[Tugrik]

Greetings! Just found this forum so figured I'd sign up.

I was one of the very first owners of the Nissan Leaf in California. Paired it alongside my gas car and drove it to as much of my job around the SF Bay Area as the range would allow. Played a lot of odd charging games back then to try and make it work out but ended fed up from the hassle of multiple charges a day. Just drove the Leaf to the south bay portions of the job, took the gas car the rest of the time.

I can't fit in a Tesla Model S - too tall of a torso, I tried! - and can't justify the cost of a Model X, so when the Leaf lease ran out and the larger-battery new Leaf wasn't ready yet, I swapped over to a Kia Soul EV. That can get me to most of the places I need without too much charging hassle, and there are enough L3s around the bay now to make it easier. Still, my life would get a ton easier with just a little more range.

When I saw the Bolt announcements nearly a year ago I marched over to my local dealer and tried to stuff money in their hands to get on the order list as soon as I could. They weren't ready to take my money yet but put me on a list to keep me informed. I was worried that I wouldn't fit in it but had high hopes about the range. When the Model 3 orders came up I hopped in line at the Palo Alto dealership and got my reservation. Still have it, but after long talks with my buddy who works at Tesla and him seeing how I don't fit in the S he's pretty sure the 3 is right out. I'll pass the reservation on to a buddy who wants it most likely.

About a month ago my dealer, Capitol Chevrolet in San Jose, told me the Bolt ordering process finally started and I got my $500 into their hands that day. Went through the online tool, got the order placed in Kinetic Blue Metallic with all the features and ended up being order number 1 at the dealer. Found out last week my TPW is 11/28/16 due to the options I ordered.

All the review videos coming out give me hope that it'll be tall enough and I'll indeed fit. The range looks stellar on those Highway 1 drives! I can't wait to be able to visit all three of my datacenters around the SF Bay without having to seek out chargers on the way. My chosen route would be about 160 miles. It'll be nice to 'retire' the Flex into road-trip and towing duties and stop all the commute-traffic wear and tear on it.

Once it's here, assuming I fit and keep it, I plan to tint the heck out of it like I do all my other cars. The rear-view camera-mirror option will be pretty cool for this. And I always beef up the sound just a little bit, though since I lease the electrics I keep that part pretty minor; usually just a trunk-subwoofer added in. Dashcam as well, of course, but I have to wonder how well it'll mount considering that huge cover-piece that appears to be behind the rear-view mirror where the camera would normally go.

Anyways, nice to see a good forum starting up, and I can't wait to take delivery and see if it works out!

 

[LightningBolt]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on getting your order in! Hopefully you'll fit into the Bolt. From the reviews out there, the Bolt has a tall seating position with more distance from the ground to the driver’s hip than a sedan.

did they give you a delivery date?

 

[Tugrik]

Only "early December", and that was just verbal by the salesperson at Capitol Chevrolet. The only from-the-mfgr number I have is the TPW of 11/28.

 

[devbolt]

If your TPW is 11/28 (just like mine), then you (and I) can expect delivery in mid to late December. It's a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks for rail transport from the factory in Michigan to the dealer in California. A co-worker who ordered his after me from the same dealer has a TPW of 11/14. We've promised each other that whoever gets their Bolt first has to let the other test drive the car.

 

[klowenst]

I also have a TPW of 11/28 and ordered Kinetic Blue Metallic.


I ordered from Gilroy Toyota and they expect delivery in late December or early January. I'm hoping for December since I think the federal tax credit has to be submitted with the taxes for the calendar year that the vehicle is purchased/leased in. If the cars arrive in January, that would be a whole year waiting to apply for the credit. No?

 

[Homebreww]

I'm another with a TPW of 11/28 through Capitol Chevrolet in San Jose CA. Shall we say first to receive their Bolt buys the others lunch next to the dealership?

Regarding tax credit... If you lease, the $7500 federal tax credit should be built into the liease financing as a "capitol reduction" of $7500. If you purchase, you'll need to wait until 2017 taxes.

There is also a cash California credit and if you qualify, you should get that a few weeks after applying, assuming the Bolt makes it on the California list of eligible vehicles; it's not on there yet! cleanvehiclerebate.org/eng/eligible-vehicles

 

[DucRider]

I also have a TPW of 11/28 and ordered Kinetic Blue Metallic.


I ordered from Gilroy Toyota and they expect delivery in late December or early January. I'm hoping for December since I think the federal tax credit has to be submitted with the taxes for the calendar year that the vehicle is purchased/leased in. If the cars arrive in January, that would be a whole year waiting to apply for the credit. No?

Yes, Tax Credit is based on year of purchase (title transfer). If it a January delivery, you can always reduce your 2017 withholding (W-4) by ~$150/wk ($7500/50 weeks or whatever is applicable). That way you won't need to wait until you file taxes to get a refund check. Just be sure and switch it back - you can even accelerate it and have no income tax withheld until you've "banked" the $7500.

And as stated above, if you lease, the finance company is the purchaser and gets the Tax Credit.

 

[klowenst]

Thanks for the clarification on the federal tax credit guys, very helpful!

 

[Tugrik]

I'm another with a TPW of 11/28 through Capitol Chevrolet in San Jose CA. Shall we say first to receive their Bolt buys the others lunch next to the dealership?

