So many numbers

[holland]

Brand new here and looking for some answers. I'm having trouble finding out what people are actually paying per month. My dealership knows that I'm a guarantee as a customer and they love me. I've told them I wouldn't be able to afford a Volt since I'm currently trying to rebuild my credit score and they'd have to wait a year. No biggie.

What I'm wondering is how low can I get a monthly payment down to on a base model Volt? Sticker says $39,995. Is the $7,500 tax credit still applicable? How much will my trade in take off? My previous car is a 2006 Cobalt and she has served me well, but with a baby in the household, a car that is easier to get in and out of is looking better. My dealer keeps asking for me to trade her in and they said about $5,000 for her and KBB isn't far off.

Also, has anyone been able to work out a deal where you do "free" advertising for the dealership (say a giant vinyl appliqué to the hood and sides) and get even more knocked off? I've test driven the Cruze Eco the same day, stick shift and just found it to be lacking something in the engine department. The Volt was an instant love. Any advice out there?

[DonC]

Welcome to the forum!

If you want to lease there are some very good lease deals. First you need to negotiate the price. Some people have gotten a few thousand below invoice. Then you apply the lease cash which is roughly $5K. Then you subtract your down payment. You add the tax credit to the residual. This makes the residual fairly high -- 60% of MSRP for 12K miles per year. There are other fees like an acquisition fee and so forth, but basically you take the purchase price minus the lease cash minus your downpayment minus the residual and plus any extra fees. That's how it's done.

There is also a very good 0% 72 month purchase option. Your monthly payments would be higher but it's probably a better deal financially if you can take advantage of the $7500 tax credit.

No idea about the advertising. Haven't heard of anyone doing it.

[holland]

I was going for the 0% interest for 72 months. Our dealer doesn't do lease deals since we're in a rural area and milage restrictions would be confusing. But would my trade in for the down payment and the tax deal make this car affordable enough?

[bonaire]

I have to give just a little bit of "fatherly advice". Consider the issue of looking only at monthly payments. You could buy one and use the 72-month ally 0% loan and have slightly-higher monthly payments than a lease, then sell it after 3-years and have spent less than if you lease and give it back. (maybe). You have to look at it overall in terms of personal financial budget and not in terms of monthly payments. If you are rebuilding credit score, you may be in the midst of a decision now that helped lower that credit score in the past. The Volt is very nice overall but it's a big ticket item to add to your personal budget "nut".

What about hunting for a used Volt? If you bought one for say $30K and loved it for a year but the allure goes away (which it will) then you could sell it for a few thousand less or even the same amount and not have spent too much at all. There will be a lot of used Volts coming off leases in late 2013 into 2014. Some owners are selling some used now and dealers have demo models with a few thousand miles on them and they could offer them for less. I bought a 2011 last week - though I could have gone with 2012 and higher price. I did it because I have been keeping myself on a pretty tight budget the last 10 years. It's helped a lot in terms of savings and also boosted credit score to 830's.

Remember that leasing is "renting" a car for 3 years. You don't own it and just like a bank loan, you never own it until you hold title to it. The lease deal in July is still pretty good. Go in there and tell them you don't want to spend more than say $350/mo and they will work with you. You won't get all the options available - but you should be able to lease either a base 2012 or a more-loaded 2011 Volt for about that much. I'd really consider buying one and then you control more options like when you sell, for how much and if well-maintained (cleaned, not banged up) a Volt will hold its value higher than most other new ICE cars.

[awm]

I've told them I wouldn't be able to afford a Volt since I'm currently trying to rebuild my credit score and they'd have to wait a year.

As we know, the Ally lease deal is excellent for people who are ok in renting the car for a few years. The 0%/72 months financing is also great but only good IMHO for the ones who can take advantage of the $7,500 tax credit. But these lease and financing deals assume an excellent credit history. Based on what you are saying, you are rebuilding your credit score and therefore not in the "excellent" category which means that the interest rate penalty will likely be so big that both leasing and financing will not make sense.

[Henry_FL]

More "fatherly advice", don't look to getting a 40K vehicle to rebuild your credit.

