Warning, long story ahead.
Permission to skip down to pics, but do not miss the pricing part of the story
Our 2013 Volt's lease is up in a few months. This was the first time I've ever leased, and it was because I wasn't sure this was technology I wanted to "own". Well, over the past 3 years I've become a believer, the '13 is still like new and rock solid approaching 40k miles (we have it til 45k), so for the past few weeks I've been casually looking for the best deal to buy one. My wife and I work in the same building, so most days we drive together and the Volt is the commuter car. Many days we use zero gas.
So I looked around in the usual places (AutoTrader, eBay, craigslist, Cars.com) to get an idea of what's out there. Found a 2013 locally with 49k miles in Silver Topaz Metallic. It had no options, but a "base" Volt is not a bad place to spend time. The only missing things that really bothered me were backup cam and leather-wrapped wheel.....I kinda view those as necessities. A "plus" was my bride would prefer the cloth interior. The car really looked like new, and the GM dealer it was at (here in StL) wanted $13,900 for it, which I felt was a pretty fair deal but I had visions of getting it for 12 Grand ...however it didn't matter because they sold it the day before I was planning to see it in person.
In my poking around I became aware of several "still new" 2014 Volts around the country that in theory should represent a great opportunity for a "deal". The Chevy dealer "second closest" to my house in fact has 3 - a red (cloth interior), a silver (cloth) and a pearl white (leather). Initially I smelled blood in the water there, realizing they've been sitting on these for 2 years and must be sick of looking at them, not to mention dealers pay interest on cars sitting on the lot so these must be a real thorn in their side, or so you'd think. Turns out they still want close to 30 Grand for them! All I can figure is they really did lose their butts on them, and are trying to recover as much as they can. Just not gonna be from me
There was a never-titled '14 on eBay, in Houston, that I looked hard at - it's "Brownstone", a color I really should hate, but actually looks pretty nice. Plus I love the interior, which is beige leather & suede that looks so inviting compared to the black leather cave we've had for 3 years. It's still "new", so I would still get the $7,500 from my rich uncle, but it is a demo with 5,800 miles on it and it doesn't have "Safety Pkg #2" which is something I kinda wanted since it's the ONLY option our '13 doesn't have. Granted it's all stuff a halfway coherent driver should not need, but it's a couple more buttons on the steering wheel and hey - gizmos are fun
Anyway that dealer is firm at $27,500 and I just knew I could do better, plus having 5,800 miles.... if I'm buying "new" I like to know how it's broken in, that the tires have been rotated, etc.
I actually did bid $21,500 on that one, but in e-mailing back n forth with them it became apparent they are stuck on the $27,500. Then figure another maybe $800 to have it shipped up here.
In the midst of all this, I discovered 3 more "new" 2014's in Columbia, MO (right at halfway across the state from me). A black and a white, both leather, and a silver that I think was cloth. I start talking to them by e-mail, interested in the silver or white (because we've had black for 3 years already). I think the silver would have been my first pick, because of how the standard wheels match that color, but it sold while we were going back n forth. Initially they were only discounting the cars about 7 Grand, which still put them in the low-30's. No sale. For that I'd buy a 2017. I had offered (on the white one, which is fully loaded, Safety #1 and #2, heated leather, Bose audio, rear console, even polished alloys) $19k (hey I'm cheap LOL) which they pretty much said "no way", then I bumped it to $21k, then finally I was pretty firm at $22k. In all this I never actually heard a number from them that was under $30k!
Then suddenly she let me know they were working a deal on the silver one, and (to her amazement) they were letting it go for $25k, and that even though the white one listed for more, they would sell it to me for the same price. Quick n easy math, that's a brand new (but 2 year old) forty thousand dollar car for effectively $17,500. I darn near jumped right then, but since I had nothing to lose, I pressed my luck. I told her that was a great offer, that they were definitely moving in the right direction and I appreciated all her efforts (she was very nice this whole time), but that I had located some other new '14s closer to home and I wanted to see what kind of deal could be had on those (yes I was using those local cars to apply pressure halfway across the state, once I had become convinced the dealer in Columbia was a lot more serious about getting them gone).
My tactic worked - I figured they wouldn't want the fish to jump from their hook to someone else's, and the next e-mail came about an hour later: supposedly her sales manager was gone for the day, but she took this to the dealership owner and he said I could have it for $23,240. Meaning my final cost will be $15,700.
SOLD!
As for the car, it's a "still new" loaded 2014 that has been in one of their secondary showrooms for 1.5 years, so not sitting out in the weather. Smells new. Build date of 4/2014, so right at 2 years old in real time. 72 (seventy two) miles on the car, full 8 year/100k warranty begins with us, still on MSO. $99 doc fee.
Seriously who could pass up that deal!?
The entire experience, from initial e-mail negotiation to the purchase which took barely over an hour in person, was totally hassle-free and I heartily recommend Bob McCosh Chevy/GMC/Cadillac/Buick in Columbia, MO. Talk to Nikki or Sonja - they have a happy customer halfway across the state.
