[jtkocaba]

Taking a 2014 Volt base with 13k miles for test drive this coming Wednesday. List price is $15779. I'm sold on the electric drive train, high mpg and lack of range anxiety. However, I am concerned about overall reliability. I need some more convincing. Any takers? Also I think that a final price in the range of $13500 to $14000 would help too! Thanks in advance!!! ---James

 

[llninja]

The gen1 volt is overengineered and a wonderful vehicle. my car has been in the dealership though

1. Regular maintenance (oil changes, new tires)
2. Recalls and initial issues (no heat tsb, evaporator condenser recall, rear hatch strut recall)
3. Bodywork (kamikaze deer, flying debris causing cracked windshield, materializing stop sign)
4. Road hazards (2 cracked custom rims, a bent rim from being forced off-road by another bad driver, and a worn bearing replacement caused by the bent rim,
5. Warranty repair (passenger seat sensor causing service airbag warning)
6. Out of warranty repair (wheel popping noise where Paula, the service advisor, torqued my nuts for $116)

#1 is expected. Only #2, #5, and #6 were issues with the car itself. The rest had external influences.

 

[CYAOPEC]

Taking a 2014 Volt base with 13k miles for test drive this coming Wednesday. List price is $15779. I'm sold on the electric drive train, high mpg and lack of range anxiety. However, I am concerned about overall reliability. I need some more convincing. Any takers? Also I think that a final price in the range of $13500 to $14000 would help too! Thanks in advance!!! ---James

Volts on Voltstats have close to 400k miles. Name any other ICE vehicle (non diesel) that can do that? My Volt has 95k miles on it. I drive 100.5 miles per day, at a minimum. My 2013 Volt in Dec 2015 was side swiped by a Ford 250 and sustained 7k in damage. It was repaired in about one week. The collision didn't damage one thing. I only had to have two doors replaced and minor body work. Get 1 Volts are freakin tanks! I have had NO problems with my Volt. I'm confident I can go to at least 300k miles on it.

 

[Mister Dave]

However, I am concerned about overall reliability. I need some more convincing.

Of the gen 1 model years, 2014 has been scored as the most reliable. In almost 4 years my 2014 has had no defects resulting in any kind of failure, only minor recalls and software updates.

You should however ask for a vehicle history report on any used car you buy.

 

[saltsman]

Gen 1 is as about as reliable as a car can get. As others have said, we're seeing Volts go multiple hundred thousands of miles no major maintenance issues. We've just turned 80K miles in our 2014 and it's only been a few oil changes, tires, and retightening of the axel bolt ($88). There was a drive shaft bearing prone to go wonky in the early Volts but that was remedied by 2014. The battery pack is crazy reliable. I think we've only heard about one or two packs ever having as much as a bad cell.

IMO, a 2014 Volt is the best used car for reliability, economy, and versatility -- period. Add in electric drive and all the other stuff and it's hard to say no.

On price... It's hard to provide a idea of value without knowing the options added. To give you some idea, when we purchased new, we paid $18,500 after tax credits for a Base plus Safety 1 (backup camera). $13,500 certainly isn't bad for leather, Safety 1 + 2, or other add-ons. For a base, I'd stand pat at $12,000 max. The general consensus is you really want Safety 1 (backup camera) and heated seats if you live where it gets cold so do consider those in the hunt for the right vehicle for you.

Don't underestimate your bargaining power right now. Many drivers are not aware of the benefits of electric drive and will dismiss a used Volt right off the bat. Others bought into the politically-ladened hype about $20K battery replacements. Most drivers today are looking for a SUV/CUV and won't even look at a hatchback. Add in the low gas prices and you have a perfect storm for a buyers market.

 

[indyflick]

In the first few months of 2017 the prices for 2014's were way down. Likely due to a lot of 2014's coming off their three year leases. Pricing firmed a bit by mid summer. $15779 is kinda high for a base 2014 Volt. As saltsman said $12,000 would be far more reasonable. If it's CPO maybe another $1K or so. 13K miles on a 2014 is really low mileage though.

