# Should I purchase a Cruze that has sat for 2 years?



## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

Hello,
I am new to this forum but excited to be a member. I have an opportunity to purchase a 2017 Cruze LT with 700 miles on it. It was purchased in July of 2017 new and used for 3 months. The owner then passed away and the car sat garaged till December of 2019 when it was driven to a family members house. The seller says he started it once a month since then. I did not get driven since 12/19 and I am sure that the fuel was not treated etc...

He is offering it for a good price but what do y'all think about the risk of the gaskets being bad, tires flat spotted etc. after it sat that long?
Any advice you may have will be appreciated.


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

I think if it's a good price and you go in knowing that there may be maintenance items needing taken care of (ie tires), you should be good. Especially since it's been started once a month, I'm less concerned. It's the ones that are left for dead to rot and mice get into them and chew up electrical items but it obviously hasn't had that issue. I'd still want to take it for a test drive first and make sure it doesn't have any peculiar problems that some fresh gas won't fix.

Side note, please make sure to keep this one ran on Premium fuel as they don't like low grade gas even though they can run on it. It puts them at a disadvantage because the car has to detune itself a lot to compensate for it trying to keep itself from knocking.


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## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

Thanks Fireworks. I'm a little worried since there is only 2 months left on the bumper-to-bumper. I will give it a thorough check and test drive but I would hate for something major to fail (due to the sitting for 2 years) in a year or so which means it would come out of my pocket.

Also, do you mean you recommend Premium for this particular car or for all Cruze's?


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

It's pretty highly recommended for all of these Gen 2 Cruzes. And I'd go ahead and get the oil changed while still under the warranty to give it its best chance to either avoid any issues or find any potential hangups.


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## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

Got it. I'll be going over the car top to bottom, adding fuel stabilizer and changing all the fluids if I purchase. Looking for leaks, tire problems, signs of rodents, mold in the cab etc. Just wasn't sure if there was anything I should look for that I am missing. Thanks again!


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## HBCRUZE2017 (Jan 25, 2018)

what kind of deal? i got a used cruze 17 lt with 9000 miles for $13600


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## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

We're at $12.5k right now. It sat a long time and that worries me....


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

You have nothing to be worried about honestly except maybe the tires but that's an easy fix. Take it for a drive and see how it does. Then if you do buy it make sure to get an oil change done ASAP (and make sure they use the correct DEXOS Gen 2 oil that these engines need), oil breaks down from sitting and can cause problems. Then make sure to fill it with fresh 91/93. I don't think you'll have any problems.


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## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

Thanks WillL84. Looks like I will be checking it out tomorrow.


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## HBCRUZE2017 (Jan 25, 2018)

yea i would look elsewhere you can find pretty good deals but that is pretty low mileage


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## jthemi (Apr 30, 2020)

HBC, I just decided to go test drive it due to the feedback given here that it should be fine. But are you saying that I should look elsewhere and not check it out? It was garaged and has 691 miles on it. The owner passed away and it was stuck in probate but is supposed to be absolutely like new. Thanks.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

jthemi said:


> HBC, I just decided to go test drive it due to the feedback given here that it should be fine. But are you saying that I should look elsewhere and not check it out? It was garaged and has 691 miles on it. The owner passed away and it was stuck in probate but is supposed to be absolutely like new. Thanks.


I'll buy it!


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## JeremyHabetler (Jan 3, 2020)

jthemi said:


> HBC, I just decided to go test drive it due to the feedback given here that it should be fine. But are you saying that I should look elsewhere and not check it out? It was garaged and has 691 miles on it. The owner passed away and it was stuck in probate but is supposed to be absolutely like new. Thanks.


There may be 2 main issues with it, as with any car, after it's sat for 2 years. 1 - the battery most definitely is bad, and 2 - the gas that has been sitting in the tank for 2 years is almost definitely bad, it may still run with that gas but expect a rough idle and maybe a lack of power. Ideally thay should drain the tank and put fresh gas in it and injector cleaner to clean out the fuel system.

Also, really get a good look at all the wiring. Even though it's been in a garage rats can still get to it, and when rats get to cars they go for wiring


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## -loki- (Dec 13, 2019)

I'd buy it... drive the piss out of it get all the old gas and oil out. Put the battery on equalize and doubt the tires are bad being 2 years old. If they hold air and aren't cracked they will do... I have tires that 11 years old on my bird and they are fine. Fill with premium and amsoil. At least fresh gas and oil. Hell the rings probably haven't even seated yet! Break in is usually minimum 1000miles


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Fresh fuel with seafoam
New battery
Oil change.
Possible tires.

Test drive it. Transmissions and engines don't like to sit. Gaskets dry out.

I bought a low mile car. And tried to take a roadtrip. 100 miles from home drive gear stopped working. Had to drive it back home in lower gears. Had the trans rebuilt and drove it 10 more years without issues.


