How Much I Paid for My Bolt

[michael]

And make sure to test-drive the Tesla Model 3, to compare it as well!!! Oh, wait ... you can't drive it because it's vaporware at this point!

Test-drive the Audi e-tron quattro, to compare it as well! Oh, wait ... you can't drive it because it's vaporware at this point!

Test-drive the 200-mile-range Gen 3 LEAF, to compare it as well!!! Oh, wait ... you can't drive it because it's vaporware at this point!

Well expressed.

When people suggest I wait for a Model 3, I always tell them I expect to have 30,000 miles on my Bolt before I see any significant numbers of Models 3 on the road. And that in three years I will get whatever is best then, which will not necessarily be a Model 3.

My plan is very simple:

In March, the lease on one of my Volts comes due. If Bolt prices have dropped to a level I'm happy with by that time, I'll replace it with a Bolt, otherwise another Volt.

In May the lease on the other Volt comes due. If I haven't yet gotten a Bolt, I'll get one then. If Bolt prices are still too high, I'll extend the lease on the Volt and see what happens.

Ultimately I will end up with a Volt and a Bolt, and will have a perfect combination for my family.

 

[WetEV]

When people suggest I wait for a Model 3, I always tell them I expect to have 30,000 miles on my Bolt before I see any significant numbers of Models 3 on the road. And that in three years I will get whatever is best then, which will not necessarily be a Model 3.

I'm waiting for the 2005 Prius to die, and/or the Bolt to get cheap. Year, maybe two, maybe three. If the Prius dies too fast, will need to live with one fewer cars for a while, or replace with used EV of some sort for a while.

2014 Leaf is good for a decade or so, being in a cool climate and not needing long range for commuting.

 

[SparkE]

When people suggest I wait for a Model 3, I always tell them I expect to have 30,000 miles on my Bolt before I see any significant numbers of Models 3 on the road. And that in three years I will get whatever is best then, which will not necessarily be a Model 3.

I'm waiting for the 2005 Prius to die, and/or the Bolt to get cheap. Year, maybe two, maybe three. If the Prius dies too fast, will need to live with one fewer cars for a while, or replace with used EV of some sort for a while.

2014 Leaf is good for a decade or so, being in a cool climate and not needing long range for commuting.

Yeah, I've basically 'decided' that we will be a 2-EV household at some point in the next 3 years or so. Two EVs for everyday use (one "around town" <100mi EV, and one "extended range" EV), as well as a 3rd old gas vehicle for those 500+ mi trips. For the "around town" EV I figure I'll get whatever seems practical/best in 18 months or so (used - when all those 2014-16 leases are coming off the books and they are *cheap*). I'm leaning towards another Spark, as I love the **** out of it (quick!, and big inside) but I won't pay twice as much for one (if I can get a LEAF w/ <30K miles and 10-11 bars for $5K, I'll get that).

For the "extended range" vehicle, I'll just wait and see what is available 3 years from now. And if I can't test drive it, I won't be getting it.

 

[Pigwich]

Leased mine - Fully fully sprinkles on top orange loaded premiere, $43,908

$2500 down
10K miles a year

$475 a month is the check I write.

Keyes Chevy in Van Nuys

 

[JupiterMoon]

Yes, you are right, that is a truly excellent lease on a $51K car. Obviously BMW is subsidizing the lease considerably to move product. That's the point...the 80 mile I3 is obsolete, and the 120 mile i3 (which one did your partner get?) is obsolescent in a 240 mile world.

The fact that the car has a $51 sticker price doesn't make it worth that any more.

I'm so supportive of the Bolt because it's the only 200 mile class car at a price I can afford. Nothing else is like it.

180 stated miles i3 with the range extender isn't obsolete. For whom? I drive 40 miles day max. The outgoing model was 140 miles I believe. Both the i3 and the Bolt (and my Spark EV for that matter with a 100 mile per charge average for me) will perform with more than enough range and performance than I'd ever need. You're confusing two things here...what people need and what people want.

