Finally replaced my Camry

[Job]

The Volt is a pretty sweet car and unique. GM couldn't sell them yet Toyota RAV 4 Prime is about as hard to find as a PS5.

Not sure that’s correct GM couldn’t sell them. They sold enough volts and bolts to lose the tax credit. Only Tesla has done that as well. Toyota hasn’t reached the limit. The rav4 prime should get the $7500 tax reduction. As far as I could see Volts did sell well, it was just corporate decision making. Bolts sold well too until they lost the 7500.

 

[dareo]

The Volt stopped selling well around 2018. Only a few thousand 2019s were built. They got big discounts to clear them out. My bro had a 2012 and traded it to one of the last brand new 2019. He is a huge fan. The 2nd gen has more power for high speed hill situations that the 1st gen couldnt handle. Better range too. They still axed it.

 

[Oildudeny]

Unfortunately, my daily driver 2007 Camry went to the scrap yard in the sky a few months ago. Sucks because I just replaced the engine less than a year ago and at "only" 175k it seemed like the rest of the car still had plenty of life left in it. After going through a particularly stressful time, I dozed off for a split second, hit a guard rail, and woke up sliding down 150 feet of embankment before finally coming to rest in a ditch. Car was obviously totaled but amazingly I walked away without a scratch (except for cutting my leg on a bush climbing back up the hill). Score one for modern safety requirements.

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Insurance actually paid me more than the car was worth without a fight, and since I still had plenty of vehicles I could use, I didn't bother to replace it right away. Eventually settled on a 2017 Chevy Bolt a few months later, and went to go purchase one literally the day after it turns out they had been recalled and dealers weren't allowed to sell them. Figured I'd deal with vehicles getting 20mpg or less for a few more months until the recalled batteries are supposed to be fixed in early 2021 and then get my Bolt still, but then the wife's Versa gets T-boned by an idiot with no insurance, license, or registration. Great, now we really need another vehicle that doesn't suck down the gas.

Last weekend I went to look at Volts and came home with this 2017 with 31k on it. Just in time to take advantage of a $1,000 rebate from the power company that's expiring at the end of the year, and originally sold in CA so the battery and hybrid system are warrantied until 150k.

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I've only put about 100 miles on it so far, and ~70 of those were bringing it home from the dealer running on gas, but my initial impression is that I like it quite a bit. Went to Home Depot yesterday, 27 mile round trip and didn't use a drop of gas. I normally drive about 50-60 miles a day, so I might be filling up once a month-ish? It charges from completely empty in about 12 hours, so I should get by just fine by plugging into 110 every night.

Suspension isn't nearly as floaty as the Camry, and I quite enjoy the smooth, quiet operation in EV mode, where I figure I'll spend most of my time. Even in gas mode, it pulled hills completely effortlessly without any loss of power or harsh downshifting since it's my understanding that the wheels are (almost) always entirely electrically driven. Quality seems a lot better than my last GM product, a 2000 Cavalier. The car itself is a base model with (I believe) no options, and by no options I mean it still has power windows/locks, keyless entry, keyless start, backup camera, cruise control, Bluetooth, and Android Auto. Can't think of anything else I'd need, really.

Since my wife prefers hatchbacks, she'll still be getting a Bolt when they're available again to replace her Versa. That way we'll have one full EV and one that still takes gas for longer trips.

That's a good looking car.. lots of luck with it.

 

[madeej11]

Glad your ok. Me personally I would of gotten another Toyota. Not a fan of the looks of the volt.

It's not would of. It's would have.

 

[madeej11]

It's not would of. It's would have.

It's not funny at all. In fact it's sad that you don't get it.

 

[Kurtatron]

It's not funny at all. In fact it's sad that you don't get it.

You missed the ‘your’.

 

[madeej11]

You missed the ‘your’.

I think you still don't get it. Maybe brush up on your English language skills. Wow...

 

[PandaBear]

If I have to get a car today for commute I would get a used Volt, 1st gen. They have depreciated quite a bit and the battery seems to be very reliable. There are some minor problems in the first couple years but I think the later years are quite reliable other than some minor issues.

You can get something less than 100k miles for only $8k around here. Even if you only get 50k miles out of it and have to scrap it you still win in fuel savings.