bring this up, is not out of the norm, but bad form not stating that it needed to be jump since it was sitting too long in the lot without being driving instead.
So when buying a used vet off a dealers lot, just consider the battery toasted from it being drain flat too many times from just sitting without a tender, and make part of the deal that the dealer not only replaces the battery with a brand new Ac/Delco battery, but throws in a GM corvette battery tender in as as part of the deal too.
Note, The Gm OEM corvette battery tender is just a re-branded CTEK 3300. So if you can only get a brand new battery out of the deal, then pick up a CTEK 3300 for when you have the vet sitting and not be driven for a few days instead.
As for the vet, I would not right it off yet due to the salesman crap (would use it again him come money time hence free new battery and charger), since you have not seen the carfax report, the GM service history report, not had a independent shop do a full inspection on it to make sure it does not have problems that need to be corrected before the deal is finalized.
Bottom line, sounds like you don't have a clue on the C6's, nor what to look for when buying one to start with. So before you go to look at another one, put the time to learn the vet first, and what to look for/at when buying one to start with.
If you list your location, should be someone in your area on the forums that do a quick one on one to get you up to speed, before you buy you even think about buying a C6.
Last edited by Dano523; 03-02-2018 at 07:59 PM.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:52 PM
#7
Le Mans Master
If it started with a jump, it just has a dead/dying battery. This doesn't necessarily portend anything serious. Corvettes don't like weak batteries.
It's possible something is running down the battery. Or maybe they left the ignition on for hours, or maybe it's just old.
Dealerships won't spend a nickel on stuff like that. They will jump start the car every single day rather than replace the battery. Once it fires up, it's "fixed" until the next time it won't start.
It's possible something is running down the battery. Or maybe they left the ignition on for hours, or maybe it's just old.
Dealerships won't spend a nickel on stuff like that. They will jump start the car every single day rather than replace the battery. Once it fires up, it's "fixed" until the next time it won't start.
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
03-02-2018, 07:57 PM
#8
Drifting
when i bought my cpo c6 z06 it was in the showroom, battery was dead , presumably people are opening and closing the door and such... i told them new battery and we got a deal. they did it right in front of me.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 08:48 PM
#10
Pro
Don't know your location but I suggest checking out where the car was last in private hands. There are stories about flood cars making their way into the markets. Not saying this is one.
No doubt a weak battery is cause for concern. The "kill switch", not factory.
No doubt a weak battery is cause for concern. The "kill switch", not factory.
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mythreegirls (03-02-2018)
03-02-2018, 09:45 PM
#11
Race Director
When I was searching dealer's lots for a used C6, every single one of them had a dead battery and most of the salesmen didn't even know how to get in the car (this was in 2007).
I wouldn't dismiss this car until you get a little more info about it, and better knowledge of C6's in general.
It's a buyers market and don't be afraid to 'shop' at one of the big Corvette Dealerships, even if it's far away. They know how to weed out the bad cars and since they deal in large volumes, they often have much better prices than you'll find locally.
And the drive home will be fun. Good luck.
I wouldn't dismiss this car until you get a little more info about it, and better knowledge of C6's in general.
It's a buyers market and don't be afraid to 'shop' at one of the big Corvette Dealerships, even if it's far away. They know how to weed out the bad cars and since they deal in large volumes, they often have much better prices than you'll find locally.
And the drive home will be fun. Good luck.
Last edited by Knob Jockey; 03-02-2018 at 09:46 PM.
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
03-02-2018, 11:03 PM
#12
A dead battery is no need to run the other way, but someone LYING about the car is, IMO.
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
03-03-2018, 03:10 PM
#16
Sounds like typical used car salesman bs. There's probably nothing wrong with the car that a new battery won't solve, but you're not going to get a straight story out of that salesman, and unless the car comes with a warranty, I'd also be nervous about how that place would handle it if indeed there was a more serious issue once you buy it. Like one guy said, there are a lot of these cars around.
While on the subject of dead batteries, alternators are meant to maintain a charge, not charge one up from dead. Not only will driving it not charge it fully, it will put a lot of strain on the alternator and could even damage it. A dead battery, once jump-started, really should be put on a charger ASAP.