BMW isn't' subsidizing their cars any more than anyone else. The difference is that BMW isn't conning people out of the full $7500 tax credit when leasing. That's why the lease deals are good.

No one is suggesting you shouldn't be supportive of the Bolt. But don't be a sucker about it and overpay for one. Be smart, be wise, and be logical. We are all trying to help each other here to not get screwed.

 

[devbolt]

Leasing companies are under no obligation to directly pass on the full amount of the $7500 credit directly to the lessee. Clearly other leasing companies are choosing to pass on the credit in another form. It remains to be seen which is the one moves more inventory.

 

[leodoggie]

There are better price and lease deals in So Cal than there are in Nor Cal, is there a reason for that?

 

[mbepic]

leodoggie wrote:
I ordered my bolt last week, what surprised me was the total out of the door price. After adding the options tax doc fees etc I came up with a price of $49,000, with the deduction of federal and state rebates this comes to $39,000. This is not the affordable car price I had expected

To get to that price, you must have ordered a Premier with most of the options. I started doing the same exercise and realized what I wanted would be over $45,000 out the door, but I also realized it wasn't exactly fair to add thousands in options and then complain that it's no longer affordable.

I certainly agree with you......what was he thinking; when you go into a dealership to purchase a new car, especially one that much research is necessary to make that decision, you must have some idea what the car is going to cost. Now before you sign on the dotted line, it is not too late to lower your expectations and go for the base model with no options, if that is required, no special colour paint that is a big price rip-off, etc. It's like having a 'rich man's eyes' but in reality, a "poor man's pocketbook". The more you pay for those grand options, the more you are going to lose once you drive off the lot, in depreciation.........unfortunately, the full purchase price still has to be paid to the piper!

 

[mbepic]

With all the reports of Bolts being produced and shipped, I'm surprised we haven't heard of anyone taking delivery yet (and hence, able to answer the question posed by this thread). I'm going to assume that GM is just because very cautious WRT QC.

I wonder if they will make a big deal out of the "first" Bolt delivery, like was done for the first Volt and Leaf. On the one hand, it's been done. EVs are now relatively available. On the other hand, the Bolt is a huge step forward. It's good to celebrate success.

I thought they did take photos of the first 3 BOLT owners (took delivery) out of one dealership in California...........that was sometime before Christmas, I believe.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

With all the reports of Bolts being produced and shipped, I'm surprised we haven't heard of anyone taking delivery yet (and hence, able to answer the question posed by this thread). I'm going to assume that GM is just because very cautious WRT QC.

I wonder if they will make a big deal out of the "first" Bolt delivery, like was done for the first Volt and Leaf. On the one hand, it's been done. EVs are now relatively available. On the other hand, the Bolt is a huge step forward. It's good to celebrate success.

I thought they did take photos of the first 3 BOLT owners (took delivery) out of one dealership in California...........that was sometime before Christmas, I believe.

The post you quoted was made on 12/9. The first 3 BOLT owners took delivery on 12/13....

 

[mbepic]

Wow, I have read through all 17 pages of this post and you guys sure covered the gammit of subjects from options, leasing, alternative EVs but not a whole lot on "How Much I Paid for My Bolt". I'm not going to get into pricing details, how much are the options, etc. because they will not be too relative to anyone other than a Canadian buyer, of which I hope to be.

Here's my situation, I'm looking for some good feedback and then some of you might want to speculate how this scenario may turn out for me.

I currently own a 2012 Volt, premier with 59,000miles and enjoy it today as much as the first day I bought and drove it. Because I wanted to transition into an electric vehicle, loved the technology, back in 2011 I placed a deposit of $3,000. down (refundable) and waited from May until my order could be placed, around July or so and then got my Volt in October of 2011. I went into this purchase, after test driving the Volt and knowing it was going to work for my wife and I. We are retired, go on long trips occasionally, thus the 59,000miles over 5.5 years but we don't have a steady commute.

