lol then get a Tesla? i already know how awesome the Bolt is. and its here. and its already supposed to have better range. to each their own. over half my cust are from withdrawn tesla deposits. Battery vehicles developing so fast with a 215 range not being competitive, by 2018 normal production someone will have 300+ range.
215 mile range is easily competitive because of thousands of Superchargers nicely spaced out across the entire country. I wish I could say the same about CCS! 
Iāve had a CCS car for 2 years now.
CCS is probably ok in California but not most places yet. Checkout plugshare.com and see for yourself.
Iām in the camp that Bolt leases will be sub-$300 by the end of this year.
no worries, Iām not not saying the Bolt is a terrible car. Iām just saying itās going to be a lot harder for Chevy to be competitive with the Model 3 at the same price point. I absolutely agree with @ssspinball that the Bolt will have to have a sub-300 lease to really gain traction. Definitely not cancelling my Tesla order for the Bolt, but to each their own. 
Iām hoping companies like Chevy will come up with a better looking EV to encourage more competition.
The front of the Model 3 looks like a Dodge Stealth
I test rode in a Bolt. Itās nice and you can buy one TODAY.
My friend who drove the Bolt test drive was also one of those people who stood in line for 5 hours to secure two Model 3 reservations.
Heās for sure getting them, but both he and I agree that we want ALL car manufacturers to be competitive.
Iām glad the Bolt exists today. The Bolt is a nice car if you canāt wait for the Model 3. My friend will probably have his 1st Model 3 by this time next year. Itāll be the 2wd version we are assuming, as The awd version wonāt be available till later in 2018. Assuming his 1st Model 3 is good, he will max out options on his 2nd one.
The Boltās competitor is not only the Model 3.
As the first EV with > 200 mile range, the Bolt is support to be a viable replacement for fossil fuel single car owners. In that case, itās competing in a very active compact market. The direct replacement would be the Honda Fit, but in the compact market Chevy has the Cruze. With Cruze deals such as one pay of $1895.51 with $3k Asian lease, the Bolt is quite expensive.
If the Bolt is support to convert existing EV owners who need more range, how big of the market is this? How many people actually need a range of > 100 miles (after driving an EV with less than 100 miles for 3 years)? In addition, EV owners conditioned with <$99 leases are a tough sell for a >$300 lease for the Bolt.
I agree that itās hard to justify the 300/month for a bolt, but the Model 3 will be compared more to a 3-series bmw so the 35k pricetag will be a little more reasonable. As for the need for >100 mile range, this will obviously depend on your need and where you live. For me, I find 100 mile range cars to be way too little. A 100 mile range car will usually diminish down to 80 or so miles after a few years. Itās not unreasonable that in california a driverās work commute is easily 30+ miles each way. Thatās already 60 miles. Consider someone leaving work and running some errands, and youāre easily at 80 miles. Talk about range anxiety! I plan to pay for a battery upgrade on my tesla model 3 and Iām hoping for around 300 miles per charge. Should get me between san diego and los angeles without any worry.
1 Like
Thatās a good point about the Model 3 comp is a BMW 3-series. A Boltās comp is definitely not a luxury compact.
We also have a Model 3 reservation, but itās the enhanced autopilot and full self driving capabilities that makes it more compelling than the Bolt to me. Of course these features will add $8k to the $35k base price (assuming same feature prices as the Model S).
As our second EV, I am considering the Bolt. But at its current lease prices, Iām passing.
Iām excited about the autonomous driving capabilities too. Really hope itās getting close to level 4 autonomous driving capabilities by the time the Model 3 comes out! Also hoping they donāt make upgrade features as expensive as they are on the Model S. I guess we still have to wait a few months to find out!
If you are driving 80 miles daily, or even for 200 days, then leasing is not for you, whether itās a bolt, volt or bugatti 
Who said anything about leasing? Iām buying my Tesla! Really though, itās not about driving 80 miles EVERY day. Itās about those times where you need to drive 80-100 miles or more. Lets say you drive 50 miles a day regularly, but sometimes you need to drive an extra 30-40 miles for whatever reason. Range anxiety sucks. And like I said, Iāll be going to OC or LA on occasion, so that definitely requires a 200-300 mile range.
