yes, i was considering buying one there in january and driving it home in march. but then i read about people breaking down on the trip home from the dealer, and changed my mind.
i have been working with this florida dealership as a backup plan for a few weeks now. i finally got some numbers after a lot of nonsense back and forth, the usual dealership sales pitches. turns out that they advertise msrp, but tack on $4,000. worth of useless accessories like special paint protection. they are willing to cover shipping and $500. for my lost deposit up here, but they still want $36,000. for a bolt euv lt that will cost me $32, 375. up here. i can't quite get their math to add up, but i am getting tired of the obfuscation. i wonder if they ever ask themselves why they have 30 bolts sitting on the lot for months at a time, when no one else ever has any in stock.
Maybe another attempt to negotiate about the middle to end of December might be more fruitful - they are then going to be faced with property taxes due on each of those vehicles as well as them being one year older and not a new model? It sounds like that might not even faze them though.
Two mechanics have refused to look at it. I’m not going to the dealer, time for a new car anyway. The good thing is, they don’t start it. The bad thing is they give you the bottom end of kbb trade in value. I suspect the intake manifold ports are clogged. Someone is going to get a great car, and someone is going to make good money
I already had a 30A outlet and a 16A EVSE, so I got the EVgo credit, which I've been able to use here and there on this trip that's kept me off the forum for a while. Going from Tampa to Arizona and from AZ to Ohio, it has saved me about $75 so far. I have several EVgo and Chargepoint stops planned for the trip back home next week. Also, being a retired industrial electrician, it was a simple matter to add a 50A Bryant outlet and an Autel wall charger as an upgrade to the flakey OEM dual level EVSE.
It's been a while since I gave any update on our big road trip in the Bolt. The car is still doing great after taking us to Arizona and from there to Ohio where we're staying for a week or so. Stat's so far: 4,251 miles a of our last DCFC in Delaware Ohio. (We're charging on L1 while staying at my mother-in-law's farm.) $354 in charging costs including at least 200 miles worth of free L1 at our Air B&B in AZ and maybe 100 miles so far here in Ohio. This is about eight cents per mile, compared to about five cents for the Prius or five cents on previous Bolt trips thanks to Electrify America raising their rates. And that's even with about $75 worth of free charging at a few Chargepoint stations. Also on this trip, we drove faster because of the longer distances. I expect the drive home to be a little cheaper thanks to the availability of more EVgo and Chargepoint locations. Charging stations seem to be getting busier. We never had to wait, but did see a couple others have to wait a little bit. Yes, the Bolt is a slow charger compared to most other EVs. BUT! We rarely had to wait for the car to finish charging. It was usually ready before we finished with food, bathrooms, or whatever. Many times we were there for less time than the other cars. Because the Bolt is so much more efficient, we didn't need as many kWh to reach the next charger. Too many people don't understand what a huge waste of time it is to charge to 80-90 percent when they only need maybe 50-60 percent to get to the next charger. Nevertheless, in eight full days of driving, we spent just over 25 hours charging. That seems like a lot, but we only stopped at about three rest areas or other places without charging. I wonder how much time we'd have spent stopped for gas, food, bathrooms, etc. in the Prius. It might not be that different unless we stretched our bladders and ate as we drove. Bottom line is that a big road trip in the Bolt is fun, imho. It takes a little more planning, but that's part of the adventure of being an early adopter. Kinda like gas cars 100 years ago. BTW, here's one rest area we did stop at. It's in TX on I-40 which is also US 66.
There might be Ultium charging stations available by the time of your next road trip. Gerdes spotted one in construction.
Sounds good. As I try to explain to people, I only use DC charging maybe less than 5% and when I do, I only charge up to what I need. The rest is level 2 and that's fast enough for what I use it for.
There is one in Williamsburg, KY right next to the Walmart/EA site. Also one just past Knoxville and just before I-40 and I-75 split in Tennessee. I plan to use both of those. I'm also going to try the older EVgo in Blue Ash, OH that we used before. That's near Cincinnati and would be my first stop. There's an EA not far after that if it's busy. There are also a couple EVgo choices just south of Atlanta. I've used both of those.
ah .... gona make the fast charging peeps wait for ya to finish your turn eh? teach 'em 1Corinthians 13:4 patience? a Ministry you could be martyred over in so cal. Tennessee folks are pretty laid back fortunately .
This'll be my fourth trip through TN. Never had a problem. Over 9,500 road tripping miles in the Bolt so far. Never had a problem. In fact, I'm very often in and out quicker than most since I try to always get there with a low SoC and leave with just enough to get to the next charger at a low SoC again. Tons of EV drivers treat the charger like a gas pump and stay there way longer than they should. I often see the same cars at one charging station after another. They aren't going any quicker than I am. Last year, an F-150 Lightning shadowed me for the entire driving day from northern KY to Chattanooga.
my bolt came in 2 weeks early. i can't purchase it until they receive the certificate of origin from gm later this week. in the meantime, i went to the dealer yesterday for a trade in value. he actually took the car for a test drive, which has never happened before. when he gets back, he says, 'have you noticed the misfiring when lightly applying the gas?' i couldn't believe it. i took my mech for a ride and he swore he couldn't feel or hear anything i told him about all the egr discussions on the net, but that i had no clue what it was. so he comes back with a lowball offer of 6k. i've had 4 offers online for 8k, but none of them have seen it yet. so i figured i was going to have to start calling them this week for an in person offer. on my way back from the dealer, i get an email from the salesman i have been working with. he asked if i would accept 7k. that comes to $7,450. with sales tax savings, so i took it to avoid the hassle of visiting carvana and etc.
i'm going to do the home evse, since we won't take the bolt on long trips. my L2 is 11 years old with a broken handle switch, and 20 amp breaker with 10 or 12ga wire. i got $65. gm points and using for all weather mats.
$3,500. Massachusetts credit. does anyone know if the dealer has to file anything with the irs, or give me any forms? They are clueless
This is the form. The main thing they want is the VIN. About Form 8936, Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)