Now, here is where I'm at now; I love the Volt but willing to upgrade to another EV. I'm intrigued by the BOLT EV and as a result, have placed a $500. deposit down (refundable) on the purchase of a new Bolt from the SAME DEALERSHIP where I purchased my Volt. When I placed this deposit down on a future order, I did state that I was not willing to pay the full MRSP as I did with the Volt.......that was the only condition and of course, everyone may have forgotten that, except for me, at this point. I have not test drove a BOLT but am satisfied that it will be good for us.

Since the time of my $500. deposit (August/Sept), I have been in communication with my sales rep about the BOLT, but mostly general things, and more recently got into specifics like what I would want to see in my BOLT......picked colour, premier model, interior colour........I now have a general idea of pricing but have been waiting until they are in a position to take an order. In the last couple of weeks, the dealer now tells me that a Bolt order has been placed, based on 'tentative' colour/equiped the way I would want but keep in mind, I am not committed to this car; they would have ordered one anyways and maybe have ordered more than one.........no status on production or delivery date is known at this point.........just an order on paper that is in the 'Q'.

Now, this is where it will get interesting. Tomorrow morning, I have a meeting with the sales woman to go over the 'order details', pricing, etc. Some things can change in the order at this point. Now, I plan to pay cash for the vehicle, I will not be trading my 2012 Volt in for this vehicle, at least no plans for now. In fact, I will be keeping my Volt until at least May for a completely different, unrelated reason so timing of BOLT delivery quite likely will not coincide when I don't really need my Volt any longer. After May, I may decide to simply sell my Volt privately and it may have about 65,000 miles on the car at that time..........what I do with my Volt is really secondary to purchasing the new BOLT.

Here is the interesting part and I would invite some feedback from you folks; I will be walking into the dealership tomorrow morning with full expectation of not paying full MSRP, as I stated before. I'm am quite adamant about this and thus feel flexible enough to walk away from the deal and take my $500. with me. I don't really want delivery of a new BOLT in February or March (note Canadian winter) but not a big deal if that happens. In summary, I would like to make this purchase now, could take delivery of their first BOLT EV, may be one of the first in Canada, possibly..........but not high on my priority list.......just a 'nicety'.

What should I be negotiating for below MRSP? Do you think that I will be signing a deal on this purchase tomorrow? Do you think they will let me walk away........but maybe 'blink' later and give me a call to come back and talk some more? Is there anything else you need to know about the situation?

I should say that I initially was going to keep the '12 Volt indefinitely, but then couldn't justify four cars in the drive-way; I have a 1988 Corvette, all original, not driven much but is a 'keeper'; also a 2004 Chrysler Crossfire, owned since new and is a second car in the summer.
Thus you can see that I have almost full flexibility when it comes to vehicle ownership and use.......the worse that could occur is that I continue to own the Volt, or own the BOLT and my second car is only available in the summertime........no different than prior years except I may not have the extended range in the winter time.

Sorry to bore you with so much detail and personal status, but I believe you see why I have posted this under "How Much I Should Pay for My Bolt"

 

[wwhitney]

In a similar vein to the previous post, anybody in the SF Bay Area been able to buy or lease a loaded LT with a purchase price under MSRP?

Cheers, Wayne

 

[JupiterMoon]

Wow, I have read through all 17 pages of this post and you guys sure covered the gammit of subjects from options, leasing, alternative EVs but not a whole lot on "How Much I Paid for My Bolt". I'm not going to get into pricing details, how much are the options, etc. because they will not be too relative to anyone other than a Canadian buyer, of which I hope to be.

Here's my situation, I'm looking for some good feedback and then some of you might want to speculate how this scenario may turn out for me.

I currently own a 2012 Volt, premier with 59,000miles and enjoy it today as much as the first day I bought and drove it. Because I wanted to transition into an electric vehicle, loved the technology, back in 2011 I placed a deposit of $3,000. down (refundable) and waited from May until my order could be placed, around July or so and then got my Volt in October of 2011. I went into this purchase, after test driving the Volt and knowing it was going to work for my wife and I. We are retired, go on long trips occasionally, thus the 59,000miles over 5.5 years but we don't have a steady commute.

