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Saw my first Bolt in the wild today at Southlake Town Square ChargePoint station today. It actually is a little bigger than I thought it would be.
Bolt EV sighting in DFW
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I still have yet to see one in my area. Living in CA one would think I'd have seen a few by now. So far aside from pics the only one I saw was in the rear parking lot of a chevy dealership when driving on a the freeway in LA. I guess here in the central valley where oil is a main commodity it's one of the last hold outs for EVs. Even the local dealership makes it a point to resist returning service request calls when I've inquired about service but my stepdad gets return calls within minutes when he needs his 2500HD serviced.
If one lives in TX and is considering a Bolt EV, strongly considering acquiring one at a deep discount from CA...Despite GM telling dealers to not sell out of state, zero enforcement of that rule have been reported with more and more Bolt EVs being "exported" from CA to other states...
Probably when they first rollout to TX, it'll be difficult to find them at a descent discount anyways...
Probably when they first rollout to TX, it'll be difficult to find them at a descent discount anyways...
Dealership in DFW is taking deposits and placing orders. We had deposit down and got info to configure car, concern over seats and getting an acceptable lease deal in DFW caused us to stop the process and get back our deposit. We certainly entertained getting one shipped, but reading where same person sat in different Bolts and some were good, some not regarding seats is troubling. The dealership had list of 32 people and couldn't convert but 10 into deposits. Wonder why... We drove a Bolt in Dallas Auto Show and sat in several over past year, all great other than seats (and no Homelink).
We might just stick to renting when we need to go further than our FFE can go until Bolts show up with good deals in DFW (or our Model 3 is ready).
We might just stick to renting when we need to go further than our FFE can go until Bolts show up with good deals in DFW (or our Model 3 is ready).
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I've seen a few in person at dealerships, and test drove one. Have YET to see one on the road, though. They are tall, but not long, vehicles. Then again, it "fits in" well with other Chevy vehicles so I may have missed it...
Was that a car seat in the back or a seat cover?
Was that a car seat in the back or a seat cover?
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The one I posted had CA plates so it's probably someone who recently moved here, not a TX buyer that shipped it in.
Texas is one of the least lease friendly states due to having to pay sales tax on the entire price of the car, other states have you pay tax just on the payment...But in the grand scheme of things I saw a $36K vehicle TX lease reported for $27/mo more so while not a good thing, when folks do the math they may not think it's as bad as they originally thought...
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As it turns out, there is a pool of money that a bunch of dealers here in DFW use to pay the taxes for buyers when they really want to move a lease. My Fusion Energi had this promotion, they paid my taxes completely. I'm not sure what the criteria is to get it in the future either; then again, I doubt I'll lease again.
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To be honest, it sounds like hogwash.. They probably just lowered the purchase price or had a manufacturer rebate or something they didn't tell you about. Dealers love making up stories that make them sound generous, when in reality they are very greedy.
When we leased our Smart EV, the MB dealership had tax credits in some form where they paid the taxes. I was like, it isn't worth paying taxes on the whole car for a 24 month lease. TX is one of the 5 states where you (someone) must pay taxes on full price of car. Monthly lease payments can be handled when you are talking $200-$350, but when you have to add $80-$100 just in taxes on $40-$45, that makes it pretty bad.
That said, still better way to go for many as we have leased 7 cars and all have been great experiences. Not sure what we will get next at this point as just can't commit to a gas car ever again for any long time lease/own.
That said, still better way to go for many as we have leased 7 cars and all have been great experiences. Not sure what we will get next at this point as just can't commit to a gas car ever again for any long time lease/own.
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I'm the first to agree that dealers love to stretch the truth and play games, I don't think that is the case here. I pulled my paperwork back up and am remembering more about the workings of it now. There is literally "N/A" in the "Sales/Use tax field" and the cap-cost reductions are itemized into the amounts Ford kicked in and what I did. (I normally would not put money down on a lease but the state was running an EV rebate program back then that I decided to apply to the lease and got my money back a short while later)
There was, however, a fee called "L&M Fee" of $343.94 that was charged which is a percentage of the tax amount, so in reality, the sales tax wasn't 100% covered. As I understand it, that was some kind of processing fee for the slush fund that actually took care of the taxes.
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Here's my post about it with more details back from when I got the FFE: http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...Fusion-Energi-yesterday&p=1803378#post1803378
I knew to ask about the credit for taxes as I got that for the Infiniti(s) I have leased. Couldn't get any Chev dealership to do it though. I do believe it is real, but I also believe I was only able to get great out the door 0 down leases in the past because of the credits the dealership has for taxes. Let's say dealership has killer lease deal, those always state "plus TT+L". If you have to pay taxes on the whole car in TX and you walk out with nothing down (excluding T+L) and get the advertised rate per month, then the tax credit has to be real.
Back on thread title, you can go see and test drive a Bolt at Chevy Dealership in Grapevine, TX. You can even order one now. Only time will tell if they will get them in earlier than scheduled.
Back on thread title, you can go see and test drive a Bolt at Chevy Dealership in Grapevine, TX. You can even order one now. Only time will tell if they will get them in earlier than scheduled.
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Asked my salesman from 3 years ago (yes, he's still there) and here's what he said:
also:
"L&M is an accounting firm that Ford employs to handle the tax credits off leases. Right now, the Ford Fusion, Escape, Focus, Fiesta, and C Max have those credits. I do not know what non-Ford models have tax credits. I'm not sure if other makers do this or if it is just a Ford thing."
also:
"It was a 1.2% fee in lieu of your typical 6.25% tax"
Two items:
1. That may actually be the demo car Classic Chevy brought in from California to give test drives prior to the Bolt actually being available here. I believe it is that same gray color.
2. Where are those charging stations in the Town center? Is that the Western most parking garage just to the south of the Hilton?
1. That may actually be the demo car Classic Chevy brought in from California to give test drives prior to the Bolt actually being available here. I believe it is that same gray color.
2. Where are those charging stations in the Town center? Is that the Western most parking garage just to the south of the Hilton?
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5700 Bolts in stock in the U.S. and they are taking deposits and orders!? That is a broken system...sounds just like the current state of America. Idiots!
Prolly wont see a Bolt in Oklahoma till I buy one. this is the most non eco friendly state I have ever seen!
Prolly wont see a Bolt in Oklahoma till I buy one. this is the most non eco friendly state I have ever seen!
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