Is $0.555/mile a good deal for Volt?

[Koz]

Interesting, driving the volt mainly on longer trips sure makes the cost equation less attractive. But again I assume if you buy a volt with that commute you have, the purchase was not primarily to save money.

I drive an average of 30 miles everyday even weekends with some long trips here and there, and yearly about 15000 miles+ and 70%+ Electric. My equation would be very diffrent and most likely closer to the 55 cents per mile.

Btw, I would not count $4 gas prices out, just the summer blend will bring it up to $4 in Chicago. And with more money printing on the horizon both in Europe which are doing their stealth printing with LTRO and more QE in the US, to me it looks more likely gas prices will stay high and slowly go higher if things improve.

Actually it's not the longer trips that hurt. While those miles don't "help" the per mile cost as much as electric only miles, it is the lack of mileage overall that really hurts. Even if I still only drive 4,000 electric miles but drove 11,000 gas miles annually, my per mile cost would come down significantly and be in the ballpark of the IRS's $0.555.

I certainly expect gas will reach $4 in some areas, e.g. California, but would a little surprised if it did in my area in the next few months. I certainly wouldn't be shocked to see it happen. I will be more surprised if it stays above $4 US average for an extended period of time this year. While there may be a lot of money printing going on around the world, that is not putting more disposable income into the average Joe's pockets yet. It will be hard for prices to stay at an even less affordable price than today since most of the consumer's elasticity for cost is "spent", IMO. Driving habits and purchasing habits will have to change more and that takes time to affect demand, especially since driving habits are already at a reduced level.

[sinnombre]

I realize this thread has aged , but the solution is very simple if you lease the vehicle .


Example : $400 lease payment + $90 insurance + $25 electricity + $25 gasoline + $40 car washing and maintenance = $580 or a right off of $6960 .

This equals 12,500 miles @ $0.555 and it doesn't matter how few miles you drive .