Posted on 07/14/2011 6:23:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
Back in May, Cars.com's long-term Chevrolet Volt was involved in a collision that left the plug-in hybrid crippled. The initial repair estimate? A wallet-sapping $10,500.
Of course, these sorts of initial estimates rarely turn out to be accurate and this damaged Volt was no exception. In the end, the plug-in four-door cost $14,187 to get back to its former glory.
The difficulty in repairing this Volt, it seems, lay in the vehicle's additional cooling systems and complex engine control module. According to Ryan Tamblyn, the man in charge of repairing the long-term Volt, the damaged plug-in had no fewer than five heat exchangers that had to replaced as well as an engine control module that needed reprogramming. All told, the Volt underwent nine weeks of extensive automotive surgery before it was ready for action. Anyone else out there have any experience in getting a Volt repaired?
What is a “long-term” Volt?
A lease?
The list of reasons NOT to buy one of these ridiculous things just keeps getting longer and longer.
Is the author asking that question of both Volt owners?
They would’ve gotten a far better value by using the money to buy a 3-4 year old Honda Civic.
Initial price of the Volt?
Type of collision?
Amount of damage (not cost estimates, but physical amount)?
Cars.com does ‘long term’ road tests of vehicles and critiques them for their readers.....................
I fear that the sales figures of 300-400 per month gives you a pretty small universe to sample.
Maybe you should try sampling Delorean’s or Edsel’s.
$14187 was the actual amount. 10k was the ‘estimate’................
Nine weeks is a long time to be without your car..................
Nine weeks? I think it would take a lot less time to build a new one. Write it off for the parts.
Probablytook them that long to figure out a way to repair the thing without getting electrocuted, and I would bet a Chevy engineer had to reprogram the thing.
Then, another time, some river rats gnawed through some wiring and it cost a few hundred bucks to fix. Apparently the wires are made of something yummy and biodegradable.
HA!
You are VERY correct on that assessment - saw a comparison of the economic and ecological “cost” to buy a new hybrid vs. a used car and for every new hybrid that comes off the line, the ecological “cost” is 10+ years to equal the used car.
Basically, it’ll take over 10 years owning that new little I-Feel-Good-About-Doing-My-Part P.O.S. before you have actually “done your part” ecologically. Economically? Well, this article definitely shows that repair costs are astronomical...not to mention that claims adjusters/body shops have to have special training on how to actually “touch” the car so they don’t get zapped.
If this s the case, why would the government buy so many of them? And who will repair them?
Never mind... Dumb question.
HOWEVER, even if the perfect electric car is produced, how will we ever overcome the most vile president's promise that “ under my plan, energy rates will necessarily skyrocket” or be able to overcome the high percentage of political retards who elected him? This man and his minions have begun a cold war with the citizens of the USA and all too few are acknowledging this fact.
Let alone expecting ANYONE on FR to own a (Re)Volt?!?
There could be more? Seems like a lot of energy wasted on heat with a Volt. Kind of explains the 40 mile range.
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