My go-to answer for just about everything, āit depends!ā.
About me:
-1st EV: 2012 24kWh Nissan Leaf (24 mo / 24k mi lease)
-2nd EV: 2014 24kWh Nissan Leaf (36 mo / 36k mi lease)
-Daily driving commute: about 70+ miles (only for past year, about 50mi/day prior to that).
-Charging: almost exclusively at home; extra out of the way trip?.. use PlugShare app to locate a charger along the way in So Cal. CHAdeMO rocks!
-Excess lease miles: $0.15 / added mile.
Excited about 110+ miles on a charge. That said, much more range isnāt a big factor for me. Boltās 238 mi range is killer, but a fast charger and my use requirements cause me to focus on other elements. ACC (adaptive cruise) on BMW i3 looks really good and Bolt lacks it. Think about your range options; my wife has a gas car, so long weekend out-of-town trips are never an issueā¦ key points: multi-car household w/range options; semi-autonomous features more important than range.
My buddy did a Leaf lease with a 10 day trip annual credit from the dealerās preferred rental car company (Enterprise). They worked it out so that he was in the Enterprise computer system and just had to give a quick call to say he needed a gas car that day. I think they had streamlined the paperwork so that it was all done up front and not needed when he wanted to use the rental carā¦ making for a fast in and out experience with pre-negotiated rates when the EV range wasnāt going to cut it. This type of innovation along with Uber / Lyft, and I think EVs donāt need a lot of range. key point: think beyond your specific car when thinking about range options for somewhat rare needs.
Key Point Summary:
- $0.15 / excess mile on a lease is probably comparable to depreciation and maintenance if owned a similar gas car - mileage depreciates a vehicleās value fast. Leasing when you plan on spending a high number of daily miles is not always a bad idea, but be a good leasehackr, do the math, be prepared.
- EV range anxietyā¦ YMMV, but it tends to not be an issue for most households when the new EVs are hitting 115 miles + per chargeā¦ and getting better every model to compete. Especially if you have another range option for rare occasions (rental agreement, or multi-car household, etc.).
- With range and infrastructure quickly catching up, range is becoming less important for some and instead semi-autonomous features lead differentiation.
- I save a LOT of time by rarely stopping at a gas stationā¦ I used to do this 3 times every 2 weeks. I also rarely need to stop in for serviceā¦ check the recommended service section of the EV manual. They will still claim to have you stopping in to your dealerā¦ to rotate tires, top off your windshield wiper fluid, and have a chat with the MayTag rep. Now, I only gas up occasionally on the weekend with the āotherā car.
- Know the limits: EVs wonāt tow a boat and a manual transmission sports car offers better driving immersion.
1 Like
Side point: Nissan has AMAZING autonomous technology in development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfRqNAhAe6c
Hopefully some of this can make it into the next Leaf!
1 Like
Nice OP. Another side note: I should partner with a high mileage lessee and swap cars midway through the lease. I have an i3 exactly halfway through a 30 month lease and have just passed 9K miles, so 16K miles left Iād be happy to get $1,050 for the 7K unused miles.
1 Like
whatsā the spec on the LT? Does it have the driver confidence and comfort package ?
Really good, well thought out answer
Hi everyone,
Sorry, new to the forum.
Here is an offer I received.
$2500 OTD(Drive Off)
$361 a month post tax
for 15k miles on a Chevy Bolt Premier Fully Loaded ~$43k MSRP .
Based on what Iām seeing it sounds like a good deal or am I completely off base. Iāve been trying to see if I could get $350 a month, but itās starting to be a lot of haggling at this point.
Good deal at this point.
2 Likes
Thanks vhooloo! I was about to jump on this deal but FOMO. Iāve been following this thread and itās making me wonder if leasing prices will even be more aggressive in the next month or so.
Has anyone here leased a Bolt (without rebates) in SoCal but shipped it out of state?