The Chevrolet Volt Is Commanding MORE $ On The Used Market Over The Nissan Leaf. WHY Are Buyers Paying More For The American Product?

One thing we like to do here at AutoSpies is monitor the used car market. Why? That's because everyone isn't on the market for an all-new automobile AND it is crucial to see the trends how all-new vehicles are fairing out once they leave the lot.

Any truly wise new car buyer will factor depreciation into their purchase.

This neatly brings us to our subject, used electric vehicles.

Agent 001 shot me a note last night pointing out a peculiarity: He noted that Chevrolet Volts that are a couple years old are fetching approximately $12-15,000 in the used market while Nissan Leafs of similar age are being priced at a bit of a discount at around the $9-10 range.

This left us wondering: WHY are buyers paying MORE for the American product?

Pure speculation here, but I have two reasons why this may be:

1) Range anxiety. Remember, the Nissan Leaf is a full electric vehicle and that means you do not have the benefit of a gasoline-fed complementary motor in case things get hectic. The Volt, on the other hand, does have a gasoline-fed motor and will net, give or take, 40 mpg once the batteries run out of juice.

2) Batteries running dry. One of the big question marks with used electric vehicles is this: What happens when the batteries inevitably start to lose their charge and become essentially useless? You can either 1) junk the car, or 2) buy a new battery pack. In the Volt's case you have option 3) drive it using only the gasoline-fed motor, which will still net you around 40 mpg. The Leaf without operational batteries is essentially a paperweight.

Having said all of this, what say you, Spies?

MDarringer - 2/3/2016 8:47:37 AM

+2 Boost

I'd take the Volt simply because it doesn't need down time.

poot66 - 2/3/2016 9:25:50 AM

+3 Boost

The Leaf looks more different and the Leaf is only electric which many people are afraid of, not having gasoline in event of an emergency.

Holydude - 2/3/2016 11:13:19 AM

+1 Boost

"WHY are buyers paying MORE for the American product?" -> Trump supporters think this makes them patriotic.

HoustonMidtown - 2/3/2016 1:27:03 PM

+3 Boost

Because the Leaf is hideous ?

vdiv - 2/3/2016 2:28:09 PM

+2 Boost

A few more reasons in no particular order:

-- The Volt was more expensive as new.

-- The Volt has much better driving dynamics.

-- The Volt has more power/stronger regenerative braking and a quieter drive-train when on electric.

-- The Volt can be driven fully on battery power daily AND taken long distance, can be the only car, good for multi-dwellers, college students.

-- The Volt was over-engineered by cautious GM.

-- The importance of that bench rear seat fitting three people in the Leaf is vastly overrated in a compact car.

-- Interior features such as the drive mode selector (PRNDL/B) is a traditional linear stick shifter in the Volt, and a dinky hockey puck in the Leaf

-- Dino juice burner in the Volt available to keep the occupants warm without sacrificing electric range.

-- People are fed too much FUD on electrics, don't realize how great they are, even the Leaf.

MorePower - 2/3/2016 3:53:13 PM

+2 Boost

The Volt will work in more states, as a viable form of a commuter car, than the Leaf.

The Leaf needs a state with plentiful public fast chargers.
The Volt needs an owner with an electrical outlet and a reasonably priced gas.
The Volt is a bigger car and slightly better looking than the Leaf.

vdiv - 2/3/2016 4:10:34 PM

0 Boost

Statistically the Leaf is perfect for a commuter car as the vast majority of daily commutes are less than 40 miles. There have even been people that have crossed the US in a Leaf with lots of time and charging. With a properly deployed charging infrastructure such as the west coast electric highway in Oregon and Clean Cities efforts in Virginia for example the Leaf can go places.

Getting people to really understand that along with having other choices has limited the car's appeal.

MorePower - 2/3/2016 6:40:34 PM

+2 Boost

I agree that as a commuter car, the Leaf is a better choice if you can install a fast charger at your residence, but the same can be said for the Volt.

I think consumers are favoring the Volt because:
- A lot of consumers can not install a 240v fast charger
- its size
- it works better in states that do not have a electric charging network.
- larger selection of available vehicles

vdiv - 2/4/2016 9:00:05 AM

+1 Boost

Charging at 120V 12A will give you about 40 miles overnight. Charging with 240V 30A is not really considered fast and is available, all you need is a dryer or a welding outlet and you have it. The charger is onboard the car and the charging cord comes with it.

The Leaf comes with DC fast charging capability that will do 80% charge in half an hour at a public station.

Vette71 - 2/4/2016 10:38:08 AM

+1 Boost

How many people have a dryer in their garage, or a welding circuit outlet? Very few. IF a person is a "true believer" then they are willing to go to such extremes to overcome the inconvenience of an pure EV. The majority of vehicle owners won't. The Volt concept or a plug in hybrid is a good compromise for many people, but even then sales of those indicate it is still an "early adopter" market.

vdiv - 2/4/2016 5:12:12 PM

+1 Boost

A more relevant question would be how many people have a garage at all :)

But if you are one of the lucky ones getting power in it is not a big challenge.

GM and their dealership network had little interest in the selling the Volt so don't use the sales as a direct indicator of the interest in such a car.

csites - 2/12/2016 8:15:26 AM

+1 Boost

The Leaf works best for a 2-car family. We've put 50,000 miles on ours in just 3 years, charging almost exclusively at home. Public chargers give us peace of mind, but are largely unnecessary for local driving. To go out of town, we just take our old gas car.