[2018Volt]

Yesterday I signed the paperwork and drove home in my new 2018 Volt! It is Satin Steel Metallic with black interior. I love it so far.

 

[dannycamps]

Congrats. What trim level did you get?

 

[actonvolt]

I also signed on Saturday for a second Volt. 2018 Premier Iridescent Pearl White. Pick it up Wednesday.

 

[btown]

Congrats on the new Volts! It's always exciting to get a new car but even more exciting when it's a Volt.

 

[Guest]

Going on 5 weeks now with my new 2018 and got my first electric bill since it's arrival. My first month's usage tripled in last 30 days since the same month one year ago. I only charge at home and with Solar panels reversing the meter. It was surprising to me but then again have only bought 3 gallons of gas with my 130O miles on the odometer.

 

[MikeyCVolt]

Going on 5 weeks now with my new 2018 and got my first electric bill since it's arrival. My first month's usage tripled in last 30 days since the same month one year ago. I only charge at home and with Solar panels reversing the meter. It was surprising to me but then again have only bought 3 gallons of gas with my 130O miles on the odometer.

Tripled is a relative term, particularly with solar. Might be better to just look at the dollar figure difference. There are a lot of other variables involved too: could be a lot hotter/colder than the same month last year for example. I only drive about 500 miles/mo but I haven't even noticed an increase in my electric bill: it's in the noise. I only charge at home and have not put gas in the car for 8 months. No solar.

Mike

 

[Guest]

Mike, you are right that other variables could exist to cause a spike in electric usage. However, assuming close to the same conditions year over year, I was charged $1.04/ day vs $.043/ day since the Volt or about $18 for the first month extra.

I know it's only pennies on the dollar but surprised.

 

[Guest]

I'm not really that surprised -- you're adding a huge battery to your electrical usage. Not sure what your rates are, but I've seen estimates that a Volt could cost between 75 cents and a dollar per charge. Seems like you're right in line with that over near zero a year ago.

 

[VoltAP1]

I'm not really that surprised -- you're adding a huge battery to your electrical usage. Not sure what your rates are, but I've seen estimates that a Volt could cost between 75 cents and a dollar per charge. Seems like you're right in line with that over near zero a year ago.

A full charge is more like $1.25-2.00 in lower cost electricity places. Figure ~17 kWhr at 85% charging efficiency, ~7.4 cent/kWhr gets you $1.25/charge, and ~11.8 cents/kWhr gets you $2/charge. That should catch most of the lower cost electricity in the country. In higher priced places it can easily be $3-5/charge.

That said, most charging probably isn't a completely dead battery, and it's still cheaper than gas most places by a large margin.

I haven't even been driving my Volt that much outside of commuting (~1700 miles in 3.5 months), and it's already basically paid for the car note with the gas savings over my old gas guzzling BMW SUV (92 octane is in the $3.80-4.20/gal range here).

 

[2018Volt]

Congrats. What trim level did you get?

Premier with ACC. Satin steel metallic with black interior. Navigation. That's about it.

 

[Guest]

A full charge is more like $1.25-2.00 in lower cost electricity places. Figure ~17 kWhr at 85% charging efficiency, ~7.4 cent/kWhr gets you $1.25/charge, and ~11.8 cents/kWhr gets you $2/charge. That should catch most of the lower cost electricity in the country. In higher priced places it can easily be $3-5/charge.

That said, most charging probably isn't a completely dead battery, and it's still cheaper than gas most places by a large margin.

I haven't even been driving my Volt that much outside of commuting (~1700 miles in 3.5 months), and it's already basically paid for the car note with the gas savings over my old gas guzzling BMW SUV (92 octane is in the $3.80-4.20/gal range here).

I was somewhat surprised to learn that my electric is a relatively pricy $0.149/kWh today (after accounting for all the taxes, delivery fees, etc). Then I did some math and realized I'm still spending about a quarter of what I used to spend on fuel, and around $1,000 less per year on fuel for my standard commute compared to my old 21mpg crossover.

It's also about half as expensive to power as an efficient 40mpg gas car like a Civic. And that's without even accounting for decreased wear and tear on brakes, engine components, and less frequent routine standard maintenance.

Obviously, it will depreciate quicker in the current tax rebate system, but even that downside may disappear in the next few years, especially if gas prices rise. I tend to drive my cars into the ground, as well, so this isn't as big of a concern for me.

Congrats on the new ride, OP.

