So I Bought a Volt

Yup. It's a shiny new-to-me 2011 Chevrolet Volt. Tan and black leather, shiny red paint, and polished Aluminum (not chrome) wheels. I didn't buy it because I needed an economy car: I bought it because I wanted a regular-people car--a sedan--and I wanted something cool. This thing is captain cool. Huge gas mileage, plug-in electric, and it's actually a really cool car to drive. I kept the Viper to go fast and the Miata to race, so the stupid fun can continue.

I'll post pictures when I have more time. (And when the internet gets easier to use.) GET OFF MY LAWN!

Cool. With my two-mile commute, I'd imagine one of those would be perfect for me.

I kinda keep circling the drain regarding the Volt.

I've had my eye on these as well. I have an 11 mile commute.

did you get one with the "appearance package" that consists of the word "VOLT" in foot tall letters down each side of the car to help you properly contribute to the amount of smug in the air wherever you drive it?

I really enjoy mine. Aside from the well discussed economical advantages, it is relatively quick, handles well, has decent space and is a pleasant place to sit.

you should get a license plate frame that says "my other car is a viper"

Or a plate frame on the Viper that says "My other car is a Volt"

I love mine. They're great cars. Congrats.

Another satisfied Volt owner here, as well.

Bought a new 2014 in April and (as of two days ago) the tank of gas that it came with has now outlived the Sirious/XM trial subscription.

Congrats on the Volt.

Anybody driving Volt in winter? How's start up w/ defrost? Handle snow if I got caught out in it? Any concern w/ salt on electrics? SW Pa. here, I have a 4X4 for heavier accumulation. Volt could work for my 15 mile commute, maybe 40 miles end of the day.

I have been looking at some CPO Volts. Local dealer has several 2012 CPO Volts with leather and under 10k miles for about $23k. I have an 11 mile commute to work and with other miscellaneous driving I am driving about 900 miles/month and spending over $150/month in gas.

If I was going to be forced to have a car payment I think I would chose the Volt.

In reply to fasted58:

Winter in Louisiana is fine, at least, though we hardly ever have snow. You can pre-heat the interior using power from the house, though I'd suggest considering a 220v evse, as the 110v won't fully cover the draw, cutting into your battery. Battery range estimates are down on cold days, but not by much. Particularly cold days will see the ICE run very briefly after startup to aid in getting everything up to operating temp. I've only seen this behavior once - I suspect you'd see it more often.

I have read that the extra weight of the battery helps in the snow. The front rubber spoiler can be replaced with a smaller factory unit for better clearance, with a modest aerodynamic cost. The smaller one is to address customer complaints of scraping, which I find happens quite a lot.

Ojala wrote: I have been looking at some CPO Volts. Local dealer has several 2012 CPO Volts with leather and under 10k miles for about $23k. I have an 11 mile commute to work and with other miscellaneous driving I am driving about 900 miles/month and spending over $150/month in gas. If I was going to be forced to have a car payment I think I would chose the Volt.

I'm seeing roughly the same thing. I've also seen comments that seem to indicate a brand new Volt will net out in the low $20k range, with the tax credit included. If that is true, buying new would seem to make more sense than buying used. Any thoughts from the hive on this one?

Another concern I have was expressed by Tuna and is in regard to the technology. Advances seem to be coming pretty quickly in this space, leading to a some likelihood that current technology could be horribly outdated in 3-5 years. That could mean a huge hit in resale. It's hard to forecast of course. I wonder if a 2nd gen Prius might be a safer bet, for now.

In reply to dyintorace:

Regarding the advance of technology:

1: Leasing to keep pace with technology. Excluding Tesla, who doesn't offer a pure lease, most plug-in cars are leased from new at the moment. This makes sense; statistics show most customers are more early technology adopter types than green types, and greenness trails newness, tech, and driving dynamics in the decision. If keeping current is what you want, there are great lease deals available.

2: Buy. You can always buy new. You'll get the tax credits, but those same credits become extra depreciation from MSRP you'll see walking off the lot. The number 1 folks above won't be your buyers in several years when you're ready to sell on, further hitting depreciation. You do this because you like what the car offers today, and you don't need the bleeding edge. You'd rather hold on to a car, but you'd like to start higher on the curve and like the new car experience.

3: You buy used. This is just starting to become a good option as the first two years of these cars are coming off lease in droves. You're getting a lot of car and a lot of technology, but it's not what the newer cars have. You're fine with that. You're not going to let anyone tell you not to burn hella cheap miles on the odo, and you're not going to pay new prices. The 2011 Volt here is a killer bargain, but misses some infotainment features, the "hold" drive mode, some battery improvements, and a traction control defeat. You lose a little, you save a lot. But, you also didn't have the use of the car for the last three years, and that loss is what is paying your discount.

In reply to dyintorace:

We are single income, wife at home, two kids. We just about break even (+-$10) with taxes with standard deduction. I don't know if the $7500 deduction on a new Volt would work for us right now.

