[kubel]

...and I've finally decided to actually get a Volt.

Siren Red Tintcoat 2017 Volt LT with Bose and Comfort, Ash Interior. Base everything else. I didn't get a good deal, but this is Michigan, there are no "good deals" up here. But then again, pretty much everyone up here has a family member that works for the big three, so at least I got a GM employee discount.

MSRP: $35,570
Sale Price: $32,979
CCR: $4610
Capitalized Cost: $28,369
Down: $0
Miles: 15,000/year
Months: 36
Residual: 48%
MF: .00040 / 0.96% APR
No trade in.
No lease conquest.
No farm bureau.
No loyalty.
Disposition fee: $395

Monthly Payment: $352 w/tax
Drive Off: $1381 (first month payment w/tax $352, plus tax on CCR $312, plus acquisition fee $595, plus title/registration/doc fee $122).

The dealer also has a similarly equipped tagged gray Volt ($1500 off for the tag, and $395 off for standard paint). If I opt for that car, the monthly payment is somewhere around $299/mo with tax. I'm really set on that red color, but the savings are significant if I go with the tagged gray one.

And before you anti-lease people come out, yes, leasing is a waste of money. My other option (and the smarter choice) was to pay cash for a CPO 2013 Volt with 35,000 miles. But I decided to squander my money on a lease because it's what I wanted.

 

[madmike]

Congrats and I wish you as many happy miles as your lease allows

 

[Kraven]

Congrats, you may be the most knowledgeable new Volt owner ever...enjoy the new Volt!

 

[Barry]

Are you sure you are not rushing into this decision?

 

[O'Dell]

I joined two months after you and bought my volt almost four months earlier, so you've got me beat on the patience scale. At least they look similar, but mine has a black interior.

 

[OlegE]

CONGRATS!!!
$350 with tax a month with 0 down! And the interest is less than 1%! I would love to have a deal like that. I had to pay cash because both lease and financing were too high %. In Canada BC I paid $45K with tax after 5K rebate.
45/1.3=34.615USD
MSRP is 48.500CAD

 

[Cord]

YEA !!!!!
and more
YEA!!!

 

[Raymondjram]

Now my VES (Volt Envy Syndrome) has increased even more! Congratulations for getting your Volt!

 

[DonC]

Congrats on the car. I think you'll love the quiet drive and not having to endure all those trips to the gas station. May you get many satisfied miles.

 

[kentlucas]

I was the same, having followed the progress of the Volt since before its release. Sadly, that still puts us both in the Innovator category:

 

[Bacardi]

Congrats, solid deal especially being in a non-CARB state...

Are you sure you are not rushing into this decision?

Well done...

 

[Jand]

I did the same thing at end-of-month in August. 2017 SRT, comfort package. I was looking for the Bose option, but not many LT's are ordered for dealer inventory that way. At least not around here. I joined the forum in 2011 and have followed since. My only question is if I should have gotten the Volt or waited for the Bolt. I figured it would take a while for the initial Bolt demand to be satisfied and significant discounting to be available, so I went ahead with the Volt. Funny, I got one of the GM.com pop up $1k vouchers and that got me to start shopping, but it turned out it could not be used with the Conquest offer. Bought anyway.

 

[kubel]

For anyone in Southeast Michigan, I ended up passing up the much better bargain (Chevy Bonus Tag, $1500 rebate) and went with the red Volt for $352/mo. Bill Crispin Chevrolet in Milan still has that gray LT with Bose and Comfort that has the Bonus Tag for ~$298/mo with tax with $0 down and 15,000 miles per year with GM employee / eligible family. That's an incredible deal for the Michigan market, and the car is nicely equipped.

Also check out http://www.chevrolet.com/tools/volt-electric-car/locate.html#/ and search inventory for cars with the Bonus Tag icon next to them. That's an automatic $1500 off if you find one.

I'll be signing the last of my paperwork and taking my Volt home today. I'm excited.

 

[kubel]

Just a quick update now that I've had the car for a month...

I'm not in love with the Volt. That's not to imply I dislike it, it's just I haven't fallen in love with the car like I did my LEAF. The LEAF was special in a way, and the Volt is just "normal". One of the great things about the LEAF was I could thrash the hell out of the car and not worry. The Volt doesn't feel as forgiving to that kind of treatment. Maybe it's the rubber air dam on the bottom scraping on every little incline making me have to be more cautious?

The day after I signed the lease, I took it on a 700 mile trip. Zero issues, of course (save for a little burning smell which is to be expected from any ICE). After that, it primarily just became my daily commuter. It gets me to and from anywhere I normally go without burning a drop of gas. The acceleration is awesome, regen is 10x better than the LEAF, though the LRR tires leave much to be desired when it comes to handling. The steering is vague and turns are lifeless. I attribute this to the tires. Come spring, I'm putting some summer high performance tires on it. Sure, it will kill my range, but the car needs to be thrashed a little. I think the car can deliver what I want.

Compared to my test drive initial impressions:

1) The interior is small?
My impressions of the claustrophobic interior is unchanged. Front is not bad. It's just the back that's terrible. Though ingress/egress is much more of a pain than the LEAF was.

2) Interior fit and finish is great?
Not so much anymore. Upon closer examination, the interior feels a little more cheap and rattles a bit more now that the cold has come. Again, not implying the car is falling apart and is a piece of crap- just that my initial impressions don't match my 1-month-later impressions. I still like the light ash interior color though. I'm glad I didn't settle on black.

3) Bose sound is 'meh'?
Nope, I officially now love the Bose sound. I just had to tweak some settings to get it how I like it. Well worth the money, IMHO.

4) Huge rear blindspot?
This is becoming less of an issue now that I've become more comfortable with maneuvering the car, and now that I've been able to place a little more faith in the rear camera. It still doesn't have adequate rear visibility, but it's not as big of deal.

5) Genset kills the experience?
Yes, it still kills the experience (it makes noise and vibrations), but I've come to appreciate the freedom it gives it a lot more. "Electric when you want it, gas when you need it" is a perfect motto for the Volt. I thought I would be too much of an EV purist to appreciate the Volt after having leased the LEAF for almost 4 years, but that's not the case. Gas is an amazing fuel.

6) Incredible infotainment?
I'm going to have to downgrade this first impression as well. The stock GM MyLink GUI is crap. It's not as thrown together as the first-gen- it's much more mature- but it's still garbage from a user perspective- especially the audio screen. Android Auto is much better, but it needs a lot more development. I also don't like Android Auto's safety features. Let me discern what amount of interaction I can have scrolling while driving. I don't like the car cutting me out of the decision because it's "not safe" to scroll while I'm stopped in traffic. And it won't let me reverse scroll in a playlist. That is just stupid. I can't see what I already played? Anyway, that's a gripe for Android, not for GM. What the car does need is a charging station app. I've reached out to the developers at PlugShare and they say the are working on an Android Auto compatible app, so it's coming soon.