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

I'd second the comment on the tires. I bought the 2002 Intrigue from a dealer as a new car that had been on the lot for 15 months it was actually 2003 when I took delivery. The tire flat spots get noisy as you get a few thousand miles on it.
Factory tires aren't usually my favorite. I put Michelin Defenders on my car as 40K miles and haven't looked back. Play it right at Sams Club and once or twice a year you can get a $70 discount on a set of 4 AND free installation. For $450-$500 you should be able to do a good set of tires.

I think a 2017 would have been built before it was announced that Lordstown was closing.

Only time will tell, but those cars built after the announcement could have more issues than your average car.


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## jcountry (May 30, 2017)

Did it sit in a humid climate? If so, all fluids are trash. Especially the gas. I wouldnt even try to burn that junk.


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

jcountry said:


> Did it sit in a humid climate? If so, all fluids are trash. Especially the gas. I wouldnt even try to burn that junk.


The OP said it was garaged so it's probably fine.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

WillL84 said:


> The OP said it was garaged so it's probably fine.


Is the garage air-conditioned?


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Barry Allen said:


> Is the garage air-conditioned?


🤷‍♂️ If it's kept closed though it's still miles better than being left outside.


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## RoninDusette (Aug 21, 2018)

Ummm yeah. This isn't an old rustbucket from the 80s. Cars are much more robust and reliable then what they used to be. Unless it sat under a volcano or slow drip of leaking battery acid on the car, I would say do a full tune-up (plugs, fluids, tires, belts, etc). and get it moving. Worst case, you can buy it, fix it, and if it starts acting funky, turn around and sell a VERY young, freshly-refurbished car. Shiiiii. I would buy it if I had the chance. lol.


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## Garybinga (Feb 1, 2020)

WillL84 said:


> 🤷‍♂️ If it's kept closed though it's still miles better than being left outside.


I bought a 2016 Premier from an elderly woman's family with 12K on it last december. Paid 12K , She was in nursing home and car sat under pine trees for over a year. The devil to clean up. I replaced the battery just due to its age and other than service have had no problems. First I have heard of premium fuel being needed, Need more info.


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

Garybinga said:


> I bought a 2016 Premier from an elderly woman's family with 12K on it last december. Paid 12K , She was in nursing home and car sat under pine trees for over a year. The devil to clean up. I replaced the battery just due to its age and other than service have had no problems. First I have heard of premium fuel being needed, Need more info.


Not trying to deviate from the topic too much but here you go: What fuel to run... 87 octane vs 93 octane... EDIT (or E85?)


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

Garybinga said:


> I bought a 2016 Premier from an elderly woman's family with 12K on it last december. Paid 12K , She was in nursing home and car sat under pine trees for over a year. The devil to clean up. I replaced the battery just due to its age and other than service have had no problems. First I have heard of premium fuel being needed, Need more info.


Long story short these engines do much better with 91 or 93 than they do with 87









What fuel to run... 87 octane vs 93 octane... EDIT (or E85?)


I have a stock 2018 Cruze LT, I also have HPTuners. I pulled a log on 87 octane and logged 93 octane. The differences are not surprising, but pretty interesting. I tried logging different scenarios and my some of my normal driving habits. Brake boosting from a roll and from a dig, easing into...




www.cruzetalk.com


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## mchitty1 (Feb 9, 2020)

Well at that price with those low miles, they won’t have a problem selling. I would jump on that asap and sitting that short amount of time shouldn’t be a problem, otherwise everyone using long term parking at the airport would have problems. Do an oil change with mobil1synthetic, use a acdelco upf64r oil filter and refresh the gasoline!


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of these cars with that low mileage and being stationary for that time.
Ive been a GM tech for 20yrs, there hasn't been a better overall FWD 4cylinder car put out by GM in that time. Period. (And I've owned and loved most of them)

Change the oil.
Drain the fuel and fill with premium.
Change the cabin filter.

Drive the car and enjoy. Don't do any other maintenance or repairs unless something breaks or bothers you.

If the battery is shot change it, if it comes back to life...use it.

Don't change the tires until you've put at least 500 miles on it, and then only if they are heavily cracked(I bet they aren't) and don't change them for flat spots unless you've verified they are truly permanently flat spotted and they bother you 

Don't worry about any of the other fluids, they are all fine.


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## Garybinga (Feb 1, 2020)

Ma v e n said:


> I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of these cars with that low mileage and being stationary for that time.
> Ive been a GM tech for 20yrs, there hasn't been a better overall FWD 4cylinder car put out by GM in that time. Period. (And I've owned and loved most of them)
> 
> Change the oil.
> ...