Here are pics of the new one, and a pic of our current '13 which I will be trying to put 5k miles on over the next 4 months
Permission to skip down to pics, but do not miss the pricing part of the story
Our 2013 Volt's lease is up in a few months. This was the first time I've ever leased, and it was because I wasn't sure this was technology I wanted to "own". Well, over the past 3 years I've become a believer, the '13 is still like new and rock solid approaching 40k miles (we have it til 45k), so for the past few weeks I've been casually looking for the best deal to buy one. My wife and I work in the same building, so most days we drive together and the Volt is the commuter car. Many days we use zero gas.
So I looked around in the usual places (AutoTrader, eBay, craigslist, Cars.com) to get an idea of what's out there. Found a 2013 locally with 49k miles in Silver Topaz Metallic. It had no options, but a "base" Volt is not a bad place to spend time. The only missing things that really bothered me were backup cam and leather-wrapped wheel.....I kinda view those as necessities. A "plus" was my bride would prefer the cloth interior. The car really looked like new, and the GM dealer it was at (here in StL) wanted $13,900 for it, which I felt was a pretty fair deal but I had visions of getting it for 12 Grand ...however it didn't matter because they sold it the day before I was planning to see it in person.
In my poking around I became aware of several "still new" 2014 Volts around the country that in theory should represent a great opportunity for a "deal". The Chevy dealer "second closest" to my house in fact has 3 - a red (cloth interior), a silver (cloth) and a pearl white (leather). Initially I smelled blood in the water there, realizing they've been sitting on these for 2 years and must be sick of looking at them, not to mention dealers pay interest on cars sitting on the lot so these must be a real thorn in their side, or so you'd think. Turns out they still want close to 30 Grand for them! All I can figure is they really did lose their butts on them, and are trying to recover as much as they can. Just not gonna be from me
There was a never-titled '14 on eBay, in Houston, that I looked hard at - it's "Brownstone", a color I really should hate, but actually looks pretty nice. Plus I love the interior, which is beige leather & suede that looks so inviting compared to the black leather cave we've had for 3 years. It's still "new", so I would still get the $7,500 from my rich uncle, but it is a demo with 5,800 miles on it and it doesn't have "Safety Pkg #2" which is something I kinda wanted since it's the ONLY option our '13 doesn't have. Granted it's all stuff a halfway coherent driver should not need, but it's a couple more buttons on the steering wheel and hey - gizmos are fun
Anyway that dealer is firm at $27,500 and I just knew I could do better, plus having 5,800 miles.... if I'm buying "new" I like to know how it's broken in, that the tires have been rotated, etc.
I actually did bid $21,500 on that one, but in e-mailing back n forth with them it became apparent they are stuck on the $27,500. Then figure another maybe $800 to have it shipped up here.
In the midst of all this, I discovered 3 more "new" 2014's in Columbia, MO (right at halfway across the state from me). A black and a white, both leather, and a silver that I think was cloth. I start talking to them by e-mail, interested in the silver or white (because we've had black for 3 years already). I think the silver would have been my first pick, because of how the standard wheels match that color, but it sold while we were going back n forth. Initially they were only discounting the cars about 7 Grand, which still put them in the low-30's. No sale. For that I'd buy a 2017. I had offered (on the white one, which is fully loaded, Safety #1 and #2, heated leather, Bose audio, rear console, even polished alloys) $19k (hey I'm cheap LOL) which they pretty much said "no way", then I bumped it to $21k, then finally I was pretty firm at $22k. In all this I never actually heard a number from them that was under $30k!
Then suddenly she let me know they were working a deal on the silver one, and (to her amazement) they were letting it go for $25k, and that even though the white one listed for more, they would sell it to me for the same price. Quick n easy math, that's a brand new (but 2 year old) forty thousand dollar car for effectively $17,500. I darn near jumped right then, but since I had nothing to lose, I pressed my luck. I told her that was a great offer, that they were definitely moving in the right direction and I appreciated all her efforts (she was very nice this whole time), but that I had located some other new '14s closer to home and I wanted to see what kind of deal could be had on those (yes I was using those local cars to apply pressure halfway across the state, once I had become convinced the dealer in Columbia was a lot more serious about getting them gone).
My tactic worked - I figured they wouldn't want the fish to jump from their hook to someone else's, and the next e-mail came about an hour later: supposedly her sales manager was gone for the day, but she took this to the dealership owner and he said I could have it for $23,240. Meaning my final cost will be $15,700.
SOLD!
As for the car, it's a "still new" loaded 2014 that has been in one of their secondary showrooms for 1.5 years, so not sitting out in the weather. Smells new. Build date of 4/2014, so right at 2 years old in real time. 72 (seventy two) miles on the car, full 8 year/100k warranty begins with us, still on MSO. $99 doc fee.
Seriously who could pass up that deal!?
The entire experience, from initial e-mail negotiation to the purchase which took barely over an hour in person, was totally hassle-free and I heartily recommend Bob McCosh Chevy/GMC/Cadillac/Buick in Columbia, MO. Talk to Nikki or Sonja - they have a happy customer halfway across the state.
Here are pics of the new one, and a pic of our current '13 which I will be trying to put 5k miles on over the next 4 months