Volt

[archie_b]

Reserved my i in December and confirmed the order in January. As of today the car is still "being built". Dealer estimated delivery sometime mid-June. Was also informed they would only sell car for MSRP unless Mitsubishi offered an incentive. Paying MSRP for an i that has had lackluster sales, and when Mitsubishi is already starting to show other MY 2013 cars, did not seem wise. My dealer also is 125 miles away and is our closest i dealer.

Much as I wanted the i, I knew that the offer Chevy has on leasing a Volt was too good to pass up. A 3 year lease on a 2012 Volt is $249 plus tax and DMV fees. I opted for a Volt with leather, heated seats and polished alloys which gave a final price of $293 including tax and DMV fees. This lease is a huge change from the prices quoted in February of $460 to $530 (with tax and tags) and even from the March national rate of $349 plus tax and tags.

I think 3 years from now the EV market will be significantly different than it is today. Leasing makes sense during this early EV market. Look at the value of first generation Prius versus second generation. If Mitsubishi had offered a lease, or even indicated they would offer one in the near future, I could have waited. But they did not and have not.

 

[fjpod]

If EVs follow Moore's law, they will devalue very quickly. I suppose the good news is that they will improve. When the federal tax credit goes away, the prices will come down. But I have a feeling that the Volt is going to be unusually susceptible to this. If I were getting a Volt, leasing makes a lot of sense.

 

[jray3]

Congrats Archie, that lease rate is a powerful incentive, and being way out of range of a dealership is a definite dis-incentive. If you're in a rural area that results in high annual mileage, I hope that the lease is gentle re: extra miles.
Best of Luck!

 

[archie_b]

Chevy continues to agressively market the Volt. 4 months ago I thought $249 a month was a great lease rate. Latest lease rate is $169 a month for a 2013 Volt with an MSRP of $41,000. It is a two year lease, 20,000 miles per year with $2,995 due at signing. Also available is a two year 24,000 mile lease for a 2012 Volt at $249 a month (the 2013 is the better deal).

Four months into my Volt lease I am averaging 26 kWh per 100 miles (actual electric use). At my time of day rate of 5.5 cents per kWh the Volt costs 1.4 cents per mile or about 270 mpge based on our current gas prices. Range is less than the i but I am getting about 52 miles per charge.

 

[Phximiev]

With my wife taking a new job requiring a round-trip commute of up to 40 miles per day, we decided that she gets the 'Miev to commute and for errands. The rest of us get our "new" 2014 Chevy Volt, premiere edition, which we picked up used (just off lease). 21K miles in flawless condition and way less than 50% of original MSRP. One important item we asked about is the battery degradation, which appears to be zero, although I'm not sure how it was measured. After charging, it shows 38 miles of range.

 

[Don]

Yes, now that they're coming off lease, I see some seriously good buys on used Volts. Within driving range of me I found 3 or 4 2015's with 10K to 15K on them for $17.5K to $19K. If only I had room for another vehicle in my garage!!

Don

 

[Phximiev]

I thought we were lucky to get this one; the 3 or 4 others we tried to buy were sold by the time we made an offer. The Chevy guy said their used Volts selling like hot cakes at very attractive prices.

As far as the car goes, it spoils you. After owning it for several days, we have yet to run the extender. That will probably change.

 

[Phximiev]

After owning it for several days, we have yet to run the extender. That will probably change.

The OnStar monthly report shows that we drove 900+ miles electric and 91 miles gas. The gas was mostly yesterday and today as we took a brief trip to Prescott and back with the kids. The extender worked like a charm.

 

[mdbuilder]

My wife bought a Prius Prime which has a 25'ish mile battery range. Her commute is something like 15 or 16 miles so she gets to work and about halfway home on E power each day. She is averaging a 'fillup' on the 10 gallon tank about every 6 weeks and the cumulative mpg dash calculator varies between 120 or so and 138 mpg.