Now, here is where I'm at now; I love the Volt but willing to upgrade to another EV. I'm intrigued by the BOLT EV and as a result, have placed a $500. deposit down (refundable) on the purchase of a new Bolt from the SAME DEALERSHIP where I purchased my Volt. When I placed this deposit down on a future order, I did state that I was not willing to pay the full MRSP as I did with the Volt.......that was the only condition and of course, everyone may have forgotten that, except for me, at this point. I have not test drove a BOLT but am satisfied that it will be good for us.

Since the time of my $500. deposit (August/Sept), I have been in communication with my sales rep about the BOLT, but mostly general things, and more recently got into specifics like what I would want to see in my BOLT......picked colour, premier model, interior colour........I now have a general idea of pricing but have been waiting until they are in a position to take an order. In the last couple of weeks, the dealer now tells me that a Bolt order has been placed, based on 'tentative' colour/equiped the way I would want but keep in mind, I am not committed to this car; they would have ordered one anyways and maybe have ordered more than one.........no status on production or delivery date is known at this point.........just an order on paper that is in the 'Q'.

Now, this is where it will get interesting. Tomorrow morning, I have a meeting with the sales woman to go over the 'order details', pricing, etc. Some things can change in the order at this point. Now, I plan to pay cash for the vehicle, I will not be trading my 2012 Volt in for this vehicle, at least no plans for now. In fact, I will be keeping my Volt until at least May for a completely different, unrelated reason so timing of BOLT delivery quite likely will not coincide when I don't really need my Volt any longer. After May, I may decide to simply sell my Volt privately and it may have about 65,000 miles on the car at that time..........what I do with my Volt is really secondary to purchasing the new BOLT.

Here is the interesting part and I would invite some feedback from you folks; I will be walking into the dealership tomorrow morning with full expectation of not paying full MSRP, as I stated before. I'm am quite adamant about this and thus feel flexible enough to walk away from the deal and take my $500. with me. I don't really want delivery of a new BOLT in February or March (note Canadian winter) but not a big deal if that happens. In summary, I would like to make this purchase now, could take delivery of their first BOLT EV, may be one of the first in Canada, possibly..........but not high on my priority list.......just a 'nicety'.

What should I be negotiating for below MRSP? Do you think that I will be signing a deal on this purchase tomorrow? Do you think they will let me walk away........but maybe 'blink' later and give me a call to come back and talk some more? Is there anything else you need to know about the situation?

I should say that I initially was going to keep the '12 Volt indefinitely, but then couldn't justify four cars in the drive-way; I have a 1988 Corvette, all original, not driven much but is a 'keeper'; also a 2004 Chrysler Crossfire, owned since new and is a second car in the summer.
Thus you can see that I have almost full flexibility when it comes to vehicle ownership and use.......the worse that could occur is that I continue to own the Volt, or own the BOLT and my second car is only available in the summertime........no different than prior years except I may not have the extended range in the winter time.

Sorry to bore you with so much detail and personal status, but I believe you see why I have posted this under "How Much I Should Pay for My Bolt"

What someone may suggest to you as a price today will change considerably by the time you are ready to really get the Bolt. The longer you wait, the better the deal will be. Right now, it's a bad time of year to buy a car. Incentives are scarce, cash backs are low, and the dealers are full from all the winter sales they moved.

Wait as long as you can. There is no need to rush right? Why get screwed and buy early?

 

[mbepic]

What someone may suggest to you as a price today will change considerably by the time you are ready to really get the Bolt. The longer you wait, the better the deal will be. Right now, it's a bad time of year to buy a car. Incentives are scarce, cash backs are low, and the dealers are full from all the winter sales they moved.

Wait as long as you can. There is no need to rush right? Why get screwed and buy early?

I understand what you are saying but whatever I decide tomorrow, regarding negotiated price, whether MSRP or not, will be the 'official' order and purchase price of the car. I would expect that to incl. admin fees, sales tax, license, etc. However, if they try to charge me for a full tank of gasoline, I will refer them up to the 'owner' to have a good talking to...........lol.

