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Potential Bolt Owner with questions

5K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  Marriott574 
#1 ·
My wife and I, are considering our first EV, we are a one car family so this will be our only/main vehicle. I have tried talking to the local dealers but they are all clueless. We live in Northern Virginia. We currently drive a Ford Fiesta 5dr so the Bolt would be an upgrade in size.

My questions are:

For charging, at L2 what does the EVSE do? from my reading it goes between the wall socket and the car, does this replace the charging cable the car comes with?

The metro station and my office have EV chargers, do people feel concerned about the EVSE/cable being stolen, as it does not Lock into the car.

We love to kayak, can the roof take the weight of 2 kayaks, (100 Lbs total with the bars.) There was some discussion on this.

Does anyone have any information on battery degradation. I know the leaf lost a lot of battery capacity pretty fast?

Outside of the, Bolt and Tesla M3 (We have an reservation) are there any other EV we should be considering? The range on the new 2018 leaf is too short for us?
 
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Discussion starter · #4 · (Edited)
Thanks for the info, I understand the public chargers now, i thought it was an outlet you put your cable into but clearly its the other way around!

A follow up, does anyone actually use the DC fast charger? Seems useful but I don't know how frequently it would be used.

The depreciation is certainly a concern, we have always bought our cars, as we tend to destroy them, (1 Burnt to the ground along with a house fire, the current is full of scratches and the seats/trunk have stains from tuna fish (My wife is a commercial fisher woman).) So leasing has always been an issue as I think we would be hit with a lot of damage related costs when we return it. I would plan on keeping the bolt to the 100000 mark or beyond if it is in good working order.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
I have no space for a trailer so I would get some bars, but this is not an issue as we don't go far with them. I am also looking at the LT as i don't see the benefit justifying the cost of the Premier. Just weighing up the different packages. There seems to be a lot of inventory left on dealers lots around here, so I am hoping for a year end bargain! The one I want is the LT + DCFC + Driver confidence and the convince package. The lowest I have seen so far is $33,500 for this, not sure how much lower they can go, just wished VA still had state incentives, CA have some sweet rebates/credits available.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
I paid about $35000 for an LT with same configuration in FL. I do believe that they have shut down manufacturing of 2017 models to start producing 2018 ones. So your best bets may be end of Oct or Nov. I agree with you on the LT vs Premier. I'd have liked to get a Premier but in a non-CARB state, there just isn't thousands of dollars of incentives to offset the $5K increased cost.
The price difference between dealers is massive, some are still asking MSRP, just a few miles from others offering $5K + in discounts. I will have to act fast if the 2017 deliveries are done. I wonder if the dealer gets some incentive to move them, in the form of discounts on other cars/trucks so the dealers can take a loss on the Bolt.

My wife is still wanting to hold out for the Tesla but i don't think ours would be delivered in time for the tax credit, also the maintenance of the M3 is crazy for an EV. Guess I will need to do some more selling on the Bolt!
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
Unless you NEVER, EVER, EVER drive more than 100 miles from home, I say get the $750 fast charging option. There are actually a decent # of CCS (Bolt compatible) stations in the DelMarVa area, so if you wanted to go to the beach in OC/Rehoboth, or Va Beach for example, you'd want the fast charge ability for sure.

I'd also recommend checking out some Bolt dealers in MD. Criswell, Ourisman, and Win Kelly come to mind. You'd have to drive a little further, but MD's doc fee is $300 compared to VA's $600+.
Thanks for the link, I have been following the Model 3 closely. It looks like a great cat if they ever build any!

I have found a couple of the Bolt in the configuration that i want. Just time to pull the trigger.

We live in VA would we not then have to pay the VA fees to register in VA or can we drive in MD plates?
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
Virgina and Maryland have this agreement where MD dealers can submit VA registration on behalf of VA residents, and vice versa. So basically, being a VA resident and buying at a MD dealer would be the same as buying at a VA dealer. Maybe you can leverage VA dealers, saying the MD doc fee is $300+ cheaper, and see if they will bring the price down to match the cheaper MD fees.
Nice! Thanks for the info, this is really helpful.

So I have found some DCFC on I95 Near Richmond, one is at a Hilton the other at a Hampton, do you know if anyone can turn up and use these, or do they only allow guests to use them?

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
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Congratulations on considering making a big move to all EV on a one car family!

I LOVE my Bolt EV! I have to admit California makes driving one so much easier.

You will not experience the same battery loss, as GM has engineered maintenance into its design as shown by the experience of Spark EV drivers' experiences.
Thanks! The one car is not really by choice, I am blind and not allowed to drive (Except NC which some how has basically no vision requirements I use to live there and passed the eyesight test, mostly for fun).

Our family all live in range of the Bolt (just) there is one destination in NC that is 365 Miles from our house which would be the biggest head ache but a couple of hours of inconvenience is worth the EV benefits!
 
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