Cabin filter was really nasty, Air intakes at cowl were inches deep in pine straw and black crap, it was almost out of fuel ( light was on ) filled and added fuel treatment. No problems with car at all. I AM NOT A FAN OF AUTOSTOP


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## Diesel980 (Apr 4, 2020)

jthemi said:


> Thanks Fireworks. I'm a little worried since there is only 2 months left on the bumper-to-bumper. I will give it a thorough check and test drive but I would hate for something major to fail (due to the sitting for 2 years) in a year or so which means it would come out of my pocket.
> 
> Also, do you mean you recommend Premium for this particular car or for all Cruze's?


Might want to have the fuel tank drained and filled with fresh fuel also or use Dry Gas to remove any water lots of Dry Gas, I just Bought a 2014 that sat all winter with about a quarter of a tank of fuel. I had to use lots of Dry Gas to get it to run more smoothly 2014 1.8 with Manual Transmission Good Luck.


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## Fireworks234 (Jan 4, 2018)

Garybinga said:


> Cabin filter was really nasty, Air intakes at cowl were inches deep in pine straw and black crap, it was almost out of fuel ( light was on ) filled and added fuel treatment. No problems with car at all. I AM NOT A FAN OF AUTOSTOP


There are some things you can do to mitigate AutoStop.

Put it in L and shift to 6 and it will ignore autostop and drive normally
When using climate control keep it on the orange light as putting it on green will make it autostop more often
Check out Trifecta Performance. They have a tune you can buy that just eliminates autostop by pressing the cruise control "armed" button and leaving it like that without changing any performance whatsoever.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Ma v e n said:


> Ive been a GM tech for 20yrs, there hasn't been a better overall FWD 4cylinder car put out by GM in that time. Period. (And I've owned and loved most of them)


...looks at the last 20 years...
Cavalier, Cobalt, 1st gen Cruze

OK, that's not a hard bar to clear. I could be a 500 pound man with arthritic knees and still clear those hurdles.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Garybinga said:


> car sat under pine trees for over a year. The devil to clean up.


To remove pine tar, the trick is to use ammonia mixed with water in a spray bottle. Clean all the glass and paint, and then immediately put some Turtle Wax on that clearcoat.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> ...looks at the last 20 years...
> Cavalier, Cobalt, 1st gen Cruze
> 
> OK, that's not a hard bar to clear. I could be a 500 pound man with arthritic knees and still clear those hurdles.


Yeah, but it took GM a long time(forever) to finally build a spacious, fuel efficient, civilized, compact car. All the previous cars had their highlights, but yes, this is the best 4cyl fwd car GM has made. It's honestly a shame it died so early.


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## plano-doug (Jul 1, 2015)

Ma v e n said:


> Yeah, but it took GM a long time(forever) to finally build a spacious, fuel efficient, civilized, compact car. All the previous cars had their highlights, but yes, this is the best 4cyl fwd car GM has made. It's honestly a shame it died so early.


I agree. Granted, the Cruze is a size step up from the Cavalier, but the engines used are more than up to the task. Even the lowest end drive train is still much peppier than the earlier 4-bangers.
...
This reminds me, one of Chevy's first small cars was the Nova. The marketing guys understood the American mindset - besides a 4- and two 6-cylinder options, it was soon available with two V-8 options as well  

And, within a few more years, a big block was offered, too! Now that's an American economy car 
...
No doubt, I'm bummed about the Cruze's demise, too. It really is a good car - it looks good, handles well, has good acceleration and gets good gas mileage. But the XUV craze has really put a squeeze on sedans.

Doug

.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

It's really not notably bigger (esp. hatchback)in any exterior dimension than a Balt, Cav, or even Citation. The cavaliers were notably narrower.
I miss cavaliers though, Coupe, fastback hatch, and wagons.....awwww yeah.


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Ma v e n said:


> [Cruze] is the best 4cyl fwd car GM has made.


Meh. Malibu is better. If I could have a Malibu with the same diesel engine (maybe the 160hp twin-turbo version sold in Europe), I would have bought that.


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## Ma v e n (Oct 8, 2018)

Barry Allen said:


> Meh. Malibu is better. If I could have a Malibu with the same diesel engine (maybe the 160hp twin-turbo version sold in Europe), I would have bought that.


Meh, Malibu may be a 4cyl car, but it's not a compact, which is what I really should used when I chose my words, thought I made it clear mentioning the Xbody, Cav and Balt though. 

I also don't think the Malibu is a better car. It's got the same fit, finish and materials as the Cruze. It's also noisier. I can't stand the road/suspension noise from the rear of the Malibu.

Also if we are playing semantics...the Impala is even better. Arguably best Chevy non-Corvette car ever made. And of course a Camaro 2.0T 1LE is absolutely amazing 4 cylinder Chevy. But you knew what I meant all along anyway...


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## Barry Allen (Apr 18, 2018)

Ma v e n said:


> the Impala is even better


If GM had offered a turbocharged 4-cylinder in the Impala, I'd agree. The base models were naturally aspirated when it really needed a turbocharged engine for more torque.


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