My Next Ride – Chevy Volt

Published by G
Charging on 120V outlet...12 hrs!!!

Special kudos to Leon S for finding the dealer that’s cutting some serious deals on the Volt this month. I went in without having to negotiate. Completely painless process. All paperwork was ready. Spent about 15 min signing papers. This is probably the easist lease I’ve ever done in the 12 years that I have been leasing cars. Here is how things shook out:

Leon S picked up his Volt and got a fantastic deal. I told him to have his dealer contact me following day. I inquired about a white Volt with only the safety package 1 and black cloth interior. The car was not on the lot but it was arriving next week. The offer was $500 due and $337 per month. The discount was a total of $6100. $3200 off MSRP, $2400 lease cash from US Bank and $500 lease conquest. I was at another dealership last weekend and was offered $774 due and $361 per month for a lesser vehicle (base model without safety package). I cross-shopped it with yet another dealership and the best they did was $1100 due and $335 per month. So here is were things get interesting…I was poking around the Volt’s website playing around with the car configurator. I noticed that the Volt look pretty sharp in red, but I was a turned off by the fact that the paint had a $1000 markup, so I didn’t consider it. However, while browsing through dealer inventory, I noticed that the dealer that Leon S used had a red one with leather and safety package 1 which is exactly what I was looking for. The price difference between the white one (that’s arriving next week) and this red one was only $605 bucks. So I had the dealer run some numbers and this is what I got back….$500 due at signing. $336 per month. $6500 discount ($3600 dealer discount, $2400 US bank lease cash and $500 lease conquest).  But wait! There’s more! $500 Costco Cash Card AND the $1500 state rebate. In-sane. I just couldn’t pass it up. So I rented a car one-way and drove 50+ miles out to get it Saturday morning.

So how do you calculate a lease for the Volt using the RWG Calculator?

MSRP $37625
Sale Price (after factoring all rebates) $31125
RES 39% + 7500 (federal rebate for EVs)
MF 0.00057 (1.37%)
Fees rolled in $1050 (total driveoff was $1550, but I wanted to roll in $1050 of it and only pay $500 at signing)
Monthly with 9% tax $336.58 per month.

The actual lease payment in the contract was $336.71. My estimate was within 13 cents of the actual payment. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

So far, I am enjoying the car. I think it’s a fantastic deal and I highly recommend it if you can live with it’s looks and size. My drive back from the dealership was about 59 miles. I used 0.9 gallons of gas (I was switching back and forth between full electric and gas) and I still had 15 miles in electric mode left. This year, I have been spending about about $213 per month on gas between my Sonata and the Pilot. For the coming year, I expect to easily cut that by half. My payments drop from $362 per month to $336 and I will have $2000 in my pocket in the next month.

I’m extremely pleased with this lease. Probably the best one I have ever done.

If you are a CA resident and are interested in a Volt, let me know and I will refer you.

21 thoughts on “My Next Ride – Chevy Volt”

  3. What is the $2400 lease cash you for four using US Bank? I asked my dealer about this and they had no clue. They said they could use US Bank but thought the Ally rates were better. Speaking of, they quoted me 2% lease charge and 56% residual on 36 months, 16k per year. Does that sound right?

    • In my deal, US Bank was providing $2400 lease cash. Dealer provided $3600 discount off MSRP. I also had the $500 conquest cash. Maybe they don’t use US Bank as much as Ally. I’d check with another dealer to see if they say the same thing. I think 56% residual sounds about right, but what’s the 2% lease charge? haven’t heard of that.

  4. Sounds like a great deal. How many miles per year?
    I love riding on electric. Just pick up a 2014 Z51 7 speed corvette not mine for a friend what a nice ride that is. I guess that is why leasing is good because u can keep getting new rides.

    • Thanks! 36-months, 12k miles per year. Riding on electric is great. So smooth and quiet. Saw the corvette. It’s come a long way. It’s beautiful inside and out.

