QUESTION: for all EV owners

[ChargePoint]

What do you wish you asked your car dealer about before buying your EV?

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Where's the microwave?

Where's my supercharger?

How come ChargePoint isn't installing 100 kW, multiple unit stations in major EV markets?

Sorry.

Most dealers know less than we do.

 

[ChargePoint]

Where's the microwave?


Most dealers know less than we do.

We've seen comments that new EV drivers might buy a car and not fully understand all the important details that come along with it depending on how knowledgeable their dealer was. Or, they might simply not know the important questions to ask them!

We thought this thread might be helpful to new drivers too, considering there's a mix of experienced EV drivers and "considering an EV" here in the community.

Would love your input!

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

If someone considering an EV finds forums, they're seriously looking for information and they've come to the right place. Here, you can ask a question of 10 experienced drivers and get 12 informed opinions. Dealers, OTOH, only want to move metal and education is not their focus. In fact, rule number one here is "never trust a dealer."

Any newbie coming here has access to everything they always wanted to know about EVs but were afraid to ask.

The problem is folks who don't research online, or much at all, and get an EV without knowing what they're getting into. You won't help them here, unless you work at driving traffic to EV forums, before they go to a dealership.

 

[marshallinwa]

As already mentioned, most folks know more than the dealer. Secondly, you can't trust a dealer to give you correct information. So there isn't much point of asking a dealer anything but the price.

So since you can't trust a dealer, make sure you double check your paper work and make you see with your eyes any feature that you want and find important before taking possession of the vehicle.

 

[IMAdolt]

As already mentioned, most folks know more than the dealer. Secondly, you can't trust a dealer to give you correct information. So there isn't much point of asking a dealer anything but the price.

So since you can't trust a dealer, make sure you double check your paper work and make you see with your eyes any feature that you want and find important before taking possession of the vehicle.

It's tough to go out into the wild looking for a car without doing research and knowing what you're going for, there may be trustworthy and knowledgeable car salespeople out there but separating them from the herd of snake oil salesmen is tough to do.

I've dealt with guys that knew considerably less then myself and other guys that seemed knowledgeable but tried to turn around and sell me a Volt and other guys that seemed pretty genuine, I expect I'm on that guys list to call when incentives are renewed in January, if there's inventory to move.

This and other forums like it are a great resource, people that come here first are better off looking for there new car and have some knowledge behind them to negotiate a better lease or WHY. The flip side are the people that come here looking for answers after they've already gone out and got the wrong trim package or lease offer and are understandably angry, but there's not a lot can be done for those people.

 

[michael]

What do you wish you asked your car dealer about before buying your EV?

Can I have it for $10 a month less?

 

[sgt1372]

My salesperson at Capital Chevy in San Jose was actually very well informed about the car. But, not so well about the public EV charging networks and the options for L2 charging at home.

He went over all of the operational controls of the car, including how to pair it w/my Android phone. So, I had no questions for him except how much they'd give me for my trade-in -- answered by the sales msg -- and how much the lease would cost -- answered by the finance person. I also asked him about floor mats and the tire inflation kit and was referred to the parts dept, which said didn't have them in stock but could order them. I ordered them from another dealer closer to where I live.

So, I really had no other questions that occurred to me after I leased the car. However, I did a lot of research about the car and the EV market b4 I leased it that removed the need to ask many questions.

All I was concerned about was what it looked like in person and how it drove. It looked and drove fine to me. So, I leased it on the spot after the financial issues were addressed.

 

[EastWestBrothers]

Why do you know so little about the product you are trying to sell me? :lol:

But in all seriousness, I walked into every dealership knowing far more about the car than anyone on their sales floor. If traditional dealers want to stop the tide from shifting towards direct to consumer sales, they need to start providing better training to their staff. If not, once a direct to consumer option becomes available, I will happily switch to that choice and not have to deal with poorly trained and sleazy salespeople.

 

[oilerlord]

Why do you know so little about the product you are trying to sell me? :lol:

But in all seriousness, I walked into every dealership knowing far more about the car than anyone on their sales floor. If traditional dealers want to stop the tide from shifting towards direct to consumer sales, they need to start providing better training to their staff. If not, once a direct to consumer option becomes available, I will happily switch to that choice and not have to deal with poorly trained and sleazy salespeople.

+1

Exactly my experience. What's particularly troubling is a lot of salespeople won't ADMIT they don't know, won't bother to find out an answer, they'll just wing it and hazard a guess. That hurts people.

The notable exception to this is Tesla. It was hands-down the best pre-sales experience we've had shopping for any car. Tesla "advisors" are friendly, knowedgeable, and are genuinely enthusiastic about their cars - and with zero sales pressure after the test drive.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I must have really lucked out. The man who sold me my Bolt was practically geeking out over the EV. He knew it inside and out, and taught me a thing or two. And that's saying a lot because I follow this forum, EV new outlets, and have been driving an EV for 5.5 years. It helped that his daily driver was a Volt. That should be a requirement - that an EV salesman drives an EV every day.

 

[EastWestBrothers]

I must have really lucked out. The man who sold me my Bolt was practically geeking out over the EV. He knew it inside and out, and taught me a thing or two. And that's saying a lot because I follow this forum, EV new outlets, and have been driving an EV for 5.5 years. It helped that his daily driver was a Volt. That should be a requirement - that an EV salesman drives an EV every day.

Don't expect him to stick around too long. It seems like the more knowledgeable a salesperson is, the more likely they are to leave the dealership before long.

