Used Chevy Volt is an impressive deal!

KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I just bought one of these so this is partly a post of my pride/excitement with my new car, but my reasons for getting this car are well supported by the fact it is just an exceptional deal by most any standard!
I thought I would provide a overview for anyone who might be in the market for a new used car.

1) Pricing - I found what I think is an exceptional deal. I used Chevrolet's VIN decoder to find that the MSRP was $37,570 for this 2017 Volt Premier (with almost all of the options). I paid $16,800 for it with 55,000 miles (which is on the high side for a car this old). Those are my specifics. However, you can find the more common 2017 Volt LT on Caravan or CarGurus with around 30K miles for around $17,000 as pretty typical (and what I planned to buy). By the almost total lack of availability of 2018 and 2019, I believe most of these 2017's are off-lease cars.
Why did it depreciate so much if it is a good car? Between the federal and state tax credits, these cars have been essentially discounted by ~$9500 (depends on state, but $7500 for fed). So that effectively depreciates the car by that much if you can buy a new one for almost $10k discount. I found/bought my car before the oil price war started, I don't know if it will last long enough, but it may further reduce the demand (and price) of used Volts while gas is under $2/gal!

2) Not a Prius - The Prius is a great car, but everyone assumes that the Volt is a Chevy version of a Prius (which would make me inclined to buy the Prius). However, the Volt is fundamentally different (the newer Honda Clarity is, in principal, similar to the Volt). The Volt is essentially an EV with a gas engine that can bail you out if you run out of power. In the Volt, the gas engine does not run until the batteries (which have more capacity than regular hybrids) are exhausted. The Volt has an estimated range of 53 miles before it needs gas assist! Thus, if your daily commute is 20 miles each way, you will never* burn gas. I have a friend with a little over 50k miles on his Volt and under 8k of those miles were using the gas engine (On Star provides that information).
*It actually will burn some gas periodically because GM built in a system to occasionally fire up the gas engine so that system stays in good operational condition.
You can youtube search Volt vs Prius all day and see that the Volt is generally a better car by most measures for the people interested enough to make videos comparing the cars. My GF has a Prius so I am familiar with it, The biggest advantage of the Prius is the cargo area and back seat are bigger. If you have younger kids in the back of the Volt (I'd guess under 5'-8") it is fine, but bigger people will be cramped for headroom.

3) Sporty car - I am not rich enough/willing to spend the money on a true sports car or roadster, but I do require a car that is at least a little fun to drive. The Volt does 8.2 seconds for 0-60. That is nothing to brag about, but nor is it poor; with ~300 ft-lbs of torque the acceleration off of the line is quite nice. Steering response with variable assist is well tuned and the driving experience is sophisticated and nice. The weight of the batteries low to the ground provide a very planted and secure sense when going through curves, but you cannot "throw" it into a corner the way you might a lighter car, it will plow/under-steer if you try. You have to set up a curve rather than "see what happens"!

4) Move away from global warming - I assumed it would cost me $5,000 or so to do my part, but experiencing the quality and price of this car, I don't feel I incurred a penalty

5) No range anxeity - As much as I would like a Tesla, I still have concerns about taking a cross country road trip and how the need for charging stations and wait times while charging. My understanding is Tesla has the best (well distributed) charging network, but it would still provide a major planning restriction on a trip to insure I chose a good route. Once the 53 miles of EV range runs out it works more or less like a (non plug-in) Prius - braking puts energy into the batteries which is then available for demand when accelerating. I have tried it and you cannot tell any difference in how it performs, so you could drive across country on gas without ever bothering to charge it (43 mpg for this). The range anxiety is about running out of juice with an EV which would leave you stranded - require a tow truck!

Here is a good article talking about how the Volt is a popular car among owners, but GM "screwed the pooch" with their marketing:

 
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NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
It's not uncommon for 3 year old off lease cars that aren't Hondas or Toyotas to go for about half of their initial price. Glad you're happy with it! Hope it serves you for many years to come.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I have a little 4 cyl Toyota truck that's paid off. I've been using it to drive for Uber Eats for a while now and I'm actually making enough money to cover bills and even get an occasional toy. It gets "okay" gas mileage but not great. I've been thinking about getting an electric car, but not having a car payment is nice too... If I didn't have to pay for gas it would be a hell of a lot more profitable tho!

At least I'd have my truck for trade, but then I'm kinda attached to the little guy!
 
