WUSA9 VIDEO: Sticker shock for local Chevy Volt car shopper
(Fallon Forbush) When 463 Partner Jim Hock looked into buying his first electric car, he wasn’t expecting to pay more than sticker price.
His heart was set on the 2012 Chevy Volt. He had the features down to the color and even had a charging station installed in his garage before setting out for his local Chevy dealership. But Jim isn’t the only one with a love affair with this machinery.
The Volt has earned impressive industry accolades, including the Motor Trend Car of the Year, North American Car of the Year and the highly coveted recommendation from Consumer Report.
Should Jim have been such a nag when his dealer told him he’d be getting a deal if he only had to pay a $5,000 up charge?
Word on the street is that dealers have charged 50 percent higher than General Motor’s asking price. That’s up to $20,000 over sticker price.
"The price is very fair," Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said in an interview. "The Volt is one of the first modern-day electric vehicles. The products that change our lives always cost more at first."
Whether you think an innovative car with first-time features that is bringing electric travel into the mainstream makes sense of dealers’ demands or that Jim’s shock is justified, there is one certainty. That is, consumers are savvy and they’ll always shop around.
Such an up charge didn’t keep Jim from getting his coveted car at an advertised price and the media is spreading the word to other consumers who just might have a crush on it too.
