Agreed 100%. I simply will not do business with a dealer that does gouging and will make sure all my friends know of them so they can go elsewhere as well.

I have followed this car since 2007, test driven it and am first on the waiting list at my local dealership ($1000 deposit). I have never owned an American car. I talk to people about this car endlessly and try to find out news about it most days of the week.

If my dealership were to try to bend me over on the price I would have to walk away. They will probably sell it to someone else willing to pay the $5,000 - $20,000 extra. They will get the short term sale from someone. I can tell you that I will not be a quiet disgruntled consumer and that in the long term they WILL lose. I would make it my mission in life to spread my story far and wide, especially about the specific dealership, so that they pay for that premium in a ruined name. I will glory in victory on the day those greedy jackoffs go out of business because they don't know how to treat customers.

Publicity

Some people say there is no such thing as bad publicity. In this case... wrong answer.

GM has a bad name for a lot of reasons right now (killed electric car, recovering from bankruptcy, poor business decisions, etc.), and this is one they don't need. I can see this becoming a national story, especially given the high profile of the Volt.

The Volt means a lot to GM and if they care about their own name then they had better be prepared to do something about this and fast.

I will not pay a mark up on ANY car.

I'm on the reservation waiting list for a Leaf, but if they try to jack up the price, I won't pay it.

I'm not desperate for a car. I can continue to drive my current car until enough competition arrives to prevent this type of nonsense from occurring.

I'm not willing to pay extra just to be first. It's not a competition.

I want an electric car because it's the right thing to do. I've been trying to buy one since the 1990's, but sadly, no major manufacturer's have ever sold one here (in Austin, TX). So, we've settled for a number of Hybrids from Honda and Toyota (2 car family).

So, any dealer that wants to lose my business (permanently) can go ahead and mark up the price.

And, frankly, for the amount of money we're talking about for the Volt, I could buy a NEW Prius and have it converted to a Plug-in, and not pay a cent of Mark up (and, for me, still get better mileage overall for my daily commute, and carry an extra passenger to boot).

Picket the dealerships that gouge. I live in Austin, Tx. and I intend to alert the local EV community about this and hope to get some people out in protest. Maybe the threat of bad press will force GM execs to put a lid on gouging.

I think the Volt might be a great product except for the fact that there is no information available on the lifespan of the batteries or the replacement cost of them when they eventually die (usually 3-4 years...). Then there is the small matter of high purchase price which is only slightly mitigated by a big federal tax credit which could disappear at any time and which is the only thing making this car even close to affordable for the masses. Then there is the unknown on what sort of maintenance can be done by non-dealers (You, me or the local mechanic) on the vehicle. Not only is this a motor vehicle (still has a gasoline engine) but an electric vehicle too... This will make the maintenance situation more interesting for owners. Personally, I won't have anything to do with any machinery that has so many unknowns as this vehicle will have. To costly a risk for me and I believe for most Americans, especially in these times of economic and financial uncertainty. For me, as professional techie who understands "Mean time before failure", I am not willing to sink upwards of $50-$65K (price gouging at the dealer level included) in a vehicle with so many unknowns. I wish the potential and future owners of this piece of mystery machinery a heartfelt "Good Luck" with their purchases.

@Ex-EV1 Driver.... I base this on my 20+ years as an electronics tech who knows something about Lithium ion battery technology. Batteries have life spans, that is a fact that is beyond dispute. It is a matter of physics and chemistry. The state of the art in that technology has not advanced much in the last 5 or 10 years other than in increasing the size and output of batteries and in the cooling technology which will increase the life span somewhat. The real problem is that there are a finite number of times a battery can be charged and discharged. Each time this cycle is done, the battery becomes minutely less able to charge to full output. Eventually it will reach a point where it will become unusable. Then it will have to be replaced and the old one recycled. I don't have to drive a Volt or any other vehicle with such technology to know this. It is simply a fact that hasn't been put out there much. Those of us who chase trons for a living know it and so do the engineers....But they ain't talking either because their livelihood depends on this system to succeed.

I don't understand why dealerships still exist. Automakers should sell their own products over the internet for a defined, no-haggle, price (much like most commodity producers... consider Apple, Sony etc.). Dealers would continue to exist only if they were capable of adding value for the consumer.

Yes, that means that automakers would have to buy some land in each state and put cars there for people to pick up.

If this happened most "dealers" would close up shop quickly, or completely specialize in the used car market.

It would be a big win for consumers, as the middleman, in this case, takes a big chunk of change.

Someone here is actually thinking of buying a first generation VOLT? The first year problems with this car will be legion.

With the Volt you will have many disappointments...However it will be in the shop, leaving lots of room in your garage...Your life will be very interesting.

Your weight is 213 lbs.

If GM or any other manufacturer for that matter really wanted to prevent dealers from selling with high mark ups over MSRP it could. If there is nothing preventing dealers from selling at above MRSP then i assume (and i realise that is a big assumption that could wreck my argument, but it would only require a small rewording of the manufacturer and dealer agreement contract to address) that there nothing preventing GM increasing the cost of the car to the dealer. So all GM has to do is insist that a customer question-air is completed and submitted to GM with every volt order placed in it it asks how much did the customer have to pay for the car. If a dealer charges $20,000 over list price then GM charges that dealer another $20,000 next time they order that model. This way at least the additional premium paid by the end user goes to the company who has spent money developing the new technology and not some greedy middleman dealer.

Buyer beware of Nissan Santa Cruz! Today is 03/20/11. I called 15+ Nissan dealers in the SF, Sacto area and even Modesto and Fresno to add my name to the waitlist for a Nissan Leaf should any of those who pre-registered and rec;d notice that their Leaf is ready change their minds, fail to get financing, etc.

Beware: Gouging is alive and well and will be increasing as the Leaf arrives in the US. Of all the dealers I called, all agreed to add me to their waitlist. One dealer, Nissan in Santa Cruz, said they had one in stock to sell as someone just got it and "changed their mind" a few days ago. Salesperson "Scott" told me that a "$5K premium was being added since they had several people interested in the buying the car". He then said "plan to be here tomorrrow, Mon. 3/21, at 10a" and he would sell it to me. I was planning to re-arrange my work plans, take a day of vacation, and drive the 100+ miles from north Marin to Santa Cruz to get the car. Something told me to double check so when I called back Scott "was busy" so I was given to "Mike the manager". When I asked Mike if he was sure the car would be held for me, he said "don't worry, I'll hold the car for you, but wait for Scott to call you". When I called back again right before they closed (since Scott never called me back), another sales guy said he was planning to lease the same car to clients of his who were out of state.

SO...long annoying story short: Nissan Santa Cruz is price gouging, they are promoting "biddng wars", and they have no concept of customer service. They are trying to having a bidding war go on much like I experienced when buying a home in Marin in 2006. Even if the Leaf has people lining up around the block, customer service is ALWAYS first. If you want to work with a bunch of liers that have no consideration for how busy customers are and could care less if you take a day off from work, scramble to make work arrangements at the last minute, then drive 100+ miles and be told the car you wanted is already gone, then Nissan Santa Cruz is the place for you. Thank goodness I caught them in their lie before I was made a fool.

Laura, how were you going to get this vehicle home if the dealership is 100+ miles away? Hopefully you were expecting to tow it back. Unless that 100+ miles is all downhill, you're not getting there in a leaf. It may have been a good thing that you didn't get that vehicle from that dealer.