The question is how long I am willing to wait to get the best possible price at the time............sure I could wait until August and maybe get a few hundred dollars off without even asking or maybe 0% financing, but it is a 'crystal ball' scenario. I'm just not prepared to pay full MSRP tomorrow.

 

[JupiterMoon]

What someone may suggest to you as a price today will change considerably by the time you are ready to really get the Bolt. The longer you wait, the better the deal will be. Right now, it's a bad time of year to buy a car. Incentives are scarce, cash backs are low, and the dealers are full from all the winter sales they moved.

Wait as long as you can. There is no need to rush right? Why get screwed and buy early?

I understand what you are saying but whatever I decide tomorrow, regarding negotiated price, whether MSRP or not, will be the 'official' order and purchase price of the car. I would expect that to incl. admin fees, sales tax, license, etc. However, if they try to charge me for a full tank of gasoline, I will refer them up to the 'owner' to have a good talking to...........lol.

The question is how long I am willing to wait to get the best possible price at the time............sure I could wait until August and maybe get a few hundred dollars off without even asking or maybe 0% financing, but it is a 'crystal ball' scenario. I'm just not prepared to pay full MSRP tomorrow.

Give it a few months. I say by March/April you'll be seeing far better incentives on this car. There's no guarantee but that's what I think. Remember when the i3 came out, it was leasing at over $600/month. It didn't take too long for it to drop to $400/m or less. And that is a considerably more expensive vehicle than the Bolt.

 

[mbepic]

Here's my follow-up story after my 1.5 hour meeting with the sales rep, with expectations to finalize my order for a new BOLT EV; remember that I went into this meeting determined that I wasn't going to pay MSRP and several months ago, I stated to the marketing person that invited me in for my first meeting, that would be the case. Almost 6 six years ago I purchased my 2012 Volt from the same dealership and I didn't squabble at all and paid full list price after placing a $3,000 deposit which sat there for about 6mths until my new Volt was delivered. At that time, I did not resent paying full list because I definitely wanted to be an early Canadian adopter to the new plug-in electric vehicle technology; but I wasn't going to do that again this time around.

The sales rep and I have met a half dozen times, have had a really good 'friendship' raport. I had placed a $500. deposit on the future expectation of placing a BOLT order when they would be available. Now that pricing has been finalized, it was now time to complete the order (btw, the dealership has already placed an order based on my specs but I was not committed to this car----status code 1100). We reviewed the vehicle specs, actually a Premier model but no other options needed. We reviewed MSRP pricing and it basically came out to $47,895. excl. delivery charges, and tax.

At this point, I reminded my sales guy of the history of my Volt purchase, my many years loyalty to this dealership and that in this case I was adament not wanting to pay full list price. He understood and asked me what I wanted to do. I then said that in order to expedite things, I would simply make my verbal offer of $47,000 even (a discount of $895.). Now, his reaction was not out of the ordinary, he responded that he thought that was fair and then checked his 'invoice' pricing and stated that he had about $3,000. profit to work with on this BOLT, thus my offer still leaving a nice profit for the dealership. He was definitely ok with the offer and at that point, I had no inkling that this wasn't a done deal.

As a formality, or so I thought, he had to get a signature on the final documents, after I had signed off on the order; this is where the deal starts to move downhill on the slippery slope. He came back from what I believed getting approval from the higher authority......Just a formality, so I thought. After chatting for several minutes more about some personal things..........he finally says to me, I know we will continue to be friends after this, but the sales manager won't discount the car. With maybe 3-5 allocation for the Bolt, they feel they have to get full list price. Well you could have blown me over with a feather.

I was not angry, not mad, not unhappy, just completely disappointed because that was not what I was expecting at that point. I told him that I was backing away, with my $500. deposit. As he was out of the office preparing the refund and order cancellation, I then had a couple of minutes to reflect on what had just happened. I put together my formal response, in my mind; I told the sales guy that if he ever got in a conversation with the 'manager' about this transaction, here is how the customer responded.

