Anyone know what the current wait time is to get a Volt?

[planet4ever]

Actually, Andy, I guess you would consider that I am in the "fence" category, though at the moment there is probably not much of me left but a bit of my rump on the Volt side. I started as a Volt fan but gradually shifted allegiance last spring and summer. If the Volt had been able to get 50 mpg in CS mode, and if the price had been lower, and if the car had been a few inches taller, and if it hadn't turned out to be so gol-durn complicated, I'd probably be a proud Volt owner right now. And bragging about using less than a gallon of gas a month.

But there are all those pesky "ifs", so instead I've bought 28 gallons of gas in the past month, and I'll probably buy twice that in the next two months. I sure hope my ship comes in before too long.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

Now that I'm firmly in the Lease instead of Buy camp, and Nissan continues to keep me "Pending", I have to cast a few glances at the Volts available today.

My commute is short enough to be all-EV, and the electric efficiency is close to the same. I could ignore the gas engine, and be driving EV tomorrow!

The Lease cost appears to be very close to the same.

The big difference is the CA $5k rebate. Leaf gets it, Volt doesn't. This is what makes the overall 3yr Lease cheaper on the Leaf.

So -- if Nissan continues to botch communication and delivery, and the CA rebate runs dry, that's the day I go take out a Lease on a Volt. For $5k less, I'd rather lease a Leaf, but I'm starting to suspect Nissan is going to have North America on "trickle charge" for all of 2011.

 

[evnow]

The Lease cost appears to be very close to the same.

Lease on Volt is iffy. Lot of dealers aren't offering it. Many aren't offering the right rate. I don't see anyone getting a real $349+tax lease.

 

[Frank]

The big difference is the CA $5k rebate. Leaf gets it, Volt doesn't. This is what makes the overall 3yr Lease cheaper on the Leaf.

So -- if Nissan continues to botch communication and delivery, and the CA rebate runs dry, that's the day I go take out a Lease on a Volt. For $5k less, I'd rather lease a Leaf, but I'm starting to suspect Nissan is going to have North America on "trickle charge" for all of 2011.

The other big difference in California is that the Volt is not granted access to the HOV lanes at the present time. GM purposely did not pursue certification as an enhanced ATPZEV, and does not plan to do so until the 2013 model year. I don't know if that means that the 2011 and 2012 model year Volts will also obtain the certification along with the 2013 model year, or not. See this page for more info: http://green.autoblog.com/2010/09/01/chevrolet-volt-will-not-be-eligible-for-hov-lane-access-until-mi/

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

The Lease cost appears to be very close to the same.

Lease on Volt is iffy. Lot of dealers aren't offering it. Many aren't offering the right rate. I don't see anyone getting a real $349+tax lease.

Interesting. I've been taking the $349 at face value, just like the Leaf $379. Only with the LEAF I have a detailed spreadsheet and actual user contracts that put it somewhat higher. I'll have to research "real world" CA Volt leases as well.

The HOV (white sticker) access is a good point, but one that doesn't matter much to me. I wouldn't benefit from HOV in my own commute, but for some this is really important.

EV Project is open to both Volt and Leaf (pre-delivery only), so that's the same grant for Blink EVSE and install.

GM might also offer Lease buy-down options that Nissan does not. (pre-pay, MSD, etc)

It's worth researching: Does a 3yr lease work out to be $5k more for the Volt, or more?

Reading posts from Volt owners, and my own coworkers makes it more and more attractive. It's a 'sportier' car than the Leaf, with an interior more to my liking. I'd rather have 100mi EV Range than 40mi, but really both will meet my commuting needs year-round.

It's probably another (realistic) six to nine months before Nissan gets around to my Pending car, and it's worth something to be driving EV *NOW* (right evnow?)

 

[AndyH]

Actually, Andy, I guess you would consider that I am in the "fence" category, though at the moment there is probably not much of me left but a bit of my rump on the Volt side.

I have to admit that I'm in a similar position with some rumpage on the 'hybrid' side. When I consider moving out of town it ends up being close to an 80 mile round trip.

 

[evnow]

Interesting. I've been taking the $349 at face value, just like the Leaf $379. Only with the LEAF I have a detailed spreadsheet and actual user contracts that put it somewhat higher. I'll have to research "real world" CA Volt leases as well.