G

Gmoney

Audioholic Ninja
i had a 2012 SION IQ, which was made by Toyota
Lil thing would get 37 MPG city or Hwy. 8 gallon tank was a sweet lil car, thing is was a two people car and no spare tire no room for one. GM owns I believe 30% of Toyota.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
It's not uncommon for 3 year old off lease cars that aren't Hondas or Toyotas to go for about half of their initial price. Glad you're happy with it! Hope it serves you for many years to come.
Thanks for setting me straight on that! I genuinely though this was an exception situation - I will likely never buy another new car!
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Thanks for setting me straight on that! I genuinely though this was an exception situation - I will likely never buy another new car!
Don't blame you, buying new you end up taking a huge hit on the value of the vehicle!
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
It's not uncommon for 3 year old off lease cars that aren't Hondas or Toyotas to go for about half of their initial price. Glad you're happy with it! Hope it serves you for many years to come.
One more the list - Subarus - Go find 3 years old WRX for 1/2 the list price. I'll be waiting right here :)
 
Kvn_Walker

Kvn_Walker

Audioholic Field Marshall
Thanks for setting me straight on that! I genuinely though this was an exception situation - I will likely never buy another new car!
My last new ride was bought in 2011. I got a good deal (almost 6k off sticker) but prices have gone through the roof beyond what I'm willing to pay.

Low mileage used is definitely the way to go. I set my upper limit at $15000 now. I look at that as an amount I can pay off in 2 years without being in a bind.

I got my Elantra hatchback (2014 with 48k miles) for $10k out the door. 30000 miles later it's still running like a champ, and it's paid off now. It's a great feeling when you get that title in the mail!
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
They are great deals... and generally a good car.

Major complaints include lack of spaces (especially in the second row) and poor ride on rough roads (the batteries are center-line and comparatively high... it rocks like a boat).

I also feel like they detuned the electric to match the motor closely.

The Chevy Bolt can also be had for a song and a dance; but it has the most uncomfortable seats made (at least for tall/large people).
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
5) No range anxeity - As much as I would like a Tesla, I still have concerns about taking a cross country road trip and how the need for charging stations and wait times while charging. My understanding is Tesla has the best (well distributed) charging network, but it would still provide a major planning restriction on a trip to insure I chose a good route.
The Tesla will literally do that for you. Tell it where you want to get, and it will add charging stops and how long you need to charge there based on the next stop. It even tracks usage, and you can tweak the variables (like how much reserve to keep) to your liking.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
The Tesla will literally do that for you. Tell it where you want to get, and it will add charging stops and how long you need to charge there based on the next stop. It even tracks usage, and you can tweak the variables (like how much reserve to keep) to your liking.
That is cool and I love that Musk/Tesla has essentially "built a fire under the butts of the entire auto industry to move towards EV's", but it can't know which charging points will be free. Maybe that is not the problem I think it is - it is easy to let uncertainly cloud perspective, but if I had to wait for others to finish charging, that would get old quick.
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
That is cool and I love that Musk/Tesla has essentially "built a fire under the butts of the entire auto industry to move towards EV's", but it can't know which charging points will be free. Maybe that is not the problem I think it is - it is easy to let uncertainly cloud perspective, but if I had to wait for others to finish charging, that would get old quick.
That data is reported in real-time and displays in your vehicle. The routing takes that into account (where more than one supercharger exist in close proximity, and one is full, you will be routed to the other.

If you live your life doing long distance driving (the car equivalent of a long-haul trucker); EVs aren't for you. There are also certain long routes that would be problematic if they are your norm (like if I were drying too and from Jay florida without being able to destination charge, I'd have to detour).

Charging generally takes <30 min on a fast charger, and that's a stop maybe every 4 hours of travel. I like to get out, eat, go to the bathroom, stock up on snacks.

Also: there are video games and movie streaming services playable within the Tesla.

Long trips are a little slower than ICE; but most of us only do a few of those a year. Not stopping at gas stations every 350 miles in daily driving saves me a lot of time and stress.

But the volt is a good buy. Congratulations.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Also: there are video games and movie streaming services playable within the Tesla.
Yeah, I saw a review where Tesla was bringing Hulu and/or Netflix to the infotainment screen. He commented on the safety of it and was a little standoffish, talking about safety of driving while a show was playing! I could not believe the guy did not realize it was to keep you entertained while you charged!

Like I said, I suspect most of my concerns are more tied to uncertainty, but I do wonder if they are installing new charging stations as quickly as they are selling cars, so there are no/few waits.

What would make me feel comfortable is if they announced that every Cracker Barrel in the US had 4 charging stations. :D
Then I would feel pretty relaxed that I could drive anywhere on the interstate system and get a charge while eating!

Thanks, the Volt is definitely the most suitable "transition car" (or was until a couple of years ago). I am enjoying it and still trying to adapt to how best to appy the technology - Like it seeme on any day where I think I might exceed the EV range of the car, it is best to put the car in "hold" mode (as in use gas to hold the charge rather than drain the batteries) on the stretches of 70-80mph interstate and switch back to EV when I get on secondary roads where the EV is more efficient.
 
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