For one quarter the cost you could have a very good used 4 door sedan, that would provide years of service while you use the funds that would have gone to a higher payment to clean up on your past debts. A key component of good credit is good money management, just like maintaining weight about eating the right foods, not diets.

[Cheezmo]

I can second this. I had a trade in, and a $ figure in my head of what I would be willing to spend per month based on some rough calculations that assumed a decent value for the trade in, money factors I saw on the internet, etc. I had a price on the car I wanted from an internet ad that was discounting it a bit (from another dealer) and started from that, but in my mind, I wanted a certain lease $/month. $300.

So, I got the quote on my trade in which was low as expected, got the price matched to the advertised discount, and asked them to work the lease numbers with no additional down payment. They came back with something like $280/month.

Hmm. I thought... not bad (but didn't show it of course). I was still a little disappointed in the trade in, so decided to shoot for $250. The question came, "what would it take for you to take this car today?". I said... "Get the monthly payment down to $250". I didn't care if they changed the money factor, dropped capitalization cost or gave me more for the trade in. I just focussed on what I wanted to pay monthly.

They bumped up the trade in, got me to $246/month and we made the deal. Since I know I am going to lease it for 3 years and move on, I wasn't concerned about residuals, which would to me be the other factor to consider if you weren't just thinking short term.

I have to give just a little bit of "fatherly advice". Consider the issue of looking only at monthly payments

...

Remember that leasing is "renting" a car for 3 years. You don't own it and just like a bank loan, you never own it until you hold title to it. The lease deal in July is still pretty good. Go in there and tell them you don't want to spend more than say $350/mo and they will work with you. You won't get all the options available - but you should be able to lease either a base 2012 or a more-loaded 2011 Volt for about that much. I'd really consider buying one and then you control more options like when you sell, for how much and if well-maintained (cleaned, not banged up) a Volt will hold its value higher than most other new ICE cars.

[ronr64]

Are you looking for car advice or financial advice? Car advice - the Volt is a great car and you will love it. Financial advice - based on the little bit of info you provided I would say keep driving the Cobalt. The $450 - $600 per month you will pay getting a Volt will pay for a lot of service on that Cobalt. And diapers, formula, little league fees, bikes, lego's, etc. etc.

None of us know your situation but if money is too tight to swing a new car like a Volt just remember no matter how great a car it is - and the Volt is - it is still just a car and it is pretty far down the priority list. If you cant swing it now consider opening a savings account and putting in the difference between what your Cobalt is currently costing you and what a Volt would cost you a month. You would be able to test whether or not you can afford it without the commitment and depending upon how long you keep it going when Volt 2.0 comes along you will be ready and in the meantime you will have a financial cushion for life's unexpected surprises.

Also make sure you had(or more importantly will have) a net payment of at least $7500 in Federal taxes as that is what the Volt rebate is - a deduction in what you owe. I don't know if the Volt rebate can allow you to get more money back then what you paid in so tread carefully if you don't pay North of $7500! Unless you are leasing. If you are leasing then you don't own the car the lease company does and they get the $7500 credit so it is not an issue then.

[ShannonVolt]

More "fatherly advice", don't look to getting a 40K vehicle to rebuild your credit.

For one quarter the cost you could have a very good used 4 door sedan, that would provide years of service while you use the funds that would have gone to a higher payment to clean up on your past debts. A key component of good credit is good money management, just like maintaining weight about eating the right foods, not diets.

That's sound judgement right there.

My $41,000 Volt with $10,000 down @ 0% for 72 months gives me a payment of $435 per month (perfect credit). The tax credit that I'll receive next year will go toward my monthly payments for one full year. It will actually "feel" like 3 years I could stretch out my tax credit since I used to spend $200 a month on fuel from my previous pickup.

[mwfromva]

Yep, these guys have it right. I came from a 2009 Dodge Ram to this car, mainly to reduce my monthly payment but also to save gas. The SMARTEST thing to do would have been to buy a used economy car with the equity in my trade. You have that already. Fortunately for me, my credit is great and my son is out of diapers. Keep what you have for a few more years, get yourself straight, and buy/lease the next generation Volt.

Oh and the Volt can't be much easier to get in and out of!