THINKING OF BUYING A VOLT

[Palsan]

I am considering of buying volt in next couple of weeks,But ,i am looking for some more info as I have certain concerns.I tried to read as many threads I could.Most of the comments I came across are from new volt owners.I am traditionally a Japanese & German car fan,driving my second E320 Mercedes and actually also considering replacing my E320 with Newer E350.But Volt intrigues me I would like to buy.
Is there anybody who has owned the Volt longer than 1 year and tell me about the Quality, wear and service after puting over 15 or 20000 miles .

[DonC]

Can't help with the miles but after over 15 months the Volt has been flawless. Last few cars were Japanese or German "luxury" models (BMW, Lexus, Acura, no MB). No contest as to which I prefer. Plus it was thousands less and costs thousands less to run. Interior is not as nice -- you can see that for yourself -- but every bit as serviceable. Far less NVH. Slower by the numbers but quicker off the line and more responsive in real world traffic.

Liked these other cars. Love the Volt.

[Austin]

I have had mine for 13000 miles,15 months. Absolutely perfect so far, haven't had it in for any service so far. Fun to drive, good high speed cruiser. Pprevious car 2003 porsche911, before that Bmw325. Like volt better. 148 life mpg (plus electricity) Far exceeded my expectations.

[Steverino]

Over a year and almost 19,000 miles. I have had zero issues with the car.

Been to the dealer only three times: I caught a Check Engine Light from a public charger that was then reset by the dealer (free). This likely would have gone away on its own after a few charge cycles, but I did not know that at the time. I had my passenger air bag nudged 1/8" to match the horizontal door lines (free), and I had the battery tunnel upgrade (all new Volts have this from the factory) also free.

The Volt has been extremely dependable, solid, and fun. My neighbor is big on Mercedes. After a test drive he pronounced the Volt a better drive. YMMV

[jegund]

Here's my experience with my 2011 Volt I've owned the last 13+ months. I live in NH, have a 50 mile commute each way and plugin at work also. So I do 2 full charges per day. I've driven over 31,000 miles and over 20,000 are electric. I never expected this, but during the summer months I make my commute all on electric. Sometime with 4 miles to spare on the battery, but usually only 1 or 2 miles to spare. To do that I do drive at the speed limit or just above. About half my commute is on back roads and half on highway at 55-60 mph. During the past winter I averaged about 35 miles electric even when it was very cold. On very cold days the ICE would come on for a few minutes several times during my commute to warm the battery but still I got 35 miles on electric.
We did not have much snow but the few times I did drive in snow the Volt was very sure footed. The front air dam was not harmed by the center road build-up of snow and slush and it did 'plow' a few times.
So after 30,000 miles, several weeks ago I had my highest ever electric range. I drove to work, and still had 6 miles range showing on the battery. Never had that much before. The car still runs like new and is still quiet, no rattles, brakes and tires still great. Other then having to replace the charge cord the first month I had the Volt there has been no problems whatsoever. I really like the car and would recommend to anybody as long as they do their homework and make sure they have a place to plugin that is convenient and upto code. What I like the best: Last stop in a gas station was mid June on the way home from vacation in Maine and using Sport mode on the weekends! I never had a luxury car before so I cannot comment on that but to me the Volt is heaven.
Good luck in your decision.

[PatsVolt]

I have done almost 30 K miles so far, just 200 miles short of that number. I have had zero problems, and one minor SW glitch which only happened once and cleared it's self. First year did 20 K miles which turned out to be 50% on electric and 50% on gas. We drove the car in all seasons and weather conditions, took long trips and short, commuted everyday to work. And this is the most fun to drive car I have ever owned. The longest trip we took gave us a gas economy figure of 47 MPG. Our current life time MPG is 95. The care is solid, is quiet as any car out there. It handles very well, as good as any luxury car out there as far as I am concerned. Test drive one for yourself, it only took about 10 minutes to convince me and my wife (very important) that this was the car I wanted to have for the long run.

Pat

[saghost]

Just do it. 93% of Volt owners can't be wrong:

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/01/c...r-satisfactio/

Mine's still short of your specified time (10 months and 10k miles,) but it's flawless. There isn't another car that's anywhere near as nice to have (well, maybe the new Model S, if you can get your hands on one [at least twice the money.])

[frankydude]

My wife ordered her black Volt in october 2011, and finally received it in april 2012.
She is very happy with the Volt, gets 205mpg, of a fast accelerating and silent car.

While waiting to receive my wife's car, I studied it and understood how awesome that car seems.
I searched, and found a 2011 fully loaded Volt that I brought back to Montreal.
I did 2500 milles on my last fuel tank, filled on may 2 2012, and I still have 50% of the tank remaining.
I get a better mpg than my wife, and I am totally satisfied with this extraordinary car.

We did not have any issues, problems nor visits to the dealer since our purchases.

morale: if you wait to buy a Volt, you will ask yourself later why you did wait so long before getting one!

Francois & Line
B2653 & C19249

[Volt779]

I've had our first Volt (no. 779) for about 15 mos and have driven it over 14,000 miles. An over-torqued brake light that caused it to stay on resulted in a jump and a trip to the dealer with around 400 miles on the odometer. Otherwise, no issues whatsoever.

Second Volt (no. 23001) is about two months old and has around 1100 miles - no problems.

Our immediate previous cars were a Saab convertible and an E38 BMW 740i sport. I loved both of those cars but found the Volt to be more technologically compelling and more cost-efficient to operate. Before that we had an E-class Mercedes, an Audi A4, a BMW 525i as well as a VW Passat.

Honestly, what other car can you buy today that has all of the technology and innovation that the Volt has for under $40,000 after incentives/tax credits?

In addition to the fact that the Volt is an extremely well-designed and well-engineering car, my wife and I also decided that it was important for us to make a commitment to buying products made here in America by American companies. It's not always easy (let's face it, it's only in the last 10 years that the Big Three have been making some world-class products) but the Volt was a no-brainer. When I occasionally notice the Hamtramck sticker on our door jamb, it makes me feel good to know that we are supporting the hard-working folks in that factory.

[voltoronto]

I'm very happy with my Volt. Previous car was a mini, which I loved too. Enjoyed driving the mini for almost 8 years, 10 months with the Volt, enjoying driving it (though for entirely different driving experiences).

Only trouble is, I'm now obsessed with trying not to use gas...97.2% of my driving has been electric. You also might not be able to stop talking about it anybody who expresses interest

Go for it!