Order Updates?

[GetOffYourGas]

Let's try and keep the thread on-topic (Order Updates). Thx!

A forum thread straying off topic? Oh my! :lol:

There is a lot of activity on this thread from the west coast. Has anyone in the secondary rollout region (e.g. the Northeast, which is supposed to get the Bolt "this winter") placed an order? Have you heard anything about delivery? Technically it's winter now, but I don't expect to see cars in New York until January or February.

 

[karza]

I just spoke to my salesman in Orange County, and he said the train is now scheduled to arrive in Mira Loma on Monday, and then 2-3 days for the car to be delivered to the dealer. Hopefully I can take delivery this year.

 

[roundpeg]

I just spoke to my salesman in Orange County, and he said the train is now scheduled to arrive in Mira Loma on Monday, and then 2-3 days for the car to be delivered to the dealer. Hopefully I can take delivery this year.

Great. Three extra days? Monday is going to be a holiday for most people. Was he sure?

 

[leodoggie]

There is a train carrying Bolts that is currently traveling in NM that is suppose to arrive in Mira Loma tomorrow.

 

[roundpeg]

There is a train carrying Bolts that is currently traveling in NM that is suppose to arrive in Mira Loma tomorrow.

Hope you are right, but the post said "now due," as in, the arrival date has changed. Since to my knowledge only one buyer has their rail car number and is tracking its progress, we're kind of left guessing as to how many trains with Bolts aboard are in motion presently.

 

[leodoggie]

It appears that there are several trains on the move that are carrying Bolts, which is a good thing. No one has mentioned a Bolt train coming to the Bay Area unfortunately.

 

[roundpeg]

It appears that there are several trains on the move that are carrying Bolts, which is a good thing. No one has mentioned a Bolt train coming to the Bay Area unfortunately.

You'd think, anyway. I read somewhere that Mira Loma gets 6-7 trains a day, coming and going. I suspect some will drop cars in Southern California and continue north. Where is GM's distribution center in the Bay Area?

 

[leodoggie]

I really have no idea, never thought about such things, probably could find out.

 

[leodoggie]

It is in Benicia, which is in the East Bay.

 

[roundpeg]

It is in Benicia, which is in the East Bay.

Okay, so that's probably connected to the main rail line that runs to Oakland and down the Central Valley.

 

[gpsman]

There is a large rail yard in Milpitas... almost always populated with auto carriers.

 

[leodoggie]

You are right, I just found it on Google maps.

 

[gpsman]

Why wouldn't I be right?
I drive past it frequently.


P.S. Why are there thousands of cars in the adjacent parking lot almost exclusively all white????!

P.P.S. Me thinks they must still be in protective wrap of some kind. Else they paint em after they ship em.
:lol:

 

[roundpeg]

Union Pacific operates automotive distribution centers in both Milpitas and Benicia.

https://www.up.com/customers/autos/facility_profiles/index.htm

 

[stevewa]

Update:

I learned yesterday that my car has been produced (has a VIN) and is awaiting transit. No hope of receiving it in 2016 but dealer claims I can do the purchase now if I want to claim the tax credit in 2016, as he has all he needs to generate the paperwork.

I've been through the websites of the dealers in Portland that I know about:

Wentworth (inner east side)
Tonkin (outer east side)
Carr (Beaverton -- west suburb)
Bruce (Hillsboro -- further west)
Wilsonville (south suburb)
McLaughlin (Gladstone -- SSE suburb)

Some have inventory posted on their websites, some do not. Some come up when I do a inventory search on chevrolet.com, some do not. Some show up on their own websites but not on chevrolet.com, and some show up on chevrolet.com and not on their own websites!

The only consistency I've found so far is that all of them claim the inventory on the websites is all sold out. So why post them at all?

Wentworth told me everything they have coming in is sold and starting from scratch now would take 3-4 months from order to delivery. I guess I'll stick with my orphan in Wilsonville.

 

[WetEV]

Careful: IRS says you must drive the car this year to claim the credit.

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/plug-in-electric-drive-vehicle-credit-section-30d

Dealer is NOT a good source for tax information.

 

[DucRider]

Careful: IRS says you must drive the car this year to claim the credit.

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/plug-in-electric-drive-vehicle-credit-section-30d

Dealer is NOT a good source for tax information.

Actually, the code says "placed in service".

Section 3. SCOPE OF NOTICE
The new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit determined under this notice applies to plug-in electric drive motor vehicles that—

(1) Are placed in service by the taxpayer in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2009;

(2) Are acquired by the taxpayer after December 31, 2009; and

(3) Otherwise meet the requirements of § 30D.

There are various court rulings regarding interpretation of "placed in service" - the most common do indeed include a provision such as "available for use". If the car has not been delivered, registered and insured, I personally would not claim it in 2016.
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2014/apr/placed-in-service-date.html

Title transfer satisfies the "acquired" requirement, but not the "placed in service" stipulation.

The last update I got (12/21) was the the ETA for the first Bolts to the Portland distribution facility was 12/29 (at that time they were in North Platte, NE). It is very unlikely that any Oregon dealer will be able to physically deliver a car until after the first of the year.

 

[roundpeg]

Good information, probably deserving a thread of its own.

I don't see the "placed in service" requirement being a problem with a passenger car for personal use in the same way it was for the airplane in the example (which was modified for the intended business use in the following tax year, which is why the deduction was not allowed). When the paperwork is completed you get (in California, at least) temporary registration papers from the dealer, so the car is registered to you from that time forward. You are placing it in service the moment you drive it off the lot. Insurance cannot be a criterion for placing it in service, if for no other reason than your insurance company is required to cover you for a new car for ten days after you purchase it. If you don't already have auto insurance I suppose that could become an issue.

Where I see a problem arising is in the scenario where you complete the purchase paperwork while the car is still in transit. If the car does not arrive by the end of the calendar year, you are probably sunk. This happens to be the scenario I am being offered by my dealership as a backup plan to taking physical delivery this year. While it's unlikely that the IRS would discover this (it would take an audit) it's still bad practice and I sure would not do it.

 

[JupiterMoon]

Still no local dealers in the my area have one....might as well be "vaporware" as some have defined in the past.

 

[DucRider]

I don't see the "placed in service" requirement being a problem with a passenger car for personal use in the same way it was for the airplane in the example (which was modified for the intended business use in the following tax year, which is why the deduction was not allowed)...

The airplane was probably not the best example.
But there is a phrase that pops up often as the litmus test:
"ready and available for its specifically assigned function"
If you have never taken physical possession of the vehicle, there is a pretty strong argument that it is not "ready and available".

If anyone is contemplating taking the tax credit before they have access to the vehicle (i.e. with the VIN and a Title transfer), a call to a tax professional is in order. My opinion is that the IRS and Court rulings specifically disallow a deduction under those circumstances.

http://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2007/nov/placedinservicedecisionrequirescarefulplanning.html
https://taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap/pubs/p946-021.htm
https://taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap/pubs/p946-003.htm#TXMP1be24aa4