seattlite2004
Active Member
I wrote a $37k'ish check for a $44k'ish MSRPd 2018 Bolt Premiere....can I "essentially" do the same for any brand new Tesla Model 3?
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EV Comparison: Tesla Model 3 Versus Chevy Bolt
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ℬête Noire
Active Member
Wow, they were
I felt pretty good about get about $4K off list with our Premier, definitely had to shop around for that. There's a bit more inventory at dealerships these days, though, so could be easier to find something.
seattlite2004
Active Member
Catman20009
Member
That's after the federal credit for a 2018 LT. Of course I don't actually have that offer in hand but getting close. I just need to decide how serious I am. Planning to retire in early 2010 so I need to be a bit more thrifty compared to my current lifestyle. Otherwise I would have ordered that mid-range a week ago. It was so tempting.
If you want to order now the Tesla is no longer guaranteed to get the full tax credit, the Chevy bolt is still guaranteed the full tax credit, plus $700 from Costco, plus in some states like Texas it's good for an additional $2,500 off that doesn't apply to the Tesla.
You really can't compare these cars on price right now.
I'll also say that the bolt has the best apple car play implementation I've seen.
I also get tired of people saying "super charger == game over" simply not true. Some people never drive outside of their metropolitan area. I can't remember the last time I actually drove more than 200 miles in one day in my old ICE, maybe a decade ago?
You really can't compare these cars on price right now.
I'll also say that the bolt has the best apple car play implementation I've seen.
I also get tired of people saying "super charger == game over" simply not true. Some people never drive outside of their metropolitan area. I can't remember the last time I actually drove more than 200 miles in one day in my old ICE, maybe a decade ago?
seattlite2004
Active Member
ℬête Noire
Active Member
I assume you've test driven it, so know whether or not your butt fits the seat well. If the Bolt fits your needs, that sounds like a smokin' deal. You don't even have to carry the $7500 that long (I trust you've checked and are likely to have a minimum of $7500 Fed Tax liability for 2018).
P.S. Does it have the DCFast option our would you always be staying close to home? Your corner of the country already is relatively thick with CCS, even if it's the older slow stuff and the Bolt's charging is relatively slow and will make for leisurely trips.
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Might as well compare an In-N-Out 3x3 animal style versus a Gardenburger. The latter can rack up as many “wins” in any category. Still loses.
Review is silly because it doesn’t compare certain other things that do matter.
Sex appeal
Panache
Technology
Autonomy
Nation wide super charging
I do not care the Bolt is cheaper. I simply do without a new car if I could afford one but not the other.
You never throw good money after bad.
Review is silly because it doesn’t compare certain other things that do matter.
Sex appeal
Panache
Technology
Autonomy
Nation wide super charging
I do not care the Bolt is cheaper. I simply do without a new car if I could afford one but not the other.
You never throw good money after bad.
ℬête Noire
Active Member
The good news that isn't really the case here. It is good and better....and in spite of what you'd like to think, and perhaps is the case for you, budgets are ultimately limited and there are priorities in life beyond a vehicle.
All Bolts at my local MD dealer are $5k off MSRP before you even think about haggling. I just checked another local dealer, and they are advertising $6.5k off MSRP. From what I can tell, these are real discounts, and not "You need to be the 2nd born son of a GM employee that used to work directly under Mary Barra..." type conditional incentive.
So in MD, a $37.5k stripper Bolt could be had for $37.5k - $6,500 (dealer discount) - $7,500 (fed credit) - $3,000 (MD rebate) = $21k before TTL. Tack on another $700 in savings in the form of a Costco gift card (if you were a Costco member as of 1 Oct). And if you are willing to grind the dealer, I'm sure at least another $1k discount can be negotiated.
The car path for my wife was
Random beater -> 2006 Accord -> 2012 Q5 -> 2016 AP2 Model X
The car path for me was
1987 Nissan Maxima -> 1997 Dodge Intrepid -> 2006 Mazda 3 -> 2011 Volt (totalled) -> 2016 Volt (leased) -> Model 3
I limited my car budgets for decades.
I’m in Tesla’s because I didn’t waste money on intermediary cars.
With the Model 3 being imminent, I did not commit to a long term purchase of a Bolt despite all the private offers I got on top of the normal deals.
I did not get a i3 for 50 percent off MSRP because I didn’t throw good money after bad.
Yes there are other priorities in life other than a vehicle. I put resources on those priorities, waiting on the vehicle I ultimately wanted.
With that said, being a 3 car family now, a Bolt lease might happen next year when the Volt lease is up.
Life priorties over any vehicle.
Model 3 over any vehicles.
That’s how one can prioritize life and prioritize the Model 3.
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Why doesn’t the Model 3 have the same kind of deals????