 

[freshcut]

I have to second all the opinions on the high reliability of the Gen 1. I bought my '13 with 92K on the clock last year. I currently have 109K and have had ZERO breakdowns or reliability issues. The only problem I did have was a broken window regulator a couple weeks after I bought it, but I had the GMPP plan that was transferred from the original owner which covered the repair. Finding a 3 year old car with 13K miles should not leave you concerned about any reliability issues, especially since the majority of those miles are almost certainly electric. I certainly would try to work on the price though and would expect closer to about $14k as a fair deal. I got mine privately which was likely better than I could have gotten at a dealership, and certainly more than the owner would have received on trade due to the higher miles. Everything I had read both in commercial reviews as well as real owner reviews seemed to point to the very aspect that was mentioned earlier in that GM REALLY over engineered the Volt, at least for the Gen 1 version. As a result I had no reservations or concerns about a higher mileage car given that information along with the incredibly long warranties that cover the powertrain and voltec systems.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I am surprised by such low mileage on a 2014 Volt. I am interested in meeting this Paula who torques your nuts for $116. The dealership searched my Volt for a fluid leak and charged me $70 without finding anything. The Volt is very reliable and economical and environmentally-friendly. However, there is almost no internal cabin heat aside from a weak defrost system. With air-conditioning running and freeway speeds, I only got 37 MPG on a 4,000-mile trip this summer and only found a few locations to plug-in for electricity to charge the battery pack. If you drain the battery pack each day, you will spend 4 hours per day walking the dog while your Volt charges on a 240-volt charging station.

 

[Dutch]

To the OP.
I agree the price is a bit high for a base model. Haggle harder

My 2013 has been a maintenance dream. I'm so used to ICE maintenance that I feel like I'm ignoring this car most of the time.

I've only had one serious issue that turned out to be a mostly self-inflicted wound due to my tinkering (brake control issue). Everything else has all been low level or cosmetic

• Axle pop-click that was repaired under warranty
• Leaky tail light repaired under warranty
• Flats due to the wimpy stock tires

I will tell you this though, if you get the car
BUY AND INSTALL A VOLTSCREEN to protect your lower radiator
BUY AND INSTALL A WOT SENSOR FIX to avoid the false coolant sensor warning issue
These two minor upgrades will protect you from a lot of hassle!

 

[TheBlueFlash]

2011-2015 (generation 1) Volt has been extremely reliable. If you're worried, it will still have the balance of the 5yr powertrain warranty and the 8yr/100k mile Voltec (hybrid/electric drive components + battery) warranty. If it helps, I have a 2013 with 52k miles and the only issue I've had is a burned out turn signal bulb. Cost me $4.37. Buy it, drive it, and enjoy forgetting what the price of gas is.

 

[DaveG]

I bought a 2013 Volt new. Now it has 75K miles. There were a couple of recalls, and 1 issue covered under warranty, free of charge. Other than that:
2 oil changes ($70 each)
1 new set of tires ($800)
windshield wiper blades
windshield wiper fluid

That's it. Total service costs for 4.5 years: Less than $1000.

Notes:

1) Since the gas engine rarely runs, oil changes are typically every 2 years. That's according to the oil life indicator built into the car.

2) Like many other new vehicles, the Volt requires Full synthetic oil. No regular oil. No synthetic blend. And since the oil will be in there for up to 2 years, you want Full synthetic anyway.

3) The Gen 1 Volt requires Premium gasoline. Some people run it on regular, but since you only buy gas every 2 months, the extra cost for Premium is minimal. Also, if you go without using the gas engine for 6 months, then Premium may have less chance of going stale in the tank.

4) Convenience. Plugging in at home is way more convenient that weekly trips to the gas station.

 

[ghostgs1]

Our '11 & '14 have been fantastic! No repairs at this point and very little maintenance for either. Total of three oil changes and we are due for changes next year! The '11 will be needing new tires by next summer. If you really want the best story, check with Eric Balmer on Facebook or check his stats (sparkle) on volt stats.net. He's pretty close to 400,000 now!

 

[llninja]

Volts on Voltstats have close to 400k miles. Name any other ICE vehicle (non diesel) that can do that? My Volt has 95k miles on it. I drive 100.5 miles per day, at a minimum. My 2013 Volt in Dec 2015 was side swiped by a Ford 250 and sustained 7k in damage. It was repaired in about one week. The collision didn't damage one thing. I only had to have two doors replaced and minor body work. Get 1 Volts are freakin tanks! I have had NO problems with my Volt. I'm confident I can go to at least 300k miles on it.

Part of me wishes I can achieve 300-400k miles (sat 81k miles now). Then another part of me wants the car tboned and totalled to I can go get a sexy ELR or something bigger. My biggest complaint about the volt is that it's only a great commuter car, it cannot do everything. Trying to get 4 people and a full complement of luggage to an airport 3 hours away requires a different car.

