The eBay auction on our 2011 Chevrolet Volt ended last night and while we got eight bids, none were high enough to meet the reserve. We started the bidding at $27,500 and after a few days it had gone up to $30,001.99. With about a day left in the auction, we slightly lowered the reserve and the "buy it now," price, hoping it would generate some last- minute bidding.
The top bidder had e-mailed us to ask what our reserve price was. This was like asking someone to show their hand in poker. That's not information you reveal to your opponent in cards, or in this case, a potential buyer in an auction.
The top bidder told us he had wanted a Volt ever since it was announced back in 2007, and added that his Prius was getting old. But the bids never moved from $30K. That seemed to be the most that he -- and other bidders-- were willing to pay for our Volt.
It's a shame we couldn't sell the car to this guy. He wanted the car so bad that he was willing to put $10K on a credit card, $10K in cash, and pay the rest via wire transfer. Much like giving away a pet you care about, you want your car to go to a new owner who will appreciate it and take good care of it. But that three-pronged payment would have been a big hassle for us. And, more to the point, there's a check waiting for us at Carmax for $2,000 more.
If eBay bidders are only willing to pay $30K for a 2011 Volt with 15,000 miles, Carmax is going to have a tough time selling it. My guess is that Carmax probably will list it for $35,000. I'll head to Carmax later today to finalize the transaction.
I'm really going to miss the Volt. Unlike many of my colleagues, I'm more of a green-car enthusiast than a performance enthusiast, so the Volt was right up my alley. It was my favorite long-term car and it helped me change my outlook on EVs and PHEVs.
Ron Montoya, Consumer Advice Associate @ 15,063 miles
throwback says:
10:17 AM, 02/ 8/12
So why not buy it?
bradyholt says:
10:18 AM, 02/ 8/12
Carmax may have been so generous because it helps them to have halo cars on their lots as much as it does a new car dealer. Maybe they're counting on bringing in mileage-seekers they can put in lower-cost gas savers -- which some Chevy dealers have said they're getting.
ljx83 says:
10:18 AM, 02/ 8/12
Look at that bad parking job ... oh ... electic car. Nevermind.
carchatter1 says:
10:25 AM, 02/ 8/12
OK. Why buy this car instead of new? $40,000 new MSRP with a $7500 government rebate = $32,500. Who would pay $32k for a used one????? That's nuts. Even if you have a few options on this one which add some value, you can likely haggle the dealer down a little anyways to even it back out, and you have a brand new car for the exact same price as this.
robert4380 says:
10:29 AM, 02/ 8/12
Maybe the Ebay bidders all know that for not much more they could get a brand new Volt with 0 miles on the clock after the government rebate. In this case I would say buying new is a much better deal. Financing is easier for new cars, too.
robert4380 says:
10:29 AM, 02/ 8/12
Maybe the Ebay bidders all know that for not much more they could get a brand new Volt with 0 miles on the clock after the government rebate. In this case I would say buying new is a much better deal. Financing is easier for new cars, too.
robert4380 says:
10:30 AM, 02/ 8/12
Maybe the Ebay bidders all know that for not much more they could get a brand new Volt with 0 miles on the clock after the government rebate. In this case I would say buying new is a much better deal. Financing is easier for new cars, too.
robert4380 says:
10:30 AM, 02/ 8/12
Maybe the Ebay bidders all know that for not much more they could get a brand new Volt with 0 miles on the clock after the government rebate. In this case I would say buying new is a much better deal. Financing is easier for new cars, too.
kain77 says:
10:44 AM, 02/ 8/12
@robert4380
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
I agree.
jstandefer says:
11:04 AM, 02/ 8/12
Why buy a used one? I saw special lease deals for Volts in the Sunday paper for $0 due at lease signing, 0$ down payment, $0 security depost, and $369 per month. This was for a 36-month lease with 12,000 miles per year. That is an absolutely fantastic lease deal for a car with this MSRP. I also noticed that every Chevy dealer in my area has the Volt in inventory. It seems there isn't much demand, as you just experienced on eBay.
robert4380 says:
11:36 AM, 02/ 8/12
Yikes. Ok... sorry y'all for clicking on "reload" when trying to submit a comment. The page was taking forever to come up.
milt721 says:
11:37 AM, 02/ 8/12
Don't forget...unlike the 2012 models, this 2011 does not get HOV lane access.
dinobot666 says:
11:42 AM, 02/ 8/12
I remember when the Toyota Prius was selling for more than MSRP on the used market when they were 1 - 2 years old.
There's already news of a waiting list for the Toyota Prius c in the US for when it comes out.
GM has a long way to go in making their way into the hybrid market.
woochifer says:
11:51 AM, 02/ 8/12
@carchatter1 "OK. Why buy this car instead of new? $40,000 new MSRP with a $7500 government rebate = $32,500. Who would pay $32k for a used one????? That's nuts."
On top of that, the State of California adds another $1,500 rebate, so the actual cost of buying a new Chevy Volt is now down to $31k. I don't think that used Volts qualify for any of the government rebates, so if Carmax asks $35k for a used Volt, good luck to whoever gets suckered into that deal. With the lease deals and rebates available for a new Volt, THAT'S the main reason why IL's not seeing much auction action.
mfennell says:
11:57 AM, 02/ 8/12
@carchatter1: "Why buy this car instead of new? $40,000 new MSRP with a $7500 government rebate = $32,500."
It's a tax *credit*, which you receive in early 2013. It's pretty easy to believe that a person proposing to pay 1/3 with a credit card might not want to/be able to come up with that $7500 difference or that he might not qualify for the full credit anyway.
sniperruff says:
12:31 PM, 02/ 8/12
"It's a shame we couldn't sell the car to this guy. He wanted the car so bad that he was willing to put $10K on a credit card, $10K in cash, and pay the rest via wire transfer."
Sounds more like you saved this guy from making a terrible financial decision - people should realize when you have to put $10K on credit, it's more of a matter of "should" instead of "want".
"Much like giving away a pet you care about, you want your car to go to a new owner who will appreciate it and take good care of it. "
Totally agreed. Man do I miss my car.
elkriso says:
03:00 PM, 02/ 8/12
To me, the volt is too big and too expensive for a daily. I have a cheap 90's econobox that already gets 40-43 MPG. It's cheap to maintain, cheap to insure, and cheap on fuel.
So in my opinion, the manufacturers must do better or the government needs to let up on some of the tight regulations for it to be feasible for the masses. Afterall, it was government regulations that caused the big explosion of SUV to market due to SUV's being classified as 'trucks' thus excluded from the fleet average laws.
Here's my ideal daily driver (the smaller the better and must be between $10K-$16K):
100% electric with 100mile range and 80-100MPH top speed
or
50-70MPG (gas or diesel) 100MPH top speed.
I have cash on hand and waiting... *cough* GM.
prefcustomer says:
03:04 PM, 02/ 8/12
It's possible that the guy in question wanted to run 10K through his credit card to take advantage of airline miles or other bonuses.
cr_driver says:
08:43 AM, 02/10/12
"It's possible that the guy in question wanted to run 10K through his credit card to take advantage of airline miles or other bonuses."
+100
Gotta open your mind and think different possibilities.
lmbvette says:
08:21 PM, 03/ 3/12
I just traded in my CTS-V tonight for a Volt. I got 2k off the sticker for 43k and got 0% financing for 60 months....plus I get the $7500 tax credit.
FYI, there is also a 36 month lease for $350 per month.
Like others have said, why would you buy a used one?