Article on heavy Bolt discounting ($5,000 off in CA)

[ScooterCT]

http://www.autonews.com/article/20170320/OEM05/303209973/for-chevy-bolt-discounts-here-markups-there

I don't vouch for this article. I just ran across it. I'd be interested in knowing what those of you who actually bought Bolts (30+ so far on this forum) think of it. Is the article exaggerating, or accurate? If it's an accurate article, I'd guess it only applies to CA right now. Where the Bolt is brand new, I would not expect any discounting the first few months.

For an author to see some ads offering discounts is one thing - I see huge phantom discounts all the time in the Boston ads. For somebody real to actually close a deal at $5,000 off is something else. It always seems when you call, you have to be a return customer, a college student, in the military, and over 65 - all at the same time (qualifying for manufacturer discount programs).

Anybody actually negotiated $5,000 off their Bolt?

 

[Nagorak]

It seems like the sourcing of the $5000 off is a bit dubious. The article itself states that they found dealerships offering $2000-$3000 off MSRP, with one Premier being $4000 off. That's all less than $5000. On top of that, aren't all cars generally discounted from MSRP? It seems to me that buying below MSRP is more like the norm, to begin with.

I would also like to hear if people have gotten $5000 off. Is the $3000 off just a starting point? Because if so, I'll go down and buy one this week!

 

[michael]

Any car dealers out there willing to give $5k off a Premier, please post here! I'll be right over!!!

Rydell website is showing $2500 on LT, $3000 on Premier

 

[ScooterCT]

>> On top of that, aren't all cars generally discounted from MSRP? It seems to me that buying below MSRP is more like the norm, to begin with.

My experience is that It depends on the timing, the car, and the location. As a rule the above statements are correct. Most savvy car buyers will pay anywhere from hundreds (economy cars) to thousands (mainstream cars) to tens of thousands (ultra-luxury) below sticker. In fact, these days you have to be really lazy not to get a discount (just browse the dealer website and ask for an Internet price). But it can also go in exactly the opposite direction - limited edition sports cars (or any car in high demand at the moment) can sell for literally tens of thousands over sticker. A hot new model (as in the Bolt in CA in January) will go for sticker or even more. The same car might be discounted just one month later, as the "gotta have it today" crowd is used up.

I guess my stupidly long paragraph could be summarized as "It's all about supply and demand.".

 

[michael]

Cheapest I've heard of so far is one SF Bay area dealer (Fremont?) at $3K under. Next best seems to be Rydell in Los Angeles at $2500/$3000.

If you look at the dealer web sites, they seem to have tons of Bolts in stock that aren't moving.

Anyone done better? Any dealers willing to throw their hat in the ring?

 

[Tetondoc]

I live in Wyoming, which is one of the last states to get the Bolt. Dealers here can order in July for September delivery. My current Volt lease ends in mid-August, so I'm looking to get a Bolt with late July/early August delivery.

I've been in contact with some of the dealers in California that are offering $3000+ off MSRP on Bolts, but they are requiring that car be registered in California. I located a dealer in Colorado that has Bolts in-stock before the May scheduled date for Colorado, apparently acquired in a trade with a dealer in California. But they are charging $2000+ over MSRP premium "to pay for shipping from California".

Questions are:
Does anyone know of Bolt dealers who are selling out-of-state at below MSRP?
Anyone have contacts with dealers in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana or Wyoming that have quoted a price below MSRP?

 

[michael]

Find a friend in California and register it here. After a year you can re-register is wherever you "move"

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Interestingly, my local Chevy dealer (in upstate NY) has both an LT and a Premier advertised for about $1k below MSRP. That, plus NY's brand new $2k rebate program, and maybe it's worth a trip down to see what they quote me.

 

[sgt1372]

The Tesla fanatics are making hay out of the articles reporting such discounts as well as the out of state dealer to dealer transfers.

They see it as confirmation that the Bolt is 'junk' and that the M3 will reign supreme. IMO, there is NO doubt in my mind that the Bolt is NOT junk and the latter remains to be seen.

I leased my LT w/the $2.5k dealer or GM discount which I think ALL Bolts were being sold or leased with at the time. If I was offered a $5k discount on a Premier, I would have taken it but I never saw such a discount back on Feb 4 when Ieased mine. Maybe things have changed.

FWIW, it doesn't matter me if Chevy sells or leases one more Bolt or not. I'm sure they will sell and lease many more BUT I've got mine and that's all that matters to me.

I like it just fine. It serves me well and I expect that it will continue to do so until I give it back to Chevy in Feb 2020.

