Man Buys Cheap Fisker Karma Sight Unseen, Feels Scammed, Wants To Return It

The Fisker Karma came in 2011 with that "Look at me" kind of attitude, ready to revolutionize the automotive world. It was a plug-in hybrid with 50 miles of electric range when new, as energy was stored in a lithium-ion battery pack, with a capacity of 20.1 kWh. The system integrates a front-mounted 2.0-liter four-cylinder direct-injection turbocharged petrol Ecotec engine from GM, that generates 260 horsepower (264 metric horsepower).

It works alongside two electric motors with 161 horsepower (163 metric horsepower) each for a total of 403 horsepower (409 metric horsepower) with 960 pound-feet (1,300 Newton meters) of torque.

That may not sound like something to write home about, but hey, it was 2011 when Fisker launched the plug-in hybrid sports car that did 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in 5.9 seconds in Sport Mode and hit a top speed of 125 mph (201 kph).

Everything looked right on paper. But it turned out to be a complete failure. Plagued by malfunctions and recalls, fire incidents, a lawsuit with Tesla, and a government loan freeze because Fisker failed to meet the milestones, the automaker only built around 2,560 examples, all rolling off the production line of the Valmet Automotive factory in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

Production stopped when its sole battery supplier, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy. The automaker was unable to keep operations afloat. What started as a major breakthrough, with A-list customers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber, turned out to be a major flop.

Tyler learned the hard way

This man learned it the hard way. Tyler Hoover bought sight unseen a Fisker Karma that he had set eyes on while browsing through the Bring a Trailer website. The car, with only 18,000 miles (29,968 kilometers) on the clock, was in Florida so he just paid $20,000 and went to pick it up. That was the moment he started finding faults.

First, Tyler discovered that the blower motor didn't work, so there was no air conditioning on board, so the only way to drive back to Kansas was with the windows down. If it wasn't for the oil leak, which led to smoke coming out from under the hood like no tomorrow when accelerating.

The Check Engine light is on. It disappears after a hard reset, but it keeps coming back. And that's not all. The car shakes at high speed, which might be because the car sat for so long and the wheels and tires were affected.

Tyler wanted to return the car, but the representative of the seller, who is out of the country, said no. So, he is stuck with the Fisker Karma and now thinks he got scammed.

He plans to take it to a repair shop in the morning, 37 miles (60 kilometers) away. Considering the issues with the ICE, he hopes to drive on electric power only all the way there. But he has yet to see if the 12-year-old battery pack still has that much range in it.

Tyler wasn't going to make it. The 2.0-liter engine kicked in when the battery ran out of energy. The real electric range currently sits at about 30-35 miles, which isn't really that bad, considering that the car rolled off the production line over a decade ago. He goes into the shop accompanied by smoke and oil smell.

He also got a promise from a Fisker expert from Philadelphia, who told him he could fix the car. He assumed that the blower motor filled up with water and got clogged. It would cost Tyler over $1,000 to fix that.

But first, he is counting on his own mechanic. Once he removes the engine cover, he discovers that everything is dry, and there is no sign of an oil leak. So, he will have to take a different path. He lifts the car and immediately finds that there is a leak right to the exhaust.

But that is just one of the issues that the Fisker came with. He is sure that the seller knew some of the issues and did not disclose them. That is why he sold it that cheap in the first place.

History repeating itself for Fisker

For the automaker, history is repeating itself. The automaker has resurrected only to flirt with bankruptcy once again. The company led by Henrik Fisker seems to go head-first and full-speed ahead into a new drama.

The company stopped production of its Ocean EV back in March, then slashed its price, which doesn’t mean the model is necessarily a good deal now, considering it has been hit by so many issues.

Talks with an automaker for a potential investment collapsed in March. The company also reduced its workforce and operations. According to ValueInvesting, the probability of bankruptcy for Fisker, which is unable to meet debt obligations, is 79.3%.