2011 Chevrolet Volt

2011 Chevrolet Volt Description

For sale is my 2011 Chevrolet Volt. I bought it two years ago because it was at the top of my list of "cars I thought were cool" and it fit perfectly into my life. Now I am getting ready to part with it so I can finally put the finishing touches on my 5 Megawatt Christmas Laser that I keep trained on the city of St. Louis at all times (they know why). It has about 82,500 miles on it, and when I charge it I can still achieve 40+ miles of all-electric driving during warm months (my record was 43).

If you've never driven an electric car before, they're a whole lot of fun. They move about in almost total silence. Even at highway speeds, you can have a whisper-quiet conversation with your passenger. Torque is monumental--almost 300 ft-lbs--at almost every RPM. It's not a Tesla, but you might find the performance similar to the BMW i3. When the battery depletes, the engine automatically starts, warms itself up, and then provides electricity to match the demands of the electric motor. See that last photo? That's me wheeling this thing around at Summit Point Raceway. I just wanted to see what it was capable of. I probably did about 10 laps that day and was able to completely charge it at the track before I went home. :)

Here's how mileage works: You get about 35-40 miles of all electric driving on warm days when not using the heater. You can use the AC, and it doesn't seem to degrade the range. After the battery depletes, you start to consume gasoline. But if you drive 35 miles on electric and 10 on gasoline, your fuel consumption for that trip is a whopping 175 miles per gallon. You can use the brand-new charger that I've included (the 110V 15 Amp unit) and completely charge it in about 12 hours. If you buy a 220V 20 Amp unit, you'll charge it in about 3 hours (and it will cost less!). If you do not charge it, you'll see about 38 MPG on gas only, and achieve about 300 miles of range. You can drive it this way indefinitely.

In the coldest months, the heated seats will automatically turn on, you can get lots of heat from the heater, it'll automatically defrost the rear window, and you can start it remotely from your phone or your key fob. If you do that while it's still plugged in, you can preserve battery power while using your house's electricity to heat the car. Expect to see a loss in range of about 40 percent in extreme cold. This is normal for Lithium batteries (they actually have to heat themselves and heat is costly to make!). I usually see about 23 miles electric range in the coldest months with the heat blasting and the heated seats on. I still saw more than 80-100 MPG on my round-trip commute! Of course, you still have the gas generator to get you wherever you need to go!

Speaking of cold weather, this thing is great in the snow. Especially... with the FOUR INCLUDED SNOW TIRES! :-) Pretty neat, eh?

"OK, that's all great, but what about my electric bill", you ask? Well, I found through comparisons of several months (going back a few years) that the car has increased my electric bill by about $25 per month. I charged it with the 110V charger. During the warm seasons, it uses about 8-9 gallons of premium gasoline per month (I drive a lot). That's less than $50 in total energy costs per month.

What do you need to know about this car specifically? OK, here are the details:

Presently, when charged, the car will report a 36-38 mile maximum during warm months. While this follows the natural degradation of Lithium batteries over time, it has not suffered any noticeable degradation. My test was always the 39.5 mile round trip to my house. Most of the time, the engine ticks on just before I park it coming home from work.

The car is currently being financed by my bank. When you show up to buy it, we'll head on over to the local branch, deposit your payment to take care of the lien, and take care of some paperwork. I will make up whatever the difference is at the same time. I will get some more details from my bank on Monday, but I think they have a good process for this. Check the regulations with your state for getting a temporary license plate so you can drive it home.

There is a small scratch on the front right corner of the bumper. There is also a chip in the grill. Both were present when I bought the car. The chip in the grill is consistent with a decent-sized stone chip. Take a look at the pictures for close-ups of both.

There were some recalls and service bulletins, all of which I had taken care of by Chevrolet. I can go over the details of these when you come to pick up the car but none were significant problems.

I just had the charger cable replaced under warranty. Chevrolet gave me a brand new one, we tested it, and I have not used it since then. (I've just been using gasoline to keep this charger pristine for the new owner.)

Oil was changed in the Spring of this year, and has plenty of life left in it.

All four tires are in good condition. One has some wear on the outer edge, but all have plenty of tread left. It looks like there are two different models of tires on there. The dealer must have replaced two of them before I bought it.

The included snow tires are in excellent condition with probably 90% or more of their tread left. I used them for three months this year. They are all of the same make and model.

The brakes are good but could use a run on the lathe. I almost never use them. I just keep the car in the drive mode with the maximum regeneration capability and use that to do most of the stopping.

The check engine light will periodically illuminate. I asked Chevrolet to look into this for me. What they saw is that the heater core controller was in a position it was not expecting. Something vague like that. It's been doing this for most of the time I've owned it, and I've been told it's not a critical issue. Heat works when it should, AC blows cold, and the $45 part is located snugly behind the dashboard. So I never bothered to fix it.

To sum it all up, you're going to love this car. It's got a huge cargo area and folding rear seats, so you can put almost anything in it (I've gotten lawn mowers and snow blowers in it). The economy of it is great, the chassis is shockingly good (see what I did there? Shockingly? Because it's electric!), and the ride is outstanding. Don't look at it as an “economy car” just because it uses almost no energy to get around. It's an electric sedan, with heated leather seats, a backup camera, parking sensors, a great GPS, and all the features you'd ever want in a car (except electric seats—no Gen 1 Volts got those).

Thanks so much for looking! Sorry for the super-long ad, but I wanted to do my best to make sure you knew everything you could about the car before buying. I encourage you to come out and take a look at it. I'll take you out for a drive and you'll see for yourself how wonderful Chevrolet's endeavor into the electric car realm truly is. I am located very close to BWI airport, so if you're into the fly-and-drive, I'll gladly come pick you up so you can take it on an adventure!