[lonnielevi]

I live in Lexington, Kentucky. Every Bolt here is basically selling for MSRP. I think I can count the number of Bolt's sold here on one hand. After going through the forums here, a user mentioned Phillips Chevrolet in Illinois. I ended up visiting their website and contacting the Frankfort, Illinois location to find a great deal. I put a deposit down and started my journey.

I ended up flying from Cincinnati to Chicago and the dealership agreed to pick me up from the airport (saved me a $60 Uber fare). They honored the same deal I had made over email and phone. After finally purchasing the Bolt, I left Frankfort, Illinois around 3:00PM EST and started my 380 mile trip. Beginning from a full charge, I headed for a DCFC (Greenlots) at a Rickers in Indianapolis. I showed up with a 40% charge and wanted to get to 80%. After using the restroom and grabbing some snacks, I got back in the car and passed the rest of the time with my Nintendo Switch. The 50 minute charge actually passed quickly and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the station did not shut off after a set time like EVgo.

As I approached Cincinnati, I took my second and last stop at a Walmart (EVgo). I still had a 33% charge and only had 100 miles to go, so I only charged for 19 minutes as I took a quick glance at the seasonal decorations.

I arrived home with 17 miles max and 12 miles min left. Considering how close I was to running out of battery, I actually never once had range anxiety.

This experience has made my fully trusting of EVs. I just wish my car had a network like the Tesla SuperChargers, even if it couldn't charge as quickly.

 

[lonnielevi]

Here is the first leg of my journey, wind turbines and all!

 

[lonnielevi]

Here is how much energy I used to reach 238 miles. Had about 5 kWH more of range!

 

[lonnielevi]

Also, here is my energy after reaching my house in Lexington, Kentucky.
I cut it close but still no range anxiety!

 

[XJ12]

Congrats. Thanks for sharing.

 

[-1-]

I leased my Bolt locally, but I've purchased three vehicles in the past, long distance. What a hassle, but they were worth the effort. I found the exact Bolt I would have ordered with no concessions. Got a good deal for this side of the country.

 

[bro1999]

Awesome!
It would be good to establish some kind of "Good/Bad Bolt dealer" database or something. Perhaps we should get a thread going in the sales section of the forum. Only thing is even the same dealership can offer polar opposite experiences, as one sales rep will be Honest Abe while another will lie more than that guy in a certain House of White.

I long-distance bought my Bolt (pretty much over text messages) from Rydell in Northridge, CA. Never waivered from the original deal they offered (at the time, $1k off MSRP, while some other dealers down the road were trying to charge 4-5K OVER MSRP). They Fed Ex'ed me the docs, I sent them back, and a couple of weeks later my Bolt arrived in MD on a truck (which I paid for). I was the first customer-purchased Bolt in MD by a good 2 months!

 

[lonnielevi]

I almost forgot to mention that I arrived home at 10:30pm. A 6 hour ICE trip took 7.5 hours in the Bolt.
Also, EVgo and Greenlots finally came out of pending on my credit card. The 50 minutes Greenlots charge was $8.44, while the 19 minutes EVgo charge was $9.55. And no, those numbers aren't backwards...

 

[lonnielevi]

Awesome!
It would be good to establish some kind of "Good/Bad Bolt dealer" database or something. Perhaps we should get a thread going in the sales section of the forum. Only thing is even the same dealership can offer polar opposite experiences, as one sales rep will be Honest Abe while another will lie more than that guy in a certain House of White.

I long-distance bought my Bolt (pretty much over text messages) from Rydell in Northridge, CA. Never waivered from the original deal they offered (at the time, $1k off MSRP, while some other dealers down the road were trying to charge 4-5K OVER MSRP). They Fed Ex'ed me the docs, I sent them back, and a couple of weeks later my Bolt arrived in MD on a truck (which I paid for). I was the first customer-purchased Bolt in MD by a good 2 months!

I guess I was a little bit closer to my dealership than you, so making a nice one-day trip was easy for me
My salesman was awesome, I even took him to lunch afterwards! And the finance manager that I signed papers with was just as pleasant. Phillips Chevrolet in Frankfort, IL was a dream to deal with.

 

[Enrique]

I have found that a lot of dealers in the Chicago area are willing to discount quite a bit if they know you're serious. Even on dealer websites many are listed as starting at $2k off, and from personal experience I know you can get closer to $4k off. No reason anyone should be paying MSRP. Congrats on not only your Bolt but your first road trip!

 

[lonnielevi]

I have found that a lot of dealers in the Chicago area are willing to discount quite a bit if they know you're serious. Even on dealer websites many are listed as starting at $2k off, and from personal experience I know you can get closer to $4k off. No reason anyone should be paying MSRP. Congrats on not only your Bolt but your first road trip!

Thanks! It was fun.
I actually got the Bolt for $3500 below MSRP and since my wife leases a 2017 Volt, GM added an extra $1500 off. MSRP was $39,690 for my LT model and after discounts, I was under $34,500. They even ended up beating my PNC Auto Loan APR of 3.89% with the same bank at 3.29%. Haha! With the interest saved, I actually added the extended warranty onto the loan.

 

[sparks]

Bought first Bolt but didn't sign papers as they were to deliver from out of state. Then do the legals at my house.
Could follow progress on line then nothing. About 150 miles into a 230 mile trip, driver had accident. Didn't buy that one. Dealer eventually sold it as new per carfax, for best , I suppose.