[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by chevelle

2017 Chevy Volt (Lease)

Congrats on the car chevelle. Does the dealership look at visa validity for lease cars?

Quite a garage you have had in the past few years

All the Bay area folks are getting EV and not long before the gas cars have traffic free lanes

[Jomz]

Did you get a charger for your house?? How did the charger install go?

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Congrats on the car chevelle. Does the dealership look at visa validity for lease cars?

Quite a garage you have had in the past few years

All the Bay area folks are getting EV and not long before the gas cars have traffic free lanes

Thanks.

This dealership didn't ask for anything. All they needed was my license and insurance information. I do know VW asked for visa validity and status. As soon as i told them i was on work visa, they changed the APR/MF, rebates and discounts they had agreed on. I walked out of dealership immediately.

Indeed, during 3pm - 7 pm, the carpool lane is full of leaf, spark, i3, tesla and volt. Even carpool lanes are getting slower than before. Though, i have noticed, i still can save 10-15 mins one way if i use carpool lane compared to regular ones. Over a period of 3 years, that pretty decent savings of time, electricity/gas cost, energy.

Originally Posted by Jomz

Did you get a charger for your house?? How did the charger install go?

No, i haven't got it installed. I am looking at around $750 for the install and $500 for the Level 2 charger. Wondering if this is worth it since i only plan to keep it 3 years. I will observe electricity bill for a month or two and see the impact while charging at 110v and then decide. Alternatively, i can charge it outside for Level 2 charging at ~ $0.25/hr and i will still come out ahead compared to initial investment.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by chevelle

No, i haven't got it installed. I am looking at around $750 for the install and $500 for the Level 2 charger. Wondering if this is worth it since i only plan to keep it 3 years. I will observe electricity bill for a month or two and see the impact while charging at 110v and then decide. Alternatively, i can charge it outside for Level 2 charging at ~ $0.25/hr and i will still come out ahead compared to initial investment.

I guess it is more about charging time on 110V vs 220V. I think it is 8 hours for a full charge on the 110V vs 3 hours on the 220.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by Jomz

I guess it is more about charging time on 110V vs 220V. I think it is 8 hours for a full charge on the 110V vs 3 hours on the 220.

For volt, its 13 hours on 110v and 4.5 hours on 240v. Its still an open item for me. Will observe over next few months and then take the plunge. In last week since i owned it, i have fully charged it 3 times and used 1 gallon of gas and drove 265 miles which is good. If i would have kept G35, i would have to fill in ~17 gallon of gas by then. Hopefully, the electricity bill is not through the roof.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Hopefully, the electricity bill is not through the roof.

You charge overnight, I suppose - is that considered off peak in your electric supply vendors terms? If there are a lot of electric cars, I can see the off peak hours changing in the future. You are in CA right, what sort of incentives does the Volt still offer? Do the incentives vary between lease and buy? The Bolt is also launching in CA first, would be interesting to see how that goes in Tesla heartland.

In other Chevy news, the Camaro ZL1 just obliterated some much more expensive cars with a 7.29.60 lap of the the Nurburgring - checkout the video here -

2017 Camaro ZL1 at the Nurburgring

. Also, this car has the new 10 speed auto co developed by Ford and GM - seems to be doing great in this application at least in that race or track mode or whatever that is. Seems that lap time is faster than the 911 GT2, the AMG GT S, the Mclaren 650s etc. Some real stalwarts beaten there. Impressive for a muscle car. This after the Shelby Mustang GT350R also pulled quite an impressive performance on the ring.

Unrelated, I read somewhere that Ford is offering free Ford performance driving sessions with purchase of Fiesta or Focus STs. Cannot find a link, but anybody here know any better?

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

In other Chevy news, the Camaro ZL1 just obliterated some much more expensive cars with a 7.29.60 lap of the the Nurburgring

Including the Mustang GT350R. Your move ...Ford

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by chevelle

Hello Guys,

Sorry have been missing from action lately.

Got rid of the Infiniti G35 and decided to try a new technology.

Leased a 2017 Chevy Volt for 36 months.

Congratulations, interesting choice indeed & thanks for sharing the decision process. I am surprised to see lower monthly payment for Q50 vs TLX, were they specced equally?

Was getting 4 door a must? I mean you could have gone for the Turbo Camaro or Mustang as well which also return great mileage

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

You charge overnight, I suppose - is that considered off peak in your electric supply vendors terms? If there are a lot of electric cars, I can see the off peak hours changing in the future. You are in CA right, what sort of incentives does the Volt still offer? Do the incentives vary between lease and buy? The Bolt is also launching in CA first, would be interesting to see how that goes in Tesla heartland.

