Quote from piezoe:
Isn't the real problem for the Volt, assuming we just have faith that the battery will last in the Phoenix Heat and the Minnesota winter for 100K miles, that the economics don't make any sense when you put the price of electrical energy together with the purchase price, licensing and insurance minus incentives. Won't a new lexus, accura, infinity, camry or prius leave you ahead financially after 100K miles? What is the average gas price per gallon needed here to break even on these options. (I'm paying about 9.5 cents per KW-hr.)
You're the official car guy here. Can you do the math for us? I wouldn't know where to begin, other than to start researching the numbers. But you must have them at your finger tips, or maybe even in your head.
I can see buying a volt if I just don't care about the numbers, but I do care about those numbers, (The CO2 argument doesn't hold for me because my power comes from a coal burning plant, and I know that I only get 30% of the energy released delivered to my home as electrical energy when coal burns to CO2 and water . So unless I am saving money, I'm not buying. )
[If I can do a little GM bashing here, it seems that in the past GM got to the point that they wrongly thought they could sell anything if they spent enough on advertising. The idea seemed to be sell the car at near cost and make your profit on parts and service. But it turned out that once people learned they were selling junk they stopped buying no matter the advertising. Is that the plan here. Advertise the hell out of the Volt, even though it doesn't make financial sense for the buyer? I think GM's first priority ought to be to recognize that there are not quite enough stupid buyers to keep them in business under the old business model,]
OK here are the figures. I tried to be objective as possible. I calculated it using Maryland figures, since that's where I live. I'll work some up on the Prius if you would like. I'm just not as knowledgeable about it and the different costs.
By the way. The Volt has an internal cooling and heating mechanism. So while Leaf owners are complaining about ranges as low as 47 miles (no battery cooling system), Volt owners are still getting close to or more than Chevy's estimated range. For the most point, Volt owners don't really care about CO2 emissions, I certainly don't. I mean I do, but when there are so many big trucks and factory's out etc out there, I don't care to pay more to save a miniscule amount of pollution.
You can bash GM all you want as long as you are being truthful. I have only been selling for 3 years, so I don't know what the old GM was like. But I think you'll have to admit that with the slowing down of truck and suv sales, GM has done a wonderful job of introducing vehicles to a changing market. Case in point, the Volt, the V6 Camaro with 300+ HP yet 29 MPG highway, the Cruze (sold more than Civic and Corolla last month), the Equinox (best in class highway MPG), the Malibu, and the Sonic (only small car made in America).
I don't like selling to current GM owners. I find them a little annoying. My best customers are those that have never considered a GM product and are quite surprised at what they find. Hyundai and Ford are others that have done a great job in a changing market.
2013 Cruze ECO automatic
MSRP: $21,670
Invoice: $21,148 (selling price)
Processing fee $200
Tags $292
Tax (6%) $1280
Total purchase price $22,920
Monthly payment at 3% for 60 months $412
Total payments after 5 years: $24,720
100,000 mile cost of ownership:
Gas: 100,000/EPA estimate of 31 MPG average = 3225 gallons x local price of $3.87 = $12480
Oil change: 19 (every 5,000 miles) *$25 = $475
Tire rotation: 12 (every 7,500 miles) * $25 = $300
Change air filter: 2 * $49 = $98
Onstar for 2.5 years (Volt is free for 3 years, Cruze for 6 months) : $747
Total cost of ownership over 100k miles:
$38,820
Approximate trade in value at 100,000 miles: 25%*21,148 = $5,287
Net cost:
$33,533
2013 Volt
MSRP: $39,995
Invoice:$39,016 (selling price)
Processing fee $200
Tags $292
Tax (6%-$2000 MD rebate) $353
Total purchase price $39,861
Monthly payment at 0% for 60 months $664
Total payment after 5 years : $39,861-$7500 = $32,361
100,000 mile cost of ownership:
According to Voltstats.net, 71.4% of Volt driving is done on electricity. With the 10% increase for 2013, that should yield an increase to 78.5% (Iâm personally at 86%)
Electricity: 78,500 miles/38 (EPA estimate) miles per charge = 2065 charges * 10.8 KWHRâs per charge = 22,302 KWHRâs used * 8.5 cents per KHWR (my current rate) = $1895
Gas: 21,500/EPA estimate of 37 MPG average = 581 gallons x local price of $4.29 = $2,492
Oil change: 2 (every 24 months) *$25 = $50
Tire rotation: 12 (every 7,500 miles) * $25 = $300
Change air filter: 2 * $49 = $98
Total cost of ownership over 100k miles:
$37,196
Approximate trade in value at 100,000 miles: 25%*$31,516 ($39,016 - $7500) = $7,879
Net cost:
$29,317
The thrill of driving a completely silent electric vehicle with instant torque that handles incredibly well : No charge
Proving to Mitt Romney that the Volt's time has come
$PRICELESS
