There are a lot of threads on all these subjects and a herculean task to answer everything you've asked. The first question is: Does the car need to be HOV eligible in CA? There is a shortage of HOV lane eligible cars so you can get a better deal if you don't need that. The first fact you need to know is: The $7500 credit is added to your residual, reducing your payments but making the car more or less prohibitively expensive to buy at the end of the lease. If you're leasing don't plan to have the option to buy at the end of the lease.

On the price front, the usual advice is to start with Stingray. Most of what you're asking about prices and rebates and dealer incentives is hard to know because it's a moving target. At one point the target was $2500 under invoice but that may have changed. Also a lease has many moving parts. Price is a major price but it's not the only one. The interest rate and lease cash also play a major role.

 

Thanks, Don. I don't plan to buy the car at the end of the lease. I figure that when my lease ends there will be thousands of off-lease Volts available. If I want one, I should be able to negotiate a good deal on a different car.

I started with Stingray, but their 2012 inventory is so slim that I may have to go somewhere else. I could spend a lot of time negotiating with various dealers, but it would be a lot easier if I had the answers to my questions. Things like interest rate (top tier credit), lease cash, residual, target below invoice, incentives to dealers, etc. should be relatively easy to answer. I think that forum members who have leased in the past week or two should be able to help me.

 

Buy from Stingray, they have listed 8 on the lot or order a 2013. No one on the East Coast can match there prices.

If you insist on having it today and its not on the lot at Stingray, your looking at thousands more from any other dealer and that's only if you find one your looking for, 2012 inventory has be pretty much blow out the door pricing that last 6 weeks.

 

If you want to "test-out" a Volt, how about a 2011 under deeper discount but on Lease? I bought my 2011, didn't lease, but a 2011 would be even cheaper than a 2012 and perhaps you can do a loaded 2011 well under $275/mo. (if my guessing is right)

 

I appreciate the answers so far, but we're not really getting down to what I need to know. By the way, Stingray's inventory on their web site is not up to date. CharlieO told me that he only had 3 2012's on the lot on Saturday.

 

You have conflicting goals, you want it now, you want something not on the lot, you want the best price

You can get two out of three otherwise its wait and pay more, its really simple as that

In Florida only Stingray has the extra 2500 below invoice pricing .. either pick from whats left or use cars.com to find a car that suits your tastes, but you will be paying at a minimum 2.5K more for that option.

The 2012's were fire sale priced, that why they went from 30+ cars to 3 in one month.

As for Ally, its the same at any GM dealer, ALLY makes the rates, cap reduction and other incentives and costs, the dealer has nothing to do with these values or terms

 

I don't see any conflicting goals here at all. I am ready to buy today, but I don't need the car in my driveway today. I can buy from Stingray, but I don't need to buy from Stingray. I can buy from the lot, and it can be anyone's lot. I'm happy to pick up the phone and work a deal, and wait for it to be delivered. I have great flexibility concerning colors and options that I am willing to consider. Under these terms, I think that I can still look for the best price.

Concerning Ally, there should be simple answers to the questions about rates, incentives, etc. Those numbers have been posted previously, but I am interested in current information for the month of August.

 

They are no longer making 2012 and haven't for 2 months. If you want the best price for a 2012, you can only pick from whats available on dealer lots. Only one dealer in our state that meet your best price metric. If you can wait, order a 2013 using the best price and then there is no compromises. Ally was last reported about 5K in cap reduction and 1.9% on the effective interest rate. The current incentive is 500 dollar for purchase, not lease, for the love it or leave it promotion.

 

I worked my deal with a dealer outside of Florida, and I am very happy with it. I leased a loaded white diamond 2012 with a sticker price of $46,210 for $263.43 per month including 7% Florida sales tax for 24 months, and 15,000 miles per year. There is no downpayment, no acquisition fee, and no security deposit. The first month's payment is waived. The dealer threw in the rear seat back filler at no cost to me, and the shipping cost is just a few hundred dollars. This is for a customer service vehicle with some miles on it, but it has full warranty for the entire period of the lease, so I'm comfortable with the idea that it is not a brand new car. It has the battery enhancement and a new charging cord. This car is EXACTLY what I wanted, at a great price. I had been willing to consider cars with fewer options to get a good deal, but I didn't need to go that route.

I'm expecting it to be loaded on a truck in the next few days, and hope to have it by the end of the week.

 

That's a good deal Charlie what dealership did you use.

 

Reliable Chevrolet in Missouri.

 

Charlie01 - Just want to thank you for the heads up. Gave Reliable a call and got an excellent lease deal. Even with the extra shipping it blew my local dealers out of the water. Hopefully, I'll be a volt owner in the next few days.