MovieChat Forums > Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) Discussion > Put a deposit down for a Chevy Volt

Put a deposit down for a Chevy Volt

posted 14 years ago by apeweek
8 replies | jump to latest

Volt website says it takes $1000 to reserve one, but my GM dealer let me do it for $100. I won't get one until sometime next year.

I have a small business, and it will be my business vehicle.

Here are my numbers, in case this helps anyone else with this decision.

The lease price is $350/month. That seems low for a $41,000 car, but I'm told it's because the residual value is expected to be high. There's also a $2500 downpayment.

If I divide up the $2500 downpayment over the 36 months of the lease, that would be effectively $419/month. Since this is a business vehicle for me, the tax advantage of deducting lease payments from my taxes brings that down to an effective $277/month.

Now for the fuel savings. Last year our business driving came to about 15,000 miles (a pretty average number for Americans.) In my present 24mpg car, that's 625 gallons of gas.

Around here, gas is presently selling at about $2.85/gallon, or $1781 per year. That's $149 in gasoline every month.

Electricity, at about 2 cents/mile, only costs $300, or $25 per month.

So, assuming almost all our driving miles can happen on electricity (they can), our fuel savings is about $124 per month. If gasoline increases in price, this bargain only gets better.

Applying the savings to our lease payment gives us an effective monthly payment of $153 per month.

I dare anyone here to find a $40k + car they can lease for $153 per month. This is a top-notch car, with Cadillac-level features.

Your own numbers may vary. Remember, a big part of my own savings above comes from my ability to treat this as a business vehicle. However, even without that (would be about $270/month), this EV is still amazingly affordable as a lease.

[–] hitking 14 years ago

Interesting. Thanks for the number crunching too.

Brave move if you ask me.

Would the numbers pencil out as well if you had gone with the lesser ticket priced Nissan Leaf?

[–] apeweek 14 years ago

Well, the Leaf's not available in my state yet.

What makes the numbers work for the Volt - despite it's high price tag - is the low lease numbers, because of the expected high residual value of the car.

This is one of the principal advantages of an EV - long lifetime.

Oddly enough, the announced lease price for the Leaf is $349, the same as the Volt, though I don't see any mention of a downpayment, so perhaps it will be cheaper.

In this case, the numbers are indeed better, provided that the 100-mile range would satisfy all of the driver's needs.

Leasing EVs may be the most economical solution - until prices start to come down.

[–] apeweek 13 years ago

Picked up my Chevy Volt last night!

I moved ahead in the waiting list by taking someone else's ordered car when their financing didn't work out. Otherwise I would still be waiting.

This car has so many gadgets I'll still be figuring it out months from now.

There were 20 miles of electric charge - about half charged - on the car when I picked it up from the dealer. I drove it back, did a few errands and shopping, and turned into my driveway just as the gas engine turned on to take over from the batteries.

The wife and I both love driving the Volt. It's very smooth and quiet, and with great pick-up and handling.

I charged it up last night on 110v. Took 10 hours. This morning I applied for a free 220v charger and installation from my electric utility. I should hear back from them tomorrow. Charging time should be reduced to 4 hours on the better charger.

Grocery shopping tonight at Meijer's. That's a midwest chain of big-box stores (a lot like Wal Mart.) They have free EV charging stations there. It's also a great parking spot - right next to the handicapped spaces.

[–] hitking 13 years ago

Cool.

[–] smdias65 13 years ago

So, now that the Volt is available, do you think GM might consider re-releasing the EV1? Or, do you think there's still too much controversy surrounding the EV1?

[–] apeweek 13 years ago

Well, I think they used their EV1 experience to build the Volt. Many of the same people worked on both cars.

I doubt the EV1 will return, though the Nissan Leaf has a similar driving range to the EV1, if you want an all-electric.

[–] MontanaJones 12 years ago

I wonder how many of those disappointed former EV1 leaseholders featured in the film have purchased a Volt? I also find it mildly hysterical and quite ironic that this board is less about the film and more about the Chevy Volt.

MEDINA
SOD

[–] apeweek 12 years ago

...I also find it mildly hysterical and quite ironic that this board is less about the film and more about the Chevy Volt.

Well, the film is several years old now - but the Volt still generates controversy. You should check out the sequel "Revenge of the Electric Car", that film was specifically about the Volt (and Tesla, and Leaf), and there's all sorts of Volt screaming and hollering on the discussion board.