Model 3 or cheap Bolt?

[davecolene0606]

From one airline pilot to a future one,

Go,with the 3
1. Long distance travel enabled: your gonna need it cuz your base is gonna change a lot.
2. Enough room to sleep in it: your gonna need it for temp crash pad (better than bunk bed w/32 other pilots)
3. Uber black: you’ll get premium $$ to supplement your commuter F/O pay
4. Training: autopilot technique and currency
5. Frunk fits ur roll aboard perfectly (which holds ur whole wardrobe)
6. Soon enough, it’ll drop u at the airport and work while ur on a trip the pick u up (no employee buses)
7. 35k car tax credit will your starting pay perfectly
8. It’s about style...

Great time to be jumpin in, ur gonna have a fast trip up,the seniority list. Now back to the grindstone, get those hours ASAP!
Cheers!

Fire Away,

 

[Aieukl378]

Why I'm waiting for a Model 3(for my wife) instead of buying a Bolt now:

1. Don't want to support a company that sells EVs so that they can sell millions of gas guzzlers(see also Nissan Leaf)

2. Would be very, very limited in your travels without the Tesla Supercharging network. I'd imagine it would be fairly agonizing taking a long trip in any other EV.

With that said you're pretty limited. Maybe a small used fuel efficient car for now? I've seen late models go for around 10k. You could use that as your daily driver for now, keep your 3 reservation then when the low range model becomes available(I'm assuming about a year wait for day 2 reservationist) you could trade in the used ICE for the Model 3.

 

[devilmountain]

If you are a student, continue driving the car you have now. Don't pile more debt on yourself until you have a good paying job. You also didn't give specifics about how much gas you are paying for. I have seen people trade in vehicles they own outright because gas cost them $50 a week. Now they have a $500 payment, and gas costs them $30 a week. Not a good financial decision.

Fully think out the financials and leave the emotions of just wanting a new car out. My opinion is to start your career off right, finish school and continue driving your current car. If your car is falling apart, look at a cheap used car to make it through the next couple of years.

 

[Butane]

As others have said, your mileage is a concern with a lease. That deal sounds almost too good to be true. If your max budget is $200/mo as you say, then you might want to make sure you have the tax burden to actually receive the full Federal tax credit. Leasing or buying used would solve that problem for you as the credit is already baked in.

Don't forget to account for the charging infrastructure/EVSE you'll need to fully top off a bolt or Tesla overnight.

 

[eSpiritIV]

Since you wont be getting the low cost SR standard package, i would get the cheaper bolt or even the new Nissan Leaf. Only buy a battery pack of what you will use not for the one day you may use it for a long trip.

 

[kzod]

If you are a student, continue driving the car you have now. Don't pile more debt on yourself until you have a good paying job. You also didn't give specifics about how much gas you are paying for. I have seen people trade in vehicles they own outright because gas cost them $50 a week. Now they have a $500 payment, and gas costs them $30 a week. Not a good financial decision.

Fully think out the financials and leave the emotions of just wanting a new car out. My opinion is to start your career off right, finish school and continue driving your current car. If your car is falling apart, look at a cheap used car to make it through the next couple of years.

+1000
Can't believe that so many people picked the Tesla even on a Tesla forum. The Tesla is a better car, and long term may possibly be a better value but only if you can easily afford one. And if you don't need a car immediately I'd hold off as long as possible. The Tesla looks more cool and desirable but so does a Ferrari. Heck even an ICE like a Honda Fit would be dirt cheap and relatively green compared to the other 99% of cars out there. You can even get a used prius if you want greener. Only lease the Bolt if it will completely work for you and your mileage limits better than any other alternatives.

 

[seattlite2004]

Why I'm waiting for a Model 3(for my wife) instead of buying a Bolt now:

1. Don't want to support a company that sells EVs so that they can sell millions of gas guzzlers(see also Nissan Leaf)

2. Would be very, very limited in your travels without the Tesla Supercharging network. I'd imagine it would be fairly agonizing taking a long trip in any other EV.

With that said you're pretty limited. Maybe a small used fuel efficient car for now? I've seen late models go for around 10k. You could use that as your daily driver for now, keep your 3 reservation then when the low range model becomes available(I'm assuming about a year wait for day 2 reservationist) you could trade in the used ICE for the Model 3.

I dont get this...you are advocating BUYING an ICE rather than an EV from a company that sells milliions of gas guzzlers? Where do you think the ICE came from you are recommending buying? LOL.

 

[Mr.Bubblez]

How long are you going to be a student? Financially you sound like you can't afford the 3 for now. But if your going to be a pilot when 1 year 2 years?

What do you have in the way of charging? If you have a SC on the way to would be a real plus. How would you charge the Bolt?

I test drove the Bolt and liked it but the interior is cheap.

It would be about 2 years

 

[IhateOPEC]

Hello, I’m a student pilot and I travel 120 a day so I’m trying to be more efficient. I am a 2nd day model 3 reservoir, but I don’t know if I can afford a model 3 anymore. I cheacked out a Chevy bolt and its really not that bad (no where near as nice as a Tesla) and they offered me $200 a month lease for 36 months with a 500 deposit. My question is do you think Tesla will be as affordable, or should I turn in my $1000 deposit and go for the bolt.

As you can tell I can afford really $200 a month. Please help
-Lucas

Dude, if you are a student pilot you should be driving a 10 year old prius. You are about to enter the ranks of the regional meat grinder, with, and I am just guessing here, huge debt.

I am already at a major, and am having a tough time justifying a model 3.

Unless you are one of those guys with rich parents, in which case get the tesla.