While on the subject of dead batteries, alternators are meant to maintain a charge, not charge one up from dead. Not only will driving it not charge it fully, it will put a lot of strain on the alternator and could even damage it. A dead battery, once jump-started, really should be put on a charger ASAP.
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mythreegirls (03-03-2018)
03-03-2018, 05:09 PM
#19
The short version,
C6 brand new fully charged battery will last about 3 weeks before the car drains it down flat by the amperage that the car is pulling not being driving to recharge the battery when in its sleep mode. Each time the battery is drained flat, it kill the battery more a touch each time. Also, it takes about 20 mins of driving the car before it will fully charge the battery back up.
Because of this, if you are not driving the car for say three days, you put the car on a battery tender to keep the battery fully charged.
So Vet sitting on a parking lot without a tender on it, its going to drain the battery, Hence no two ways to look at it. The fact that the dealer did not bring this up, is not out of the norm, but bad form not stating that it needed to be jump since it was sitting too long in the lot without being driving instead.
So when buying a used vet off a dealers lot, just consider the battery toasted from it being drain flat too many times from just sitting without a tender, and make part of the deal that the dealer not only replaces the battery with a brand new Ac/Delco battery, but throws in a GM corvette battery tender in as as part of the deal too.
Note, The Gm OEM corvette battery tender is just a re-branded CTEK 3300. So if you can only get a brand new battery out of the deal, then pick up a CTEK 3300 for when you have the vet sitting and not be driven for a few days instead.
As for the vet, I would not right it off yet due to the salesman crap (would use it again him come money time hence free new battery and charger), since you have not seen the carfax report, the GM service history report, not had a independent shop do a full inspection on it to make sure it does not have problems that need to be corrected before the deal is finalized.
Bottom line, sounds like you don't have a clue on the C6's, nor what to look for when buying one to start with. So before you go to look at another one, put the time to learn the vet first, and what to look for/at when buying one to start with.
If you list your location, should be someone in your area on the forums that do a quick one on one to get you up to speed, before you buy you even think about buying a C6.
C6 brand new fully charged battery will last about 3 weeks before the car drains it down flat by the amperage that the car is pulling not being driving to recharge the battery when in its sleep mode. Each time the battery is drained flat, it kill the battery more a touch each time. Also, it takes about 20 mins of driving the car before it will fully charge the battery back up.
Because of this, if you are not driving the car for say three days, you put the car on a battery tender to keep the battery fully charged.
So Vet sitting on a parking lot without a tender on it, its going to drain the battery, Hence no two ways to look at it. The fact that the dealer did not bring this up, is not out of the norm, but bad form not stating that it needed to be jump since it was sitting too long in the lot without being driving instead.
So when buying a used vet off a dealers lot, just consider the battery toasted from it being drain flat too many times from just sitting without a tender, and make part of the deal that the dealer not only replaces the battery with a brand new Ac/Delco battery, but throws in a GM corvette battery tender in as as part of the deal too.
Note, The Gm OEM corvette battery tender is just a re-branded CTEK 3300. So if you can only get a brand new battery out of the deal, then pick up a CTEK 3300 for when you have the vet sitting and not be driven for a few days instead.
As for the vet, I would not right it off yet due to the salesman crap (would use it again him come money time hence free new battery and charger), since you have not seen the carfax report, the GM service history report, not had a independent shop do a full inspection on it to make sure it does not have problems that need to be corrected before the deal is finalized.
Bottom line, sounds like you don't have a clue on the C6's, nor what to look for when buying one to start with. So before you go to look at another one, put the time to learn the vet first, and what to look for/at when buying one to start with.
If you list your location, should be someone in your area on the forums that do a quick one on one to get you up to speed, before you buy you even think about buying a C6.
03-03-2018, 06:06 PM
#20
Safety Car
I bought a leftover 2013 Ford when the 2014's came out. They had to jump it because it was sitting for a while. I ended up buying it, but it had died again the next day. The dealer put in a new battery and I never had another problem with it.
I doubt they would put a new battery in the car just for you to check it out, but they should. I guess them admitting the battery is old, would give negative connotations about the vehicle. A kill switch sounds cooler I guess.
I doubt they would put a new battery in the car just for you to check it out, but they should. I guess them admitting the battery is old, would give negative connotations about the vehicle. A kill switch sounds cooler I guess.