Own or considering a Chevy Volt?

I can see a short-term lease here. I would never consider purchasing a Volt at the present time - particularly with the Tesla Model 3 on the horizon.

And yeah, you may not need to ever change the oil if you're only keeping it for 3 years. I admit I'm a purist that hates compromise. It just bugs me to cart around all that stuff that hardly gets used. If they replaced the engine with more batteries then you might get enough additional range to make it moot point.

CStricker said:

If you are filling up 2-4 times a year, you're not using the gas, so do people usually put fuel stabilizer like STA-BIL in the tank?

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Apparently the onboard computer monitor how long since the last startup or some algorithm that forces the engine to use up the gas. I've only read about this from various commentaries on official reviews from motortrend et al. It seems to be a very common question.

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Jimbo said:

I can see a short-term lease here.

And yeah, you may not need to ever change the oil if you're only keeping it for 3 years. I admit I'm a purist that hates compromise. It just bugs me to cart around all that stuff that hardly gets used. If they replaced the engine with more batteries then you might get enough additional range to make it moot point.

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I totally know what you mean. I also agree that it's bothersome to lug around so much extra stuff. The reality is though... It gets an incredible amount of mpg and it's the best of both worlds for this car's target audience.

To take your point further... I've always told my friends that it bothers me that a 3500lb car is required to move a 180lb human being. Think of all that inefficiency. Unfortunately we still live in 2014 and cars like the volt is the best we can do for now.

I'm glad we can finally talk about an electric/hybrid car these days without all the political talk that always used to rise up.

TURBO2GO said:

I'm glad we can finally talk about an electric/hybrid car these days without all the political talk that always used to rise up.

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Well, I guess we could if we choose to ignore the obvious : OBAMA! [emoji33]

Juice said:

Well, I guess we could if we choose to ignore the obvious : OBAMA! [emoji33]

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Interestingly enough the tax incentives where signed off during the Bush era. Though... Don't get me wrong.. I'm happy to jump on your bandwagon lol

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Jimbo said:

I can see a short-term lease here. I would never consider purchasing a Volt at the present time - particularly with the Tesla Model 3 on the horizon.

And yeah, you may not need to ever change the oil if you're only keeping it for 3 years. I admit I'm a purist that hates compromise. It just bugs me to cart around all that stuff that hardly gets used. If they replaced the engine with more batteries then you might get enough additional range to make it moot point.

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BTW... Electric cars are advancing almost as fast as cellphones and only greeting faster. It may not be practical to buy since the technology life cycle before its obsolete is shorter and shorter in time. I do hope they find a way to implement a proper upgrade plan where to get the latest battery/charging tech you don't need to dump the entire car.

I knew my rapist wit wouldn't translate well.

Bought a 14 Volt about two months ago, saving a ton of money and it's a great driving car.
I'd recommend it to anyone looking at PHEV's.

Regan, would you mind posting what you were able to negotiate for a 3 year lease? I spend a similar amount for gas monthly, so if it makes sense for you then it would for me as well. Thanks!

My wife leased one in July 2013 so she would drive her NSX a little less. $299 plus tx a month. 36 months, 15K miles a year. $1,500 down that she got back from the state a couple of weeks later. Her commute (with HOV stickers) is down from 1hr+ (17 miles) to about 20 minutes. We love the car even for long trips. So much so we are past our yearly allotment but worth every penny. 240V charger purchase for $500 plus special rate deal with Edison cost her 80 cents to fully charge after midnight. The 80 cents give her about 40 miles. She was using 2 gallons for 40 miles ($8+) when she drove her NSX or our SUV. You do the math.

Electric cars could be the final replacement for gasoline if this happens, if someone figures a way to charge the car wirelessly when in motion, it's a done deal.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/tech/solar-powered-roads-coming-highway/index.html

steveny said:

Electric cars could be the final replacement for gasoline if this happens, if someone figures a way to charge the car wirelessly when in motion, it's a done deal.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/tech/solar-powered-roads-coming-highway/index.html

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Something like this, perhaps? Embed the wires in the roadway, and have the electricity inductively charge and power the car. Only trick is not electrocuting every animal that runs across the road...

flaminio said:

Something like this, perhaps? Embed the wires in the roadway, and have the electricity inductively charge and power the car. Only trick is not electrocuting every animal that runs across the road...

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Yeah, but I wouldn't want some crazy 4yr old squeezing the trigger to tight going into a corner and sending me flipping off the road.

I was thinking wirelessly. The next iPhone is rumored to charge wirelessly so that technology is not too far away. The road absorbs the sun sends the charge to the car... we're billed by the mile instead of buying gas?

My Nexus 5 cellphone already charges wirelessly. However the charge rate is about half a wired equivalent is... FOR NOW

Next question is... how strong does that electromagnetic field have to be to render my testicles virtually useless? I wonder how much will be needed to make my eyes glow in the dark

Jimbo said:

I can see a short-term lease here. I would never consider purchasing a Volt at the present time - particularly with the Tesla Model 3 on the horizon.

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Great discussion on this car, thanks to all who have contributed.

I am curious though - why in the world would you LEASE a car? Unless you can write it off via your business, it seems like a lease is always a losing deal. Currently, Chevy is running a $269/month lease on the car with $2679 due at signing for 36 months. At the end of the lease, you will have forked over $12,363 and will have nothing to drive. Is the car really going to lose that much value from its advertised price of $31,000 in 3 years? That would make it only worth $18,637 which seems a little low.

I will admit that leases have always puzzled me, so there is a very good chance I am missing something crucial.

blue_myriddn said:

Is the car really going to lose that much value from its advertised price of $31,000 in 3 years? That would make it only worth $18,637 which seems a little low.

