Y’all need to talk me out of looking at the Bolt. 2023 model will have a $27k MSRP and likely a full tax credit restored based on latest government bill. Apple car play, 250 mile range, and 0-60 in 6.5s for half the price of a Tesla. It’s lame for sure, but damn that’s cheap for a solid EV.
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Car likely totaled
- Thread starter golfcart
- Start date
Honestly we looked at the Bolt before getting our second Model 3, and the biggest turn off was my wife saying it was too small and looked like a roller skate. I think the price is actually quite good for its size and what it offers. The only issue really is it's on GM's outdated EV platform, not the Ultium platform the new Blazer and Lyric are being built on.
What really sold getting another Tesla for my wife was the charging network is so nice and there are a good number of Superchargers on any route we would take.
I had my P3D for 2.5 years and used a supercharger maybe 5 times. The wife has a SUV PHEV that we use on trips. I work from home and drive about 5000 miles a year mostly carting my kid around or playing golf. The charging network has been of little use to me in reality though it is a great selling point for Tesla.
Agreed the Bolt is small and looks like a roller skate. It does not make me smile when I see it. It’s also not nearly as fun to drive as the Tesla. I had a Nissan Leaf before the Tesla and was pretty happy with it until I test drove the model 3. My wife got so sick of hearing me complain about the Leaf after that test drive that she basically told me to STFU and get the Tesla already
. I imagine the Bolt would be similar to the Leaf in that regard, it would do everything I needed it to do just wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable to drive as the Tesla. I just wish the P3D wasn’t so expensive now. When I bought my 2018 P3D used it was $45k and I drove 20k miles a year. Now they’re $60k used or $63k new and I only done about 5k miles a year.
davewill
Active Member
Why? At this point, they've got the bugs worked out of the platform. If it suits your needs, you could definitely do worse.
I have to say, if something happened to our M3, I'd probably get a Bolt too. We'd still have the S. We'd only supercharged the 3 maybe twice in 5k miles. The lack of ventilated seats pisses me off every day I have to set in it on a hot day. WTF Tesla?
I am literally not joking but I will not buy another Tesla that doesn't have ventilated seats. My wife doesn't like the size of the S/X so if something happens to the 3, we will go with something else. All she really wants is something for basic transportation so almost anything will do that has ventilated seats.
We are stuck in miserable city traffic so a lot of the benefits any Tesla has are wasted when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic or you can't go over 40 mph on your commute.
I am literally not joking but I will not buy another Tesla that doesn't have ventilated seats. My wife doesn't like the size of the S/X so if something happens to the 3, we will go with something else. All she really wants is something for basic transportation so almost anything will do that has ventilated seats.
We are stuck in miserable city traffic so a lot of the benefits any Tesla has are wasted when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic or you can't go over 40 mph on your commute.
Someone posted a link to a vented seat accessory for the 3, a while back. You have to do some work, punching holes in the foam support, but it looked pretty decent and reasonably priced. I might do it, someday.
I've always thought ventilated seats sounded awesome and a feature I would rather have than heated seats. While my Tesla has been in the shop (and now totaled) I've been driving my dad's Suburban (the Anti-tesla!) which has ventilated seats.. and I actually find them rather underwhelming. Perhaps it's jus thte suburban's implementation, but I can barely feel anything when they are on.
Responding to golfcart - $20k after tax credit for a Bolt is a solid deal. It's definitely a question of want/need with Teslas. I bought in a reservation day with the promise that these would be ~$35k cars with a tax credit - putting it as an Accord competitor. Sadly that never happened and they are definitely in the luxury market. But once a luxury is enjoyed it's hard to go back.
Responding to golfcart - $20k after tax credit for a Bolt is a solid deal. It's definitely a question of want/need with Teslas. I bought in a reservation day with the promise that these would be ~$35k cars with a tax credit - putting it as an Accord competitor. Sadly that never happened and they are definitely in the luxury market. But once a luxury is enjoyed it's hard to go back.
Before we bought our RAV4 Hybrid we looked at a non-hybrid version that had the ventilated seats and they were very nice when I tested them. I'm glad we went with the hybrid though.
I've seen a few options for a ventilated seatback on Amazon and I think someone here actually shared the link to the ones they bought. I may try those.
I've seen a few options for a ventilated seatback on Amazon and I think someone here actually shared the link to the ones they bought. I may try those.
I don’t really care about ventilated seats honestly. I’m gonna tint the car and it stays in the garage most of the time. The A/C does fine to cool me off I typically drive with windows down most of the time anyways. I do like the heated seats and steering wheel in the winter because it lets me avoid heating the cabin.
I agree completely that the model 3 is a luxury and sometimes in life you gotta splurge. I actually had the $35k SR on order during that brief window when they were available (I think the tax credit was $1875 at that point) but ended up getting a leaf instead because it saved me $10k. I regretted that decision for a while and once I actually drove the model 3 I had to have one. I never once regretted getting the car and if that clown hadn’t destroyed it I’d still be enjoying it today.
