The Volt is a fun car to drive. Very hard to beat lots of low end torque and the smooth and quiet drive. Coming from "luxury" German and Japanese cars I can tell you the Volt is way better a car than its price would indicate.
Do remember as has been pointed out that you're dealing with a credit. Probably won't make a difference but do understand this.
Also keep in mind that IF you LEASE the car the lessor -- the bank or finance company -- gets the $7500 credit. You as the lessee don't get it other than indirectly since it's being used to reduce your monthly payment over the course of the lease. So when comparing buying versus leasing keep this in mind. Also note that if you don't know if you can take advantage of the credit then leasing will allow you to do that.
On the costs to operate, my costs went down dramatically. What you're looking at is an oil change every couple of years and tire rotations. My insurance costs went down by quite a bit since they treat the Volt as a hybrid and apparently we hybrid drivers are a careful lot. Some of that may be due to the fact that we have a high deductible. Don't really know.
Good luck in your quest for a new Volt!