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I'd say with something like the Volt that is based on rapidly advancing technology, it just might. Buying a 2011 Volt on cash or finance might have made sense because they have held value reasonably well for something in the econo/commuter segment... but buying a 2014 Volt with news of the 2016 bringing major improvements just around the corner, maybe not the best idea.

It works out likely to the same as buying the '14 on cash or finance and then selling it or trading it in to get the '16 when it comes out. Just a different way of structuring what will probably turn out to be the same amount of money out of pocket.

blue_myriddn said:

Great discussion on this car, thanks to all who have contributed.

I am curious though - why in the world would you LEASE a car? Unless you can write it off via your business, it seems like a lease is always a losing deal. Currently, Chevy is running a $269/month lease on the car with $2679 due at signing for 36 months. At the end of the lease, you will have forked over $12,363 and will have nothing to drive. Is the car really going to lose that much value from its advertised price of $31,000 in 3 years? That would make it only worth $18,637 which seems a little low.

I will admit that leases have always puzzled me, so there is a very good chance I am missing something crucial.

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In this case, I believe that a lease makes more sense than usual. It is my belief that in several years, when Tesla releases the Model 3, the appeal of hybrids will have peaked.

We are witnessing an amazing transformation as battery costs are dropping while battery energy density is steadily increasing. $100 per kW/h is not far away. Imagine what the Tesla Supercharger network will look like in 3-5 years. 400 to 500 mile ranges with faster recharge times.

Even the current Volt - will likely go thru at least one major update to battery and range technology in that time period.

-J

I've said it before and I'll say it again... It will make much more sense to own these quickly advancing vehicles if an upgrade program is available. You don't need to swap out cars if you can just swap out batteries.

RYU said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again... It will make much more sense to own these quickly advancing vehicles if an upgrade program is available. You don't need to swap out cars if you can just swap out batteries.

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Indeed. In fact, that just happened with the Tesla Roadster. Originally, it had a 250 mile range. There's going to be an upgrade for owners to swap for a new technology battery with a range of 400 miles.

That shows the kind of increases that are being made with Li batteries and it's only just started.

-J

So I have just started down this pathway. A flyer for '14 Civic for $90/month lease showed up, and now Pandora's Box is open on what direction we should go for a new daily driver for my commute. My commute is known as the 9th worse in the USA, driving from downtown Chicago to just beyond O'Hare Airport. To give an example of its shear awfulness, I can make the commute in 25 minutes if I leave at 4 AM. If I leave work at 5 PM on Friday, it is 3 hr 15 min! The speedometer won’t even register that I'm moving the entire trip! An electric car seems an obvious choice and I was hoping the Honda Fit EV program would come to Chicago, but it is not to be.

So knowing that I can slide into a Honda Civic for ~6K over a 3 year lease, that is pretty darn cheap! But the idea of never seeing a gas station again, in a city that has the highest gas prices within the continental US, has me trying to justify getting an EV vehicle. The big issue (other than the leases price being double) is that the weather in Chicago isn't the best for EVs. The hottest of the hot, the coldest of the cold. Will the Volt even hold up here? A buddy of mine has one, and says the understeer in the winter snow was atrocious! So now, snow tires have to be factored in as well. I really want to be able to justify this, but at $300/month, it becomes tough when compared to a tried and true Civic at $90/month.

bngl3rt said:

I have one. It's absolutely fantastic and if you can accomplish your daily commute within a battery charge (~38 miles) and/or have charging opportunities available at your work place, it is an absolute no brainer.

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I'm an Engineer, so did you trade cost of gasoline for cost of electricity? In other words, have you noticed if your actual fuel $s have gone down (including ALL forms of fuel: gasoline (including weekend errands that now aren't incorporated into your daily commute) and electrical (delta in your electricity bill due to charging the car)?

Thanks,

TomCat said:

I'm an Engineer, so did you trade cost of gasoline for cost of electricity? In other words, have you noticed if your actual fuel $s have gone down (including ALL forms of fuel: gasoline (including weekend errands that now aren't incorporated into your daily commute) and electrical (delta in your electricity bill due to charging the car)?

Thanks,

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This might interest a few...

http://www.teslacost.com/

It's for the Tesla Model S but the framework and calcs could be for any electric or hybrid.

Seems that an 8 year NPV calculation shows the Model S on par with a Honda Odyssey.

-J

TomCat said:

I'm an Engineer, so did you trade cost of gasoline for cost of electricity? In other words, have you noticed if your actual fuel $s have gone down (including ALL forms of fuel: gasoline (including weekend errands that now aren't incorporated into your daily commute) and electrical (delta in your electricity bill due to charging the car)?

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Yes, although this is compounded by the fact that charging at work is free. If it weren't, and I was running the car down to dead and plugging it in at home every night, it might come a lot closer - though my commute is on the short side.

I did the most cursory amount of math possible before getting the car, because in my mind, if the numbers are "close enough", I can rationalize any delta by the fact that the car is cool and futuristic and I like it. Luckily I did not end up having to apply that logic :smile:

The lease deals available locally are in the sub <$300/mon range on the Volt. That's for a decently equipped Safety 1 package. With the new 2016 model around the corner (to be introduced in Jan 2015 apparently? rumormill stuff guys) and with the backlog of inventory of 2014s. I expect deals will only continue to get be better over time.Might want to factor that into your calc. You should also check state specific rebates. CA has a $1600 rebate on top of the Federal. Since this is a lease you don't have to calculate the tax credit piece though.