Used Volts

[Bob]

How much are these? Are they like $15k?

Yes, I believe the asking price on one of the high mileage ones was $14,995

[kevm14]

I had no idea there was an i3 REx.

[kevm14]

I also had no idea the Volt has the 2nd highest owner rating of any car (2nd only to the Tesla Model S).

I agree with the synopsis. You don't buy the BMW because it's more efficient (and therefore will cost less to run). You buy it for the other reasons.

I wish the back seat in the Volt wasn't so cramped....I'd seriously consider one for Jamie.

All this continued positivity makes me feel a little justified about being vocal about the Volt's engineering achievements and real-world characteristics, from the beginning. So that's something.

[Bob]

I would have considered the Volt more seriously as well if the back seat was more spacious. The Prius has a surprisingly good back seat for a car of its size.

[kevm14]

There's quite an amusing debate in the comments to that article about whether or not the Volt is an "EREV." Which means the implication is whether or not the i3 REx is the first EREV. Sigh.

[Bob]

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to point out how cheap used Volts are these days:

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5590421230.html $10k for one with 108k on it.

http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/5634437904.html $12k for one with 95k on it.

I really wish the back seat was slightly more spacious. These are a bargain now in the used market and also do not appear to have any issues with reliability.

[kevm14]

How does it compare to a regular Prius in terms of resale with similar age and mileage? And by resale, I mean actual value, not percentage lost from MSRP or whatever.

[Bob]

I would say it's pretty much on par with Priuses of similar age and mileage. Prius resale has taken a big hit with low oil prices, and there's also a new generation out for 2016, similar to the Volt. When I was considering these cars as daily drivers, the Volt was significantly more expensive than the Prius (my net price on a brand new 2012 Prius was under $19k after the HEV incentive from my wife's employer, compared to probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $25k net of all incentives for the Volt). Now that they are on par, I think the Volt is much more compelling; however the back seat room and lack of a center seat (I use this for a car seat) are deal killers for me.

Reflecting on my purchase in general, if I had to do it all over again, I think I would have kept driving my Civic Si up until when I had to sell due to 2 doors not working with kids. Depreciation on a 10-12 year old Honda is pretty minimal, so I doubt it would have cost me much to keep driving it. Once it came time to sell in late 2014 or early 2015, it would have been clear that fuel costs will be low for the foreseeable future and I could have purchased something enjoyable to drive. This was an important lesson for me not to focus too much on operating costs when purchasing a car. I still care about depreciation since that is usually the largest cost of ownership for cars that aren't dirt cheap.

[Bob]

Under $10k: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5951925908.html

[Bob]

Under $9k: http://hickory.craigslist.org/cto/5934284753.html