[bro1999]

I texted my sales guy that sold me my Bolt, and he said that they received notice very recently that instructed them (or perhaps re-emphasized the point) to curtail out of state sales of Bolts to residents of states that the Bolt has not officially rolled out yet. Said it was due to potential "service issues" these out of state buyers may face before Bolts get rolled out in their area. I asked him explicitly whether this was a dealership decision or "Big GM", and he replied it was big GM.

As restricting the potential customer pool is exactly opposite what a dealer would want to do, it makes me believe what he told me is true.

So anyone wanting to do what I did.....eh, good luck with that.

 

[Qinsp]

Wow, that sucks.

Sorry to hear that.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

Did you check if a dealer local to you could service it now?

 

[Flux Capacitor]

cfspeakman:
did you make it under the wire? I know you had one on order to ship to GA. Will that still happen? Otherwise, you have to wait til Sept to arrive in GA - that would not be cool.

 

[bro1999]

Did you check if a dealer local to you could service it now?

My dealer 6 miles up the road has Bolts on order, and is expecting them next month. I would think they would be certified by now.

 

[firehawk72]

My dealer 6 miles up the road has Bolts on order, and is expecting them next month. I would think they would be certified by now.

I checked with my local dealer that services my 2012 Volt and they said they would NOT service the 2016 VOLTS...yes VOLTS

 

[NYRob]

It sucks...but it makes sense.

If you encountered a problem outside of CA or OR GM is obligated to repair it in a timely manor- but they may not have any qualified Bolt tech's in the area to perform the repair.

They're just covering their butts.

 

[bro1999]

It sucks...but it makes sense.

If you encountered a problem outside of CA or OR GM is obligated to repair it in a timely manor- but they may not have any qualified Bolt tech's in the area to perform the repair.

They're just covering their butts.

I'm just glad I slipped under their radar! I wonder if some GM bigwig got wind of my blog, and went "Whoooah! NO!"

 

[BAZINGA]

for fun I just checked with my local dealer (whom I bought 3 Volts from since March 2012) and the SM told me they could not service a Bolt and even if they wanted they couldn't enter it or charge any labor codes against any work provided.

Essentially it sounds like GM has tied dealers hands.

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

Just checked with Koon's in White Marsh and the SM said they ordered one for stock in December but don't have ETA yet. So I guess they are certified for service.

 

[Sean Nelson]

for fun I just checked with my local dealer (whom I bought 3 Volts from since March 2012) and the SM told me they could not service a Bolt and even if they wanted they couldn't enter it or charge any labor codes against any work provided.

Essentially it sounds like GM has tied dealers hands.

To be fair, if GM lets unqualified dealers work on the car and they screw up then GM ends up being on the hook to clean up the problem. Those policies are in place to protect the customers.

 

[BAZINGA]

To be fair, if GM lets unqualified dealers work on the car and they screw up then GM ends up being on the hook to clean up the problem. Those policies are in place to protect the customers.

You won't get an argument from me.....these are complicated vehicles.

 

[Chris TX]

I texted my sales guy that sold me my Bolt, and he said that they received notice very recently that instructed them (or perhaps re-emphasized the point) to curtail out of state sales of Bolts to residents of states that the Bolt has not officially rolled out yet. Said it was due to potential "service issues" these out of state buyers may face before Bolts get rolled out in their area. I asked him explicitly whether this was a dealership decision or "Big GM", and he replied it was big GM.

As restricting the potential customer pool is exactly opposite what a dealer would want to do, it makes me believe what he told me is true.

So anyone wanting to do what I did.....eh, good luck with that.

And what are the odds GM is telling non-CA and OR dealerships that they won't be reimbursed for any warranty work on them? Toyota did that with the Rav4 EV and PiP.

And if that's the case, a CA or OR Bolt EV owner better not get stuck outside those two states and expect service. Are you going to attempt a Coast-to-Coast first drive in the Bolt, BRo?

 

[Norton]

Yeah, what about driving out of those initial states on a road trip?

But then, according to this there is a list of required tools for a dealer to buy: http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/GM_TechLink_21_November_2016.pdf

So what are you gonna do? Have patience?

 

[Park2670]

Well this hurts. Was really hoping to replace my Volt lease with a Bolt lease here in Utah. Guess thats gone.

 

[Qinsp]

And what are the odds GM is telling non-CA and OR dealerships that they won't be reimbursed for any warranty work on them? Toyota did that with the Rav4 EV and PiP.

And if that's the case, a CA or OR Bolt EV owner better not get stuck outside those two states and expect service. Are you going to attempt a Coast-to-Coast first drive in the Bolt, BRo?

I would say slim. What happened to Spark EV and 2016 Volt buyers?

 

[bro1999]

And what are the odds GM is telling non-CA and OR dealerships that they won't be reimbursed for any warranty work on them? Toyota did that with the Rav4 EV and PiP.

Probably it's simply dealers in the states the Bolt hasn't rolled out in yet just aren't trained to service the Bolt yet. Can't service a car you aren't trained to service, right? Except for rotating tires.

 

[Joe67]

I texted my sales guy that sold me my Bolt, and he said that they received notice very recently that instructed them (or perhaps re-emphasized the point) to curtail out of state sales of Bolts to residents of states that the Bolt has not officially rolled out yet. Said it was due to potential "service issues" these out of state buyers may face before Bolts get rolled out in their area. I asked him explicitly whether this was a dealership decision or "Big GM", and he replied it was big GM.

As restricting the potential customer pool is exactly opposite what a dealer would want to do, it makes me believe what he told me is true.

So anyone wanting to do what I did.....eh, good luck with that.

That is a very valid concern on GMs part. Nothing like an out of state buyer doing a deal, then bitching online how their local dealer is unable to service their vehicle.

 

[Bacardi]

I get the reasoning; heck if thing bricks on the side of the road, where would OnStar even tow it to if in a state that isn't yet service ready?

But I think there would still be ways to get it accepted...For most of GM incentives all you need do is PROVIDE (not live) in an address where someone qualifies for the incentive...My friend did not live with me but used my address and qualified for a lease conquest and the Costco gift card using my account. The dealer was the one who told us we could do this...Probably a variety of ways to use a bogus CA addy now and change immediately after delivery if the dealer is creative...

 

[Raymondjram]

I asked him explicitly whether this was a dealership decision or "Big GM", and he replied it was big GM.

Same here in Puerto Rico. My dealer told me that GM was not allowing any local dealer to sell or service the Volt or Spark EV. I expect the same for the Bolt EV unless GM changes their minds for territories. I will continue to wait a while more. And as I posted before, I can fall back on a Fusion Hybrid, although I haven't asked the local Ford dealers if they can service the Fusion Energi.