Here is a nice lease calculator for Volt.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5941-Lease-Calculator-for-Volt-U.S.-Bank

update : Here is the latest about the Lease.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?6167-US-Bank-Lease-offer-1-4-11-2-28-11

*National lease subject to Dealership agreeing to US Bank terms, fees, and conditions. Dealerships are allowed to order Volts are not required to honor US Bank terms, fees, and conditions.

It's probably another (realistic) six to nine months before Nissan gets around to my Pending car, and it's worth something to be driving EV *NOW* (right evnow?)

Pending just means after April ... you can pick your waiting time depending on which month/day you ordered. My medium term plan is to have one BEV and one PHEV. But one of them will have to be a larger car. So, I could do either Volt + RAV 4EV or Ford Focus EV + Energi or Leaf + Energi. I'm going with the last option since that gets me the 2 cars the fastest (and cheapest). What is your plan ?

 

[planet4ever]

Interesting. I've been taking the $349 at face value, just like the Leaf $379. Only with the LEAF I have a detailed spreadsheet and actual user contracts that put it somewhat higher. I'll have to research "real world" CA Volt leases as well.

One other thing about the lease, which you can see in the information evnow pointed to, but bears repeating:

The way GM brought the lease payment down to match Nissan was by playing games with the residual. Be aware, if you have any thoughts of buying at the end of the lease, that (unlike Nissan) GM will yank the $7,500 back that they (like Nissan) gave you credit for up front. You are left with a huge, probably unreasonable huge, residual to pay.

 

[JPVLeaf]

Not that I'm getting cold feet about the LEAF, but there are several Southern CA dealerships showing a Volt available with no waiting and - apparently - little to no mark-up. With comparable lease terms, I wonder how many would consider riding with a gas generator? My regular commute is about 35mi/day so I'm sure that I could pull all electric driving the majority of the time. Of course I would have to change my tag to LBCphev . Pondering...

removed

Agreed, but with all that being said, I would still not consider the Volt because of its higher sale price, lack of CA HOV lane access ('til 2012), and ineligibility for the California EV rebate ... but that's because I live in California. If I were not a CA resident, then I might consider it over a LEAF (well, probably still not that much).

 

[GeorgeParrott]

As EVNOW points out not all Chevy dealers have to offer the USBank lease, but many do, so simply check with YOUR dealer and confirm in advance both selling price and lease details. The wait time from order to delivery does seem to be about 4 months and once a Volt order is accepted by GM the tracking process is totally transparent, in contrast to our frustrations with Nissan the "LEAF mystery."

For my Volt order, it was a total hassle to find a Chevy dealer who would order exactly what I wanted but once I found a responsive dealer, then getting my Volt was exponentially more rewarding than my wait for the LEAF I ordered on 31 August and still have not taken delivery of. (Though my LEAF dashboard does say "week of Feb. 18, 2011," whatever that means.

Anyway, I am very impressed with the ride and handling of the Volt; we are getting between 37 and 42 miles of full EV range, and just returned this evening from our first "road trip" with the car. In ICE mode, we got right at 41 mpg in a mix of mostly freeway driving with some time in San Francisco and then back to Sacramento. In the first 1080 total miles we have used 8.4 gallons of fuel.

Of course our LEAF will use no fuel, but then it could not get us smoothly from Sacramento to Bodega Bay and then back to SF, etc. For a two car household, one of each seems to make great sense to me.

 

[evnow]

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?6646-SO-CA-VOLTS-MOVING-OUT-AND-MOVING-IN!!-WE-HAVE-4-LEFT-READY-TO-GO-AT-MSRP!

SO CA VOLTS MOVING OUT AND MOVING IN!! WE HAVE 4 LEFT - READY TO GO AT MSRP!

Large Chevrolet Dealership in So CA has 4 Volts ready to roll at MSRP. Call Thelma at (909)822-1111 for more information and to speak with a Volt Cerfified Representative. You may also send an email request to [email protected].

I think what is happening is people would rather wait a bit to get the car with the exact specification they want, rather than pickup whatever the dealer ordered.