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I gotta say, all of this ADM nonsense im done with dealers. Bring on the direct sales model.
I test drove a Telluride here locally with a $9k markup, I told the guy no way im paying a markup. He says “you can’t get one of these for MSRP” and I’m like yeah you can, there’s a dealer in Morgantown, WV that does factory orders for MSRP. “Then you have to go there and wait” and I said right to his face, I would fly to California to do business with a dealer that doesn’t so BS like this. He just kinda looked at me lol
I gotta say, all of this ADM nonsense im done with dealers. Bring on the direct sales model.
I test drove a Telluride here locally with a $9k markup, I told the guy no way im paying a markup. He says “you can’t get one of these for MSRP” and I’m like yeah you can, there’s a dealer in Morgantown, WV that does factory orders for MSRP. “Then you have to go there and wait” and I said right to his face, I would fly to California to do business with a dealer that doesn’t so BS like this. He just kinda looked at me lol
Thank you very much, it is exciting. On the dealership front, yes for sure this is my last time ever buying from a dealership again. I literally wasted 4 hours of my day, even though all pricing had been pre-negotiated through email. Buying a vehicle online, picking options, and then financing literally takes less than 20 minutes. All the numbers are right there in front of you, no surprises, no having to ask for changes that take 15 minutes each time you make a change. Than you sign the paperwork online which takes less than 10 minutes, pick up the car (or it's delivered directly to you) and you are done. No time wasted. Most of the paperwork can be done from the comfort of your home or sitting at the desk in your office. Yep, my next car purchase is 1000 percent not going to be from a dealership. Ever again
Thank you very much, it is exciting. On the dealership front, yes for sure this is my last time ever buying from a dealership again. I literally wasted 4 hours of my day, even though all pricing had been pre-negotiated through email. Buying a vehicle online, picking options, and then financing literally takes less than 20 minutes. All the numbers are right there in front of you, no surprises, no having to ask for changes that take 15 minutes each time you make a change. Than you sign the paperwork online which takes less than 10 minutes, pick up the car (or it's delivered directly to you) and you are done. No time wasted. Most of the paperwork can be done from the comfort of your home or sitting at the desk in your office. Yep, my next car purchase is 1000 percent not going to be from a dealership. Ever again
I hear you, but to be fair, not all dealership experiences are like that. I (unfortunately) purchased 2 vehicles in 2022; each time, I was at the dealership for an hour or less (and the trip that took me longer was because I wanted to sit in the car with the salesman and have him show me features).
That is a fine looking econobox. And I mean that sincerely. It's nicer than any ~$20k car, much less EV, has any right to be.
Well thank you for that! It's definitely the best driving ecobox I've ever driven. I've owned and driven Corolla's, Civic's etc. It even drives way better than a recent 2022 Camry SE rental I had for 3 weeks, which frankly, I couldn't wait to get out of. As far as what it costed:
$32,795 (Includes dealer markup, tax and registration and $500 recent grad credit from GM)
Minus $7500 Federal EV Credit (when she does her taxes) and a $2000 EV rebate from the State of California she has to apply for. There is also an $800 clean energy rebate from PG&E that she needs to apply for. So after the tax credits and rebates, the total should come out to $22,495.
Again, she won't get the benefits of those discounts until she does her taxes next year and applies for the state/utility company rebate checks. But at least we gave her the Mommy/Daddy discount in the meantime, which was the down payment
Before we sold the Camry, my daughter cleaned it out, taking out her personal stuff and years of maint invoices kept in the glovebox. Like the packrat I am, I kept every single one of them. Every single oil change, car repair major or minor
From 2006 when I bought the car, I spent between $120 to over $200 twice a year for oil changes, filter changes etc. After hitting 70K, I began to have more expenditures as minor issues popped up (like O2 sensor). At 100K I spent $1200 on tune up, timing belt, water pump, transmission service etc. and in the last 4 years I spent over $4k on a new radiator, power steering leaks, and new engine mounts in December
Basically if I add up just the maint items only (oil, fluids, filters, air filters, plugs, belts etc), this car costed Thousands of dollars to maintain over it's life time! Yes compared to other brands like Mercedes and BMW the costs of ownership are much less, but still, damn. Imagine what if I took those thousands of dollars and invested it in a Sugar Baby! JK, I would never do that
Thankfully my daughter doesn't have to worry about the cost of maint. Now if the expensive electronics break, that is another story....
