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Guidance for buying a used Volt

7K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  ThaiDave 
#1 ·
Hi

It's been a while since I've bought a used car.

We leased a 2017 Volt LT for 3 years, returned it a few months ago, now have decided to buy a used one. We want a Premier with all the safety features.

There are 2 used ones at a dealer:

32k miles, clean carfax, 15990
36k miles, 2 non-serious but reported accidents, adaptive cruise, blue ($$), 16990

I'm leaning towards the first.

I have an ODB reader that I could probably use with the right app to do a battery read on a cell-by-cell level.

Other things I should do to get it checked out? It is being sold by a chevy dealer...when I have bought used cars before, I would take it to an independent mechanic for an inspection...are there independent mechanics for Volts?
 
#2 ·
What color is the first one? It will make all the difference in the world (at least if I were buying it).
What years are these volts?

I don’t think there are many independent mechanics for volts. Any mechanic can check out the typical stuff, but you probably need a Chevy dealership with a voltec certified mechanic to plug in and give you feed on the EV portion of the car.
 
#7 ·
I don't understand how ACC can save your life. Maybe I'm not understanding how it works. I watched some videos of it and it seems like you basically let the car drive, and is probably best on a highway....it's not autopilot (ala Tesla). Teach me!
 
#8 ·
I know ACC vs Non ACC has been beat to death on other threads, but my personal opinion, I would not have another car without it, or some form of it. The ACC itself might not save your life versus the forward auto braking, but the convenience of not having to brake or disengage cruise when the car in front of you slows is priceless. My commute to and from work is not stop and go traffic, but its usually fairly heavy, enough that it is actually hard to use normal cruise control because you have to constantly brake. With ACC you set your speed and let the car maintain proper distance, it's a no brainer.
 
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#12 ·
Any good mechanic can give you an opinon, the Volt still has conventional brakes, tires and suspension, even an engine to listen to (to start, just open the hood while On). Use MyGreenVolt app to measure cell variance, <.02 is good, >.05 is walk away. An accident repair can be done properly, with no long-term issues, but many times it'll just never be as good again. An experienced driver will always outperform a digital assistant, but these systems can help us failure prone humans sometimes. Eventually, us humans may not have much choice. Good luck on your search, egizzi.
 
#13 ·
Thanks everyone for your helpful guidance....

If I am getting ACC, there are 2 cars locally...

1) 18.5k, 28k miles, one owner clean carfax, local green auto dealer, red exterior, brown/black interior (including brown dash)
2) 18k, 34k miles, one owner clean carfax, local chevy dealer, white exterior, black interior, Certified used car

The certified benefits:

  • 172 Point Inspection
  • Warranty Deductible: $0
  • Transferable Warranty
  • 24 months/24,000 miles (whichever comes first) CPO Scheduled Maintenance Plan and 3 days/150 miles (whichever comes first) Vehicle Exchange Program
  • Roadside Assistance
  • Limited Warranty: 12 Month/12,000 Mile (whichever comes first) from certified purchase date
  • Powertrain Limited Warranty: 72 Month/100,000 Mile (whichever comes first) from original in-service date
  • Vehicle History

Given the certified benefits relative to the above cars, any thoughts on the value of a certified pre-owned car?
 
#15 ·
I'd go with #2. I just picked up a 2017 Premiere fully loaded with 33.5k miles for 16.2k in white with black interior. Still under original factory until January so I hope to get a few issues addressed like shift to park. In your case 18k for a certified car is not bad and I'm sure you can work them down a bit from there. Given some of the problems some Volt owners have experienced, getting the additional warranty coverage may be worth the few additional dollars for a bigger window of time to address problems that arise. Good luck!
 
#17 ·
Exact same situation. Had 2017 Volt LT 3 year lease. Bought a used one. Waited about 4 months until the one we bought surfaced. 2018 Premier fully loaded. No accidents. 19K miles. Was not put into service until March of 2019 so lots of warranty left. About 50% depreciation from new. Car is awesome. Don't settle. Be patient. You'll find one.
 
#18 ·
Hi

It's been a while since I've bought a used car.

We leased a 2017 Volt LT for 3 years, returned it a few months ago, now have decided to buy a used one. We want a Premier with all the safety features.

There are 2 used ones at a dealer:

32k miles, clean carfax, 15990
36k miles, 2 non-serious but reported accidents, adaptive cruise, blue ($$), 16990

I'm leaning towards the first.

I have an ODB reader that I could probably use with the right app to do a battery read on a cell-by-cell level.

Other things I should do to get it checked out? It is being sold by a chevy dealer...when I have bought used cars before, I would take it to an independent mechanic for an inspection...are there independent mechanics for Volts?
I just bought a 2018 Volt Premier with all the bells and whistles at a Chevy dealer here in Fla.. It had 8041 miles with a clean CARFAX and it's a 'GM Certified' used car and paid 22K for it.. I'd look for an 18 (I've read some contradictory information on the 17's) with low miles.. I'd also say be willing to travel for a good used car, I drove from St. Augustine to Clearwater to get this one (220-miles)..
 
#19 ·
nice find. What color is it? As for all the bells and whistles, did it have the much desired ACC?
 
#20 ·
Hi

It's been a while since I've bought a used car.

We leased a 2017 Volt LT for 3 years, returned it a few months ago, now have decided to buy a used one. We want a Premier with all the safety features.

There are 2 used ones at a dealer:

32k miles, clean carfax, 15990
36k miles, 2 non-serious but reported accidents, adaptive cruise, blue ($$), 16990

I'm leaning towards the first.

I have an ODB reader that I could probably use with the right app to do a battery read on a cell-by-cell level.

Other things I should do to get it checked out? It is being sold by a chevy dealer...when I have bought used cars before, I would take it to an independent mechanic for an inspection...are there independent mechanics for Volts?
My wife has a 2017 Red Premier. If you are getting a Premier I would suggest getting one with ACC. I would never by another new car that does not have ACC. My 2018 Bolt Premier does not and is its biggest fault.
 
#22 ·
my first post
I've been driving Prius for years (second one in fact 200k mi). I've been very happy w/ them (reliable as heck and still drive like new after 100's of thousands of miles).
I recently returned from a holiday trip to Seattle for X-mas & new year. While there, I drove my father's new Prius AWD XLE w/ the ACC and was hugely impressed. Seattle traffic is getting to be almost (pre-COVID-19) as bad as it is here in Los Angeles.
I came back to So. Cal (L.A.) on New Years day; the very next day my daughter was involved in an accident. Her Subaru is a "total loss" (excellent safety features, essentially saved her life). Now I'm considering a Volt because the effective "EV" range is just enough to get me to work and back. I'm going to "hand me down" my Prius (been paid off for years) to her. She's not working now due to COVID-19 and has no way to afford a new vehicle. I would buy a "Prius Prime" but, it doesn't have the "EV" range of the Volt.
I've looked (online) at 50+ vehicles here in the "L.A." area and about 1/2 of the Volt Premiers are listed as having the "ACC" but sadly, most do not. It appears to me that only about 5% of the ones listed have it and most just "don't understand the difference".
You really have to consider the type of driving you intend on using your Volt for. If you sit in Los Angeles traffic (like me) on a daily basis: ACC is for you, for sure ! Even if you just drive in Southern California, you know how the traffic has an ebb & flow: ECC is for you ! If you live in some area w/ little to no traffic, and you just make occasional trips to the grocery; you might want to skip it.
 
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