2020 Chevy Bolt LT in NJ

Ask the Hackrs
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I am a newb who dreaded the dealer experience until a few hours ago when I seemed to have grown a pair, put in the legwork and I think I’m ready.

I am looking to lease an EV. EV’s are not taxed in NJ and there’s a $5,000 incentive to buy or lease one that is check to me and not dealer. I am looking at an Bolt LT. A loaded Bolt LT, which is the common spec found on lots, comes in at $39,500 MSRP. However, because a new Bolt is right around the corner, Trucar and a ton of other dealers would be happy to offer you an LT at ~$30,500.

After a few phone calls to two dealers, one of whom I’ve leased from in the past, I got final quotes which to my surprise were pretty close to each other. Dealer A got me to say where I want to be with the payment and presented me with $338 $2K down on 36/15. After I apply a state rebate ($5,000 NJ resident) I’m at $199 a month which is drum roll exactly where he got me to say I wanted to be.

Then, armed with my very official sounding Costco pricing verification code, I reached out to dealer B for my “Costco supplier pricing” deal of a lifetime. After a few calls back and forth, I was presented with a quote of $338 $2K 36/12.

It was frustrating that they did not share any other info other than monthlies, but I liked where this was going so I reached out on the Edmunds town hall forum and politely asked for the MF/RES for my zip:
36/15
.00051 and 50%
Add 2% for 12K
$5750 lease cash
$1500 loyalty (I have a GM lease due back in two weeks)

Somewhere around here is where it gets confusing. I plugged everything into the calculator:

1 - Did I screw up the deal sheet?
2 - Did the Edmunds guy provide incorrect numbers?
3 - Is the difference between what they are offering and what the deal sheet showing me dealer profit!?!?! I went back in and worked back to the $388 they offered with $0 down and it was basically a selling price of $38K on a $40K car with thousands in cash incentives from Chevy to them. If I accepted that deal would the dealer have made thousands?

Sidebar: Chevy is offering $8,500 to purchase but only $4,750 lease cash per their website (though Edmunds guy tells me it’s $5,750). Should I add $3K to the selling price on the sheet since the $30,500 offers to get me to buy are reflective of the $8,500 support from Chevy for purchase and not lease?

5 - If I call ten dealers tomorrow and tell them I will come in to pick up a car in an hour at the (corrected) deal sheet price from the first dealer that agrees… will any bite? Is it as easy as adding back to the $30,500 the difference between the lease support and financing support cash from Chevy?
$30,500+2,750=33,250. I feel like they are all going to tell me to sleep with myself, but isn’t my great lease deal the same as them selling one at the Trucar price of $30,500 ?

I have an educator discount as well, though I never was able to figure out what that is worth. Best guess from Googling ~$500. How do I plug this into the sheet?

I would love to feel in control of the transaction and buy a car this weekend on my terms. Your help is appreciated.

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Lol I think its funny that you think there’s thousands in profit on a Chevy Bolt

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I’m glad it’s funny because I am as confused as you are amused.

I think I screwed up the calculator. Something about the cash support from Chevy being applied to the discounted MSRP feels like double counting.

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Not to over complicate things but this is about my limit on a Bolt LT (for a 40k LT like you described)

$5,750 Consumer Cash
$1,500 Rebate
$3,000 Dealer Discount
Base MF of .00051
That is about a $1,000 net loser for the store after holdback.

Payment would be $311+tax on a $38,490 MSRP with true $0 DAS on 10k miles

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Can you elaborate on why you’d want to move the car at a loss… is it because it may be even greater next month?

If you anticipate Chevy’s to lessen the support you’d be more inclined to move end of month?

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We get about $500 of dealer money per car sold as an end of the month bonus (but nobody uses it while desking a deal, it is a separate thing in the back of our minds) but long story short the more small cars you move the more allocation you get for big boy cars that make the store assloads of money (Corvettes, Trailbosses, etc). So it’s about a $500 net loser which is close enough for me to justify taking the loss to get a unit.

If you want me to desk you a custom scenario on a specific VIN send it to me and I’ll show you what it looks like.

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There are other threads in the forum for Chevy bolt New Jersey deals. They do tell all

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Yeah, however, Ethan is a sales manager at a large dealer. Also the self proclaimed :cloud_with_lightning: :electric_plug:.

Giving insight on what’s the dealer’s bottom line is very useful, and can be used to compare deals, ofc, everything is not the same East vs West coast.

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And educator is an additional $600 or so (depending on MSRP of the car) but dealers are likely going to try and tell you that they can’t go below supplier because it’s set pricing, this is false. Don’t tell them about supplier until after you have settled on a final number and ask them to put the supplier reimbursement into the structure. As far as putting it in a calculator you can take it out of DAS because it is CCR.

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Send me the VIN of the vehicle you’re interested in and I’ll desk you a structure.

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@Stark though I am focusing on one car, this is really a primer on how to compile calculator sheets and definitely more educational than the Bolt thread, which I did review. The west coast deals cannot be touched on the east coast and I have always been curious as to why.

@ ethanrs 1G1FY6S02L4119063
I was a bit deer in headlights when you asked for a specific car but found this deal as most LT’s seem to be around this MSRP. This dealer prices very aggressively and has the most Bolts in stock.

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I suggest private messaging Ethan, click on his name and hit the blue message button. Posting vins is a great way to get purchased under ime. Also per the west, electrical provider, state incentives, no clue per the Chevy side of incentives, but you get the clue.

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Any time you see “dealer profit” on a worksheet, just ignore it. You ever wonder why it’s always a negative number? Because everyone takes the dealer to the cleaners, every time!!

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I think the exchange with Ethan will change my perception of car dealers. I admit, my negative perception came from a point of ignorance. His first comment was spot on, I thought there were thousands in it for the dealer on a Bolt. So this walk through is very helpful not only for this deal but how I approach people on the other side of the desk in the future.

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This is what I would shoot for with educator. Its rough but somewhere around there.

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Also, please don’t show the dealership any of this information. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I wish you still sold JLR lol maybe my next one…

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I’ll get back to highline eventually :sunglasses:

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Screen Shot 2020-07-29 at 10.19.09 PM
Screen Shot 2020-07-29 at 10.19.09 PM1451×667 83.1 KB

Whoops forgot to adjust something in my calc. Here is an exact estimate of where I would want to be.

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@ethanrs Much appreciated, it will take time for me to digest this. I’ve taken a screenshot of both and you are welcomed to remove the images from this thread.

Well, it looks like there’s a lot less in it for the dealer than I thought. Huh.

I am not clear on whether my $388 $0 down was $0 down or $0DAS which I’ve come to learn is different, but either way.

I’ll play more with the calculator and screen shots I took tomorrow.

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