So my Model 3 is being delivered to my house on Wednesday, a nice surprise since I thought I’d have to drive down to MdR.
However, I have a conundrum:
I leased a Bolt EUV last month…love the car and payment (effective $323 all in). But, seeing as it was recalled three days after purchase due to battery fires, I initiated a Lemon Law buyback. Chevy approved it four weeks ago, but then I heard nothing. Called back, have a different advisor who now claims he doesn’t have all the documents (I have emails showing proof of everything being sent)…in any case, it will be at least two weeks before I have any idea what they’ll offer. Who knows how long this will stretch on…
Do I:
Keep the Bolt and payment, wait for fix which may take forever. Most of my driving is city, so the range reduction is a hassle but not a complete killer.
A MSRP trade seems unlikely, especially with inventory issues and the fact that I don’t really like anything else in the GM stable.
Haven’t been offered a rental car/gas reimbursement…I’m somewhat dubious, and think it could turn into a nightmare getting paid back.
Buy the Tesla on Wednesday, and have an extra car for who knows how long (other car is 2021 Forester)…I have to park on the street (live in hills of Los Angeles), so it will get filthy, possible red flag day hassles, and it can get damaged by another car.
Lease a Niro EV…looks like I can get a Premium for just under $400 allin. I like my Bolt (sans fire) better.
I really don’t know what to do…don’t want to give up my Tesla, and then have Chevy take my car next week. But buying a Tesla now could mean giving up a possible 10K rebate next year (who knows, right, and if it’s retroactive?).
I also am not crazy about the lack of SiriusXM, no Blindspot in mirrors and poor turning radius (narrow street).
Seriously, buy the model3 and after paying sales tax you have an easy flip on your hands if you end up keeping the Bolt or replace both with the other EV on your list.
Am I the only one confused by this? An issue is having an extra car so the solution is get an extra car? Same goes for the MSRP trade idea. Leaves you with same too many cars.
Anyway, buyback was approved so take the Tesla. The Bolt will be going away. Buyback should mean they pay you back everything you have paid out of pocket for the car to date.
I would probably wait until my Bolt got bought back, and then get a Niro…the risk, of course, is that the decent (and I mean for today’s market) deals go away or inventory disappears.
And, it’s a EUV, not regular Bolt. max_g thinks the price is terrible, but I look at it like a $320 lease in todays market (for a…cough, cough…$42000 car) can’t be beat. Plus it replaced a very mediocre Subaru Outback XT lease that I sold in April which was $470. Plus no gas. So probably a $250+ month savings there.
I’m also a little concerned about what will happen to Tesla values if the government decides change the federal EV tax rebate in the upcoming bill…
Why is my Bolt lease bad? Can’t compare to the one-pay leases because I wasn’t looking then, and my Bolt is infinitely better than those older years (bigger, much much nicer interior etc…).
Kia Niro EV Premium was a little more for basically the same car…I liked the Bolt better, except for the tendency to spontaneously explode!
Neither Bolt nor Niro EV will drive like the Model 3. Model 3 has 8 cameras all around. And with Sentry mode, it’s always watching. Helped us track down a hit-and-run in a parking lot over the summer. You won’t get that with the Bolt nor Niro EV. Keep the Model 3! You’ll have to take your chances with street parking the Bolt for a while. In fact, you might want to keep driving the Bolt until they buy it back and keep the Model 3 in your garage for a month or so. It’s hard to time things exactly. We had 3 cars for a while, too, because of good deals/lease shuffles.
