Chevy Volt Maintenance Cost [Yearly & Monthly]
Brussels, Belgium - January 10, 2012: Silver Chevrolet electric vehicle on display during the 2012 Brussels motor show. People in the background are looking at the cars.Chevy Volt is one of the more popular hybrid electric cars that is sold today. This car runs both off of gas and off electric power and is quite cute and fun to drive according to owner reports.
This is a popular car that many people pick up to be their daily driver. This leads to the question of the cost of maintenance for the Chevy Volt, which can impact its overall desirability for some people who are shopping for hybrid cars.
The average cost of Chevy Volt maintenance each year is $550. This includes common services and does not figure in emergency repairs to breakdowns of major parts.
If you have purchased your Volt new, these costs will only come into play once your warranty period has expired. If you want to learn more about the cost of Chevy Volt maintenance, you need to read on!
What is the True Cost of Chevy Volt Ownership?
The true cost of ownership of a car considers more than just the purchase price. This means that the true cost of ownership includes things like depreciation, repair costs on average over the lifespan of the car, and the cost to handle routine services.
This is the true mark of whether a car is affordable to own or not. You might not have to spend that much to buy a car, but if the car is always breaking down or it needs lots of maintenance, this can render the car to be far more expensive than you thought it would be.
The true cost of ownership for a Chevy Volt is $34,186. The average cost to buy this car is $23,229 and the taxes and fees on average are $359. The car actually depreciates very sharply over time and the total expected depreciation is $15,756.
Financing charges can add as much as $4,223 to your true cost of ownership, but if you bought the car in cash, you will be able to remove this consideration from the cost of ownership.
The original large fees and costs that will lead to depreciation during the first year of your ownership of this car come in the form of financing charges.
Depreciation and insurance. Insurance can be quite steep on these cars because they are not common overall and parts are more expensive for them because of this.
While you cannot avoid some of these costs, it can be easy to see the value in saving so much money on gas and overall maintenance during the early years of your ownership of a Chevy Volt.
These are quite reliable cars overall and many people happily drive them for years without coming up against the highest potential costs for ownership of these cars.
What Are the Common Maintenance Costs per Year for Chevy Volt?
As with any car, over time your Chevy Volt will become more expensive to own and drive. This often comes to a head at about 7-8 years of age and most makes and models of cars are their most expensive during this time period.
This is because engine part failures and other major component failures are more common when a car has been driven for that many years. The cost to maintain your Chevy Volt per year is summarized below.
Remember that sometimes things crop up that you could never expect and that these numbers are average numbers. You might pay more or less than this amount for your maintenance during each of these years of driving a Chevy Volt.
| Year | Cost |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | $200-$300 |
| Year 2 | $200 |
| Year 3 | $500-$600 |
| Year 4 | $300-$400 |
| Year 5 | $300-$400 |
| Year 6 | $300-$400 |
| Year 7 | $300-$450 |
| Year 8 | $600-$800 |
As with lots of other cars, this make and model of car experiences a sharp increase around 7 years of age.
This has been shown to come way down again in year 9, but that 8th year when things start to break down all at once can be really expensive.
Many people avoid owning cars for this long due to that sharp spike in repair and maintenance costs as the car ages.
Common Maintenance Items and Their Costs
Everyone expects that they will have to pay for periodic oil changes at about $60-$100 each and that tire rotations and wheel alignments might crop up.
These tire services can cost about $300-$500 on average but can be higher if you have to buy a replacement tire or if there is damage to the car that has led to the need for the alignment service.
Some other items that commonly need attention as your Chevy Volt ages are brake caliper repairs which come in at $470-$600 each.
Door lock actuators can have issues in this vehicle as well and you might pay $490-$670 for this service per actuator. Ball joint replacements can cost $300-$500 and you might pay $130-$150 for a cabin air filter replacement.
Overall, these are common repairs and replacements that should not concern you too much. The weather and the kinds of roads that you encounter frequently in your daily driving can also have a lot to do with these services being needed at all.
If you are driving on nicely maintained roads and do not encounter a lot of snow and ice each year, your car will be more likely to avoid some of these repair needs.
Do Electric Cars Cost More to Maintain?
There is some truth to the rumor that electric cars can be more expensive to maintain than gas-powered cars.
There are more electronics and other sensitive parts in these cars and you might find that some repairs are much more expensive if they tie into the battery portion of the car’s mechanics and parts.
You will save a lot of money on gas when driving this kind of vehicle, which can help to offset other costs and many people report that the cost for repairs on electric or hybrid cars has come down significantly over the past 8 years or so.
Studies show that on average, hybrid cars and electric vehicles cost $330 less a year to maintain than gas-powered vehicles.
That being said, what if the battery is the reason that your Chevy Volt needs to be serviced or repaired? How much does a battery service cost when you need to fix a hybrid car battery that has failed?
The bad news is, that if your battery goes bad in your electric or hybrid car, the cost can be quite steep.
There are often extended warranties to cover this kind of problem and you might want to consider investing in one of these warranties if you are worried about having to pay for a new battery while you own your Chevy Volt.
Batteries for these kinds of cars can cost between $3,000-$5,000. This can be really painful but the good news is that some companies will be able to recondition your battery which only costs $750-$1,500.
While this is not a common problem to encounter, it is a factor that you might want to have in mind if you are shopping for a hybrid car, particularly if you are looking at older used vehicles that might be more likely to need this service.
Most hybrid batteries will last for 80,000-100,000 miles and there are some warranties out there that dealers offer that will cover the batteries in hybrid cars that they manufacture for 8 years or up to 100,000 miles.
This can make the worry over the battery costs minimal and you will find that you probably never have to use this warranty while you are driving a hybrid car.
Dealer warranties often add a very small total cost to your purchase and you can usually finance them into your overall purchase if you wish.
Chevy Volt is Affordable to Maintain Overall
There are many cars that are far more expensive to own and maintain than a Chevy Volt. These are reliable cars that can save you a lot of money on gas over the years that you choose to drive them.
You will find that most other hybrids and electric cars will all have the one big drawback of having expensive batteries that might be costly to replace.
You can offset this cost with a good battery warranty from the factory if you are worried about this part of the cost of ownership. This should not concern you too much as these batteries are made to last for 80,000-100,000 miles.
For those who are worried about the overall costs of maintenance for a hybrid car, this is actually a much more affordable car to own than some gas-powered cars.
You will get a lot of great benefits from owning this vehicle and reasonable maintenance costs are one of the big advantages of this kind of purchase.
These are nice and straightforward cars to care for that many people find to be a good choice for commuting and for money—savings overall throughout the time that they drive and own this vehicle.
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