Which extra features does the 39.7K car have? If you donāt need them, then I guess go with the cheaper?
One has DCFC+comfort, the other one has DCFC with both packages and color upgrade
$7700 is the better offer. If you really want those extra options, itās only $400 more (remember this is for a 3 year lease). Either way, it seems like a pretty good deal.
DCFC is the must have option. Comfort is also nice. I donāt know about color, but 7700 is a great price.
Options aside, I was trying to figure out which one is a better deal solely based on the numbers. Should the 400 difference in payments translate into a bigger or smaller gap in the MSRP?
The options I was referring to were the package and color. The color option is $395 and driver package is $495. Thatās $890 total difference (a.k.a. gap) in MSRP. But youād be paying $400 for it, which means those options (package and color) are depreciating 45% over 3 years.
So the $7700 price is a better deal. But again, it comes down to how much value you put on those options. It doesnāt sound like you care much about the color upgrade. As for the driverās confidence package, do you care for the rear park assist, rear cross traffic alert, and blind spot alert? Is it worth $400 to you?
FWIW, I got the full options/premier trim, but that cost me $10,200.
Everyone harps on DCFC is a must, but Iām probably the minority in saying I disagree. If the Bolt will be your only car and you do road trips a lot, then yes maybe. Even then, I wouldnāt recommend the Bolt for road trips anyway. DCFC network is still bad and a lot of chargers donāt deliver enough power. It will probably get better, but it will take a few years. On the other hand, if you only use the Bolt for local driving, how often do you really need to drive more than 238mi in a day and only have 30-60min to charge in between? Just my 2cents. Personally, I would like a Bolt w/o DCFC to save some money, but those are unicorns. Everyoneās driving habits are different, so itās definitely YMMV.
DCFC is a way to future proof the car. As the network grows, people will come to expect fast charging. It may cost 750 more now but in 3 years, selling a car without DCFC will be at least 3-5k less than one with DCFC. Granted, you may not care about it on a 3 year lease and someone posted they got a one pay lease for 7k on a base BOLT, but I would still argue it is a good option to have.
With DCFC I can charge the car to a comfortable range really quickly. You canāt deny that it is convenient.
That said, itās not critical. it is easy to find a pattern/ charging schedule that works, without āneedingā a quick charge every day. I look at DCFC as a way out of slightly sticky situations like extended periods of charger unavailability.
The rate at which the EV population is growing is good but also concerning with regard to charging station availability. I hope charging infrastructure can keep up and is profitable enough for vendors.
Edit: I also think that for EVs to become really mainstream, the car has to charge with same level of convenience as a gas car. I wouldnāt buy it as a primary car until then. DCFC will play a critical role in that. Thatās not related to this car though. Bolt limits DCFC to 50kwh/h till 80% and 16 after
me 2. for me, free charging @ workā¦slow charge onlyā¦never charge anywhere but workā¦
had 1 bolt w/o dcfc in my sights.
sold minutes b 4 i got to dealership.
had to settle for black with dcfc
lolā¦u all over the map on that post.
but key word u had in that post is above
I have same thought process as you, but had to go with one with dcfc due to availability reasons. I drive 80 miles round triop 4 dsys a week but I donāt see myself charging at a public charging station. I plug it in nightly at home to a level 2 charger and thatās it. For long trips I have another bigger ICE car. I dont have to worry about resale as the bolt I have is on lease.
āDCFC is the must have optionā
This I can fully agree with vhooloo on. Even a 335 mile rated Tesla would just be no more than a super commuter car if it did not have fast charging. Same with the 238 mile range Bolt. DCFC is a must. Without it, you pretty much are tethered to a ~100 mile radius of your home. Sure, you may be one of the crazies that doesnāt mind overnight charging to do a road trip that would otherwise take 6-7 hours in a DCFC Bolt, but thatās an extreme exception.
People who go āOHā¦thereās no infrastructure in my area, thatās a worthless optionā are probably gonna regret their decision not to get it in the coming years.
Thatās an awesome deal. Congrats. Youāre tempting me to get back into the leasing game for old timeās sake. Lol
Criswell was offering a 1 pay 6500 3yr/10k for LT with fast charge but I think it just got sold yesterday. Beats my deals but I couldnāt use a 4th one!
Yes, they have them prior to the sale.
I saw they had a MSRP $38k Bolt advertised for $30k without any strings attached, so seems that price was legit if they were offering $6,500 one pay leases.
Here is my deals in Maryland: $7500 one-pay 36/12k for a LT with fast charger and both option packages plus some accessories (MSRP $394xx). Criswell is too far away from me. Thanks Ashishi for your worksheet.
Can you share details of your deal in Maryland? I live in the Philly suburbs and would probably travel to MD for a deal like that. Unless, of course, anyone knows of any good deals in metro Philly/NJ/DE area.
Hi All. Excellent info here for anyone looking to buy a Bolt in the Bay Area.
I was looking at the overall cost of owning the Bolt. Although the lease prices look very attractive, my current auto insurer is quoting way too high prices for insuring Bolt, $1500+ (2 drivers, full coverage with all other coverages like UMI, rental, towing, etc included). They are saying insurance prices of EV are always higher than comparable ICE. Is this true? Can you guys suggest auto insurers in Bay Area who are offering reasonable prices that you are comfortable with? Just trying to avoid any surprises before taking the plunge.