No I don't. Drove one for about a week on set of daily trips right around 100 miles/day in traffic. Felt like I was on a bar stool strapped to the top of a skateboard. It was battery powered transportation with climate control. If that is all you are looking for out of it, it is an excellent.....uhm....vehicle. It was however, lacking that aesthetic of having anything interesting about it, or even any 'fun' factors driving it. It was as boring as it was cheap....but as you said, they are cheap in the grand scheme of things. How much are smiles worth, that is the question.
I am still urging you to go for the 3LR with the performance boost for smiles.
(And stop making the Bolt sound appealing as a daily commuter, especially...I don't need to be thinking about that...)
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Depends on where you are at from a climate perspective. If I was living in the Bay Area again, not as much of an issue. I have great tint including windshield, a roof sunshade as well, use cabin overheat protection (without AC) and it will still hit 140F in the car. All the tinting does is slow the rate of heat soak, not stop it.
If I leave my car out while shopping in the Texas sun and it will quickly be in the 120 range if shopping any time after noon. I am sure the black seats are hotter than the indicated temperature that the car displays internally. . Ventilated seats are a god send.
If you aren't already sweaty when you get in the car, you will be in no time. The lack of ventilation ensures you will stay that way. Doesn't take too much time until you have swamp butt. Contrast that with the S and even in hot and sweaty getting in, my nether regions are cooled off quick enough and the cabin pre-cooling can also turn on the seat cooling. It isn't as good as the last Caddy I had which was the best of any car I've tried, but it is good enough to help pretty much make it a non-issue.
Looks like Hansshow might have some ventilated seats for the 3/Y as well. May have to explore this more at some time. Just hate dumping money on something that should have been standard from the factory at this price point.
I’m in coastal Virginia. It was 95 with a dew point in the 70s today. Gets plenty hot here it just doesn’t bother me that much unless the wife and kid are with me. I’m sure it’s a nice feature and pretty standard on cars in that price point these days it’s just way less important to me than a lot of other things.
It is 103F at my house right now in Texas in the evening. I'll take all the help I can get. It was 107F or so for a lot of last week. Heck, it has been 95F here are 10PM. Not as bad as when I lived in Phoenix but has been running pretty close and plenty as miserable.
I think for the most part we were hotter than Phoenix this week. It doesn't drop below 90 even until after 10 PM and then bottoms in mid 80's and back to over 90 by 10 AM. I'd say the garage stays in the high 80's to mid 90's all day and night. When you pre cool the car inside all it does is heat up the garage even more and that impacts the house as well since it is attached and under the house.
The heat from it just travels up into the living areas immediately above it. So now we mostly leave the 3 out so pre cooling doesn't roast the garage and heat the house. I hate the summers here.
I think for the most part we were hotter than Phoenix this week. It doesn't drop below 90 even until after 10 PM and then bottoms in mid 80's and back to over 90 by 10 AM. I'd say the garage stays in the high 80's to mid 90's all day and night. When you pre cool the car inside all it does is heat up the garage even more and that impacts the house as well since it is attached and under the house.
The heat from it just travels up into the living areas immediately above it. So now we mostly leave the 3 out so pre cooling doesn't roast the garage and heat the house. I hate the summers here.
Evpowerdan
Member
Texas summers can be brutal.
Heat soak applies to all vehicles when left outside. It's a big metal, aluminum and glass object. With the windows completely closed, the temps will rise rapidly inside the cabin. Cracking the windows will aid in letting the hot air out. Tinting all the windows + a sunroof shades + front windshield shade will keep the cabin cooler (much more so when driving and the AC is on). Exterior color choice has a lot to do with heat soak - white is much better than a darker color. Regardless, any object left outside will create heat in it - especially when sealed up (all windows closed),
On the ventilated seats - never had them before till I got a 2021 Acura RDX - they work better when the interior is cooled down. Basically a fan that just moves air through the seat. Not really a deal buster, as I have driven in the Texas summers for 23+ years, GREAT AC is needed and so are tinted windows. Once you are in motion - those two keep you cool inside. Also, tinting the front windshield is a game changer - 70-80% to reduce the solar reflective gain.
Heat soak applies to all vehicles when left outside. It's a big metal, aluminum and glass object. With the windows completely closed, the temps will rise rapidly inside the cabin. Cracking the windows will aid in letting the hot air out. Tinting all the windows + a sunroof shades + front windshield shade will keep the cabin cooler (much more so when driving and the AC is on). Exterior color choice has a lot to do with heat soak - white is much better than a darker color. Regardless, any object left outside will create heat in it - especially when sealed up (all windows closed),
On the ventilated seats - never had them before till I got a 2021 Acura RDX - they work better when the interior is cooled down. Basically a fan that just moves air through the seat. Not really a deal buster, as I have driven in the Texas summers for 23+ years, GREAT AC is needed and so are tinted windows. Once you are in motion - those two keep you cool inside. Also, tinting the front windshield is a game changer - 70-80% to reduce the solar reflective gain.
That is illegal in the Commonwealth of Virginia unfortunately. I found that out the hard way when I bought my 2018 from Georgia and it failed inspection because of tint on the windshield.
Technically you are not supposed to tint them in Georgia either. But...there sure are a lot of people with windshields tinted, and a lot that go quite dark with it.
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