I've been monitoring the progress of the Volt since the Detroit auto show back in 2007. Now with the recent announcement about Volt deliveries starting in North and South Carolina, it looks like its time to for me to get serious about getting one.

I have test driven the car twice, once back in November during the Volt Tour, but that was too short to really get a feel for the car. However, there is demo car now at a dealer in Cary, NC, that I was able to get a longer test drive in, and was really impressed.

When I asked about ordering, they said they had allocations that would likely be delivered in November, and wanted a $2500-3000 deposit. That seemed pretty steep to me, just to reserve a place in line.

I'm really interested in the car, and would like to be able to get one before the end of the year (although I would like the MyLink option, so I'm not sure if that's possible with the delayed availability of MyLink), but am a little leery of not getting the best deal from a dealer, so I thought I'd ask the advice of the group here, particularly for this area (the triangle area of NC).

Anyone ordered/received a Volt in this area (from a local dealer) yet? Any dealers anyone has had a particularly good experience with? Is a $2500 deposit too high (as it seems to me) or is this normal for the Volt due to its limited availability right now?

I placed my order with Sir Walter in Raleigh for 1k down. They have a 2nd allocation for Nov/Dec but I think it may be sold already. Careful with Hendrick, they were charging 5k over sticker for the Camaros when they came out. The dealership in Zebulon had an open allocation a few months ago and they don't charge Doc fees, there is also a dealer in Wendell that is pretty high volume so they may get more than one.

I will Ditto getting a firm price before any deposit, i.e. MSRP or less. If you are serous and the price is to your liking then any deposit should be acceptable.

There are still something like 125 MY 2011 Volts available out there if you want one sooner. One might fit you trim preferences and you can get a firm price. Contact the Volt Advisors if interested.

You'll like the car. It is impressive.

Try contacting the Volt Advisors. That group is really good at matching customers with dealers. I'd also consider Steverino's suggestion about MY 2011s. Finally, Trevor from the Volt Advisor Group said that later availability means towards November.

FWIW $2500-$3000 seems steep to me but I'd worry more about allocations and a dealer that is known for fair dealing than the amount of the deposit.

I agree you'll like the car - I love my Volt.

You may want to check around, frequently utilizing the Chevrolet web page (live chat, as well as a vehicle locater they have).

I wanted to buy a Volt sooner or later, but not pay a premium over sticker. I utilized the chat to find 3 Volts within 90 miles of me that were available for a test drive. The first dealer wanted $5,000 over sticker - no deal! The second had one in the showroom and was asking sticker. I drove my Volt out of there that afternoon. When I woke up that morning, I had no intention of buying a car that day. But I had done my homework, especially the interest rate from my credit union, and got the dealer to match the CU rate through their financing source (if I had waited for my credit union to cut a check the next day, someone else would have gotten my Volt - as it was, I bought it out from under someone who had been working on a lease with another salesman.) The only thing they got me for was $150 for the wheel lock package, which was way overpriced, but they wouldn't take them off to reduce the price by $150. Not worth being a deal breaker to me.

The selling dealer is about 45 miles away. As for service, I've been taking it to my local Chevy dealer, which is about 3 miles away. It's only needed to be there 3 times in the 8,200 miles driven; only once for a warranty repair, but this dealer is very understanding and very technically savvy. I had bought another Chevy from them earlier and I take my Yukon XL there for customer pay work, so I've built up a good relation with them. They realize they didn't have a Volt to sell me, so they are cool with it and the servicing works well. Not always the case, unfortunately, if you buy from one dealer and get it serviced by another.

Anyway, I encourage you to keep looking, Anteman, and with production starting up, you may be the proud owner of a Volt sooner than you expected.

Since I'm also in NC, I will be talking to the dealers soon. Luckily there are about 11 dealers in the 40 mile radius from my house.

In addition to Sir Walter and Hendrick in Cary, I'm also going to talk to Bob Murray in Raleigh, J&M of Zebulon, Hendrick of Durham, Boyd of Oxford, Hiester of Fuquay-Varina, University in Wendell, Deacon Jones of Smithfield, Hubert Vester of Wilson, Ellington of Creedmoor.