 

[2018Volt]

I was somewhat surprised to learn that my electric is a relatively pricy $0.149/kWh today (after accounting for all the taxes, delivery fees, etc). Then I did some math and realized I'm still spending about a quarter of what I used to spend on fuel, and around $1,000 less per year on fuel for my standard commute compared to my old 21mpg crossover.

It's also about half as expensive to power as an efficient 40mpg gas car like a Civic. And that's without even accounting for decreased wear and tear on brakes, engine components, and less frequent routine standard maintenance.

Obviously, it will depreciate quicker in the current tax rebate system, but even that downside may disappear in the next few years, especially if gas prices rise. I tend to drive my cars into the ground, as well, so this isn't as big of a concern for me.

Congrats on the new ride, OP.

Thanks!
I'm coming from a 2006 Dakota that averaged 12mpg. I should save a lot!

 

[VoltAP1]

I was somewhat surprised to learn that my electric is a relatively pricy $0.149/kWh today (after accounting for all the taxes, delivery fees, etc). Then I did some math and realized I'm still spending about a quarter of what I used to spend on fuel, and around $1,000 less per year on fuel for my standard commute compared to my old 21mpg crossover.

It's also about half as expensive to power as an efficient 40mpg gas car like a Civic. And that's without even accounting for decreased wear and tear on brakes, engine components, and less frequent routine standard maintenance.

Obviously, it will depreciate quicker in the current tax rebate system, but even that downside may disappear in the next few years, especially if gas prices rise. I tend to drive my cars into the ground, as well, so this isn't as big of a concern for me.

Congrats on the new ride, OP.

I have been trying to get a coworker to buy a gen 1 Volt for months now. He's been putting it off while he spends $400-500/month commuting to work in a truck (87 is like $3.70/gal here now on avg). The used gen 1 Volt market has definitely moved from about $12-16k to more like $14-19k in just a few months. If gas prices keep going up, I imagine it'll keep pulling the price up of really efficient cars.

I just had a guy come up to me at work as I was unplugging my car and started asking me about it. He was amazed it had ~50-60 miles of range in good weather and a gas engine! He thought it was like 50 miles of EV range then you're stuck, blew his mind when I explained a bit about how the car worked. He seemed excited about it after chatting about the car about 30 mins.

 

[Guest]

I have been trying to get a coworker to buy a gen 1 Volt for months now. He's been putting it off while he spends $400-500/month commuting to work in a truck (87 is like $3.70/gal here now on avg). The used gen 1 Volt market has definitely moved from about $12-16k to more like $14-19k in just a few months. If gas prices keep going up, I imagine it'll keep pulling the price up of really efficient cars.

I just had a guy come up to me at work as I was unplugging my car and started asking me about it. He was amazed it had ~50-60 miles of range in good weather and a gas engine! He thought it was like 50 miles of EV range then you're stuck, blew his mind when I explained a bit about how the car worked. He seemed excited about it after chatting about the car about 30 mins.

I was looking at a Gen 1 for a long time before looking into truecar prices in some surrounding markets and thinking about possible downside on expensive battery tech (even though problems appear to be very rare) going down and running out of warranty. To me, a notorious advocate of buying lower mileage used vehicles, the lengthier warranty, looks (subjective, and the G1 isn't bad by any means), and marginal price increase after tax credits for a brand new car made the new car worth it. Nothing against the Gen 1, but when you can get a higher range, longer warrantied vehicle for ~$3,000 more, it's totally worth it in my book.

It's truly crazy that more people don't know about these cars. They can work for almost anyone (large families excepted), they're affordable, and so far, they seem to be dead reliable.

 

[VoltAP1]

I was looking at a Gen 1 for a long time before looking into truecar prices in some surrounding markets and thinking about possible downside on expensive battery tech (even though problems appear to be very rare) going down and running out of warranty. To me, a notorious advocate of buying lower mileage used vehicles, the lengthier warranty, looks (subjective, and the G1 isn't bad by any means), and marginal price increase after tax credits for a brand new car made the new car worth it. Nothing against the Gen 1, but when you can get a higher range, longer warrantied vehicle for ~$3,000 more, it's totally worth it in my book.

It's truly crazy that more people don't know about these cars. They can work for almost anyone (large families excepted), they're affordable, and so far, they seem to be dead reliable.

Oh I totally agree that a new gen 2 makes way more sense if you can qualify for the full fed tax rebate. He claimed he wouldn't, which is very surprising to me, but that would change the relative cost quite a bit.

The heated steering wheel, longer range, longer warranty period, and better off the line torque were the main things that attracted me to a new gen 2. It was a no brainer after looking at the real cost differential, although that's due to go up here very shortly since WA state is stopping their "no sales tax" EV incentive.