The Volt was always in the back of my mind since its inception. There was a lot of positive and negative hype surrounding the car. Some people believe that 100% electric cars are the future, others believe that hydrogen powered cars will rule the world, while others believe diesel cars or more fuel-efficient cars are still just fine. Honestly, I find the Volt is a compromise and a stepping stone to alternative energies. Anyway, I am not here to discuss this in particular, I just wanted to mention that I thought the Volt was a cool idea from the beginning.
Here's the build up to the eventual order for our Volt:
A little over 3 years ago I bought a used 2004 Mazda3 (5-door sport, 2.3l) from my friend. I needed a car for just a couple of months until I bought something newer. Over 3 years later and my wife and I still do not want to let go of the Mazda3! We absolutely love the little car. It has been one of the most solid and most reliable cars we've ever owned! It is pushing over 166000km (bought it at 145k km) and it's seen maybe $600 of general maintenance in over 3 years. Love it. However last week I thought the transmission was finished so I panicked and decided maybe it was time to look for a new car for real now. It ended up that I hit a solid chunk of ice and cracked the transmission pan, resulting in the tranny fluid to drain completely. New tranny pan and the Mazda3 is as good as new again. So now you're thinking, why the Volt? Well, being on vacation and working for an awesome worldwide company I found out that they are an official GM Supplier. Googling "GM Supplier Discount Canada" I found out that as an employee of this awesome company I can buy an eligible GM vehicle (no 2014 Corvette unfortunately ) at "Cost + 1%!" I haven't bought a new car in the longest time so not worrying about negotiating is a big plus (remember Saturn???). Also, as a resident of Quebec, Canada I heard about some kind of government incentive when purchasing electric/hybrid vehicles. I always thought it was a tax credit. Googling "Quebec electric car tax credit" led me to the provincial website where I found out that it is NOT a tax credit (at least for 2014) but a cash rebate! Get this...it's a whopping $7865 for the Volt because of its 16.5 kilowatt battery pack! Maximum is $8000 for 17kW or above. Maybe this is why we pay some of the highest taxes in the world...but this issue is for another day and another blog.
So I went to Chevy Canada's website and built my very own Volt. I printed out the GM Supplier discount information, the Quebec vehicle credit and my special Volt and marched to the nearest dealer. I didn't intend to buy on the spot but it ended up that I did! The dealer instantly reduced the after-tax price by $7865...so my loan will not incur interest on that amount! Not a single person I know is aware of the instant government rebate. Why isn't GM/Chevrolet advertising this? Without disclosing my final price, just going from the MSRP of $43xxx to $35xxx because of the instant government rebate is pretty awesome. Throw in the GM supplier discount and I got a Volt for many many thousands less than I (and everyone else I know) ever thought a Volt was sold for. A $43k Volt is nearly $50k after taxes here! Seriously I ask again, why isn't GM pushing the government rebate hundreds of times per day on websites, radio stations and newspapers??? Ok, the Volt is still the cost of nearly 2 Chevy Cruses and I do not want to argue about this here but the price is more palatable after the Quebec rebate that's for sure.
So as of last week we placed an order for our new Volt! None were available locally with the exact options I wanted so there is a Volt being assembled as we speak (or maybe not since it is the holidays hehe)!
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