Did your dealership try to sell an extended warranty?

[PackardV8]

It was actually pretty pathetic. The selling points they had were based on ICEs and didn't apply to the Bolt and since there are no experience/statistics, we passed.

One thing I have learned in fifty years of sales and marketing - if it comes to your door, rings your phone, gets pitched across a desk while you're there for something else, you don't need it. Anything you actually need, you'll be out looking for someone who has it available.

Having said that, it's to be hoped those who believe there's no maintenance cost on an EV turn out to be correct. But again, more than fifty years of repairing every manner of mechanical and electrical devices makes me doubt anything made by the hand of man/GM will be without failures.

jack vines

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Mine did. Kind of. They went through the motions, but they told me outright that they were required to present it (by GM corporate) and actually recommended against it. But I had to go through and check every box saying I understand and decline the coverage.

One thing I have learned in fifty years of sales and marketing - if it comes to your door, rings your phone, gets pitched across a desk while you're there for something else, you don't need it. Anything you actually need, you'll be out looking for someone who has it available.

This is a nice summary, and excellent advice. If you don't ask for something, but rather it is proposed to you, then you probably won't benefit from it nearly as much as the seller.

 

[SparkE]

{...}
Having said that, it's to be hoped those who believe there's no maintenance cost on an EV turn out to be correct.

There *are* maintenance costs on EVs. Windshield wipers, changing TMS coolant (?every 40-50k miles?), struts/shocks, new tires, tire rotation at a minimum. It's just that a lot of the semi-annual (and expensive multi-year) required maintenance on ICE vehicles isn't applicable : oil changes, oil filters, air filters, coolant flushes (every year or every other year, depending on how cold it is where you live), timing belt/chain swap, drive belts, "tune up"s, spark plugs, PCV valve, brake shoes, fuel filter, muffler and/or catalytic converter, etc. Not to mention the smog tests (oops, I just did!). And also the things that tend to break (at high mileages, over 80-120K) : alternator, radiator, motor mounts, spark plug harness, cooling system hoses, ...

(EVs have brake pads, but most of the stopping is done via electric braking and the shoes {generally} are only used at under 5 mph - so they last a loooooong time.)

 

[LeftieBiker]

Replacing the cabin filter in an EV every one or two years is a good idea, unless you live in the Rockies...

 

[SeanNelson]

...And also the things that tend to break (at high mileages, over 80-120K) : alternator, radiator, motor mounts, spark plug harness, cooling system hoses, ...

The Bolt is vulnerable to some of those too, such as the radiator, cooling hoses, shocks, etc.

 

[SparkE]

...And also the things that tend to break (at high mileages, over 80-120K) : alternator, radiator, motor mounts, spark plug harness, cooling system hoses, ...

The Bolt is vulnerable to some of those too, such as the radiator, cooling hoses, shocks, etc.

For the radiator & cooling hoses, theoretically. But the difference is that an ICE uses them every time it runs, and it heats up to over 150 degrees EVERY TIME, and most of the time the vehicle is being used. The TMS on the Bolt doesn't run most of the time, and the temps aren't in the 150-200 degree range. I would *expect* that the system wouldn't fail until well over 200K miles (or not at all).

And I listed maintenance of struts/shocks in the "yes, you will have to do this for the Bolt" section of my post (just before tires).

 

[user 1340]

Plus the Bolt cooling system(s) only run at 5PSI, instead of 14-16psi typical of a gasmobile. This means leaks are less likely (unless they use really inferior clamps).

 

[mchapmon]

The only time my Prius left me stranded was when the Inverter failed. It died and my car rolled to a stop. The engine, which was running perfectly at the time it shut down, died because the inverter signal was gone. The electrical propulsion failed, even though my hybrid battery had 7 bars remaining, because the inverter failed. To recap, the failure was the main critical part that is (at least conceptually in my mind) the same as my Bolt. They showed me the repair bill covered by Toyota (7 year old Prius with 120k miles) that was just over $5500!

I still declined the extended warranty when offered. After all, what do I know?

Almost forgot, they did give me a discount coupon book so I could save on my first 6 oil and filter changes. They also did a followup call to ask me if I would be bringing my car to them for my routine oil changes. The lady was stunned when I said, "No, I'm never going to bring my car to you for an oil change."

 

[remarquian]

When I bought my first Leaf, they tried selling the extend warranty by saying the car was nothing but electronics, and electronics are expensive to fix and have a tendency to go...

 

[swamplife]

Palmetto Chevrolet in SC said not a word of extended warranty. The price was settled and I came back after lunch, signed paperwork and drove away. Actually the best car experience of my life

 

[tomofNV]

They pushed it pretty hard, "all those electronics" (yeah, and they are designed to be very reliable in cars). Hell, I converted a car to electric 9 years ago and still drive it regularly with no problems. I expect the manufacturers can do better, and GM has a good record with the Volt. The finance lady tried a lot of angles and reduced the price 4 times. After my 4th "no thanks" she gave up and acted pretty miffed. I figured if they try to sell it that hard it must be a pretty good deal for them, not me. Plus you have the GM warranty and insurance coverage. The cost of the warranty was much more than my personal insurance cost and insured much less.

 

[Fr0stByte]

I knew I didn't want it. I knew they were going to push it. So I used it to my advantage.

I got the finance guy to add it to the loan and made him take over a 1% off my interest rate.

Cancelling the contract next week within my 60 days and getting a full refund.

They play games, so can I.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Nicely done!

 

[rwill]

I knew I didn't want it. I knew they were going to push it. So I used it to my advantage.

I got the finance guy to add it to the loan and made him take over a 1% off my interest rate.

Cancelling the contract next week within my 60 days and getting a full refund.

They play games, so can I.

He still gets the bonus for selling it to you so everyone wins.

It's a good trick when you're renting a car. Negotiate with the sales rep that you will take all the insurance coverage. Have him lower the daily rate. Then go to another nearby rental car location (has to be in person) and have them take all the insurance coverage off.

Has saved me a lot of $$ on rentals. Usually only worth the work if you're renting for a week or more.

 

[SparkE]

The other trick is to never, ever rent (or pick up) at the airport. First, the airport agencies pay the company for the privilege of being an exclusive provider at the airport so they can charge what they want, and often (usually) municipalities tack on extra taxes for airport rentals.

I got in the habit of reserving a car at the closest enterprise rental location (off-airport), then hopping into a hotel curtesy shuttle (the first shuttle to any off-airport hotel) and calling enterprise from the shuttle to pick me up at the hotel. I would generally save about 50% (renting off-airport was half as expensive). Again, only worth the trouble if you are renting for a week or more.

 

[1953drtelco]

Purchased my 2019 Bolt at Riverside Chevrolet (Riverside,CA) Purchased with the Costco Auto Buying incentive program. Very easy purchase, and even though the extended warranty was mentioned once and not again. I did purchase it for a few extra bucks a month, but I've had to use the extended warranty on a few vehicles. My 2015 radiator on my Silverado developed a small leak after the standard warranty. Radiator replacement would have been over $1200.......warranty repair $100.