[rmccl54]

Hello all, new Volt "owner" here. Premier package. Enjoy putting the instant torque to use and in the heavy traffic around here, which is always, the adaptive cruise rocks!

Now the bad news. I entered the car in the clean vehicle rebate program (CA) and it error-ed out saying the VIN isn't a Volt. Well it most certainly is. Turns out the message is not entirely wrong, its just not entirely describing the error. More on that later. Puzzled as I thought any '17 Volt would qualify, they are all the same, right? After going over the fine print, I find that there is a "low emission package" that must be present, perhaps this is a CA only thing. If so equipped the 5th position of the VIN will be a C or D. Mine is neither. No rebate and no HOV sticker for this car.

So the aforementioned error, if accurate/complete, would say the VIN isn't a for a Volt equipped with the low emissions package.

I then procured a carfax and discovered that this car was originally shipped to a dealer in NV, so it is not a CA car and was sold as one by a CA dealer. It was delivered to me with 346 mi and I thought that a bit odd but held my tongue. It is just the right mileage to have been driven from the NV dealer to the dealer near me.

I am going to have some words with my dealer later this week. If anyone has any insight into any of this, I would be grateful for additional enlightenment.

Cheers,
Bob

 

[Kraven]

Sorry to hear this, you may be out of luck as you are realizing. See http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?258617-California-Rebate-HOV-Buyer-Beware&highlight=VIN+5th for the same situation. As this thread indicates, you may have recourse against your dealer if you can prove they stated this particular unit would qualify as low emissions for CA.

 

[freshcut]

My question on this is would the non-CA compliant vehicle be eligible for any CA rebates? Perhaps if it's not, there could be some recourse on that front. I agree that it's unfortunate (downright sh**y) that the dealership didn't disclose that their vehicle wasn't eligible for carpool access, which makes me wonder about any CA rebates that one might expect to be eligible for.

*edit; jumped the gun, just realized it's a lease which wouldn't include any rebates to the buyer anyway.

 

[rmccl54]

They were all over the rebate and hov. The color we wanted (iradescent white) was not available, then it was. Little did we know it came from nv and wound up at a nearby (25 mi away) dealership. How and why it got there is quite intriguing.

 

[rmccl54]

My question on this is would the non-CA compliant vehicle be eligible for any CA rebates? Perhaps if it's not, there could be some recourse on that front. I agree that it's unfortunate (downright sh**y) that the dealership didn't disclose that their vehicle wasn't eligible for carpool access, which makes me wonder about any CA rebates that one might expect to be eligible for.

*edit; jumped the gun, just realized it's a lease which wouldn't include any rebates to the buyer anyway.

The leased vehicle IS eligible for a $1500 rebate from the state. Not for the $7500 tax credit. We knew that. That's the point, because it's not equipped with the low emmission whateveritis, it is not eligible for rebate or more importantly HOV access. That it was eligible for those things was assumed by the sales person and the others that we spoke with. At no point was I aware that there was even a possibility that there was a non eligible 2017 Volt. And in spite of the emoji that will appear at the end of this sentence, I am really, really unhappy about this.

 

[konimail]

After going over the fine print, I find that there is a "low emission package" that must be present, perhaps this is a CA only thing. If so equipped the 5th position of the VIN will be a C or D. Mine is neither. No rebate and no HOV sticker for this car.

LOL ... this redefines the "how low can you go" ...

But seriously - Government at its best, as if the VOLT wasn't low emission enough ?

Sorry to hear about your trouble :-(

 

[caskConditionedAle]

Sometimes cars built for CA have different components. Is the CA Volt any different from any other Volt (besides VIN)?

 

[rmccl54]

Sometimes cars built for CA have different components. Is the CA Volt any different from any other Volt (besides VIN)?

That is what I am wondering. I feel as if this low emission package is a CA only requirement and that prob all CA cars have it. Does anyone know if this is correct?

 

[bro1999]

Ouch, that sucks. Either a huge blunder by the dealer for not telling you....or intentional withholding of information to close a sale.

A customer shouldn't have to be checking VIN numbers to ensure whether a Volt bought new at a CA dealer is eligible for the CA rebate or not. Have you approached the dealer with this information and ask what they are going to to to remedy the situation?

 

[bakedpatato]

That is what I am wondering. I feel as if this low emission package is a CA only requirement and that prob all CA cars have it. Does anyone know if this is correct?

