Advice to my sister on Tesla purchase

[cwerdna]

@cwerdna My sons Chevy Bolt has been in for repairs somewhere around 2 dozen times! The fun has not ended for him either, has to go back again... He still likes it though and we would recommend it as a competent electric car but we would also tell you Tesla is better.

That sucks. Is he still within the period of time yours/his state's lemon laws? I'm semi-active on Bolt groups and 1 Bolt forum. I've yet to hear of one that bad until now.

I've had my '19 Bolt for a bit over a year. I've had no trouble with it yet and it's not gone back to a dealer once. I accidentally missed my free tire rotation which is apparently only good for 12 months and I missed it by a few days, so it went away. I ended up going elsewhere to get my tires rotated for free.

FWIW, I'm no fan of GM (mainly have issues w/their business practices) and have been quite critical of them in the past on other forums. My family has had 3 GM vehicles in the past and ummm... they weren't very good in reliability. My parents stopped buying GM vehicles ages ago and have been only buying Japanese brands. This is my first foray into GM w/my own money. I also had only bought and leased (once) Japanese brands myself (1 Toyota and 4 Nissans) and they've all been at least decent.

April 2020 issue of Consumer Reports recently gave average reliability to each year of Bolt. I'm under no illusion that its reliability is likely to be as good as known reliable models of Toyotas or Hondas.

 

[Evoforce]

Personally, I have had many many different brands and still do. I think you and I realize that nothing is perfect and any brand can have good and bad, hit and miss.

I had a Plymouth (slant 6) and a Chevy as a first cars. I had the Chevy as a performance car as it came with a 396 engine. Chevy performance parts were easily available and usually less expensive compared to others.

That first experience kind of leaned me toward Chevy for performance engine building. I am also a mechanic and have worked on/rebuilt all brands and as previously said owned/own many brands.

Speaking of Nissan, besides my Leafs, I still have a 1980 Nissan dually flatbed that I use with my building business. It is waiting for me to finish with a little body and paint...and still waiting..

As far as my son claiming a lemon, he likes his car. He is willing to put up with some things because of the positives that he enjoys with his car. The dealer is still working on it under warranty and does not contest doing repairs.

 

[cwerdna]

If I had a new car that had to go back for repairs 2 dozen times within the 1st 2 or 3 years, I'd be pretty upset and looking to get rid of it, pronto. I've never ever owned nor leased a car that was anywhere near that bad.

 

[Evoforce]

If I had a new car that had to go back for repairs 2 dozen times within the 1st 2 or 3 years, I'd be pretty upset and looking to get rid of it, pronto. I've never ever owned nor leased a car that was anywhere near that bad.

Well, it doesn't need regular oil changes or spark plugs and wires or belts or hoses or radiator flushes etc. So letting them work out the car's issues under warranty is OK. We did all the work on previous vehicles. They provide him with a gas loaner each time. The gas vehicle loaner is the downer...

 

[Evoforce]

@Dan Baldwin Please back your sister on a great choice on choosing a Tesla. And if you aren't convinced yet, you may want to buy one after you see how much she enjoys hers.

Next step is to kick out your state representatives that the Auto Dealers Association and Big Oil have paid off through campaign contributions so you can get Service Centers.