 

[emg77]

I bought a used 2014 about a month ago. I've been really happy with the car. All the research I did echoed the same as previous posters... it's a really reliable car. My only complaints are minor... the blind spots in this car are huge. I added a couple blind spot mirrors immediately. I also added a "volt shelf" so that I can hide items in my trunk. I paid more than that for one with 33,000 miles, but I wanted one with every option, and mine was a CPO and was off lease. It's a very fun car to drive, especially in sport mode/L gear. It's best if you travel mostly surface streets and less than 40-50 miles a day in general. It seems to be happiest at about 40-45mph. I've used less than 2 gallons of gas in about 650 miles so far. I was worried about giving up my manual transmission and losing an engaging driving experience, but I'm really enjoying the off the line torque, and there's plenty of ways to have an engaging driving experience in this car.

 

[llninja]

I bought a used 2014 about a month ago. I've been really happy with the car. All the research I did echoed the same as previous posters... it's a really reliable car. My only complaints are minor... the blind spots in this car are huge. I added a couple blind spot mirrors immediately. I also added a "volt shelf" so that I can hide items in my trunk. I paid more than that for one with 33,000 miles, but I wanted one with every option, and mine was a CPO and was off lease. It's a very fun car to drive, especially in sport mode/L gear. It's best if you travel mostly surface streets and less than 40-50 miles a day in general. It seems to be happiest at about 40-45mph. I've used less than 2 gallons of gas in about 650 miles so far. I was worried about giving up my manual transmission and losing an engaging driving experience, but I'm really enjoying the off the line torque, and there's plenty of ways to have an engaging driving experience in this car.

Yes, the blind spots are huge. I've given up trying to back up the car even with the rear camera. I try to pull through so I can exit forward from parking spots whenever possible.

Whenever I have passengers in the vehicle, they become my spotters. I've learned to properly set my mirrors (constrary to what most people learned growing up - they look much farther to the side).

 

[CCIE]

It's a solid car. Assuming the Carfax is clean and you get a decent price, you can't go wrong. Close to $13k would be good.

 

[llninja]

It's a solid car. Assuming the Carfax is clean and you get a decent price, you can't go wrong. Close to $13k would be good.

The OP might want to look for a premium. I like the pebble beach suede leather and the bose. Can do without the nav and wished I had front sensors for parking (I think it's the only option my gen 1 doesn't have).

 

[emg77]

The OP might want to look for a premium. I like the pebble beach suede leather and the bose. Can do without the nav and wished I had front sensors for parking (I think it's the only option my gen 1 doesn't have).

The front parking sensors are nice, at least when learning the dimensions of the car, but you have to turn them on manually when parking and it's easy to forget to do it. They don't automatically come on unless the car is in reverse. And when you put the car in reverse, the front sensors still beep at you if they are detecting the parking barrier in front of you, even though the car is in reverse and you are backing up. The front sensors beep out of the front speakers. The back sensors beep out of the back speakers. My wife calls the safety 2 package the "it beeps a lot at you package". I thought I was a pretty good driver, but the lane departure alerts and the forward collision alerts go off a lot.

 

[llninja]

The front parking sensors are nice, at least when learning the dimensions of the car, but you have to turn them on manually when parking and it's easy to forget to do it. They don't automatically come on unless the car is in reverse. And when you put the car in reverse, the front sensors still beep at you if they are detecting the parking barrier in front of you, even though the car is in reverse and you are backing up. The front sensors beep out of the front speakers. The back sensors beep out of the back speakers. My wife calls the safety 2 package the "it beeps a lot at you package". I thought I was a pretty good driver, but the lane departure alerts and the forward collision alerts go off a lot.

I get scared when pulling forward into parallel parking spots because there's no way to know where the end of the car is, the hood slopes so low. What looks like close ends up being 3 feet away, but I don't dare keep going in case I misjudge it. The good news is that the car is so small, fitting into a parking space is rarely a problem. I guess the beeping would drive my wife nuts, so maybe it's best we don't have it.

 

[hellsop]

Whenever I have passengers in the vehicle, they become my spotters. I've learned to properly set my mirrors (constrary to what most people learned growing up - they look much farther to the side).

They go down too. Really handy for checking how close to the curb one is when parallel parking.