Most GM dealers can service the Chevy Bolt EV. Just call and ask each one. As for a "guide", the Bolt EV has little user maintenance. The only fluids to check are the brake, the windshield washer, and the coolant. The only user replaceable parts are the wiper blades. The rest is similar to any other GM vehicle as to check conditions and wear (tires, interior, exterior).

 

I don't think there's a used Bolt buyers guide yet as many of us purchased new to take advantage of the recently expired $7500 federal rebate credit, state credits, and Chevy aggressively discounting new cars (often 9-10k off MSRP or more) and genera unavailability of used cars on the market as you're finding.

That being said, the Bolt is generally very reliable with fewer moving parts than a traditional ICE vehicle. Every dealership will have a service manual for the Bolt if you do bring it to a dealer and require maintenance, and even things like complete battery replacement would be detailed in the manual and be doable for the trained mechanics at your dealership. The rest of the maintenance items, like a brake job or suspension parts replacement would be no different from a Chevy Cruze or any other vehicle, so they would have plenty of experience with it.

Purchasing out of state is probably a good idea as there are a ton of Bolts in California and other states that push EV and PHEV vehicles with incentives. Shipping is probably your best bet if you are doing something like California to Houston, but you could maybe drive it too if you map out your route and have time for the car to recharge and the car you buy is equipped with DCFC.

Good luck on your Bolt buying experience and welcome!

 

I'm very interested to know how you make out on this. I can envision a world where a second one could invade my life at the right price.

 

It's crucial that you have a good service option when you buy any car - ICE or Electric. Be sure that you have a dealer who is friendly to Bolts before pulling the trigger. If you get waffling or a no when you check the dealers, drop the idea of a Bolt. You know in your heart that there will be a service issue down the road where you need a reliable dealer to help you...

 

True. A like-new McLaren just went through the auction for $90,000. That's a bargain for world-class supercar, but there's not a service facility within 300 miles and the cost of said service is certain to boggle the mind. When used exotics go down in price, the cost of service goes up in frequency and stays at the original retail cost.

Having said that, the idea that a quick walk-through or conversation with a service manager of a Chevrolet dealership is going to have any real world guarantee of 'good service' later when one brings in a used car he bought somewhere else does not hold true in my sixty years of car ownership.

jack vines

 

I'll see what kind of response I get from dealers. Are there any forum members here in Houston I wonder?

I've always bought vehicles around $10k and 100k+ miles, and kept them 10+ years while maintaining myself. I can strip down an ICE car pretty easily, but an EV would be completely new territory for me in regards to servicing the drivetrain.

The idea of taking a vehicle to a "mechanic" to do auto repairs for me is a little unsettling, let alone if the service departments are as clueless as I am.

The only dealer I visited in person sold no Bolts and pretended to not know what it was.

 

I'll see what kind of response I get from dealers. Are there any forum members here in Houston I wonder?

I believe there's at least two forum members from the Houston area. @keeperchris is one.

 

I bought a used Bolt with 106,000 miles on it, because unlike most Bolt owners I don't have a tax liability of $7500. My wife rolled over 117,000 miles this past week, and we haven't had to do anything but plug it in. I would bet you'll be okay buying a car the same age with 18,000 miles.

With that said, when shopping for your Bolt the most important thing to look for is color, options, tire life, and cost.

 

Thank you! That's the kind of reporting I'm looking for. My leaf battery needed replacement at 105k so to see a 100k+ Bolt out there, and still has full capacity, fills my heart with happiness.

 

If you have not already found the, great teardown videos of the bolt are

Professor Kelly has done an amazing job educating us all on the inner workings of the Bolt. See his youtube channel for battery pack and others.

As others have said, the Bolt has proven to be an incredibly reliable vehicle, don't trust me, see also consumer reports.

Over 100k miles is still unproven for most of us, but not GM testing or the Bolts used for Maven no idea what they have racked up now, that was back in 2017, and soon @NewsCoulomb . Some Volts have very high mileage, which bodes well for us.

Having now had mine for 20+ months and also having maintained my own vehicles most of my life, I would not personally be intimidated by maintaining a Bolt myself. The Bolt is built in typical GM fashion, comprised of replaceable modules, with most parts that will need to be replaced between 100k and 200k miles not likely being the EV powertrain but more likely tires and suspension components.

I would anticipate the used market showing greatest Bolt availability starting mid to late 2020 when they start to roll off lease. My very unscientific guestimate of those that purchased a Bolt is that they intend to keep it and not trade anytime soon...

Here is the TSB and service manual link

And here is the publically accessible portion of GM Techlink

I had lots of fun working on ICE vehicles over the years but I have to say having a vehicle that requires little to no service is even better, I now spend my time watching professor Kelly tear them apart and on this forum ;-)

 

Here is the TSB and service manual link

And here is the publically accessible portion of GM Techlink

I had lots of fun working on ICE vehicles over the years but I have to say having a vehicle that requires little to no service is even better...

Heck if the Service Manual is available then given the simplicity of Bolt's drivetrain, simple unfamiliarity shouldn't be a barrier to DIY maintenance in the future.

