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268 Posts
SPX is way out of line... I had same issued but paid for install because I got DOE grant for one.
GM has to do something about thsi company.
GM has to do something about thsi company.
SPX ... a shocking Experience
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18
SPX was quick to respond to my 240volt 20 amp wall charger order (490.00 plus shipping). So far so good. When I inquired about the install cost they quikly dispatched an authorized electrician to "survey" the installation requirements. Three weeks later they informed me by email that installation would cost 1357.00 for placement on garage wall next to my breaker panel.
In fact I had four local electrician companies quote the same installation for between 165 and 190
00! The install was completed in just under 1 hour and for 165.00 everyone was happy.
SPX is entitled to a fair markup, but this experience is SHOCKING exploitation. Be sure to obtain local electrician bids for your installation!
In fact I had four local electrician companies quote the same installation for between 165 and 190
00! The install was completed in just under 1 hour and for 165.00 everyone was happy.
SPX is entitled to a fair markup, but this experience is SHOCKING exploitation. Be sure to obtain local electrician bids for your installation!
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4,014 Posts
Before delivery of the Volt, we got a call from SPX offering installation, and had to tell them we weren't interested. Apparently Chevy does share your contact info with them.
Intriguing. 1200 DOE grant + 165 real installation cost = 1365. Coincidence???
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246 Posts
Yes, GM notifies SPX when you order a Volt. SPX called me offering charger information well before I was contacted by a Volt Adviser.
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2,423 Posts
You're paying an extra $1,000 or more for extending the warranty on the $490 charger another 2 years. Better just to buy another if it breaks. I had a whole 60A sub panel put in so I have plenty of room for a second charger. It was $500 by local electrician....
MrEnergyCzar
MrEnergyCzar
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2,722 Posts
Knowing the overpricing madness, I didn't even bother to have SPX give me an installation quote. My installation this week with a neighborhood electrician was $190.
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1,501 Posts
Because they have us by the balls for the public charger programs like Blink. Their attutude, if you don't like it, NO SOUP FOR YOU!
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111 Posts
And the gall of SPX to reduce the warrantee from 3 years to one year should you choose to use your own electrician.
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80 Posts
I had a local electrician certified to install a Leviton 240 charger, install mine for about $200.00. I also had him do some other electrical work so I thought it was a bargain. Charger was actually easy to install myself, but I figured if anything went wrong it was better to have a pro do it.
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1,181 Posts
Is the benefit if charging in less than 1/2 the time worth the cost of a charge station plus installation?
I have done a lot of home wiring and as far as I know it is legal in NY to do your own, I am not sure what the law is in SC where I now live but if I do get a Volt and decide on a 240 charge I am going to look into doing it myself.
However I honestly don't think I will ever need to charge up in less than 10 hours. However if I did run low on a charge the cost of a few gallons of petrol would probably cost less than installing a 240 volt station
I have done a lot of home wiring and as far as I know it is legal in NY to do your own, I am not sure what the law is in SC where I now live but if I do get a Volt and decide on a 240 charge I am going to look into doing it myself.
However I honestly don't think I will ever need to charge up in less than 10 hours. However if I did run low on a charge the cost of a few gallons of petrol would probably cost less than installing a 240 volt station
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6,211 Posts
DoE and SPX seem "tight" in these grant programs.
