Lease a Chevy Volt?

[Reckoner]

Hey all,

I currently own a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT with 70k miles on it. It's been good to me, with no major repairs needed. I've had the car for 8 years now, and am interested in the volt. I found a lease deal for $274 a month, $999 down for 39 months on a Volt. If you were in my shoes, would you keep driving the Legacy into the ground? Or go for the Volt while the leggy has decent trade-in value?

 

[Ryan]

If you shop around, you might be able to find a better deal (have you visited the purchasing forum of GM-Volt.com? - lots of salesmen lurk there and offer deals). Is this 274 for a base model?

With that said - I love my Volt. I am one year into my lease - at 11K miles now with mo major issues. Just plug it in and drive

 

[Reckoner]

If you shop around, you might be able to find a better deal (have you visited the purchasing forum of GM-Volt.com? - lots of salesmen lurk there and offer deals). Is this 274 for a base model?

With that said - I love my Volt. I am one year into my lease - at 11K miles now with mo major issues. Just plug it in and drive

Yes, this would be for the base model. I found one with the comfort package for an extra $8 a month, but doesn't seem to be worth it for just heated seats and leather wrapped wheel.

 

[thedarkwolf]

70k miles in 8 years. Don't see a payoff in buying a new car period and 70k miles is pretty much a new car. You drive about as much as me and I drive old cheap cars because I can't justify spending that much to not drive a car .

 

[BigBarney]

70k miles in 8 years. Don't see a payoff in buying a new car period and 70k miles is pretty much a new car. You drive about as much as me and I drive old cheap cars because I can't justify spending that much to not drive a car .

$300 a month, on a 5 year loan gets you a $15k car.

$300 a month, on a chevy volt lease, gets you 12k a year and a brand new car...

 

[thedarkwolf]

$0 a month gets him a perfectly good 05 Subaru with only 70k miles on it. Guy is just getting that new car fever. Hold out it will go away .

 

[Fenixgoon]

$0 a months gets him a perfectly good 05 Subaru with only 70k miles on it. Guy is just getting that new car fever. Hold out it will go away .

gotta agree here. i have a 2010 car and i'm looking at new vehicles already. but am i actually going to go through with it? hells no, not unless there were a deal so stupidly good to pass up (which is highly, highly unlikely).

until your car becomes a problem, my recommendation is to stick with it.

 

[twinrider1]

Run the numbers. What are you spending each month now on gas, insurance, upkeep?
Do you get real winters where you live? Do you ever take long road trips?

 

[Doppel]

That is a good price on a volt, though as some have said you don't drive that much.

 

[OSULugan]

I thought that was the point of the Volt. Driving < 40 miles a day, and being able to essentially run gas free.

 

[LTC8K6]

I thought that was the point of the Volt. Driving < 40 miles a day, and being able to essentially run gas free.

IIRC, you have to drive a lot to justify the cost over a conventional high mpg car.

 

[Ryan]

IIRC, you have to drive a lot to justify the cost over a conventional high mpg car.

The overall cost of the car does not matter in this situation - this is a highly subsidized lease. It is very competitive with other sedans. A Honda Accord LX is $249 a month, with $2,300 down.

 

[vi edit]

What are the residuals on these leases? I've seen similar offers locally and was intrigued. If the buyout wasn't retardedly high it's not a bad deal if you plan to keep long term.

 

[LTC8K6]

The overall cost of the car does not matter in this situation - this is a highly subsidized lease. It is very competitive with other sedans. A Honda Accord LX is $249 a month, with $2,300 down.

Yeah, cost of driving the two would probably be the same overall, so you should go with the better car. The Honda.

 

[Doppel]

Yeah, cost of driving the two would probably be the same overall, so you should go with the better car. The Honda.

Unless your geek-love pulls you into the Volt. Owner satisfaction on them is very high and I can tell you there is something very snazzy about an electric power train.