 

[ScooterCT]

I think the Bolt has a few very minor issues that are easily fixed as production rolls along. But I'd genuinely be shocked to hear anyone call it a "hunk of junk". It is what it is. An engineering and product team was tasked to deliver 200+ miles for $37,500, and make it happen in two calendar years. I'd say they met their target with a basic but very solid entry-level economy vehicle. It ain't a Tesla Model S, but it also doesn't cost $60,000+.

I suppose we'll all look back at these Model 3 vs Leaf 2 vs Bolt flame wars in a decade and laugh. By then we'll all be driving our 500 mile range, wireless recharged, self-driving techno-wagons. 2017 will seem innocent and quaint in the rear view mirror.

 

[oilerlord]

The Tesla fanatics are making hay out of the articles reporting such discounts as well as the out of state dealer to dealer transfers.

Given all the initial hype of the Bolt being a "game changer" and "Model 3 killer" the reality is GM only sold 978 units last month. You don't have to be a Tesla fanatic to recognize that 400,000+ Model 3 pre-order deposits makes it's own statement.

 

[elpwr]

Fully refundable pre order deposits are not the same thing as sales. Watch a whole lot of those 400,000 evaporate when it comes time to purchase.

Model X was supposed to be sold out for the first 18 months of production. But after less than nine months there were unsold X's available in Teslas inventory and custom order delivery in only a few weeks. And you can order an X or S today and take delivery in May. Or choose from the hundreds currently in inventory.

 

[SparkEVPilot]

The Tesla fanatics are making hay out of the articles reporting such discounts as well as the out of state dealer to dealer transfers.

Given all the initial hype of the Bolt being a "game changer" and "Model 3 killer" the reality is GM only sold 978 units last month. You don't have to be a Tesla fanatic to recognize that 400,000+ Model 3 pre-order deposits makes it's own statement.

I doesn't help either that the "Front Seat Comfort" problem, as reported by many on this forum, is severe enough to drive prospective buyers to the sidelines until GM gets the problem resolved and / or the Tesla Model 3 starts being delivered on time. 2 months in a row with sales less than 1000 Bolts sold per month does not look promising given California is the EV kingdom of the US.

 

[oilerlord]

Fully refundable pre order deposits are not the same thing as sales. Watch a whole lot of those 400,000 evaporate when it comes time to purchase.

Never said they were sales. Who knows how many deposits will turn into sales, but I'm guessing it will be more than 978 units in the first month.

 

[schan2464]

I bought the one Bolt Premier at Harbor Chevrolet for over $4000 off MSRP. What is interesting is that when I showed up, they gave me another $1000 off in a new rebate I didn't even know about. My car doesn't have the fast charger, which I know is a must for many potential buyers. I just know that we never used it on our Leaf, and we have 4 other gas and gas/hybrid cars at our disposal for any long road trips. My brother has a Tesla Model S, and he never uses the superchargers either. Any way you slice it, if I'm driving from San Diego to San Francisco, I get there MUCH faster driving one of my gassers.

Anyways, with the discount and the rebate, I was under $5000 off MSRP. I paid $3000 upfront, and my payment is $330/month including tax for 15,000 miles per year.

 

[Nagorak]

The Tesla fanatics are making hay out of the articles reporting such discounts as well as the out of state dealer to dealer transfers.

Given all the initial hype of the Bolt being a "game changer" and "Model 3 killer" the reality is GM only sold 978 units last month. You don't have to be a Tesla fanatic to recognize that 400,000+ Model 3 pre-order deposits makes it's own statement.

I think a lot of potential Bolt buyers may be being channeled to the Volt instead. Volt sales are up every month this year so far. To be completely honest, I can sort of understand it too. If you drive less than 50 miles per day, the Volt is effectively an EV. If you drive further than that, it switches to gas, covering the long distance function as well as the Bolt (ok, arguably better, although it's running on gas.). Oh, and the Volt is also cheaper, despite having both a battery and a gas engine. The battery cost is still the Achilles' heel here. On top of that, the the Bolt has to compete with Leafs which are being sold for dirt cheap prices (both new and used), and soon the Ioniq, etc.

That being said, I don't think these numbers are good news for Tesla at all. It's not looking to me like the latent EV demand is really there, and a lot of those Model 3 pre-orders could easily evaporate, especially in the face of the seemingly boneheaded decisions being made (no dashboard HUD).

 

[sgt1372]

Fully refundable pre order deposits are not the same thing as sales. Watch a whole lot of those 400,000 evaporate when it comes time to purchase.

Never said they were sales. Who knows how many deposits will turn into sales, but I'm guessing it will be more than 978 units in the first month.