http://investor.spx.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=109366&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1396429&highlight=
https://www.homecharging.spx.com/volt/pdf/Chevrolet_Residential_Participant_Agreement_2Feb11.pdf
With the way I've seen contracts work with government agencies, the only recourse is non-renewal of out-years or full contract renewals. If enough people contacted the DoE with their complaints, there could be some recourse into their extortionary practices. Not that it is illegal, of course, but extortionary pricing. This happens when you have a product and only support a warranty if you use certain labor forces and then to do that you have to pay above market rates. Just as lending practices hurt home loan programs for low-credit customers going into the fiasco of 2008 with the home loan crisis, this is a very small-scale version of something like that in my opinion. Most homeowners think "ok well, that sounds high but ok if the warranty is extended". There are a couple local home repair companies working that angle here and they sell a lot to unsuspecting homeowners. Their high prices is "backed up by a rock solid warranty - call us anytime and we will fix it." (followed by horrible reviews online at places like Angie's List)
A certified electrician is just that; certified. The DoE should enforce customer satisfaction with their "partner" if a certified contracted electrition installs the product - but not priced out by SPX. Glad to see they have the plugin models - do you lose the warranty on that one too if their electricians don't install the 30A plug? In my view, the DoE will do nothing about that and the large number of Volt and Leaf buyers next year will be all going through this as EVs grow in popularity.
Big company, though - 15K employees and public stock, diversified stuff. This is just how big companies operate.
http://investor.spx.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=109366&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1396429&highlight=
https://www.homecharging.spx.com/volt/pdf/Chevrolet_Residential_Participant_Agreement_2Feb11.pdf
With the way I've seen contracts work with government agencies, the only recourse is non-renewal of out-years or full contract renewals. If enough people contacted the DoE with their complaints, there could be some recourse into their extortionary practices. Not that it is illegal, of course, but extortionary pricing. This happens when you have a product and only support a warranty if you use certain labor forces and then to do that you have to pay above market rates. Just as lending practices hurt home loan programs for low-credit customers going into the fiasco of 2008 with the home loan crisis, this is a very small-scale version of something like that in my opinion. Most homeowners think "ok well, that sounds high but ok if the warranty is extended". There are a couple local home repair companies working that angle here and they sell a lot to unsuspecting homeowners. Their high prices is "backed up by a rock solid warranty - call us anytime and we will fix it." (followed by horrible reviews online at places like Angie's List)
A certified electrician is just that; certified. The DoE should enforce customer satisfaction with their "partner" if a certified contracted electrition installs the product - but not priced out by SPX. Glad to see they have the plugin models - do you lose the warranty on that one too if their electricians don't install the 30A plug? In my view, the DoE will do nothing about that and the large number of Volt and Leaf buyers next year will be all going through this as EVs grow in popularity.
Big company, though - 15K employees and public stock, diversified stuff. This is just how big companies operate.
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1,501 Posts
Nope.
I only did it because you, the taxpayer, paid $2700 of the $2900 cost, and I get to keep the $1500 charger after 3 years -- so I made a tidy profit if I can get just 40% of it's value in 3 years on eBay...
Otherwise you could buy a ton of gasoline before you would cover the difference between 120 and 240v charging.
Don't buy the "pre-conditioning" hype of 240V charging. That unnoticeable benefit will never cover the spread.
The Volt is the perfect mass market plug in car that has a battery big enough to make a huge dent in your gasoline consumption, but not be too big that you can't charge it overnight while you sleep on a regular 120V outlet so you don't have to spend the bucks to install a fast charger like the BEV folks.
I'd argue that most BEV owners don't need a fast charger either. It's mainly a length of daily commute thing, if you are 40 or below, 120v works fine. 240 only really helps if you have some sort of home business type of thing where you are constantly going out to jobs and coming back multiple times per day, with time for significant top-offs. Or if your utility has really tiny off-peak charging windows with a significant rate advantage. Otherwise there's really no difference, you plug it in when you pull into the garage, and it's charged when you pull out the next morning, who cares if it was done at 3:00 AM instead of 7:00 AM?
I too, only got a fast charger because of taxpayers footing most of SPX's inflated bill, and thinking it might be moderately useful if I get a BEV sometime in the future.
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23,383 Posts
Are you overlooking the benefit of 240v preconditioning, stepant? As I understand it, a 120v charger can't properly precondition the car, while a 240v can. The 240v has enough extra capacity to precondition without using up battery SOC while the 120v needs everything it's got just to charge. Or you end up doing the two step dance of precon, recharge, precon.
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1,501 Posts
It does the same thing on 240.
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