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Unlimited Bolt supplies and low demand.
You have to squeeze a prospective Model 3 customer to the point where they are irrational enough to settle.
I mean if GM wants to buy back my Model 3 at full price, give me a Bolt, and pay me another 12,000 per year as a sponsorship fee - I guess I can join the Bolt team.
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Not sure why comparison between Model 3 and Bolt even come up. It's like comparing a major league team to a minor league. Bolt belongs in the league with Nissan LEAF. Bolt vs LEAF is a much better comparison in terms of price, size, and range.
RSL2020
Member
Shouldn't the Bolt be called the Volt and vice-versa? Ehh, what do i know. But it bugs me.
ai4px
Wes
No, I'm charging with a siemens versicharge at 30amps 220v. I used to have the unit hooked up at my mother's house with a egauge meter for her solar system and it tells me the power factor.
THe bolt charges quietly until full, releases the contactor, then starts the AC unit to cool the battery pack and reasserts the EVSE contactor again. Last month I allowed the unit to charge late at night instead of just when I arrived home from work. Didn't seem to make any difference, it always runs the AC cooling after charging. One day when I checked it, it drew 1kwh for cooling so that's an issue as well.
I've tried to be meticulous with my data acquisition for this.
ai4px
Wes
Here's my numbers from Sep1 to Oct 1... 1806 miles using 504.71kwh. That's $55.51 @ 11c/kwh. Gas is $2.60/gallon, so that's the same cost as 21.35 gallons. 1806 / 21.35 = 84.59mpg .
N5329K
Active Member
Comparison? Here's how they seem to me.
Bolt is an ugly little GM spud. An electric econobox with a hefty price tag attached. It drives nicely, solidly, and reasonably quickly. Front seat headroom is extraordinary. Rear seat headroom not so much. Despite the tall stance I had to bend my head (even with the seat cranked low) in order to get situated in the driver's seat. The seats are just (barely) OK. The startup ceremony is annoying. The interior materials are appropriate for an econobox, which is to say, cheap looking and cheap feeling. Build quality seemed good. Zero cachet if that's an issue.
Model 3 is handsome, spacious, and more expensive. It too drives solidly and quickly. Front seat headroom is good, and rear seat headroom seems even better. Visibility in all direction other than in your six is great. Back there, not so much. The seats felt fine to me...several grades superior to the Bolt, though how they will hold up is anyone's guess (unless you already know?). The interior design strives for IKEA and pretty much makes it. The build quality is a crap shoot. Sometimes the dice roll your way. Sometimes they don't. And the house always wins. Mega cachet still, though that may change as more of them hit the streets.
I noticed the Chevy dealer's lot was incredibly stuffed with unsold cars and trucks. When I walked out after a test drive, the salesman chased me and shouted offers of 1% finance for 60 months.
Tesla was populated but not remotely jam packed. And nobody chased me.
Robin
Bolt is an ugly little GM spud. An electric econobox with a hefty price tag attached. It drives nicely, solidly, and reasonably quickly. Front seat headroom is extraordinary. Rear seat headroom not so much. Despite the tall stance I had to bend my head (even with the seat cranked low) in order to get situated in the driver's seat. The seats are just (barely) OK. The startup ceremony is annoying. The interior materials are appropriate for an econobox, which is to say, cheap looking and cheap feeling. Build quality seemed good. Zero cachet if that's an issue.
Model 3 is handsome, spacious, and more expensive. It too drives solidly and quickly. Front seat headroom is good, and rear seat headroom seems even better. Visibility in all direction other than in your six is great. Back there, not so much. The seats felt fine to me...several grades superior to the Bolt, though how they will hold up is anyone's guess (unless you already know?). The interior design strives for IKEA and pretty much makes it. The build quality is a crap shoot. Sometimes the dice roll your way. Sometimes they don't. And the house always wins. Mega cachet still, though that may change as more of them hit the streets.
I noticed the Chevy dealer's lot was incredibly stuffed with unsold cars and trucks. When I walked out after a test drive, the salesman chased me and shouted offers of 1% finance for 60 months.
Tesla was populated but not remotely jam packed. And nobody chased me.
Robin
JohnSnowNW
Active Member
I agree, and if given a choice between the two we'd just buy the LEAF, and save ~$5k. Given the choice between two commuter vehicles, I'm more likely to just go with the cheapest one. It's really that simple.
ℬête Noire
Active Member
Given that the BEV is quicker (even using Mountain Mode hack on the hybrid) it's probably better as is. The real thing is they shouldn't have used both names to start with.
P.S. If Bob Lutz had had his way there would have only been a BEV Volt, he wanted to leapfrog right past Toyota's hybrid strategy (because he was convinced, incorrectly, that Toyota had a BEV planned). But he lost that argument internally at GM.
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