I will stay away from servicing it at Bob Murray of Raleigh, they stink when we have service with our Saturn.

There are still something like 125 MY 2011 Volts available out there if you want one sooner. One might fit you trim preferences and you can get a firm price. Contact the Volt Advisors if interested.

I believe the 125 Volts that Cars.com show are all Demo cars. I called on a 1/2 dozen in New York state and everyone was a demo car that they could not sell until they had it for 6 months. I know that a number of them will be able to be sold in September.

If you really want one call the Volt Advisor and they can locate one.

I, too, have been considering the Volt for some time. And I've been lurking on the boards here the last couple months. It's a great resource for owners, and prospective buyers!

Anyways, my wife and I are very interested in a Volt as our next vehicle. One of our cars' leases expires March of next year, and it is this one that we'd replace with a Volt. So, we have time to wait, but I am thinking I don't want to wait until the lease is completely up because I do want to take advantage of either the tax credit in this tax year or the great lease offers for the Volt (assuming they will still be available as long as the tax credit is).

So, I'd be willing to take on the extra lease for the 3 months overlap and get a Volt in December. I'm in Arizona, so the closest state selling Volts is California, and I'm willing to go there to get one.

What would be the best approach? I see some are generally available, but I do believe the Volt will catch on soon to a broader audience and think they will be just as hard (if not even harder to come by) later this year. Can I find a dealer in SoCal to put down a $1000 refundable deposit and have it available for delivery by end of year now? And will that still work if I want to lease?

Thanks for any advice you can give! Hoping to get to test drive one soon as well!

Since you're in Arizona I'm assuming LA or San Diego would be the most convenient locations. Noel Park and I bought ours from George Chevrolet in LA. Rusty bought his from a dealer in San Diego. There is also a "Good Dealer" thread that lists other dealers that people used, and I believe that has a few more LA/SanDiego dealers on it. The salesman at George was very straightforward about what allocations were available and so forth so I believe that if they have an open allocation that would work if you had a timeline. I didn't lease but I did ask if the lease was available and was told it was. No doubt you could get the same treatment and a lease deal at other dealers in SoCal as well. Note that if you lease the lessor, not you, gets the tax rebate. In this case you wouldn't need care about getting the car before the end of the year. You'd have to do that only if you buy the car since in that case you not the finance company would be entitled to the rebate.

You might also PM Volt Advisor Trevor. The Advisors have been very helpful for people looking for Volts as well.

You should know that regardless of the car you're replacing you'll be much happier with the Volt! LOL

Finally, you might want to take your leased car to CarMax and see what they'd pay you for it. Used car prices are trending higher than lease buy out prices on some vehicles, and, if that is the case, selling might get you out of a couple of months of payments and put a few bucks in your pocket. Something to consider anyway.

Cool, thanks for the advice! LA or SD would be fine, but there are likely some dealers in the Palm Springs area also (which will be about 2 hours less drive from PHX). I'll have to cross-reference the dealers in that area with the "Good Dealers" thread.

I understand the rebate situation with the lease. But its why the lease prices are so low. You are right since I wouldn't be claiming it, it won't matter the tax year. But I am also worried that the tax credit will evaporate. The whole political arena w.r.t. the budget, deficit, taxes, and debt limit are likely to have some toll on tax benefits and I'm worried that this one could go bye-bye.

I've used CarMax to sell a car before and you are right that its worth a shot, no risk to see what it might get. We drive very few miles compared to what we are allowed. We have about 18K miles on it and we're 30 months into the lease. It was a 1000 per month lease (the lowest they would offer at the time). So, I'll have to compare the residual to what CarMax would give. I wouldn't want to deal with selling it privately otherwise, unless I felt very strongly I could sell it quickly and for a good amount over the residual. But CarMax is hassle free. With the low miles, and the immaculate condition I generally keep my cars, its a good possibility it'll allow me to get out of the lease early as you suggest.

So, thanks again for the great ideas! Would love to get a Volt, from what I've read, seen, and know. Of course, I would like a test drive, but I'm betting that will just make me want it more!