I may own a 2012 Volt in about the next 2 to 5 days, what is a good deal on a lease?

[silvercorvette]

A little background first, I don't need another car, I just want this car real bad. The car is not going to save me money but I joined this forum in 2008 and have wanted one many months before I joined this forum.

I owned two Lexus hybrids (one at a time), the first was an SUV and the second was 450H??, real fast, almost as fast as my Corvette but it could get between 27 to 33 MPG. I think it was about 16 months ago I got rid of the Lexus hybrid and got a Dodge diesel truck. Not only is diesel more expensive than gas it only gets about 12 to 14 MPH maybe 15 if the planets are in perfect alignment. I don't regret the decision because I wanted to travel and need something big and powerful enough to haul a camper.

At first glance it would seem like a no brainer that the Volt would save me money but #1 I don't drive very much and when I do put on a lot of miles it will be on a long distance trip with my trailer/camper.

In the 16months I have owned the truck I only drove it a total of about 11,000 miles. It costs a lot of money to fill up the truck, the last fill up was over $100, maybe $120. But when you consider the fact the last time I filled up was late July and the low fuel light came on today that $120 fill up lasted a very long time
I also happen to be retired and my income level isn't enough to qualify me for the $7,500 tax credit.

A few days ago I came back to this forum to see what was going on and I got excited all over again. I signed up to one of the places that does referrals and got 3 dealer referrals. I had never saw a volt up close and wanted to sit in one and see how comfortable it was because I have back and knee problems. I made an appointment to visit a dealer Friday but got sidetracked and didn’t get to a dealer till Saturday 11/12/11.

I was very impressed with the ride and comfort but had a hard time getting in and out because of my back problems, but I have a problem with all cars except for my truck.

The dealer had one Volt that was sold and one demo and he told me I could order one at full list and have it in a couple months. He told me that no one in the area is selling them at a discount and if I go elsewhere I will have to pay over list.

After I left the dealer I dropped off a prescription at Walmart and had a 1/2 to kill while I waited so I called another dealer that was further away and discovered he had cars to sell.

The past few days I had been asking a lot of questions about options on this forum but if I want to get something now I can not choose options or colors. Even though I can't chose options the information I gained was very useful

The sales person had two similar cars, one had the premium white paint and the other was silver. There are not a lot of different option choices and these cars both had the wheel option, the backup camera, leather, the GPS NAV system and Bose radio which I did not want but I have to admit the radio display looked cool, and the reason I did not like the NAV was because it could not be used while the car was moving. I knew from what I learned on this forum the On Star could route my NAV while I was moving, but I did not plan on keeping on star after the free 3 years. My mind was changed about keeping On Star when he pointed out that all those cool smart phone apps will not work with out OnStar. I am aware that if I don’t have On Star I can still start the car with the remote if I am within 200 feet.

If I want the car I can probably have it as early as Monday, I don’t remember the exact price quote but I believe it was between $800 and $750 under list. The only thing I am waiting for is what it will cost to lease.

I have read of people getting good lease deals, one person mentioned $350 per month on a demo with 10,000 miles, the car I saw only had 25 miles.

The question is what is a good lease deal? It was late on the day so I didn't get any lease numbers and all car dealers are closed on Sunday in SC so I have to wait till Monday

If I don’t like the numbers on the lease I will probably buy the car, but my reason for leasing is I expect big improvements in the next 3 years and I am thinking that 3 years from now I will want the newer one hopeful with improved battery range and it will be easy to just turn in the car in 3 years and get a new on.

Any suggestions or answers to questions I forgot to ask will be appreciated.

[voltage692]

Wow, all that and you could have had your answer on lease deals without a post by just doing a search. Discussed many times.

A little background first, I don't need another car, I just want this car real bad. The car is not going to save me money but I joined this forum in 2008 and have wanted one many months before I joined this forum.

I owned two Lexus hybrids (one at a time), the first was an SUV and the second was 450H??, real fast, almost as fast as my Corvette but it could get between 27 to 33 MPG. I think it was about 16 months ago I got rid of the Lexus hybrid and got a Dodge diesel truck. Not only is diesel more expensive than gas it only gets about 12 to 14 MPH maybe 15 if the planets are in perfect alignment. I don't regret the decision because I wanted to travel and need something big and powerful enough to haul a camper.

