Chevy Volt experience - Another car guy treads into EV ownership

klipless, I agree on all your points. My main dislikes of the car have to do with the regen/friction brake transition. I also don't care for how the ABS handles sudden slippery spots like big bumps or a metal expansion joint on a wet bridge. I too like the control I get with using HOLD on the highway if doing a trip longer than the electric range. I am still getting 10.5kwH of charge at 130k miles as well.  I never thought about the engine noise, but it is quite noisy for how small it is. I thought I had an exhaust leak at first.

A few more perks I never thought of before driving an EV: 

- I get to park up front at my office in the special "Low Emission, High Mileage" parking spots. There are only 4 spots and a gang of Priuses just started claiming them, but I had them mostly to myself the last 2 years. There were originally 8 spots, but the head guy got a ticket parking his Excursion there once so he decided to have half of them changed to private reserved spots (including 1 for him only). Now they are all used which removes the incentive for other employees to drive green in my opinion.

- Free charging at the nearby Grocery Store and the nearest mall. 6 free Lvl2 chargers in all and always the closest parking spots. Closer than handicap which is weird. There is usually a spot available, but it's getting busier! A friend of mine posted a pic of his Leaf at a free charger at his local mall pointing out that it is a perk of driving an EV and he got a bunch of angry responses. My favorite response was, "They aren't all FREE!" Well. True. That's a real stretch for a complaint, but some folks are determined.

In other news I did my first "mod" to the car tonight. I'll post a pic of it tomorrow in the sunlight. It makes me smile is all I can say.

Well searched on Craigslist 

looks like $7500 gets me 2012. 
 

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/playa-vista-2012-chevrolet-volt/7023476079.html

I like the color! 2012 is pretty much same as my 2013 just doesn’t have HOLD feature. You can use mountain mode for pretty much the same effect. I almost never use HOLD anyway. 

FYI It comes with the HOV stickers which mine doesn’t qualify for. Same engine and everything but a certain VIN range in 2013 was not tested to the right standard and therefore doesn’t qualify for some reason. Doesn’t affect me as there aren’t HOV on my commute, but might be a deal breaker for some. 

They just removed the HOV access for EVs in Colorado apparently. I had no idea because we don’t have HOV lanes, but boy howdy would that be a perk in the big city. 

This is a funny mod I did in honor of my Dad. He drove around for years with an original Mustang emblem on the grill of his Ford Ranger. 

Wow on the SS badge 

how is the second gen volt compared to first ? Lots of second gen on craigs 12-15k$ asking price 

Arguably, it’s cheaper to pay for an engine and fuel system that you rarely use than paying for an extra 60 kWh’s worth of battery that you also rarely use.

I'm trying to picture the kind of hev/ev-bashing luddite that would be tied in knots by this and deploy an army of straw men in response. Luckily GRM seems to be cleared out of their ilk in 2019, but now when i want to laugh at them i have to use my imagination.  

Knowing now after watching a few videos that the Leaf doesn't have liquid cooling compared to eeeeverything else, it makes sense as to why it's the cheapest true EV.

The Volt does seem to be the ideal in-between with seemingly ideal amount of cooling.

I need to find 2013 or something.

mr2s2000elise said:

how is the second gen volt compared to first ? Lots of second gen on craigs 12-15k$ asking price 

The 2nd gen brought in a lot of people who liked the idea of the first but weren't quite there (from my vantage point—at least 3 of my coworkers made the jump when it came out). It gets ten more miles of electric range, doesn't need premium, and has REGEN PADDLES(!!!). Aside from that they made it more like the rest of the chevy lineup—unified infotainment, more parts sharing. On paper, it's a better car... but IMO when they smoothed it out they killed the look that made it distinctive. The first gen volt looks special, at the very least "different." The gen 2 looks like a cruze, inside and out. 

While we're talking about the 1g Volt, it would be a shame to not mention the ELR. Basically a Volt coupe with slightly less range, more scoot, and Ciel looks.

I love the ELR but they seem to be crazy rare. Even in uber-green SoCal. And they definitely don’t come with same low Entry cost as the Volt. 

A second gen Volt with the extended range would certainly be more ideal for my commute, but My next car will probably be a used Bolt. They are already down to 20k. It’s got a usable 5th seat which would be nice for our family with 3 kids (in a pinch). 

In reply to Clay :

I went and looked at my kWh used. Last 30 months, I use on average 14khw a day 

this month I used 429 kWh. $.07 to $.05 is where my kWh is charged. I had 117 kWh charged at peak $.11

I always though our marketing people missed an opportunity with the Volt logo:

The fact that all four letters appear in 'Chevrolet' in order is one heck of a coincidence!

Clay said:

I love the ELR but they seem to be crazy rare. Even in uber-green SoCal. And they definitely don’t come with same low Entry cost as the Volt. 

I actually was going to pop in and share my experiences with the "Caddy Volt"  I've owned my ELR for 2 years now and love it.  I drive on ICE more than most as my new office doesnt have a charger but the overall economy is still better than most other cars I've owned.   While certainly not the bargain that Volts are now when you consider the ELR was around 80k new and you can get a nice used in the low 20s its a lot of car for the money.  However its not nearly as functional as a Volt as the back seat is all but useless.  Still as my primary use is just me and my commute its been an awesome car.   Having automotive ADD as I do I often think about what would replace it but really there's nothing out there which appeals to me like my ELR does right now.

And yes to crazy rare, only around 3500 produced.   And to find one optioned just like I wanted in the color I wanted I reduced the pool to 28 cars.  Luckily I found one :)

I've driven an ELR and love the way they look. I anticipate that all the Volt hardware is going to hold up really well so there may come a point in its depreciation where they become a serious option for me. I love the looks of them. I actually think they're styled better than most other Cadillacs of the same time period. 