Not really comparable but I own a couple of orphan farm tractors. In near 20 years owning a 1980 Yanmar I've never had an instance of parts unavailable. Yanmar departed the US market after these were sold. The original US selling dealers, and also the 'new Yanmar' dealers franchised when Yanmar returned a couple of years ago, pretend they never heard of the 80's YM models. No problem, there are a couple of specialty places that support these by mailorder. One of these firms contracted with the original US manufacturer of rollbars and now offers them for all models, That firm and another contract to have NAPA-quality replacement parts manufactured, likely in China.
These tractors are as well supported as old VW's, Jeeps, 60's Mustang etc. I expect maintaining a Bolt far in the future - if the GM dealers abandon them - won't be much different than maintaining an old Jeep. The parts will be out there, and in user groups, you will find the shared expertise to coach you through an unfamiliar repair. But most of all Bolts are simple, there's just not much there to fix.

 

This might help your price forecasting
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/Chevrolet-Bolt-EV-d2397

 

Took our Bolt in for inspection today, at our local small Chevy dealer. They have a 2017 LT with DCFC, Comfort & Convenience Package, Driver Confidence Package, and rubber mats, in addition to the carpet ones. Only 12K miles, for $26K. I checked it with my Torque Pro. Battery capacity shows 60.9 kWh. Somebody is going to be very happy.

 

As others have pointed out, that's not a particularly good price and was pretty awful when the tax credit on new GM EVs/PHEVs was still $7500.

Also, people should stop referring to the Federal tax credit as a rebate. It's not a rebate and not be confused w/actual rebates provided in areas (e.g. utility, county, state, etc.)

 

Thanks everyone. I'll check out the breakdown videos. I went and test drove a 2017 the other day. It was $10k over my budget limit but I finally got to see the car in person. Loved it and the drive. I can see what people are saying about the seats.

The hunt will continue.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't be that happy with $26K even on a fully loaded (used) LT. I mean, I guess you have to be now that the federal rebate is halved.

I bought my loaded LT for $32,650 out the door...that comes to a $25K car after the full $7,500 rebate (which I qualify for). I unfortunately do not live in a state that gives further discount, but you can tack that on if you do. It's an odd market out there for EVs, so we'll see in the next few years.

-Alex

 

Yes the used prices are not good in this area at all, likely because of such a low supply. I looked at a 2017 that they wanted $30k for. Yet down the street a dealer is selling brand new ones for $33k...that's the same price as the used one when factoring the tax incentive.

Naturally their Bolt still isn't sold.

 

https://www.cleanfuelsutah.com/inventory/view/11411497/2017-Chevrolet-Bolt-EV-Premier/

 

73K miles in 2 years is impressive. And 6.85% sales taxes is loco!

-Alex

 

Well I will post mine here when they finally come out with a pick up truck

 

I test drove another Bolt and a couple of Volts. It looks like the Gen2 Volt 2016/2017 is going to be the winner.

I loved the Bolt and it would be my first choice, but they are just way too expensive.

 

I'd recommend a first generation Volt over a 2nd generation. The 1st Gen has a 5/5 CR reliability rating vs 3/5 for the 2nd gen.

 

Personally the credit is irrelevant because I can't afford a brand new one. However prices are already below $25k used when I shop nationally. The national car dealers can transfer to local so I don't need to deal with tax issues, and shipping it turns out is pretty cheap.

Things are looking pretty good. I might wait until the end of the year to see if more selection is available.

 

Exactly this. Everyone saying you can get a $37,000 car for the price of a used $25,000 car are nuts. I'm on military E5 base pay. I was deployed last year, my taxable income for the year was around 20k. You honestly sound dumb and/or disconnected when you dont make the distinction between a tax credit and rebate.

This is the whole reason the incentive program is backwards and needs to go away. It doesnt make EVs more accessible, it's just another tax loophole for wealthy people to take advantage. Now it's going to effectively punish the industry leaders.

 

2 Bolts Premieres just popped up at $22k near me. Going to check them out this week.

 

Test drove a 2019 LT. They were asking $31k which is a little high I think. They most definitely changed the seats, just with inside padding. There's a huge lump on the lumbar support now. Bottom is cushier. I don't think it's enough of an upgrade to justify the premium over one for $20kish used.

 

I will sell you my used '17 Bolt for $26
lol

 

I see two 2017's on Craigslist in the SF Bay region under $22,500. 60 ~ 70k miles. I expect as leases expire there will be more.

Search term 'Bolt EV' finds the most.

 

I see two 2017's on Craigslist in the SF Bay region under $22,500. 60 ~ 70k miles. I expect as leases expire there will be more.

Yep, I'd really want a used car most likely running 18 hrs a day in city traffic as a leased Uber/Lyft flogger.

jack vines

 

On 04/19, I mentioned our local dealer had a 2017 LT with 12K miles for $26K. On 05/05 it was $25K. I just checked and it is now $24K.

 

So they picked this up at an auction. I noticed it was gone off their site yesterday. I checked in today. It went back to auction.

 

$27k seems to be what most are going for now. I'm looking nationally with CarMax or Caravana, only 1 used Bolt for sale within 50 miles of me and since I've test driven it twice, I don't think they'll let me come back without buying it!

Wife and I drove a Bolt and a Leaf back to back and to my surprise she liked the Bolt better. No complaints about the seats. The Leaf was "bigger" but the interior felt plusher yet more cramped.

My guess is a lot of leases will be turned in at the end of the year? I'm hoping to buy by December. Would be nice if prices could drop a little by then.

 

Hey guys what do you think I got an offer for a used 22 volt with 1300 miles it's around 36 both premier with sound and Sun package I'm going to try to bring it down at least 33 you guys think is it good deal still. The guys know if Uber is incentivizing also use Bolt?

 

You must mean Bolt? EV, or EUV? My 2022 EUV loaded started at $43k, then with the Chevy discount of $6,300 it was $36,700. Did you price out a new one?

 

Yes euv.