  5. Any chance you can break down all the cost and all the rebates? I am trying to use your deal as my template in negotiating but I can’t figure out some of your $$ amounts. I was hoping you might provide MSRP, Individual Rebates, How many miles etc. Some of what you get doesn’t apply to me because I am in Ohio, so for example I don’t get the $1500 State incentive.

  6. 36-months 12k miles per year
    MSRP $37625
    Sale Price $34025
    Rebates $2900 ($2400 US Bank, $500 lease conquest)
    RES 22175.70
    MF 0.00057
    $500 due at signing.
    $336.71 per month (9% tax included)

    Inception fee breadown:
    $166 – sales tax on rebates/cap reduction
    $336.71 – first payment
    $302 – DMV registration
    $58.50 – sales/use tax on vehicle
    $8.75 – CA tire fee
    $29 – electronic vehicle registration
    $55 – Doc fee (supposed to be $80 in CA now)
    $595 – US Bank acquisition fee

    The state incentive is extra. So I get that separately from this lease. Same goes for the Costco Cash Card

    • Awesome, thanks so much. One final question, the $7500 federal tax credit… That is just added to the Residual or is that applied as a down payment? You mentioned 22175.70, is that including the tax credit?

      • It is applied to the residual. The residual is much lower. I was quoted 39%. But the $7500 gets added so it boosts it roughly 59%. Technically, you do not get the credit. But it is applied to the residual to inflate it. You don’t actually get the money, but you do benefit from it. This is one of those things where you should NEVER buy the Volt at lease end or you lose out on the fed tax credit.

  7. I don’t know all the details yet but I closed a deal on a new Volt…

    MSRP – 38550 (Red, Safety 1, Premium Package, Bose Package, 17″ Polished Rims).
    Lease, 39 months, 16k per year
    Added Window Tinting
    $401.00 per month, 0 out of pocket.

  8. Looks sharp, congrats G!

    I would never considered the Volt, but after reading this, I’m gonna keep it in mind for the future.

    How does it drive?

    • thanks PLP. It feels a lot heavier than a car that size. Even thought it is about the size of a Mazda3 or Honda Civic, it doesn’t toss around like that. However, the drive is solid, comfortable and quiet. In my opinion, it has a more “premium” ride than your typical compact car. Comparing it to say the CT300h, the CT noisier and the ride is firmer.

      I think the biggest difference between driving the Volt and your typical gas powered vehicle is how “hard” you drive it. The Volt really changes your focus from “how fast” I can get to where I need to go to “how efficiently” can I get where I need to go.

      I am really enjoying the car. If you can live with it’s size, it is a superb commuter.

  9. Hi G,
    Hope you are enjoying your car.
    I was thinking about Volt when my co-worker got it but price-wise it wasn’t that attractive.
    Is this deal still available in this year?
    Could you tell me the name of that dealer?
    thanks so much and happy new year!

  10. I almost did the exact same thing. However, I ended up buying the car instead as in CA you get the HOV stickers for 5 years. However, if you return the lease, the “green” stickers will be all gone in 3 years.

    In order to buy out the car at return time, it would cost you ~$22K. A new one runs about $27.5K after rebates.

    Thoughts?

    • Agreed. The Volt is really a good buy, specially if you need the HOV stickers. The problem for me is that I don’t trust technology this new, so I’d rather dip my toe in instead of jump right into the electric car craze.
      Now, regarding the decision to buy/lease. It is true that the buyout is a bit steep at 22k after 3 yrs. But I don’t think a new one will cost 27.5k three years from now. Rebates might be gone by then. I know there is less than half of the CA rebates left right now. Not sure about federal. however, if you are comparing whether you should get one now vs leasing, then it all depends on whether you see yourself driving the car for more than 3 years. I’m not 100% sure I want to because the Volt isn’t a very big car. If I didn’t have my Pilot, I probably wouldn’t have considered it.

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