You're probably right on sales DEPENDING on how many Tesla can actually produce. They've got HUGE production projection of 500k cars in 2018 -- that's about 9600 cars a week -- a level of production they've NEVER even come close to before. In 2016, Tesla produced and sold just over 76k Model S/X's so talking about 500k in a year is pretty ambitious.

I'd say if they can produce and sell just 52k M3s (or 1k a week) in a year that would be pretty amazing.

In any event, a lot of reservation holders on the Tesla forum already are VERY disappointed by Musk's recent tweets "downplaying" the anticipated M3 features -- no HUD, no autopilot, no AWD, etc -- in early production and, his statements that the base M3 at $35k will not be anything like a base Model S and his earlier statement that he expects most M3's to actually sell for $42k (about the price of a Premier Bolt).

There definitely will be compromises made in the M3 based on cost, size and weight -- particularly in the battery which Musk says will be limited to 75kwh. However, given that the current and discontinued 60kwh battery in the Model S is actually a 75kwh battery that has been throttled by software and given that Musk hints that the M3 will have greater range than the Bolt, it's reasonable to assume that they will be putting a 75kwh battery in the M3 which could give it a 300 mile range at 4m/kwh.

Now THAT would be worth waiting for. However. I'm guessing they will resurrect the 60kwh battery "just" for the M3 and sell the software upgrade to 75kwh as an option, which alone could make up the $35k to $42k in the estimated price of the M3.

Anyway, looks to me like most remaining reservation holders are taking a "wait and see" attitude. They don't like what they are hearing about the downplaying of the M3 features but are committed to the brand and won't back out unless and until they determine the car is not what the hoped for or expected. There are also those who have already said that they won't buy an M3 until it is fully optioned (and more expensive) which Musk suggests won't be for at least 6-9 months after it's anticipated release in July.

This speculation just makes me happy that I cancelled my M3 reservation and leased the Bolt instead. I have 3 years to drive and enjoy a REAL 200+ mile EV and during that time Tesla will be able to test and refine the M3 so that when my Bolt lease is up there actually will be an M3 that I can actually test drive and hopefully will be by then fully bug and problem free.

 

[oilerlord]

This speculation just makes me happy that I cancelled my M3 reservation and leased the Bolt instead. I have 3 years to drive and enjoy a REAL 200+ mile EV and during that time Tesla will be able to test and refine the M3 so that when my Bolt lease is up there actually will be an M3 that I can actually test drive and hopefully will be by then fully bug and problem free.

Reading between the lines, I think there are others that would have also preferred to buy a M3 if it was available. If you're lease is up, you still need a car to drive. I think it's also reasonable to assume that had the M3 not been on the horizon, GM would have sold far more than 978 Bolts last month.

While the Bolt is certainly a "REAL" car, you took the leap of faith that it would be fully bug and problem free. Others will take the same leap with the M3.

 

[SeanNelson]

In any event, a lot of reservation holders on the Tesla forum already are VERY disappointed by Musk's recent tweets "downplaying" the anticipated M3 features -- no HUD, no autopilot, no AWD, etc -- in early production and, his statements that the base M3 at $35k will not be anything like a base Model S and his earlier statement that he expects most M3's to actually sell for $42k (about the price of a Premier Bolt).

Yeah, I've always said that people who are expecting a Model S at a Bolt price are going to be disappointed. People can keep fooling themselves as long as it's just a paper car but we're getting closer to the point at which the real deal will be unveiled, and it'll be very interesting to see how that plays out. I have no doubt that it's going to be a lot more popular than the Bolt, but I'm still skeptical that they can keep selling multi-100's of thousands of them after the initial demand is satisfied. I think that the cost will have to come down further before we really get into those kinds of mass market volumes.

I'd be surprised if Elon hasn't considered this, so I assume he has a Plan.

 

[sgt1372]

While the Bolt is certainly a "REAL" car, you took the leap of faith that it would be fully bug and problem free. Others will take the same leap with the M3.

Yes, I did take a risk on that BUT Tesla's history of production failures and problems is legend with the Roadster, Model S and X and frankly I would expect no less for the Model 3, especially given the huge ramp up in production that they are talking about.

Although I didn't dwell on it much before making the decision to lease one, I was reassured by the long and traditional product testing period that Chevy insisted on doing for the Bolt, the relative simplicity of the Bolt as compared w/a Tesla and Chevy's prior experience building the Spark and Volt that the quality and reliability of the Bolt would be satisfactory.

Apart from one annoying problem w/a missing bolt that I fixed myself, that reassurance was justified. On the other hand, I'd rather wait and see how the Model 3 shakes out over the 1st 3 years of production before I commit to buying or leasing one of them.