STEVE JACKOWSKI

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We Ordered a Chevy Bolt EV! Pricing, Features, Availability.

10/11/2016

18 Comments

 
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When Karen's beloved Subaru died three years ago, we knew we needed a new car.  Since my Audi could handle long distance and snow trips, we decided to go with an electric car.  It's primary use would be to take me up the coast to surf so a Tesla was out of the question: there was no way I was going to leave a Tesla on the side of Highway 1.  

​Aside from the Tesla,  the Ford Focus Electric was the best looking Electric Vehicle (EV) and had the best range.  Knowing technology would improve dramatically, we decided to do a three year lease.  For more on our initial impressions and experiences with driving an electric vehicle, see my post Our #EV (Electric Vehicle) Pros and Cons.  

​Three years have passed and we've loved our Focus.  Yes, there have been times where range anxiety took its toll, but after understanding its limitations, we realized that even with that limited range, we could do 80-90% of our driving in the Focus.   We were looking forward to a Focus with better range once our lease expired.

Unfortunately, as of early 2016 Ford had done little to improve the Focus's range.  So, knowing our lease was expiring in November, we were excited to hear that the Chevy Bolt, with a 238 mile range, would be available by the end of the year.  

I read the reviews and looked at videos of the first test drives by the various car publications and it looked like there were some great enhancements to the EV drive train.  Even better, it appeared that the official 238 mile range is a conservative estimate.  Several of the test drivers went much further, even with mostly highway driving (note that EVs get better range in the city than on higways).  

I looked at Chevy dealers in the immediate Bay Area and it appeared that Capitol Chevrolet had the best reviews and seemed to have the most inventory.  I contacted them in the spring, and Kevin Rodriguez told me that the dealers didn't know much about the Bolt but that he would keep me informed.  In August, he let me know that they would be able to take orders in November with some limited deliveries in December.  He said he could also now put me on a wait list for a Bolt.

In September, he reached out to inform me that they could take orders sometime in October - things were moving more quickly than expected.  Then, on Friday, I got the good news:  we could place an order on Monday.  And sure enough, he and his GM, Scott Jobe, made ordering the newest electric car a smooth, painless process.  

Since I haven't seen pricing for the Bolt and its options anywhere on the web, I thought I'd include them in this post.

The base model, the LT, at $37,495, comes with what you'd expect in a modern vehicle.  It includes a rear vision camera, a 10.2 inch touch console for car systems, entertainment, and EV information, keyless open and start, climate control, etc.  Its phone interface allows you to run music, apps, and Google Maps from your phone on the console.

The  Premier model, at $41,780, adds a rear mirror camera, surround vision where images from 4 cameras show the front, sides and rear of the car, roof rails, leather seats and steering wheel, front and rear heated seats and steering wheel, lane change alert, parking assist, rear traffic alert, and more.  

Options include a Fast charging port ($750), the infotainment system ($485) with premium quality audio, wireless device charging, 4G LTE hotspot, and additional USB ports, and the driver confidence package.  The driver confidence package ($495) includes front collision alert, optional automatic braking, lane assist, and Intellibeam headlights.  

GM has officially confirmed our order order and has promised regular updates as our car moves through the build process.  Scott told us to expect delivery in January but said he had hopes that we'd see our car before the end of the year - so far GM is beating expectation on their dates.  As soon as we get it, I'll post again to give you our first impressions of the new Bolt.   

Update - blogs about our new Chevy Bolt:

Chevy Bolt vs Ford Focus EV - First Impressions
We Love our new Chevy Bolt!
Our Bolt EV's First Longer Trip and Fast Charging Surprises
​

18 Comments
Jeff N
10/11/2016 06:39:38 pm

Hi and congrats on the order! Thanks for writing about it. L

FYI, you wrote "the LT, at $34,795" but you meant $37,495.

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/11/2016 11:15:37 pm

Jeff,

Thanks for catching the typo. I've corrected it.


Steve

Reply
Mary Clare
10/13/2016 02:01:38 pm

[FYI, you wrote "the LT, at $34,795" but you meant $37,495.
Thanks for catching the typo. I've corrected it.]
Um, "The base model, the LT, at $37,795" looks like you only half corrected it.

Ed Sprole
10/12/2016 07:52:45 am

Also, breaking, should be braking. You have automatic braking to avoid breaking your car.

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/12/2016 11:32:52 am

Ed,

It's funny how you can miss simple typos like this when proofreading. Thanks!

Steve

Reply
Jason Meador
10/13/2016 03:58:34 am

Congrats! I will be following your bolt purchase with interest! What color and options did you choose?

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/13/2016 04:13:19 am

Hi Jason,

We ordered the Nightfall Gray Premium and went for all the options. We've enjoyed our Focus Electric which covered about 80% of our driving needs. The Bolt should meet at least 95% of our needs (won't take it to the snow), and we're intrigued with trying some long distance trips using Fast Charging.

Reply
Steve
10/13/2016 08:55:58 am

Is it purchase only at this point, or are they offering lease terms as well? If the latter, please post what they are offering.

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/13/2016 09:16:15 am

Hi Steve,

I'm not absolutely sure, but when we placed the order, we told them we wanted to lease and no one said that it would be purchase only. I'll ask on my next exchange with them.

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/13/2016 10:21:38 am

Checked with the dealer. The Bolt can be leased but they won't know what terms they can offer until the cars arrive.

Reply
Denis
10/13/2016 11:43:12 am

Hi Steve,

I placed a deposit on a Bolt this week in order to put my name on a waitlist at my local dealer. Were you able to negotiate on the pricing at all, or are you expecting to pay full sticker?

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/13/2016 11:50:34 am

Hi Denis,

Given the high demand and a wait list already, We didn't even think to negotiate price. Do note that you'll be getting either a $10K rebate or a $10K credit against the purchase/lease ($7500 Federal, $2500 State). When we bought the Focus Electric 3 years ago, the dealer credited us with the rebates making the price quite reasonable.

Reply
Bob Wells
10/13/2016 05:24:19 pm

Hi Steve, thought you should know that David Stanley's Chevrolet in Norman, OK is $ 1,100.00+ less, on both models, base price than your Chevy dealer's. So there's elbow room to negotiate a sale.

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/13/2016 11:45:18 pm

That's fantastic! Are you seeing waiting lists there with deposits required like we have in California? Also, will the dealers there give you credit for state and federal rebates or do you have to file for those yourself?

Reply
Steve Jackowski link
10/24/2016 03:48:27 pm

More good news. The dealer got confirmation from Chevrolet that our ordered Bolt will be built the week of the 28th of November. With luck, that means we should be receiving it mid-December. Fingers crossed!

Reply
Care Your Car link
12/20/2017 10:53:20 pm

Congrats on the order.

Reply
Steven Jackowski link
12/20/2017 11:03:26 pm

Thanks, but actually, this blog post is more than a year old. Our one year anniversary is December 30th. You might want to check out some of my other posts on the Bolt by following the links at the bottom of this post

Steve.

Reply
Care Your Car link
1/8/2018 06:25:17 pm

Thanks Steven, I will.


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    Steve Jackowski

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