At first glance it would seem like a no brainer that the Volt would save me money but #1 I don't drive very much and when I do put on a lot of miles it will be on a long distance trip with my trailer/camper.

In the 16months I have owned the truck I only drove it a total of about 11,000 miles. It costs a lot of money to fill up the truck, the last fill up was over $100, maybe $120. But when you consider the fact the last time I filled up was late July and the low fuel light came on today that $120 fill up lasted a very long time
I also happen to be retired and my income level isn't enough to qualify me for the $7,500 tax credit.

A few days ago I came back to this forum to see what was going on and I got excited all over again. I signed up to one of the places that does referrals and got 3 dealer referrals. I had never saw a volt up close and wanted to sit in one and see how comfortable it was because I have back and knee problems. I made an appointment to visit a dealer Friday but got sidetracked and didn’t get to a dealer till Saturday 11/12/11.

I was very impressed with the ride and comfort but had a hard time getting in and out because of my back problems, but I have a problem with all cars except for my truck.

The dealer had one Volt that was sold and one demo and he told me I could order one at full list and have it in a couple months. He told me that no one in the area is selling them at a discount and if I go elsewhere I will have to pay over list.

After I left the dealer I dropped off a prescription at Walmart and had a 1/2 to kill while I waited so I called another dealer that was further away and discovered he had cars to sell.

The past few days I had been asking a lot of questions about options on this forum but if I want to get something now I can not choose options or colors. Even though I can't chose options the information I gained was very useful

The sales person had two similar cars, one had the premium white paint and the other was silver. There are not a lot of different option choices and these cars both had the wheel option, the backup camera, leather, the GPS NAV system and Bose radio which I did not want but I have to admit the radio display looked cool, and the reason I did not like the NAV was because it could not be used while the car was moving. I knew from what I learned on this forum the On Star could route my NAV while I was moving, but I did not plan on keeping on star after the free 3 years. My mind was changed about keeping On Star when he pointed out that all those cool smart phone apps will not work with out OnStar. I am aware that if I don’t have On Star I can still start the car with the remote if I am within 200 feet.

If I want the car I can probably have it as early as Monday, I don’t remember the exact price quote but I believe it was between $800 and $750 under list. The only thing I am waiting for is what it will cost to lease.

I have read of people getting good lease deals, one person mentioned $350 per month on a demo with 10,000 miles, the car I saw only had 25 miles.

The question is what is a good lease deal? It was late on the day so I didn't get any lease numbers and all car dealers are closed on Sunday in SC so I have to wait till Monday

If I don’t like the numbers on the lease I will probably buy the car, but my reason for leasing is I expect big improvements in the next 3 years and I am thinking that 3 years from now I will want the newer one hopeful with improved battery range and it will be easy to just turn in the car in 3 years and get a new on.

Any suggestions or answers to questions I forgot to ask will be appreciated.

[silvercorvette]

Wow, all that and you could have had your answer on lease deals without a post by just doing a search. Discussed many times.

thank you for the helpful reply

[voltage692]

You're welcome.

thank you for the helpful reply

[AySz88]

From a quick search, I think that he's talking about this thread - but since he didn't specify....

[voltage692]

My mistake. I thought someone retired would have the time on their hands to do their own search, I didn't realize I had to teach them how to fish and do the fishing for them too.

[stevet321]

voltage692
My mistake. I thought someone retired would have the time on their hands to do their own search, I didn't realize I had to teach them how to fish and do the fishing for them too.

You would think your time would be better spent moving to another topic, rather than smarta$$ing someone else's question. What a child.

[bonaire]

>> $350 per month on a demo with 10,000 miles

I think this was a demo with 10K per year mileage allowance on the lease and not with 10K already on the car. A demo with that kind of mileage is rare. That is used-car territory. I think the best lease possible is one you afford without cash concerns. It should be a fair price too with as low as possible up-front costs. Ask your dealer for $350/mo and see what they say. That is for a base volt - the more options you add, please expect a higher lease payment. If you add Navigation and leather seats and backup camera and .... it does add up. The lower mileage allowance per year you get, the better it should be for your payments. It's hard to find any car at a $40K price that leases for so low a monthly payment. Remember, leasing is not owning just as a mortgage is not home ownership (in my finance-mind). Until I hold that title in my hand, I keep reminding myself I'm driving someone else's car.

