Buying a 2013 Volt

4911 Views 36 Replies 20 Participants Last post by Stevelovescars, Jul 15, 2018

Stevelovescars

Discussion Starter · Jul 8, 2018

I live in a fairly small Michigan town and Volts (and EVs in general) are relatively uncommon. I did recently come across a very nice 2013 Volt for sale locally by its original owner and I am very interested. I would appreciate any thoughts you all might have.

It is a 2013 and has 51k miles. It honestly looks like new inside and out, dark gray with back cloth interior and the white center stack. No navigation (fine with me)but withbheated seats (appreciated). The tires are only a few months old. It includes a GE branded 240v wall charger that can be plugged into a large outlet. I don’t have such an outlet in my garage but I do have good placement of 120v plugs at home and some ChargePoint chargers in the parking structure of my office.

He is asking $12,900. It’s not a “steal” but seems fair given the condition of the car and the added charger.

I met him at the local Chevy dealer where I paid for an inspection of the car. They found no codes, damage (other than a small curb mark on a wheel) and gave the car a clean bill of health. Even the underside is very clean for a Michigan car driven in liberally salted winter roads. So, no surprises, but they also verified that the Voltec warranty has 3 years left on time.

Any thoughts? Warnings?

Does using the iOS app for the car require a paid OnStar subscription?

21 - 37 of 37 Posts

saltsman

· #21 · Jul 9, 2018

While all leather seats came heated, heated cloth was an configuration that could be ordered by dealers (or consumers through their dealer). I saw a few of those when I was looking back in '14. It was on the order sheets since at least 2013.

As for this car, I see no red flags and the Volt overall is extremely reliable. I'm just over 110K with no issues other than needing to tighten an axel bolt. Haggle for that extra $500, but it's already a good deal.

BillG

· #22 · Jul 9, 2018

I have a 2013 Volt and couldn't be happier. Here's a link to a sales brochure for the 2013, which will give you an overview of the options and warranties.

ericc

· #23 · Jul 11, 2018

There is generally a big price gap between trade-in and retail (price you pay at a dealer). By going private party (not via a dealer), you should get some savings (I'd aim to split that difference).

The car seems to tick all your boxes, and we all love our volts.

Negotiate hard on the price. This is not a well known car and the buyer base is quite limited. The next best offer will likely be lower and use that to your advantage. Try to separate the 220v charger from the purchase. The car comes with a regular plug, and the seller will struggle to sell a used 220v charger (plus shipping costs etc) , take it as a bonus vs assign value to it (like you did with the new tires)

Used volts are a great bargin in my opinion. Compare the price to a Cruze. Compare the price to a Honda or Toyota. Welcome in advance to the volt family and best of luck negotiating on price.

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marlow

· #24 · Jul 12, 2018

I have a 2011 Volt in Michigan as my daily driver, I have almost 90K miles on it and with no rust.

I am not looking to sell it, just wanted you to know that Volts do well in Michigan, with the exception when the snow is more than 6 inches deep on the roads.

brett_cgb

· #25 · Jul 13, 2018 (Edited)

llninja said:
I too have a 2013 and love it. The only thing you gain by getting a late 2014 or 2015 is slightly more battery range and the ability to have the car talk to you while texting (others may remember more features). I would think twice about a 2011/12 as those don’t have hold mode and an even smaller battery.

The '13 requires premium gas. The '14 is good with regular. That could be a factor if you expect to burn more than a few gallons a month.

I had a rear view camera in my previous car (new 2012 Leaf) but not in the (used) 2013 Volt - I miss that feature.
Heated seats would take up the slack in the Volts somewhat wimpy electric cabin heating (but ICE heating works very well!)
Nav was nice to have.

brett_cgb

· #26 · Jul 13, 2018

Stevelovescars said:
I am confused, then. This car is a 2013 and has heated cloth seats.

Heated seats were a factory option (requires switches in the center console). My 2013 lacks both. The seats are cloth.

llninja

· #27 · Jul 13, 2018

brett_cgb said:
The '13 requires premium gas. The '14 is good with regular. That could be a factor if you expect to burn more than a few gallons a month.

No it isn’t. The ‘16-19 volts are good with regular. The ‘14-15 models still require premium. Nothing changed in the ‘14-15 models in the drivetrain except some 2014s Nd all 2015s got a slightly bigger battery. Although many people claim they can drive a gen1 on regular, I won’t do it. You are risking the life and longevity of a car over the price of a blueberry muffin per fillup. Get your priorities straight.

Stevelovescars

Discussion Starter · #28 · Jul 13, 2018

I got the car this afternoon! I am really excited to start driving it, I've just driven a few miles from the bank, drove the former owner home, and drove back to work.

It's dark gray with black cloth seats (yes, heated with buttons on the center console). From the brochure someone posted in the thread, I see that the car must have the comfort package (heated seats and leather steering wheel) and also has the two safety packages (rear camera, park assist, lane keep warning, etc.). No nav, no Bose.