Sounds like a deal. If mine arrives early I'll let you sit in it to check size, and wouldn't mind the return favor if yours beats mine. What reservation number did you snag at Capitol? I'm curious how many they sold after mine!

 

[Homebreww]

Sounds like a deal. If mine arrives early I'll let you sit in it to check size, and wouldn't mind the return favor if yours beats mine. What reservation number did you snag at Capitol? I'm curious how many they sold after mine!

My "Capitol Chevrolet Order Number" is 33. My order was entered into the GM system October 14th. Yes, let's stay in touch and see who "wins"; odds are that your Bolt will make if first.

 

[moombolt]

I have an order number, how can we track the production progress ?

 

[devbolt]

Go to www.chevrolet.com
Scroll to the bottom where it says "Help Center".
Select "Chat Now"
Select "Check the status of my vehicle order"
When you connect to the chat agent, give them your order number & ask for the event code.
They should come back with something like "Your Target Production week is 11/28 and the event code is 3000."
You should be able to ask to signup for automatic e-mail updates. They may only allow you to do it when the TPW is less than 2 weeks out, but I'm 3 weeks out, and they signed me up today. I should get a weekly update starting next week.

Here's a list of the event codes:
• 500, this is a dealer stock order code used to order common vehicles. Please contact your dealer to receive an actual active order number.
• 1100, Preliminary order accepted (This means your dealer has entered your order into their system but does not mean they have the allocation to submit the order to GM yet. Speak with your dealer to verify when they expect to be able to submit your order for production)
• 2000, Order accepted by GM (This means the order has been submitted and accepted by production. You are now on your way.)
• 2030, Order re-edited (if necessary) (This is simply an edit code showing that something on your order has been changed. It does not mean your order has been accepted to production and really does not mean anything beyond your previous status other than a change has been made.)
• 2051, Order changed thru Web (same as above)
• 2500, Order preferenced (This means that the Order has been moved to the stage that parts department is now ready to place the orders for the components that will become your car)
• 3000, Order accepted by production control (This is the response from production to your 2500 status and is when Parts are actually ordered. No further changes can be made to your order once you reach this point.)
• 3100, Order available to sequence (This is more or less an inter-office memo from Parts to Production saying all parts are committed to this build, they are clear to sequence them for the build.)
• 3300, Order scheduled for production (This is the response to the 3100 status where Production is cleared to sequence and schedule the build) TPW usually avaiable
• 3400, Order broadcast (This is when the order is actually loaded onto the production line computers and parts are being staged for the build)
• 3800, Order produced (The vehicle is completed and has rolled off the line. A Vin is now available.)
• 4000, Available to ship (Vehicle is off the line and available to ship)
• 4104, Bailment Invoice (Shipping documents generated)
• 4200, Shipped (Vehicle has been moved by a carrier to another location or destination. If in combination with a 4300 status code then this is transfer to either a vendor for upfitting or to a distribution yard for final transportation.)
• 4300, Intermediate Delivery (In combination with a 4200 this is saying that the vehicle has been transported to a vendor or to a distribution center.)
• 4B00, Bayed (listed anytime a vehicle is sitting parked waiting for next mode of transportation. It can also be this status while in Quality Control)
• 4800 Rail Ramp Unload, end of the line by (if) rail. To be delivered by truck to dealer
• 5000, Delivered to the dealer
• 6000, Delivered to the customer
• 9000, Order Cancelled

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/topic/tracking-my-order/#ixzz4PM0RXsmH
​

 

[leocal11]

hey all:
i read today that Bolt production officially started today; see article below.
so does that mean they are ahead of schedule?
do those build dates coming in now or stay so far out?
and how is it that someone that ordered a car after you gets an earlier build date? that makes no sense.
still hoping for mid December.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/11/2017-chevrolet-bolt-ev-production-officially-begins/

 

[Bazinga]

Production started last month, I think, so they were right on schedule and deliveries should begin before the end of this year. Currently, they should be ramping up production to push more and more out per day.

 

[DucRider]

They run them on the same production line as the Sonic, and currently "insert" a Bolt every 4 or 5 cars.
Interesting look at the process with the batteries and drive trains being installed:
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictures/heres-how-chevrolet-builds-the-bolt-ev-on-same-line-as-sonic/

 

[reeler]

Just put in my order. My TPW is 12/19 so I hope it gets produced before the Christmas shutdown.

 

[Bazinga]

really depends on where you live, I think the Bolts produced before Christmas will be shipped to Oregon and California first.

 

[Yikesofriday]

Ordered mine yesterday. I have an order number and will go through the documented process described by devbolt (thanks!!) for figuring out when it will be made. My sales guy said I might have it by year's end whereas the fleet guy who put the order in just said, "Early 2017". Crossed fingers.

Quality Chevy in Escondido had 23 allocations I was told and 20 were gone as of yesterday, including mine. I didn't even bother working a deal - just rolled over and paid MSRP. I priced all three Tesla's and I don't mind saying that the Bolt sure looks to be a value to me even at MSRP given what the professional press is saying.

Decided I couldn't wait on an Elio anymore so am going EV and will figure out what to do with my Elio if it ever gets made.

 

[masters]

Anyone other than 12/19?

 

[moombolt]

anyone other than 12/19?

12/12