I stated that I did not have any control over their likely 'allocation' of vehicles.....that was not my fault; I told him that this could have been the easiest car purchase deal he/they are going to have, considering I haven't test drove the car, have not sat in the car and simply purchasing on speculation based on my 2012 Volt knowledge and experience. I'm a 'cash buyer' with no trade.......easy peasy! I reminded him of my previous history of buying vehicles at that dealership, as far back as the 80's when I purchased two new vehicles, my 1988 Corvette was purchased through their dealership, and then my 2012 Volt. They are still making $2,000. on this deal and by turning that away, they stand to lose a loyal customer because I will be keeping my eyes open elsewhere and even consider a 'pre-owned' BOLT later in the year. Other manufacturers will be coming out with comparable electric vehicles and the world is my oyster in that context. In summary, I said that this decision was very short-sighted.

The sales guy completely understood and I believe he was as disappointed as I that the deal took a slam because of a 'bean counter' in the ivory tower. I now feel, for the time being, that I'm $41,000, net provincial EV rebate, richer, as I am completely satisfied with my '12 Volt, I'm currently driving a plug-in electric vehicle and did not NEED a change, just a want to do because I could!

To all other Canadian (and U.S.) buyers of the BOLT EV, be aware of the 'greed' that encompasses car dealerships when a new vehicle comes out............not that this is the first of 5 limited edition Corvette ZL1 that will ever be produced.

 

[michael]

This is a classic situation. When a desirable, in-demand car first comes out, some people are very eager to get hold of one. The price is high, often above MSRP. Later on, supply catches up to the pent-up demand and prices fall.

There is nothing wrong with buying now and paying more, it's simply a personal decision. It's just money, and for many people the pleasure in having a Bolt NOW is worth some extra money. If you don't mind waiting, there a good chance (not a guarantee) that the prices may fall.

One can recognize this period of pent- up demand....discussions include "what dealer still has some to sell?", "where is the shipment?" "Do I have to pay MSRP?" all the kind of things we are reading here.

So why not wait? Apart from simply not wanting to wait, there is actual risk the price might not fall. What if the $7500 is cut? What if lots of people (those who plunked down deposits on a Model 3) start to feel that a Bolt is a great alternative? In my mind, there is a possibility the Bolt may be in-demand for a long time. Prices could possibly even rise. I can recall when Prius sold for $5000 over MSRP, ridiculous as that sounds today.

Personally, my Volt leases mature in March and in May. I'm hoping that by one of those times Bolt prices will have fallen. If not, my options are to get two more Volts (thus precluding a Bolt for three more years), to extend the lease on one Volt, or to pay whatever a Bolt costs at that time.

My guess is that the difference between today's lease price and the goal lease price is something like $100 a month. So over the life of the lease, we're talking about $3000 or $4000. I'll probably bite the bullet, pay retail, and get three great years out of the car I want.

 

[WetEV]

I can recall when Prius sold for $5000 over MSRP, ridiculous as that sounds today.

A war in the Middle East could do the same for the Bolt. Ending tax credits effective next month, same.

 

[michael]

Exactly. Or gas at $5/gallon for whatever reason. That's why I feel lower Bolt prices while likely are not for sure.

 

[mbepic]

I'm prepared to wait.........I don't think our provincial gov't will drop the EV incentive rebate that exists now........being Liberal, they are all about handing money out left, right and centre and are high on green energy initiatives. Also, there has been some talk about dropping the provincial sales tax portion 8% in future......might be hopeful thinking in some part.

You know it is a similar situation when I had two Corvettes, the '88 and also a '65; due to circumstances back in the 90's, I decided to sell the '65 and some people asked me if that was tough decision; I simply said that having the '88 made it a lot easier and I still have that '88. Having the '12 Volt does not make me an unhappy camper under these particular circumstances. It was always the principle of the thought of paying full list price to a dealership where 'loyalty' should count and they are still making a healthy profit..........greed doesn't look good on them but doesn't hurt my feelings either!