I'm picking up the charger from his home tomorrow, though I don't yet have a 240v plug in my garage to use it. As I mentioned, there are free level 2 ChargePoint chargers in the parking structure I use for work, so for the time being I'm not in a rush for that home charger but it will be nice to have it in the winter, I guess.

Steve

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Just_Jon

· #29 · Jul 13, 2018

Stevelovescars said:
I got the car this afternoon! ...

Congrats and enjoy!

emg77

· #30 · Jul 13, 2018

Congrats! If there are free chargers at work, I don't know if I'd even worry about a charger. The 120V charger should work fine for you at home if you charge overnight. Try it for a bit and see if you think you need faster charging.

jcanoe

· #31 · Jul 14, 2018

I don't believe the op's just purchased 2013 Volt came with the Level 1 EVSE only the GE Level 2 EVSE.

FI Spyder

· #32 · Jul 14, 2018

Fair deal. The problem with back up cameras etc. is you become dependent on them and lose situational awareness. I have no problems backing up in the Volt, can see out the lower window and both mirrors are big plus I usually park where there are fewer cars and walk farther, good for the extra exercise. They might come in handy in the odd situation. As for 240V you can put it in yourself if you have space in your main or subpanel but you have to get a permit. I know some people pay other people to do everything for them except get their newspaper and some even pay to have that done but it's not rocket science, just follow the code book.

G-PA

· #33 · Jul 14, 2018

I have a 2013 no problems. With the tires and the mats and the charger and considering the meticulous care given the car, I'd say it's as good or better deal than at the dealer. I use mine, too, around town. Rarely exceed battery range. Lots of short tripping. Incredibly low cost maintenance. Think you could do well with either scenario, but got to love the one you know has been taken care of.

saltsman

· #34 · Jul 15, 2018

The Level 2 charger at home will be handy in the winter when you pre-condition the car before driving. Warming the car while still charging greatly increases your overall range.

llninja

· #35 · Jul 15, 2018

saltsman said:
The Level 2 charger at home will be handy in the winter when you pre-condition the car before driving. Warming the car while still charging greatly increases your overall range.

Technically it doesn’t increase your range at all. It just decreases the amount of battery sapped by the vehicle to warm the battery and cabin. You will still get a range hit because Li-Ion batteries don’t work well in cold.

Quite frankly, i’ve stopped worrying about it and just drive the volt plugging in when convenient. There are much more important things to worry about than tryin to eek out every last electron. That said, I still love my L2 EVSE and dont’ know How all the L1 folks live with themselves.

jampers

· #36 · Jul 15, 2018

llninja said:
Technically it doesn’t increase your range at all. It just decreases the amount of battery sapped by the vehicle to warm the battery and cabin. You will still get a range hit because Li-Ion batteries don’t work well in cold.

Quite frankly, i’ve stopped worrying about it and just drive the volt plugging in when convenient. There are much more important things to worry about than tryin to eek out every last electron. That said, I still love my L2 EVSE and dont’ know How all the L1 folks live with themselves.

Yes to this! I bought a 220/240v to 110v style plug adapter from Chris in Texas (on this forum) and have used my electric clothes dryer socket (we have a gas dryer) ever since. Instead of the previous 14 hours to charge from empty it now takes 3-3.5 hours and I love it. The Volt onboard charger is programmed to switch on at midnight when the San Diego electric rates are cheapest and everything feels great. I charge my Gen 2 Volt outdoors in the driveway using the stock issued EVSE plugged into the short length (Chris') adapter. The stock EVSE remains inside the garage with the long portion of the wire going under the garage door out to the car.

Stevelovescars

Discussion Starter · #37 · Jul 15, 2018

The car did come with both the level 1 charger and the GE Level 2 unit. The GE charger is set up to plug into a dryer-type outlet. The breaker box in my house is in the basement which is actually below the garage. There is space in the box to add an additional 40 amp circuit but there is some extra work required to get through some walls. The electrician quoted me $480 for the work.

I am debating... the $480 seems fair but isn’t entirely a necessary expenditure. It will be particularly nice in the winter but isn’t critical for my use of the Car. On the other hand, having 240v in the garage isn’t a bad thing for future resale and I have a feeling I am going to get hooked on driving a plug-in car, so I could still use it in the future.

As for the car, so far I am loving it. It is so quiet and relaxing. My 9 year old has already mastered the infotainment system and thinks the remote climate preconditioning is pretty cool.

Lifetime MPG on the screen says 108 mpg, for anyone interested.

I did speak to OnStar and they gave me a 90-day free trial period for their service. Afterwards, the cost for the service that allows me to remote monitor the battery charge and preconditioning is $15/month. We’ll see, but that seems awefully pricey. Also, the chargers at work are ChargePoint and their app allows me to see the state of charge, as well.

I do wonder what the take rate is on the paid OnStar subscription after the trial period. Pretty low, I would guess?

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