 

[boltage]

What I would like to see from ChargePoint are 50 kW DCFC stations along highways between metro areas, in order to make road trip use more convenient. On some highways, most of the ChargePoint DCFC stations are 24 kW. On a road trip, 50 kW charging gives a 3-to-1 ratio of driving-to-charging time -- hardly ideal, but more tolerable for many people than the 1.5-to-1 ratio that 24 kW charging gives.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

How about these new ABB units? 150-350 kW.

http://www04.abb.com/global/seitp/seitp202.nsf/e308f3e92d9a8fc5c1257c9f00349c99/d334d8ff817b3a16c12581ae002c8e88/$FILE/ABB+powers+e-mobility+++Press_Release_3.10.2017.pdf

 

[Lin19687]

What I would like to see from ChargePoint are 50 kW DCFC stations along highways between metro areas, in order to make road trip use more convenient. On some highways, most of the Charge-point DCFC stations are 24 kW. On a road trip, 50 kW charging gives a 3-to-1 ratio of driving-to-charging time -- hardly ideal, but more tolerable for many people than the 1.5-to-1 ratio that 24 kW charging gives.

Yes to this, and maybe even faster DC charge would be nice. THAT is what is going to get more people into an EV

TO the OP, Do you really work for Charge-point ?
IF so, would REALLY like to see more DC CCS chargers (Massachusetts, New Hampshire area) with a REASONABLE FEE !!
I don't mind paying but EVgo is a RIDICULOUS FEE, $10 for 30 min and most of their DC chargers are not always 50kW.

PLEASE CP make more, install more and tell your customers to charge less. They will get more business from us EV'ers if the price is good.

I only have EVgo here and I REFUSE to use them !

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Great, more availability for me. Thanks.

 

[ChargePoint]

What I would like to see from ChargePoint are 50 kW DCFC stations along highways between metro areas, in order to make road trip use more convenient. On some highways, most of the Charge-point DCFC stations are 24 kW. On a road trip, 50 kW charging gives a 3-to-1 ratio of driving-to-charging time -- hardly ideal, but more tolerable for many people than the 1.5-to-1 ratio that 24 kW charging gives.

Yes to this, and maybe even faster DC charge would be nice. THAT is what is going to get more people into an EV

TO the OP, Do you really work for Charge-point ?
IF so, would REALLY like to see more DC CCS chargers (Massachusetts, New Hampshire area) with a REASONABLE FEE !!
I don't mind paying but EVgo is a RIDICULOUS FEE, $10 for 30 min and most of their DC chargers are not always 50kW.

PLEASE CP make more, install more and tell your customers to charge less. They will get more business from us EV'ers if the price is good.

I only have EVgo here and I REFUSE to use them !

Thanks for sending your questions our way! ChargePoint stations are independently owned and operated, and the station owner determines the pricing policy. I'll pass your feedback about fees to the team! If you'd like to share more feedback with us in the future, shoot our team an email directly: [email protected]. Or, if you have a specific spot in mind for a station, you can share those details with us at the same email.

We understand the desire for a faster station, too! Earlier this year at CES we announced ChargePoint Express Plus stations, which can deliver up to 400 kW. You can find more on that announcement here http://bit.ly/chargepointExpressPlus and when we have updates on these Express Plus stations, we'll be sharing them on our website, here: http://bit.ly/chargepointnews

 

[Lin19687]

Thank you for responding.
I don't mind paying but to have a "session fee" that is only for a 1/2 hr ONTOP of paying $0.20 a min? Robbery.

I will shoot them an email. We NEED CCS chargers ALL OVER Massachusetts ! There just are none that are not EVgo.
The Chevy Bolt does not have a Free to charge thing like Nissan and BMW do. Too bad too.

If you catch their ear, just tell them to look at a Map and find a place near all the EVgo chargers and then add about 2 more

Places to shop that come to mind are Grocery stores (Wegman's, Whole Foods, Stop and Shop, MARKET BASKET !) Movie theaters, Kohl's, Restaurants.
Every Town should have at least ONE with a CCS and then another Level 2.

Thank you

 

[SparkE]

How about these new ABB units? 150-350 kW.

http://www04.abb.com/global/seitp/seitp202.nsf/e308f3e92d9a8fc5c1257c9f00349c99/d334d8ff817b3a16c12581ae002c8e88/$FILE/ABB+powers+e-mobility+++Press_Release_3.10.2017.pdf

I don't know of a single one in the U.S. Oops, that's not true - EVgo has ONE installed that I know of (in Fremont, CA), but it is "for testing" and not available to the general public as far as I know.

What I would like to see from ChargePoint are 50 kW DCFC stations along highways between metro areas, in order to make road trip use more convenient. On some highways, most of the Charge-point DCFC stations are 24 kW. On a road trip, 50 kW charging gives a 3-to-1 ratio of driving-to-charging time -- hardly ideal, but more tolerable for many people than the 1.5-to-1 ratio that 24 kW charging gives.

As already pointed out, ChargePoint stations are (generally) independently owned and operated. They sell and install the stations (or, in a few cases I know of, even publish stations they do NOT sell and did NOT install) and the owner buys the station and determines the rates. ChargePoint adds the owner to their network and shows it in their app so you can see availability (if that is what the owner wants - if not, it is "private" and doesn't show up). So, ChargePoint will *work* with people/businesses who want to install stations, but they do not (in general) own them themselves.

 

[michaellax]

The Chevy Bolt does not have a Free to charge thing like Nissan and BMW do. Too bad too.

That's because Nissan and BMW financially subsidize EVGo in one way or another; while GM does not! Write to GM!