[Brycesail]

New to the forum, getting 28 Solar panels installed in 30 days. I love Elon and his mission and want to support him, but, I am a happy 2013 Volt owner but want to ditch the gasoline lump that I have been dragging around for six years. I can't finance (Wife's rules) and I have with trade in about $20k cash. I see some nice off lease 2017 Bolts in that price range. I would like a Model 3 but the cheapest one is $38k, they just do not seem to be coming down in price. The use Model S's are $25k with 100k miles, but have astronomical repair cost when something breaks. I like the fact that the Chevy dealer is 19 miles away vs Tesla service is 100 miles away. You can fit a aftermarket hitch on for a bike easily. And if I dent it, I can get it repaired quickly. I rarely take road trips so fast charging is a non issue. I guess my issue is if I have to save another $20k to get a Model 3 that would be two Bolts for that price, I just can't in my frugal mind justify that.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

I guess you logically answered your own question. The Bolt EV is a great car you will be happy to own it.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Tesla's biggest advantages are the Supercharging network and Autopilot. You said that fast charging is not an issue. Is Tesla's autopilot worth $20k to you?

 

[abeln2672]

I recently went through the same thought process and also settled on a used Bolt. Now just waiting for the right one at the right price. People are predicting a flood of off-lease 2017s by the middle of next year, so prices should tumble if you're willing to wait. That said, there's still value in the used ones currently available -- just maybe not as much as there will be in 8 - 12 months. I'm having a hard time holding off on just buying a new one with as many incentives as are available, but I'm super frugal as well and have a hard time justifying ANY purchase, lol

By the way, I posted my question on a Tesla forum and got 4 pages of opinions! Many on each side of the issue, but a lot of voices for the Bolt since I also don't plan to use it for road-tripping.

Advice Wanted on EV Under $30k: Used S60, Wait for Used M3, Other?

I've done the full EV journey from a Volt to Bolt to Model 3. I took a detour and got a big value on a used Leaf along the way very similar to @cwerdna in late 2015 that I'm still holding onto for similar reasons. Based on my experience and your frugality, I'd still recommend the Bolt at the...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[JohnnyEV]

Just buy a '17 Bolt Premier with a DCFC port and save a lot of money (the Premier is to have the virtual surround camera, premium sound, rear cross traffic alert, forward automatic braking, and a "fake autopilot" lane keep assist which is interesting but probably not useful unless the roads are CLEARLY marked.) All this plus you get A/C knobs, radio knobs, a display in the center of the steering wheel and you don't have to use the touchscreen to open the glove box. The only downside is the lack of padding in the seats, so set aside a few hundred dollars and have the seats fixed. The upholstery guy said these have absolutely no padding around the edges of the seat back, (just hard plastic) and the density of the padding under the lumbar support is so soft, it is pointless. Love the car, hated the seats and it was an easy fix to make the car perfect for my needs. Just my 2 cents.....

 

[Packard V8]

Super frugal is difficult. There will always be an excuse to not buy what you want and need. The Bolt is not just economical and green, it's an absolute hoot to drive. Get off the dime and git 'er done!

As to the DCFC port, it's not possible to say you'll never need it, but your stated use would be possible without it. Ours didn't come with DCFC and we've never missed it. In fact, the OEM-supplied 115-volt charger would have been sufficient to our needs.

jack vines

 

[greendave]

If you can wait a little bit, there should be a lot of Bolts with 30-36k miles coming off lease and onto the used market in the next 6-9 months. That should help prices in general.

 

[psyflyjohn]

Depends on whether you are willing to drink the Musk Koolaid. By that, I mean that you will be subject to the whims and crazy rules that come with a Tesla. Just got our Bolt back from the body shop for a fender bender - in a week. See if you can achieve that with a Tesla....

 

[MikeyBolt]

Depends on whether you are willing to drink the Musk Koolaid. By that, I mean that you will be subject to the whims and crazy rules that come with a Tesla. Just got our Bolt back from the body shop for a fender bender - in a week. See if you can achieve that with a Tesla....

Some Model 3 owners claim they've gotten fender bender work completed in that time, but I think you have to be really lucky. My problem with the Koolaid is that it's Tesla's car and you're just driving it. I've been following a thread on the Model S/X forums for a while where Tesla decided to reduce the range by ~10% overnight via an OTA update. Apparently they figured out that they pushed the envelope a little too hard and older cars with more battery degradation might catch on fire if charged at the same rate and to the same level. So they pushed an update that reduced max charge voltage and cut range by 10% and also cut Supercharging charge rates by as much as 50%. They claim it is to increase battery life... but most of the affected people think it's just to avoid having to replace batteries under warranty.

That may be the down side of the manufacturer being able to push OTA updates however/whenever they please without consent of the owner.

Mike

 

[NY-Rob]

FWIW... in 2016 before getting my 2017 Bolt we calculated 30 335 watt solar panels would pretty much cover our electrical usage 100%. After having the Bolt for 2-yrs we recalculated the number of panels needed, it went from 30 panels to 40 panels.

When the solar system finally went in this Jan it was with 40 335 watt LG panels, since Jan my consumption is 7.95MWh and production is 11.3MWh. Hopefully my surplus will carry me through the winter if we calculated correctly.

Just make sure you add enough panels to cover the Bolt's consumption if that's the plan.
I put about 15K mi/year on my Bolt if that helps.

 

[Packard V8]

That may be the down side of the manufacturer being able to push OTA updates however/whenever they please without consent of the owner. Mike

Sort of like the entire tech/advertiser eyeballs industry. Try telling Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Xfinity, (and the owner of this forum) et al, you liked what you had better.

jack vines

 

[JC Bolt]

The guarantee of replacement parts way into the foreseeable future, access to multiple repair facilities (again, well into the future), being able to do what I want to do (drive electric and have fun doing it) for half the price settled this decision for me easily.

I understand the OP's desire to support a company doing some good things, but I would also point out that despite all of their flaws (and there are many), GM stuck their neck out a bit doing the research and engineering on the Volt first and then the Bolt, and then selling them at a price that wasn't gouging the customer too bad (considering EVs are still a niche market; we won't talk about the ELR ). That counts for something too.