Something horrible almost happened...

Doesn't the Volt require high test gasoline?

 

Worth checking out the Volts, but you'd be crazy to switch given the finances.

 

I'm kinda in the same boat as you, been considering getting rid of the Prius for a Volt. We could do probably 90% of our regular driving on battery power and would only need gas for vacation trips. I guesstimate that our gas costs would be cut about in half with a Volt, $400ish a year. Unfortunately/fortunately, there's almost no used Volts in my area and the cheapest that is available is over $20k. Our Prius is paid off, so all the trade in value or whatever we sell it for would go to the Volt, but then we'd also have payments again. So I think we'll drive the Prius til it dies and go from there (unless an updated Volt is released and happens to cause the prices of existing ones to drop like a rock). I think you're also making the right choice in sticking with the Prius for now. Just don't let the salesmen get to you.

Have you priced insurance from other companies? Your's sounds pretty expensive, but maybe its your location.

 

Chevy says so, but many use regular. The high octane requirement is mostly for shelf life with the engine the Volt has. It's required as a CYA for GM in the rare case somebody could go long enough on electric that regular gas octane dropped to the point of damaging the engine. Between the sealed fuel system and engine maintenance cycles, that is unlikely to happen.

 

I'm curious why a $1k insurance increase fo rthe Volt. How much more is this than your existing premium?

 

If you're looking to go Electric and can swing two cars, my advice would be to keep the Prius and check out the used LEAF market. If you're able to commute all-EV with a Volt, you can do the same with a LEAF, and still have juice left over for after-work errands.

I'm not too far from you (Southfield)...I got my LEAF the end of February (a 2011 model) right when we had those -10F overnight temps and never really had any range problems (my commute is ~20 miles one way and I can charge at work). AND the car is parked outside overnight, not in the garage.

My wife and I test drove the Volt and we both agree that compared to the Prius, the interior is cramped and uncomfortable. The LEAF is similar seating-wise to the Prius except for a little less leg room in the back seat. Cargo space is a lot less than the Prius, but it's at least as much as the Volt has.

 

6% is a ripoff!

 

Prius + Leaf is the way to go.

 

Smart money says stop buying cars every 3-4 years, and pay the Prius off early.

While it may be "cheaper" to spend more money if you look at the numbers a certain way, the G3 is already a fairly reliable car out to lunar mileage if you take care of it decently at all - which is 10 years of average use.

I've seen people bend numbers this way and that was trying to justify why Priuses are "cheaper" or Volts are "greener" which tells me that the difference between the two would not justify getting more deeply in debt.

My $0.02.

Good Luck!

 

Close call, broh.

He gets money any time you make a move, makes no difference if its good or bad for you.

+1

 

I don't insure any of my cars.... saves a lot of money (about $200/year whether the car is a Civic or Prius or Volt). Recommend you do the same rather than pay an extra $1000 if you upgrade to Volt or Prius G4.

 

Michigan Annual Car Taxes = Make sure you understand the impact on state taxes of a used Volt. I am thinking Mich is one of those states like Va. that likes to assess higher annual taxes to more expensive cars based on MSRP. It can be a mini-dis-incentive (or more maxi depending on your state).

I think Mich. calls it annual Registration "Fee" but if it's a tax deductible property tax on Form 1040 Sched A, then it's really an annual car value tax masquerading as a registration fee.

 

My insurance (Allstate) went down slightly (-$12 per six month term) when I went from the 2012 PIP to the 2014 Volt.

For reference- for those curious about the Volt's all electric range- I'm currently getting about 48 EV mi per charge out of the Volt.

 

I can say that my insurance went up about $100 per 6 mo. I attributed that to going 6 years newer in car from 2008-2014.

~3280 miles w/o gas and counting...

 

The insurance premium jump does not make sense. If that is the difference between staying or leaving then call other insurance companies. If you have a good driving record try Amica, and if you are eligible try USAA

The numbers you report do not make sense to me: a $17k car paid off @ 380 a month at 6% apr takes about 4.23 years. And what about your trade-in ?

 

At this point, I'd wait for the Detroit Auto Show in January. This way you can get info on the Gen 2 Volt. And if those stats are good enough, you can then use that against the dealership:

"Well, the Gen 2 Volt is coming out in a few months, and I'm more than willing to wait on it. But if you guys can give me a really good offer on this gen 1 volt, I'll buy it today".

If you're serious about that, and the car has been sitting on their lot for a while, they may be willing to do that just to get rid of it.

As a bonus to waiting, Toyota may be revealing the Gen 4 Prius at that time as well, and possibly tease us with the Gen 2 Plug-in Prius stats. You wouldn't want to get the gen 1 volt, only to find out the gen 2 volt, or the next gen Prius/PiP is even more awesome and suddenly the volt 1 seems like a crappy deal.