[RecessionProofDriver]

Hello! Got a good story for you guys!

Today I bought a 2019 Premier in Kinetic Blue with Dark Galvanized/Sky Cool Gray interior, all options today. Now comes the story!

I have a local dealer near me in PA, had one Premier on the lot and only two options on it. The salesman knew next to nothing about EVs. I test drove it and ended up explaining the features to him (thanks YouTube!). I am a repeat customer to this auto group (bought new loaded Pacifica 10 years ago off their lot) and told them I had two 16 yr olds driving soon so I would probably buy two more cars in the next few years so could they give me a good "loyal customer" deal on their last Bolt? Told them many cars on sites are much cheaper and explained I talked to other dealers within driving range who would match or beat their price. (Went to Car Gurus and priced Bolts out within 200 miles of me)

"I'll talk to the manager". Talked. "Can't do it. He's as low as he can go he says". So sorry. "Have you thought about ordering one? We can help.""We might can do a dealer trade or get one from another dealer, but I'll have to ask how that works." Pfft. Found a dealer in Upstate NY with a few. Talked to the salesman and he gave me a price $1,000 cheaper and with ALL options. Even gave me 2.99 financing when my CU was offering 3.09 (score!) As I was picking it up, salesman told me they had a bunch more shipping in for October. (not sure if I'm allowed to mention total prices we discussed/sold for so I won't)

Now comes the kicker: Because they offered lower financing, I went with their banks obviously. Since the financing went through a NY institution not a PA institution, they don't add the PA sales tax into the loan; its based on where you live. I will just write a flat check to PA for the full amount of tax owed. By doing that, I don't have several thousand dollars financed as tax into a loan. Going with a PA sale at the local dealer I would have had to finance the sales tax rolled in, since I'm a PA resident.

I also qualified for no real rebates from that NY dealer either. No "military, loyal customer, student, leaser, etc" Only thing I qualified for is Federal and PA State ones.

So not only did I save on the competitive deal saving $1000 better than my "local" price with more choices/options, I will also have a couple thousand dollars saved in the long run because not lumped-in.

The funny thing is since Bolts get free charge at Chevy dealers, I'll be pulling into my local quite a bit and charging up since it's close, plus some of my maintenance/warranty work. I may even be the talk of the office for a while with the salesmen smoking outside

Anyways, I am now a RecessionProofDriver! :laugh:

 

[Bolt Action]

Welcome to the club, and glad you snagged yourself a 2019 at a great deal. Curious about your handle, what it means to be a 'recession proof driver' . . . Trying to understand the term's tie-in with EV and ICE cars.

 

[RecessionProofDriver]

As someone who is old enough to have experienced gas being doled out on Odd/Even days in the 70's, you realize just how vulnerable ICE cars are to certain other countries as fuel, and why it causes so many problems in many areas of life... most directly, more money.

Then figure in the recession during the Bush era and what that did to people and how they had to get rid of all those expensive SUVs and trucks because they couldn't even afford gas along with the leases/payments after their houses went underwater. That's not even counting expensive ICE repairs.

Lastly, considering another recession is well overdue as a correction not only for the US, but for the glut that is in condos/buildings in Asia over decades, the serious crashing going on in Australia right now with real estate and these Trump tariffs... one realizes it's probably coming very soon.

Being retired and taking advantage of the full rebate $7,500 with a Bolt rather than the short of a Tesla's rebate now, owning my house free and clear and no debt (before this purchase), and now on cheap electricity as a primary fuel source with far less maintenance going forward... there isn't anything that can sink me so I'm recession proof.

3 years / 36,000 miles 5 years / 60,000 miles 8 years / 100,000 miles 6 years / 100,000 miles 5 years / 60,000 miles... all on one car. These are the kind of warranties that allow that imo.

An ICE car is the last link in a horrible chain that makes many people vulnerable to recession forces... at least that's my take on it as a middle-class guy.

 

[esa92101]

Congratulations! I’ve had mine for about a month and absolutely love it.

As a side note, my local dealer said that they are not really letting people charge at their chargers which is contrary to what I’ve been reading on the web.

 

[RecessionProofDriver]

Congratulations! I’ve had mine for about a month and absolutely love it.

As a side note, my local dealer said that they are not really letting people charge at their chargers which is contrary to what I’ve been reading on the web.

If they tell me that, I think I'll have a chat with Chevy corporate through some kind of complaint. I can't imagine they'd be cool with that kind of denial for Bolt owners for cars they are actively trying to sell.

I could imagine if Nissans, Teslas and BMWs formed a charging line and they told them politely "no" because it's off-brand.

 

[neutrondrip]

If they tell me that, I think I'll have a chat with Chevy corporate through some kind of complaint. I can't imagine they'd be cool with that kind of denial for Bolt owners for cars they are actively trying to sell.

I could imagine if Nissans, Teslas and BMWs formed a charging line and they told them politely "no" because it's off-brand.

Every dealer is different and treats their chargers and access to them differently.

On a recent long-distance trip, I called a Chevy dealer on my route and politely asked if I could stop to charge my Bolt EV for 30 minutes while passing through. It would have been on a Sunday, so the dealership would have been closed, but instead of just telling me "no, sorry" they lied and said that the charger is inside the service bay and would be locked up. Numerous photos on Plugshare show that the charger is outside of the building. I can understand "no, we're closed, it wouldn't be safe or turned on, etc.", but why lie? Maybe they thought I might try to stop by anyway if they said it was outside but nobody would be there?

 

[Patrick Maloney]

Local dealer in central Maryland blocks the lot Saturday night through Monday morning.

Taxes... you never have to roll your taxes into a finance. They like to for ease and money to the company, but you don’t have to. Consumer is in charge? ?

 

[Bolt Action]

Thanks for the explanation. I, too, remember the beginnings of OPEC and the oil embargos, and the long lines for gas.

Just a small clarification, the Federal EV $7500 is a tax credit rather than a rebate.