 

[Mr.Bubblez]

Still need more info (how much longer are you a student, do you really drive 120 miles a day 5x a week every week, how do you plan to charge? etc...), but between the Bolt and Model 3, the Bolt would hands down be the cheaper option, as you can't even lease a Model 3 right now, and the $35k base 3 is not available till.....who knows exactly. Also, are you sure about the $200/month, $500 down lease deal? That sounds like an offer that magically would balloon once you get into the dealership. And no way that lease offer can be right for a 15k+ mile/year lease, which is the min you would need.
A used Gen 1 Volt may actually be a much more economical choice (assuming you wouldn't be caught dead in a Prius like me). Only way I could see a Bolt being cheaper is if you can somehow charge for free reliably.

Actually my gf just got a 1st gen volt she pays $190 a month. And for an extra $10 a month I can get a full long range EV. And my school does have chargers, I don’t know if they are free. I don’t pay for electricity at home so that is nice as well.

 

[Mr.Bubblez]

Wow!!! $500 down and only $200? Where are you located? I want that kind of deal. Last month I was looking at $355 a month $0 down.

Oregon, there is not sales tax so everything is cheap.

 

[Mr.Bubblez]

You need to give more information please. My initial response is buy the Bolt because you have blatantly said the model 3 is out of your price range. Having said that, I do not know the charging infrastructure in your area or whether you need a long range vehicle. Tesla is much more equipped to handle long range and State to State driving mostly because Bolt does not currently have good charging infrastructure. There is some help to that though through the purchase of a JDapter that will allow you to use some of the Tesla network (destination chargers 240 volt) but not Superchargers. You did say that your daily driving is 120 miles and either car can handle that. Some poster ahead of me have some good questions about possibly being over mileage on a leased car.

What I’m trying to say is, does anyone think the model 3 (short range) will go as cheap as that. I’m looking a leasing calculators and see that a lease value at the price is around $400 so how Chevy brings it down to $200 IDK, but does anyone think Tesla will have the same incentives in 2 years when I buy.

 

[Az_Rael]

2. Would be very, very limited in your travels without the Tesla Supercharging network. I'd imagine it would be fairly agonizing taking a long trip in any other EV.

The CCS network is expanding. Here is what it looks like in Oregon, where the OP lives vs the SC network. So it won't be too painful if the OP lives on the I5 corridor in Oregon. Less convenient than the SCs, but still doable.

CCS Network:

Supercharger network:

 

[Az_Rael]

What I’m trying to say is, does anyone think the model 3 (short range) will go as cheap as that. I’m looking a leasing calculators and see that a lease value at the price is around $400 so how Chevy brings it down to $200 IDK, but does anyone think Tesla will have the same incentives in 2 years when I buy.

No, the Model 3 will probably never be offered with those kind of discounts/lease incentives vs what GM and Nissan can offer. Tesla has no reason right now to discount the Model 3 to sell more. I would say even in 2 years, the Model 3 will still be very much in demand and no need to discount that much.

 

[Aieukl378]

The CCS network is expanding. Here is what it looks like in Oregon, where the OP lives vs the SC network. So it won't be too painful if the OP lives on the I5 corridor in Oregon. Less convenient than the SCs, but still doable.

CCS Network:
View attachment 296659



Supercharger network:
View attachment 296660

I dont get this...you are advocating BUYING an ICE rather than an EV from a company that sells milliions of gas guzzlers? Where do you think the ICE came from you are recommending buying? LOL.

Just trying to be a bit realistic(and being that 99.9% of vehicles on road are ICE, it seems a used, fuel efficient ICE doesn't seem too much of a sin).

Whereas I would never buy another ICE not everybody is in the same financial position as me. For example, my son needed a car and I was attempting to convince him to purchase an EV. Tesla S and X available but too expensive, new Model 3 too expensive(and not available for awhile) so he ended up buying a used 2017 Jia Rio for about 10k to hold him over until he has cash for Tesla...maybe at that point there will be used 3 on the market.

 

[Aieukl378]

The CCS network is expanding. Here is what it looks like in Oregon, where the OP lives vs the SC network. So it won't be too painful if the OP lives on the I5 corridor in Oregon. Less convenient than the SCs, but still doable.

CCS Network:
View attachment 296659



Supercharger network:
View attachment 296660

Sure...and that's a good step in the right direction but I know people with Bolts who love their car for around town but switch to an ICE when going on longer drives. High speed DC charger availability and reliability is a discussion for another thread but those are real concerns when going the non-Tesla route.

 

[Mr.Bubblez]

The CCS network is expanding. Here is what it looks like in Oregon, where the OP lives vs the SC network. So it won't be too painful if the OP lives on the I5 corridor in Oregon. Less convenient than the SCs, but still doable.

CCS Network:
View attachment 296659



Supercharger network:
View attachment 296660

I would be traveling in the I5

 

[trm2]

If I had just two choices (a Model 3 or a Bolt for $200 a month) the Model 3 would come in third. I thought about buying a Bolt, it is a nice car that drives well and has an awesome surround camera setup. I didn't for two main reasons - they really aren't available around here yet (Cleveland isn't exactly the EV hotspot everyone thinks it is ) and the seat left something to be desired, but would have absolutely picked up a Bolt at $200 a month.

 

[EricUSC]

they offered me $200 a month lease for 36 months with a 500 deposit.

Where can I get a Bolt for $500 down and $200/mo? GM was offering low Bolt leases in Nov 2017, but I have been getting much higher quotes lately. I was looking into getting a Bolt as a second EV commuter car to the Model 3, but decided to pass at the prices I was quoted.

 

[drawfour]

Supercharger network:

Sure, but that SuperCharger map is only showing current ones. There are a bunch more planned in Oregon, which all say they should open by end of 2018. So he'd only have to go 6 months or so (assuming he gets the car in July-ish time frame) before a bunch more would open up.