 

[LTC8K6]

Unless your geek-love pulls you into the Volt. Owner satisfaction on them is very high and I can tell you there is something very snazzy about an electric power train.

Sure, but we were talking about economics.

There's also something very snazzy about a nice sounding ICE revving up.

 

[SearchMaster]

What are the residuals on these leases? I've seen similar offers locally and was intrigued. If the buyout wasn't retardedly high it's not a bad deal if you plan to keep long term.

I think that's the point here - the lease is very subsidized so you're paying a very small amount on a small depreciation. It would not make sense to buy the vehicle on a lease like this. You drive a $40K car for 3 years and pay very little in monthly fuel/maintenance costs.

<--- thinks leasing is dumb but occasionally makes some sense

 

[vi edit]

I think that's the point here - the lease is very subsidized so you're paying a very small amount on a small depreciation. It would not make sense to buy the vehicle on a lease like this. You drive a $40K car for 3 years and pay very little in monthly fuel/maintenance costs

I'm not saying it is high, I'm asking if it is. GM could be eating it's ass on this and the buyout could be something like $18,000 making it a great deal. If it's $30,000 then obviously the value is much different. I've just not seen any residual prices on any of the deals so I really don't know how sweet or bitter these offers are.

 

[Ryan]

I'm not saying it is high, I'm asking if it is. GM could be eating it's ass on this and the buyout could be something like $18,000 making it a great deal. If it's $30,000 then obviously the value is much different. I've just not seen any residual prices on any of the deals so I really don't know how sweet or bitter these offers are.

IIRC, mine is around $27k....I have a model with leather w/o nav.

 

[OSULugan]

IIRC, you have to drive a lot to justify the cost over a conventional high mpg car.

This just doesn't make any sense to me. The Volt runs electric for 40 miles. After that, it's using gas, and is essentially a "high mpg car." I would think that around 40 miles is the sweet spot. You might go 60 miles a day and still see a good advantage in mpg.

But if you're driving the Volt around a lot, you're really decreasing the advantage of the all-electric mileage range bonus.

 

[thedarkwolf]

You have to drive a lot because right now his car payment is 0 vs $274 a month plus the $1k down payment for the Volt. That buys a lot of gas.

Now vs some other new car the vibe lease isn't a horrible deal plus it is neat.

 

[LTC8K6]

This just doesn't make any sense to me. The Volt runs electric for 40 miles. After that, it's using gas, and is essentially a "high mpg car." I would think that around 40 miles is the sweet spot. You might go 60 miles a day and still see a good advantage in mpg.

But if you're driving the Volt around a lot, you're really decreasing the advantage of the all-electric mileage range bonus.

So how long does it take the Volt to pay off over the Cruze, if you never put gasoline in the Volt? Let's say we'll drive the Volt 30 miles a day, so we never need to fuel it. Let's say we also get the electricity to charge it for free. So we are driving the Volt 30 miles a day, for free. Which is not realistic, but it keeps the math simpler.

That's about 11K miles a year. For free.

But the Cruze, and other cars, cost way less than the Volt. We'll even say that you qualify for the whole $7.5K tax credit on the Volt.

Looks like you'd have to drive the Volt for about 10 years to start seeing an economic benefit over a Cruze or similar vehicle, given the purchase costs.

A Cruze lease is only $149ish a month, also. Looks like you could lease a Cruze, and pay for the fuel it uses, and still do better than the Volt lease.

Having said all that, the Volt is cool, and I can see the attraction if you have the money.

 

[wirednuts]

id would love to have a volt if i had the money to spend. i think its a nice car, and i love the series-electric setup. dont really care if it doesnt truly save gas.... just cool that if youre on E all you need to find is an outlet to get home. or let the car sit a day in the sun with a solar charger. eventually, youll get home

 

[LTC8K6]

The Cadillac version is supposedly finally going to be coming out.

 

[Throckmorton]

Don't waste money. Keep your Legacy. It's more fun too