All cars delivered to CARB states have the Low Emissions package, although I have no idea what the package actually entails beyond the REX/gas tank being certified(which is indicated on the Vehicle Emission Control Information sticker near the front of the hood, it says "Group HGMXV01.5030" on mine)for PZEV standards

 

[11715]

Hello all, new Volt "owner" here. Premier package. Enjoy putting the instant torque to use and in the heavy traffic around here, which is always, the adaptive cruise rocks!

Now the bad news. I entered the car in the clean vehicle rebate program (CA) and it error-ed out saying the VIN isn't a Volt. Well it most certainly is. Turns out the message is not entirely wrong, its just not entirely describing the error. More on that later. Puzzled as I thought any '17 Volt would qualify, they are all the same, right? After going over the fine print, I find that there is a "low emission package" that must be present, perhaps this is a CA only thing. If so equipped the 5th position of the VIN will be a C or D. Mine is neither. No rebate and no HOV sticker for this car.

So the aforementioned error, if accurate/complete, would say the VIN isn't a for a Volt equipped with the low emissions package.

I then procured a carfax and discovered that this car was originally shipped to a dealer in NV, so it is not a CA car and was sold as one by a CA dealer. It was delivered to me with 346 mi and I thought that a bit odd but held my tongue. It is just the right mileage to have been driven from the NV dealer to the dealer near me.

I am going to have some words with my dealer later this week. If anyone has any insight into any of this, I would be grateful for additional enlightenment.

Cheers,
Bob

My CA 2012 Volt didn't qualify either but it didn't matter to me. I knew ahead of time and your dealer should have know.

 

[rmccl54]

All cars delivered to CARB states have the Low Emissions package, although I have no idea what the package actually entails beyond the REX/gas tank being certified(which is indicated on the Vehicle Emission Control Information sticker near the front of the hood, it says "Group HGMXV01.5030" which is the PZEV cert for the engine)for PZEV standards

Thanks, that's what I was hoping to find out!

 

[rmccl54]

Ouch, that sucks. Either a huge blunder by the dealer for not telling you....or intentional withholding of information to close a sale.

A customer shouldn't have to be checking VIN numbers to ensure whether a Volt bought new at a CA dealer is eligible for the CA rebate or not. Have you approached the dealer with this information and ask what they are going to to to remedy the situation?

I have not as of yet. Prob will be Thursday before my wife and I can do that (its her car). I am gleaning all the info I can get to prepare and this forum has already been of great help.

 

[rmccl54]

Resolution. I am averse to confrontation so I was not jazzed to walk into the dealer and make demands. I contacted a lawyer who specialized in auto issues and asked if my case had merit. He said it did, and as I had not yet approached the dealer yet, he suggested I do so in writing. So I took his advice and emailed my sales guy and cc'd any others U knew of up the ladder that I had info on, including the general manager. Took a few days, but the gm called us and he was really shocked that this had happened and told us that he has an identical Volt that they will swap out. They paid off the lease, and wrote up a new one with the same terms and we drove off last night in a really new Volt, < 10 miles on it if I remember. It also had a couple of extras the first one didn't. Ambient lighting and lighted charging port.

The dealer was very apologetic and conciliatory, did not need to engage the lawyer, he had followed up with me and gave more advice so after the resolution I thanked him and gave him a 5 star review on yelp.

Guess there are some honest/principled car dealers out there not to mention lawyers.

 

[Fourdoors]

I don't understand how any dealer could do that. We just leased a Volt 2 months ago and were plainly told that it would qualify for the $7500 (taken off the sticker price) and the HOV sticker. In fact they applied for the sticker for me. How could you possibly know? I would complain up the Chevy chain. This is not right. Definitely this should be made right.

 

[Fourdoors]

Oh I didn't see it was resolved. That is good news. Maybe they didn't know either. The lighted charging port makes a big difference! Enjoy your Volt.

 

[DonC]

Note that the HOV lane may be less important that the longer warranty on the drive train.

 

[VoltMistress]

I am a new 2017 Volt owner, too - purchased 1/31/17 from Capitol Chevrolet. Curious where you purchased yours? Even if it turns out you have no recourse regarding on getting one eligible for HOV stickers, would you qualify for any other rebates? I leased mine and qualify, at least according to current rules, for the $1500 CA CVRP rebate as well as PG&E's $500 Clean Fuel Rebate. Waiting to receive them, will update when I do. and although I won't get the $7500 tax credit (leased car so dealer gets it), I'm already feeling the benefits of this great little car. This is my first hybrid vehicle and now enjoy my commute a helluva lot more.

Good luck to you, Bob & happy Bay Area motoring!