I really think that the new/used decision comes down to each family's tax situation. Next year brings a rank/pay increase for me so who knows?

Mike wrote: In reply to dyintorace: Regarding the advance of technology: 1: Leasing to keep pace with technology. Excluding Tesla, who doesn't offer a pure lease, most plug-in cars are leased from new at the moment. This makes sense; statistics show most customers are more early technology adopter types than green types, and greenness trails newness, tech, and driving dynamics in the decision. If keeping current is what you want, there are great lease deals available. 2: Buy. You can always buy new. You'll get the tax credits, but those same credits become extra depreciation from MSRP you'll see walking off the lot. The number 1 folks above won't be your buyers in several years when you're ready to sell on, further hitting depreciation. You do this because you like what the car offers today, and you don't need the bleeding edge. You'd rather hold on to a car, but you'd like to start higher on the curve and like the new car experience. 3: You buy used. This is just starting to become a good option as the first two years of these cars are coming off lease in droves. You're getting a lot of car and a lot of technology, but it's not what the newer cars have. You're fine with that. You're not going to let anyone tell you not to burn hella cheap miles on the odo, and you're not going to pay new prices. The 2011 Volt here is a killer bargain, but misses some infotainment features, the "hold" drive mode, some battery improvements, and a traction control defeat. You lose a little, you save a lot. But, you also didn't have the use of the car for the last three years, and that loss is what is paying your discount.

Great summary. We're looking for the best intersection between value and newness. Of the 3 groups as you outlined, we are definitely in group 3. So it becomes a question of how new of a used version to buy. And, if we're going to look at a used Volt, we should look at a used Prius too, I would think.

In reply to dyintorace:

I'll add this too, on the Volt column. The power supply cord (the charger is part of the car) is called an EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) and your car comes with a Level 1 unit - which means 110v. Unless you are in a very cold climate or are certain you need the fast turnaround, don't bother spending $400 or more on a faster Level 2 unit until you know for sure the 110v isn't doing it. I have seldom been in a situation where I'd have avoided gas use by having a faster charger.

Congrats! I nearly bought one last week. Having been a Leaf owner, I'm a huge fan of electrics. My new job has a 50 mile each way commute, so the Leaf was out. I found a local dealer with a 2012 that had 24k miles on it selling for $18k. Test drove it, really liked it. But in doing the math, it still didn't add up as cost effective when I compared it to a used Prius. I wound up getting a 2010 Prius for $10,700. The other drawback to the Volt for me was only having 4 seats, and I've got a family of 5. But I really did like the Volt and nearly pulled the trigger.

The Volt lease program was quite a disappointment for me. 10k miles per year, with a wicked high cost per mile over that limit. Their lease program may differ with regions or even dealerships, dunno.

I don't like the notion of buying new, but I'd likely hang onto the volt for many years. The priced ops and the $10k in federal and state incentives put new right down beside used in regards to price.

I love the idea of the Volt. Since I work from home, my driving consists of doing errands (usually less than 15 miles round trip) and going to/from the airport about once a month (about 40 miles each way). A Volt would be great for that, but I have an issue already of too many cars, my bias against GM (I'm not over the bailout yet, nor the culture of killing their customers, nor trying cover up killing of their customers), so that makes appealing cars like the Volt, Corvettes, anything with a -V at the end of the model name on my list of cars I will not own any time in the near future.

and just think, when its time for a battery overhaul, whatever they replace it with will likely have double range

Klayfish wrote: Congrats! I nearly bought one last week. Having been a Leaf owner, I'm a huge fan of electrics. My new job has a 50 mile each way commute, so the Leaf was out. I found a local dealer with a 2012 that had 24k miles on it selling for $18k. Test drove it, really liked it. But in doing the math, it still didn't add up as cost effective when I compared it to a used Prius. I wound up getting a 2010 Prius for $10,700. The other drawback to the Volt for me was only having 4 seats, and I've got a family of 5. But I really did like the Volt and nearly pulled the trigger.

That's where I seem to be landing too. I like the look of the Volt better, but the buy in is almost double that of a used Prius. The pure electric capability of the Volt is cool, but it would take a lot of miles to make up the $8k-$10k purchase difference.

If my commute was shorter, or if I was 100% sure I could plug it at work so I could go home on mostly battery, it would have made a lot more sense. But with a 100 mile round trip, if I could only go about 35-40 miles on battery and the rest on gas, it didn't add up. So far, the Prius has netted me 46mpg. With that $8k price differnce, it became the obvious choice.

foxtrapper wrote: The Volt lease program was quite a disappointment for me. 10k miles per year, with a wicked high cost per mile over that limit. Their lease program may differ with regions or even dealerships, dunno.

I got the "factory" lease deal from Ally: 12k miles per year. At a year and a half into the lease, I'm 3K miles under the limit, and that includes 3 trips to CT and back to Baltimore, and one trip up to Maine and back.

I love the fact that I haven't put gas into it since that last trip to Maine back last Thanksgiving. I only use the stock 110V charger and always have a "full tank" when I go out to the car in the morning.