Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

doesn't apply to you Jay, but i have it on good authority that honda and toyota are just a few weeks away from bringing mass inventories following recovery from the Japan earthquake. apparently they're motivated to get back their share of the market, and will offer quite good incentives to buyers!

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

another update, this time on our 240VAC charging station.

I got a call from SPX (the company chosen by GM to handle home charging station installs) the other day to schedule a time for an electrician to come out to the house to do recon for the actual charger install. They said they had a window from noon-3pm open. I'd asked for something early in the morning, so I could just go into work a little late. they didn't have anything, so we agreed that they'd call me 30ish minutes before the guy was supposed to show up so i could get home.

today, i expected to get a call in the early afternoon. instead, as i looked at my email immediately upon arrival at work, there's an email that says "we'll be there at 10am"

arrghhh.

so, i go back home to meet the electrician. he takes a few pictures of the area where the charger will be installed, and of the electrical panel. i ask him if they received the pictures that SPX required me to take and upload to get the process started.

apparently, no.

not sure why SPX requires photos if they're not going to forward them to the electricians who actually need them. the guy that came out to the house basically duplicated the work i'd already done, and burned a bunch of gas in his pickup truck to do it.

luckily, this is for a DoE sponsored freebie charger program. if I was paying out of my own pocket for this level of grabassery, i'd be pretty peeved.

tl:dr - SPX seems to not know wtf they're doing.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

Gotta figure with any start-up situation there will be some hiccups along the way.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

@Fetch: From the looks of Ford's website, it does not look like the Escape Hybrid is being discontinued. You can build, price, and search dealer inventory for a 2012 Escape Hybrid.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

The announcement about the hybrid Escape was recent, and applies to the refresh or next generation. I would guess it is concerning the MY 2013 then. They are expecting mileage comparable to the hybrid with the ecoboost, and likely focusing hybrid part production for the C-max coming out that year.

I haven't checked Ford hybrids, but lightly used Toyota's generally go for nearly as much as new here.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

If you don't care how many miles are on the vehicle, an Escape Hybrid can be had for as low as $5,000. My brother in law (who works as a service manager in a Ford dealer) says he has only ever seen one Escape Hybrid that required new batteries, and that was a battery pack that was defective from the factory. He says they should outlast the vehicle, but I'm still hesitant about buying one with high mileage. One local dealer still has a new, never titled 2010 Escape Hybrid. I'm tempted to see what they'll take for it, but imagine if its still on their lot after all this time, they probably aren't marking it down any. Its a black one anyway, so it would have to be a heck of a deal for me to take it.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

I hate black cars myself, but that sounds like you could get a heck of a deal on it.

The Hybrid is being discontinued for the 2013 model year.

Beware of really cheap used Escape Hybrids. A lot of municipalities and service industries used them as company/city vehicles. They may be maintained, but they are not dealer maintained; they are usually maintained by the city garage, and they probably don't have much experience with hybrids. You also get into the rental car issue; i.e., people don't care for a vehicle that isn't their own as well as they would their personal car.

I'd run a CarFax check on it before I buy it.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

What are the special maintenance needs of a hybrid or electric vehicle, anyway?

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

There is none.
There might be a seperate cooling system for the invertor to care for.
Some things might not be as easy for DIYers, but that goes for any new car these days. ex. The Prius requires a Toyota scanner to bleed the brakes, which might be true for a regular with ABS. But, the shoes and pads will last in excess of 100k miles.

Re: Chevy Volt ownership experience
 

AFAIK all manufacturers' ABS requires their specific scanner, or an expensive aftermarket scanner with that specific feature, to bleed the ABS modules. You can still bleed the rest of the system the old fashioned way.