ELR was probably one of the best-looking modern Caddies. I imagine they will become a cult collectible down the road.

I'm a GM tech, and I love driving Volts. They zip right along and are great drivers. I have considered looking for one to replace my Subaru Baja, especially having only a three-mile commute one way. The Volt is a case of how when GM does their homework and builds a good car, they build a good car. It's rare that we see them in the shop for anything other than basic maintenance.

Klay

My neighbor just walked over today "I want to sell my Volt in March, know anyone that is interseted"

Gen 2. 1 owner. Maroon.  I like the color. I am entertaining it due to this thread. I asked him the mileage, etc, and he will get back to me later today. 

I'm seriously considering picking up a 2013+ used Volt, seems like its pretty hard to find one private party.  Most at dealers are around $8500-10,000 which isn't terrible.

Is there anything really to watch out for on these?  Some posts mention a coolant change being necessary at a certain mileage.  Sounds like it is not really DIY friendly. Here is what the manual states:

"Page 11-6
Every 240,000 km/150,000 mi
Drain, flush and fill engine, power electronics and high voltage battery cooling systems

Page 11-7 footnote
Or every five years, whichever comes first. See Cooling System
(Engine) on page 10‐14 or Cooling System (High Voltage Battery) on page 10‐15 or Cooling System (Power Electronics and Charger
Modules) on page 10‐16."

Can you check the lifetime battery usage in the cluster other than lifetime MPG?  Thinking that would be a good indication of the "duty cycle" of electric vs. gas miles the vehicle experienced=

NickD said:

ELR was probably one of the best-looking modern Caddies. I imagine they will become a cult collectible down the road.

I'm a GM tech, and I love driving Volts. They zip right along and are great drivers. I have considered looking for one to replace my Subaru Baja, especially having only a three-mile commute one way. The Volt is a case of how when GM does their homework and builds a good car, they build a good car. It's rare that we see them in the shop for anything other than basic maintenance.

I love the looks of these, and the general obscureness. When my wifes CLS550 is paid off, I'd love to get her into one of these, especially if they continue to depreciate like a rock. I had a full EV Focus for 3 years that was only about 80 miles of range, and I learned to get around that.

Checking in with Clay, hows the volt been through 2020?

2013+ first gen volts (2013 are first with the electric hold feature) are getting quite cheap now, around $7000 for ~100k miles, I will be picking one up very soon.  Heated seats are a must here, so that narrows down the field unfortunately.

My wife bought a new 17. Weve been together 4 years and the change in the electric bill hasnt been noticed. She loves it. She used to be closer to work and would almost never use the ICE. We just bought a new house and we are farther away, she says she can get to work and half way back before the ICE kicks on.

I hate the infotainement, its always a pain to get bluetooth to work, she doesnt think its a problem.

Consumables have been very cheap, pretty much just needed tires and a cabin filter, about 60K miles IIRC.

It has been in the shop a few times for recalls or problems, everything has been covered under warranty so far, the local dealer is a pain because they just have one guy for Volts and he never seems to be there when hers breaks. We had a problem with the charging cable, which broke were it bends. I told her it wasnt really a warranty problem, it was probably us that caused it but they gave here a new cable under warranty.

I think its only had a couple of oil changes, which were all done while it was at the dealer for warranty work. 

I think the second gens have a larger fuel tank, when hers is empty I think it takes about 9 gallons. It doesnt get great fuel economy on the highway, normally high 30s, so range isnt great once you run out of electricity, so a bunch of stops on a road trip is kinda  a pain but for 99% of the driving she does its perfect.

I think the AC could be a little colder in the TX summers, I dont like the sight lines (may not be avoidable on a kammback), and the interior is a little small for me, Im kinda a big guy (see:fat)

Well, I have been off the forums awhile, but figured I should provide a final status on my Volt ownership since I started this thread. I recently sold my Volt to my coworker who I had turned to the dark side of EVs (and home solar as well). He wanted to try an EV without the huge Tesla buy-in price so I sold it to him for a sweetheart deal of $6k, but I'm sure I could have sold it for what I paid ($7.9k) if I had the patience to wait for right buyer. The only reason I sold is we were moving and I couldn't take it with me.

I loved the VOLT the entire time I had it and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It was my primary car for over 4 years and I still miss it. I moved with the family to Japan in January and EVs are very uncommon here which is weird since most commuting is very short distance with lots of stop and go traffic. I think a big issue is the charging. Not much public EV charging and homes typically have 50-60A service so it's tough to add a charger on a typical home.

So to sum it up, I bought my 2013 Volt in 2017 for $7.9k with 104k miles. I drove it for 4+ years and put 40k miles on it. The only maintenance I did was 1 axle for $75, one power window motor assy for $110 (plastic clip broke and I messed up the motor forcing it up). Maybe 2 oil changes during that time and a 4 tires. Nothing else was done to it. I think it had the original brake pads which were in great shape (thanks regen). Probably the lowest maintenance expenses of any car I have ever owned. I miss driving electric every day here in Japan, but I'm excited for the day I will get another one. I really like the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Hopefully I will be here long enough for the crazy used prices to get back to normal.

Since my buddy bought it I will still get to hear about how it's doing. His commute is less than mine was (20 miles roundtrip) so he rarely uses the generator. He manually runs it occasionally to keep it in action. His only regret now is that he didn't get a bigger solar array.

The way prices are right now you definitely could have sold it for more, but since you were the one that turned him over to the dark side, it only makes sense to take some responsibility for it :)

Hope all goes well for you and your family in Japan - and any insights on the grassroots side of the car culture there would always be welcome :)