Ignoring the replies above, I have to ask "why do you want the car?" I'm also in the market for one to replace a quite-usable car that I currently have. Do you have a desire to cut back on oil usage? Enjoy the smooth quiet ride of an EV over a gas-burner? Want to participate in the newest technology as it arrives? We have to think that the gen-1 Volt did it right but in 5 years, you may also find even newer technology leapfrogging it. That seems to be why some people lease.

What I'm doing is trying to pick the next car using the best choices possible. High mileage, high impact on oil usage, cool factor and technical features. I may skimp out on some of the options to keep the price down as well. I do intend to buy rather than lease and have spent a lot of time learning about the Volt, Leaf and other EVs and the Volt wins out mainly with the on-board engine to keep it going after the charge is depleted.

[jkoeller]

My mistake. I thought someone retired would have the time on their hands to do their own search, I didn't realize I had to teach them how to fish and do the fishing for them too.

Rather than be helpful (or silent), lets pick on the potential Volt buyer that came back to the forum to ask a simple question before his purchase. Never mind that having positive interaction with other Volt owners and sharing his excitement about joining our little owners club may have been another reason for starting his own thread. Also, some retirees are actually busier after retirement than they ever were in their working years.

SilverCorvette, I'm here checking the latest postings several times a day and I don't recall seeing any recent specifics when it comes to lease terms and monthly payments... at least not enough to be able to tell good lease terms from a bad lease terms. I purchased my Volt, but from what I gather from older posts, the terms vary depending on what bank the lease is through, and even that may depend on your specific dealer.

Has anyone leased recently that wouldn't mind disclosing what the terms & payments are?

I've been driving my Volt for a month now, and I'm confident you'll absolutely LOVE it no matter the lease terms.

[silvercorvette]

>> $350 per month on a demo with 10,000 miles

I think this was a demo with 10K per year mileage allowance on the lease and not with 10K already on the car. A demo with that kind of mileage is rare. That is used-car territory. I think the best lease possible is one you afford without cash concerns. It should be a fair price too with as low as possible up-front costs. Ask your dealer for $350/mo and see what they say. That is for a base volt - the more options you add, please expect a higher lease payment. If you add Navigation and leather seats and backup camera and .... it does add up. The lower mileage allowance per year you get, the better it should be for your payments. It's hard to find any car at a $40K price that leases for so low a monthly payment. Remember, leasing is not owning just as a mortgage is not home ownership (in my finance-mind). Until I hold that title in my hand, I keep reminding myself I'm driving someone else's car.

Ignoring the replies above, I have to ask "why do you want the car?" I'm also in the market for one to replace a quite-usable car that I currently have. Do you have a desire to cut back on oil usage? Enjoy the smooth quiet ride of an EV over a gas-burner? Want to participate in the newest technology as it arrives? We have to think that the gen-1 Volt did it right but in 5 years, you may also find even newer technology leapfrogging it. That seems to be why some people lease.

What I'm doing is trying to pick the next car using the best choices possible. High mileage, high impact on oil usage, cool factor and technical features. I may skimp out on some of the options to keep the price down as well. I do intend to buy rather than lease and have spent a lot of time learning about the Volt, Leaf and other EVs and the Volt wins out mainly with the on-board engine to keep it going after the charge is depleted.

You are correct, I made a stupid mistake when I read the ad, HERE IS THE THREAD.

As far as reasons for wanting the car there are many, but none of them are based on global warming.climate change. The climate is definitely changing but I don't believe that it is caused by human activity. I do believe that reducing oil consumption is vital to our national security.


I remember signing up a couple decades ago when GM was looking for people to test their electric vehicle I was excited about electric vehicles back then. The reasons for my interest in electric go back even further. I don't know how many people are old enough to remember the long lines of cars with people waiting to buy gas in the 1970s. I hated the fact they we could be held hostage by a foreign country that could cripple us by cutting off our oil supply. The ability to be able to travel even a limited distance without any petrol was a dream of mine ever since the days when we were forced to buy fuel only on odd and even days and limited to 5 or 10 gallon purchases.

I also happen to be a car nut, starting from the time I have been old enough to drive I have driven bought and owned more cars that most rational human beings would it consider it to be excessive. I have probably bought more cars that I have bought pairs of shoes. Getting this car will f an almost 40 year desire.

I did also plan on skimping on options but the car is here in a color I like for almost immediate delivery so I am going to take the plunge, if the lease deal is not good I will just buy the darn thing.