$399 Lease offer.... Florida

[hodad66]

Just got notification of this offer.....

2012 CHEVROLET VOLT
Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees $399/month 36 month lease.
$2,899 due at signing (after all offers). Tax, title, license, dealer fees
and optional equipment extra. Mileage charge of $0.20 /mile over 36,000 miles

This is the kind of thing that may move me from my Leaf order.........

[N Riley]

hodad66,

Have you not ordered your Leaf yet? I was contacted several weeks ago by email about being able to order mine, but I have not done anything about it yet. Today I got a phone call from Nissan reminding me I can now place my order and wanting to know if I had any unresolved questions about the Leaf. I told the person my only unresolved question was whether or not I really wanted to order the Leaf now, wait to see one in person & test drive it or wait for another competitor vehicle to come available locally (like the Volt).

What is your Leaf status?

[DonC]

Unless there are local rebates the Volt is the slam dunk. The Leaf is about $38K. A comparably equipped Volt is $40.5K. (Hard to compare directly since there are some pluses and minuses but this is pretty close). Given that difference in quality this is not a large number. On balance a $5K-$8K difference would be about right. Also, if you're buying, you get an actual battery warranty with the Volt. You don't really get one with the Leaf (they say you get one but it just warrants that the battery won't degrade more than can be expected, which is more or less undefined).

The big difference is how often you go between forty and sixty miles. The real world range of the Leaf is about 60 miles after you figure you want a 20 mile buffer. The real world range of the Volt is about 40 miles. If you consistently drive more than 40 miles but less than 60 miles a day, and you have one or more other cars, then the Leaf might make sense. You'd be getting a lot of use out of the larger battery. Otherwise it's the Volt.

Note that last year the Leaf was a couple of thousand less and the Volt was a thousand more so the choice was harder. Now it's pretty simple in my mind. Also local rebates or tax credits can be a factor. Last year in CA the Leaf was eligible for a $5K rebate and you got nothing for the Volt (this year it will be $2.5K and $1.5K).

[hodad66]

My order is in..... but I can walk away at any time. So could you.
I'm looking for lease numbers from $350 to $380 on any of them.
Here is a history....

reserved 7-26-2010, EVSE Waiver call 10/19/2010,
RAQ 7-29-2011... White 2012 SV lease, Ordered 7/30/2011,
Schneider EVSE installed (9/15/2011), Delivery "MONTH of DECEMBER 2011"

I drive 5K per year so I don't really need a Volt but I dislike
the light interior in the Leaf. I have seen one and I drove
one on the "tour" in December.
The Orlando Nissan dealer that I signed with wants a "dealer
fee" and if I don't get a proper value for my trade-in... I'll walk.
In the meantime, I drove the Volt and liked it.... so I'm seeing
if a deal will work.

[bonaire]

Dealer fee? Get ready to walk, in my opinion.

Consider a Ford Focus EV? They come out Dec 2011 just like the Leaf. With such low mileage, you really aren't hurting for a big savings vehicle, right? And it's American made with same battery size as the Leaf. The Volt is better for long-miles drivers but under 5K miles in a smaller radius, definitely consider a BEV. And, I think the Ford is prettier than the Leaf.

http://www.ford.com/electric/focuselectric/2012
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2461...-ev-leadership

[hodad66]

Hands down... the Ford looks great!! Negative... loss of trunk space.
I wonder about waiting with the political / economy situation. I couldn't
afford any of these cars without the 7.5K fed deal. Then I would be
looking at a Hyundai or Kia.......

[DonC]

If you only drive 5K a year the obvious best choice is a i-Miev. It's $10K cheaper than a Leaf and will get you form point A to point B. It's also cute. Think of it as the modern day VW Bug.

[hodad66]

I've got the $299 down on that also... just in case. Again, I worry
about Tea Party powered cuts in everything. No fed tax break = no
electric vehicle for me. The whole "electric" car thing for me is not
an economical choice. I simply wanted to support what should have
come about years ago.

To be honest... to buy "electric" from GM seems like sleeping with
the enemy. Their history is so full of resistance to these efforts. On
the other hand it is support for an American company (when we need it)

I did really like driving the Volt.... ;-)

[bonaire]

You cannot lose the $7500 in the next 12-months. It would have to go into the 2012-2013 calendar year (starting Oct 1, 2012) due to fiscal year of the government. The 7500 is for the first 100,000 vehicles sold by each manufacturer. Lots of room there. Possibly they could put it into the IRS code for 2013. I think both Dems and Repubs want to keep this credit going and they're not going to lose all that much tax revenue with it (small volume but even bigger political implication).

Just as the Solar Federal tax credit of 30% of an installation cost is good through 2016 and that is big dollars versus the tax credit for the EVs. They have some repeals in the Obama "QE3 document" but a lot of them apply to subsidies going toward Oil companies (which is good).

Honestly - I might have to suggest the Chevy Cruze ECO model as the "best choice" here. Under $20K (in your budget range) and really good gas mileage. Made in Ohio by Americans. 5K miles at about 33mpg city-ish driving is 151 gallons a year (less if highway use is in play). You then don't have to stretch using the federal rebate for the car. If you need a new car, this is a good value. If you can get by with a used car, consider lobbying your local Chevy dealer to buy their Demo Volt after the first 6-months in use. Probably still can get the 7500 federal credit if they didn't title the demo.

[hodad66]

I have a 2010 Kia Soul with 10K miles so I really don't need a new car.
On the other hand I'm 62 and would like to experience / support an EV
while I can. The Soul gives me 26+ mpg from mostly local driving.

I like trading my cars in around every three years because I NEVER
have problems. Haven't changed a tire in decades! It's my only vice
as I don't drink, gamble, smoke or whore around... ;-) At 5K even
the mileage is not an issue.