BoltEV said:
jdunmyer said:
Do Chevy dealers have an EVSE available for L2 charging?
Of course every Chevy dealer selling Volts/Bolts must have chargers to "fuel up" their inventory as needed. Their policy on availability to their customers and other Chevy customers varies.
I got my Bolt home from the dealer lot with about 10 miles of range to spare. This, after sitting on their 110V charger while we did the paperwork. The only charger they have is inside the service bay, plugged into a standard outlet. Not having a dedicated 220V L2 EVSE at home, I relied on 110V and the shiny new car sat in my garage for several days before I dared venture out, shameful.
Funny, but the manager walked by while we were finalizing paperwork and mentioned they always send new owners home with a full tank of gas, not so with EVs. He was trying to be funny, but it was actually quite sad.
GM will need to step it up, or put pressure on dealers. But, dealers stand to lose boatloads of service revenue selling EVs, so they are only motivated to get you in and out the door, little interest in serving you beyond that.
It seems reasonable that they would have at least L2 available for their customers. Ideally, CCS also. Perhaps a special arrangement for GM owners like Nissan has arranged with their No Charge to Charge program if charging at a Dealer location. A CCS unit in the service bay would make sense for topping off new sales, or even EVs in for service.
For new buyers, having a public charger available would also provide a valuable training opportunity. Being new to EV, my first experience with a public charger was a failure. Had the dealer had a CCS on site, they could have used it to demonstrate how to use public chargers, and topped me off before driving off. They could have also demonstrated the difference in charge speeds with L2 and CCS to help educate me. I am learning by surfing forums and web sites, but the majority of drivers know nothing about EV charging.
In the Denver - Colorado Springs area, there appear to be very few CCS locations, mainly Wal Mart (evGo). Most along the route are L2, with a few free L2 locations thanks to local governments promoting the concept. My 120 mile RT commute is no problem in normal weather conditions, but I can't help but wonder if the few extreme weather days might be pressing it. The dealer I bought from is about 20 miles from my home, right on the way to and from work. And there are numerous GM dealers along the route. On those rare days, a quick stop at a GM dealer to add 20 -30 miles might just be the ticket to getting home.
If GM is serious about the EV revolution, charging infrastructure will play a key role in reducing consumer anxiety about taking the plunge and they can help by equipping their dealer locations.
