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Originally Posted by mkoesel
I commend you throwing caution to the wind and taking the plunge. The Volt is great if you want that safety net. At the same time, the Bolt offers great value, and if you find you are not able to reliably charge at work (don't have a guaranteed place to charge every day, for example), you might offset a good chunk of that $50 savings in gas costs. Finally, even if you can charge, eking out the advertised 50+ miles electric range on a consistent basis might also be a challenge.
A monthly payment of $250 is pretty good. I will say that I've seen leases on leftover 2020 Bolts advertised at under $200. Also, a 4.2% loan rate is probably a bit higher than market average. My credit union has 2.25% and I don't think they are the lowest in the area. Admittedly, a couple percentage points is not going to have too big an impact on total loan value.
I don't mean to be negative - certainly not trying to crap on your deal and vehicle choice - just wanted to share some thoughts. Either way, good luck with the new ride.
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So far I've been able to get 50 miles out of the 53 EPA rating.
Unlike a regular plug-in hybrid, the Volt is actually an electric car with a very big generator. It can run in both parallel and serial mode. There are 2 electric motors and 2 planetary gears that can divert energy to whatever is calling for resource. There's no direct correlation between the engine RPM and the speed. It doesn't even turn on the gas engine even at full load. I do find that I spend a lot of energy for cabin heating. You can drive one pedal using the L gear or use high regeneration brake with a paddle. There are several modes that can be chosen that gives it distinct functions: normal, wasteful tire chirping mode (but lots of fun), mountain mode, and hold. I'm trying to burn up the left over gasoline in the tank and put in fresh gas. I don't think the gas engine ran all the much from the previous owner.
The advertise $200 a month is 10K lease. I drive 24K a year. The mileage upcharge is 15cents/mile which is $2100/year that makes the payment $375
It's 25cents/mile if you pay after the fact.
This car is inexpensive enough that I can afford to just pay it off. I haven't asked my credit union yet but the difference between 2.25% versus is 4.2% is $678 over the course of the loan.
The last time I threw caution to the wind was when I bought a new C7 Corvette and wrecked it with only 500 miles on the odometer.
I'm embracing the electric car lifestyle but only with one arm.