I do charge overnight at 110v, 12 amps. Usually takes around 11-12 hours for full charge. My plan is tier-based. There are three levels based on cost of electricity. PGE provides multiple options like time based plan in which highest cost is between 3 pm - 7 pm and lower cost at other times, another is EV specific plan in which its lowest during the night from 10 pm - 7 pm but higher during the day.

Good thing is, PGE estimates my yearly cost for all plans based on my last year usage and in that sticking to tiered plan seems to save about $10/mo. But i have to monitor since usage will increase at night because of which i may switch to time base plan.

Incentives is same from State regardless of lease or buy. One gets $1500 in rebate from California for plug-ins and $2500 for electrics. Effective Nov 1 though, change is coming wherein single income should be $150k or less and combined income should be $300k or less to qualify for these rebates. And for those who has less than $70k income are eligible for more discounts to the tune of $4500.

More info here: https://cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/income-eligibility

But incentives and discounts vary a lot from dealer and manufacturer when leasing and buying.

For example, if i was gonna lease Q50 3.0 premium, i would have got discount of $9500. If i was gonna buy it, discount would have been $5500. That's because Infiniti provides lease cash/incentives that are tacked on to dealer discount (Shown to me by manager).

Reverse case for volt, in which lease cost me $31k while buying would have cost me $29500. But i would have taken a huge hit when selling it in future as residuals of volt or any hybrid/electric vehicles is absurdly low. Think $10k-$13k after 3 years for volt. For on-road price of $33k - $9k in incentives from Federal and State for volt, i would have paid about $10k-$11k to own the volt while i will lease it for $7700 for 3 years. And this is at 0.99% APR.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Congratulations, interesting choice indeed & thanks for sharing the decision process. I am surprised to see lower monthly payment for Q50 vs TLX, were they specced equally?

Was getting 4 door a must? I mean you could have gone for the Turbo Camaro or Mustang as well which also return great mileage

Thanks! Interesting choice indeed. I am still surprised i chose something like this over a performance car.

Q50 was 3.0tt premium while Acura TLX was v6 AWD Tech package. MSRP for Q50 was $43k while TLX was $42500. Q50 had discount of $9500 while TLX only had discount of $5k. That is why the difference in monthly payment.

I did push Infi dealer a lot more as i was almost certainly gonna buy it. If not for difference of $150/mo and high insurance premium, i may have been in another Infi. Didn't really pursue Acura dealer a whole lot more because i was sure he wasn't gonna reduce it by $100/mo or so.

Yes, 4 door was a must. Didn't consider any coupes since car seat would be a tight fit. I tried once with Q60 in showroom while waiting to test drive Q50, we weren't pleased. Wonder how bad it would have been with camaro. FE wise, neither Q50 or Camaro would have matched what i am getting with Volt.

[navin_bhp]

If anyone is interested Escortradar has a 25% off on all radar detectors.

https://slickdeals.net/f/9413019-25-...archBarV2Algo1

Found a better deal on the Max 360 for 439$

https://slickdeals.net/f/9413151-esc...-free-shipping

[infotech58]

Please help me decide on a sedan or crossover for my wife who needs to practice driving for next 12-14 months to get her G (full) license. We have been happily car-free (and care free) since moving to Canada in 2012 (living downtown and working downtown and using AVIS/ZipCar when needed) but now it is time to make a purchase.

Location: Toronto
Budget: $20,000 + tax OR if it is something extremely nice, can stretch to $25,000 + tax
Must have: Quick and smooth + small/medium size sedan or crossover or hatch + leather seats + good back up camera/display + good visibility + should be able to easily sell after 2 years
Nice to have: Silent cabin (think of a Genesis sedan or Lexus LS), AWD
Primary usage: Weekend car with approx. 1000 Kms per month, 80% usage in city and highway within GTA and rest 20% long road trips (think Toronto -NYC-Toronto every 3-5 months)
Shortlist so far: 2012/2013 Infiniti EX35/37 AWD, 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R, 2013/2014 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 (haven't test driven this yet)

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Please help me decide on a sedan or crossover for my wife who needs to practice driving for next 12-14 months to get her G (full) license. We have been happily car-free (and care free) since moving to Canada in 2012 (living downtown and working downtown and using AVIS/ZipCar when needed) but now it is time to make a purchase.