Thankfully my daughter doesn't have to worry about the cost of maint. Now if the expensive electronics break, that is another story....
Just out of curiosity, did GM or the dealership recommend any specific break-in procedure to you two for that electric motor when they delivered your vehicle? It obviously does not have any piston rings or valves to seat, but does have bearings…..and spins at much higher RPMs than a piston engine. The brakes (another standard break-in item) probably get less wear than with a comparable ICE because of the regenerative braking effect.
Last edited by mmarshall; Mar 11, 2023 at 08:16 PM.
From 2006 when I bought the car, I spent between $120 to over $200 twice a year for oil changes, filter changes etc. After hitting 70K, I began to have more expenditures as minor issues popped up (like O2 sensor). At 100K I spent $1200 on tune up, timing belt, water pump, transmission service etc. and in the last 4 years I spent over $4k on a new radiator, power steering leaks, and new engine mounts in December
Basically if I add up just the maint items only (oil, fluids, filters, air filters, plugs, belts etc), this car costed Thousands of dollars to maintain over it's life time! Yes compared to other brands like Mercedes and BMW the costs of ownership are much less, but still, damn. Imagine what if I took those thousands of dollars and invested it in a Sugar Baby! JK, I would never do that
Thankfully my daughter doesn't have to worry about the cost of maint. Now if the expensive electronics break, that is another story....
Regarding maintenance on the ICE, yes it can get pretty expensive if you maintain it a certain way such going to the main dealership for all of the work. On the same note, maintenance can also be very cheap over its life time in regards to the engine, with all else being equal. Cheap as in no more than 2 grand over its lifetime. As an example, an oil change can be done at home in less than 20 minutes at a cost of only $40. Or, a full diy brake job can be done for $100 in one to two hours. And with the competitive warranties being offered it brings down cost even more. Camrys are so so easy to work on.
Idk maybe I'm just coping hard though. But the way I see it, a modern economy car today can be very easy and affordable to maintain, even on something as sophisticated as an ICE engine with many moving parts.
Just out of curiosity, did GM or the dealership recommend any specific break-in procedure to you two for that electric motor when they delivered your vehicle? It obviously does not have any piston rings or valves to seat, but does have bearings…..and spins at much higher RPMs than a piston engine. The brakes (another standard break-in item) probably get less wear than with a comparable ICE because of the regenerative braking effect.
There is no break in period for the electric motors
It came with a 240v charging cable with both a 110v and NEMA 14-50 adapters. One of the options GM offers is a $500 credit to install a 240v circuit.
I won't need to install a second charger, all I will need to do is have our electrician install a NEMA 14-50 plug. I'll post a pic of it probably tomorrow
i see this terminology but can't follow it. what do you mean by 'install a second charger' isn't it just an electrical outlet? what's the difference between what gm would install and your nema plug?
i see this terminology but can't follow it. what do you mean by 'install a second charger' isn't it just an electrical outlet? what's the difference between what gm would install and your nema plug?
The Bolt comes with it's own charger you can mount on the wall, not just the charging cable:
If I want to use 240v, than I would need to install a NEMA 14-50 circuit, which uses a plug that looks like this:
So basically, the Bolt gives the charger, saving me $400 as I don't have to buy a second charger, like this one:
thanks, but what does the 'charger' do though? just a gm specific connector with 240v?
No actually it works with any EV, including Tesla if they have an adapter. It supports both 110v and 240v, as it has both adapters included. At 240v, 16A it would be able to fully charge her Bolt in less than 8 hours
so i guess it's a 'charger' in the sense of a phone charger, in that it doesn't supply power or do anything other than be a transformer if needed with various connection options.