Location: Toronto
Budget: $20,000 + tax OR if it is something extremely nice, can stretch to $25,000 + tax
Must have: Quick and smooth + small/medium size sedan or crossover or hatch + leather seats + good back up camera/display + good visibility + should be able to easily sell after 2 years
Nice to have: Silent cabin (think of a Genesis sedan or Lexus LS), AWD
Primary usage: Weekend car with approx. 1000 Kms per month, 80% usage in city and highway within GTA and rest 20% long road trips (think Toronto -NYC-Toronto every 3-5 months)
Shortlist so far: 2012/2013 Infiniti EX35/37 AWD, 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R, 2013/2014 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 (haven't test driven this yet)

Quick and smooth and easy to sell on at a future date - Look no further than the Accord V6? It may not be super quiet. If you want to get a larger sedan, then the Hyundai Azera/ Kia Cadenza may also fit the bill. The EX doesn't feel much like a luxury vehicle, IMO.

Another vehicle that really fit the quiet, comfortable and smooth bill would be the Ford Edge. I don't know if it would be the best in terms of reselling. I would also check if the 2012 3 series is within your budget, I know you are talking Canadian $, but I think it should be - it was the first year of the current model but AWD was only offered in 2013, perhaps.

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Please help me decide on a sedan or crossover for my wife who needs to practice driving for next 12-14 months to get her G (full) license. We have been happily car-free (and care free) since moving to Canada in 2012 (living downtown and working downtown and using AVIS/ZipCar when needed) but now it is time to make a purchase.

Location: Toronto
Budget: $20,000 + tax OR if it is something extremely nice, can stretch to $25,000 + tax
Must have: Quick and smooth + small/medium size sedan or crossover or hatch + leather seats + good back up camera/display + good visibility + should be able to easily sell after 2 years
Nice to have: Silent cabin (think of a Genesis sedan or Lexus LS), AWD
Primary usage: Weekend car with approx. 1000 Kms per month, 80% usage in city and highway within GTA and rest 20% long road trips (think Toronto -NYC-Toronto every 3-5 months)
Shortlist so far: 2012/2013 Infiniti EX35/37 AWD, 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R, 2013/2014 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 (haven't test driven this yet)

If you plan to keep the car for 2 years and expect a good resale value then Civic (2013 and later, EXL model upwards) and Corolla (2014 and later) would fit in your budget and will be a no-nonsense cars.
If you need AWD, then consider the CRV, Forester, CX-5 and RAV4 (if visibility and looks are okay for you), these hold good resale value too.
Hyundai / Kia's have poor resale value (atleast in western Canada), If you can manage a good deal directly from the owner with lesser km's on the odo then it will make sense.
Infiniti EX's are good but keep an eye on the gas mileage (12+ liters per 100km in city driving), also the back seat is not the most spacious.
Since you have mentioned Lexus, why dont you consider used ES350 & GS350 AWD?

[Jomz]

I was researching electric cars- based on Chevelle's experience with the Volt. Additionally, both me and my wife have free level 2 charging at work.

I was surprised to see the price drop in used Nissan Leaf's. It is not hard to find a 2012 Leaf for less than 7k and less then 30k miles. You could even get a 2015 Leaf for 10K around. That is less than gas expenses on the Sti- Given that I average ~1500-2000 miles a month ( works out to $150-$200 per month only on gas). The in built 110v trickle charger could fully charge the Leaf in 10 hours.

The monthly payment for a $10k car would be around 200 or lesser. Worst case , if the batteries die on me, I could get a Nissan replacement for $5500 + 3 hours labor (~6k).
Any I was trolling the interwebs quite a bit and could not find one case of a leaf with a range less than 50 miles. So I guess the batteries might last a while??

Anybody else thinking on the same lines??

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Jomz

I was surprised to see the price drop in used Nissan Leaf's.

The used car values on all electric cars (save Tesla) is super low. You could even get new electric vehicles on lease for super low prices (under 200$s in most cases). The demand is really poor - people who fancy electric cars buy them or lease them new, and make use of the rebates and move on a year or 2 later. For a used car shopper, a depleted battery electric car is not a good value anymore especially if the range you are going to get has slipped to under 60 or 50% of what it originally could manage. Also factor in how cold weather makes batteries deplete faster. Perhaps the newer electric cars with 200+ miles range would fetch better price in the used car market.