[KJoules]

I was tooling around town today and decided to stop by my local Michigan Chevy dealer. I walked in the showroom and a salesman trotted over to greet me, no doubt willing and eager to sell me a top of the line “Family Truckster”.

I asked him, “When do you think you might get some Chevy Bolts in?”

He looked a little crestfallen for a moment, but brightened up a bit and said, “Oh, we have one on the lot right now”.

Somewhat skeptically I replied, “I doubt it, but let’s see what you’ve got.”

The salesman led me past the Corvettes, and Silverados over to the showroom window and pointed out to the far end of the lot, saying, “It’s down at the end of that row.”

I took a look, sighed, and turned back to him. We had a discussion about the differences between 'B' and 'V' and he went in the back to consult his Sales Manager.

Upon his return, the salesman announced, “We won’t have any Bolts in till the end of 2018.”

“Why so long?” I queried.

“Oh,” he said, “We have to wait till the gas stations put in the units to power them up. Otherwise they won’t be able to get charged and people won’t be able to go anywhere.”

Shaking my head slowly, I responded, “Wouldn’t most people just charge them at home?”

The salesman, “I don’t think they can do that.”


And our state legislators wonder why Tesla can’t just sell through existing car dealerships.

 

[markh21518]

The Dealers are THE PROBLEM! If they would sell the Volt it would be selling in 5x the numbers. Sad!

 

[santafe2]

I was tooling around town today...tl;dr, I just don't understand why Chevrolet sales people don't know much about electric cars

They and their families need to eat and pay the rent. Silverados do that, Bolts...not so much. I'm on my 3rd Volt and it's taken 5 years for my local Chevy dealer to hire anyone willing to learn about electric cars. I've always known more about my next Volt than my sales person but it's more constructive to use it as a teaching moment if you care about electric cars. Blaming a sales person for not understanding a product he can't sell isn't helpful.

 

[Loboc]

People that respond with a sentence beginning "I don't think..." usually are correct.

There is no excuse for a sales person not knowing their product line. I bought a Dodge Dakota truck and asked where the jack was stored. No clue.

 

[firehawk72]

To the OP, your conversation reminds me of one I had with a Ford dealership about the Ford Fusion Energi. It basically went like this.

When can I expect you to start carrying the FFE?

Salesman---Sir, we have decided NOT to carry that particular car.

I asked, why not?

Salesman----Sir, we don't have the capability to charge it and would have to invest heavily to do so.

Dumbfounded, I decided to simply leave instead of clearing the air.


And on a related side note, my local chevy dealer (which is 35 miles away) has decided NOT to carry or service the 2016 Volts...ah, the joys of Chevy's marketing campaign...

 

[Jmaj]

Muskegon? You may well have been the first person who asked about a Bolt. 4WD with some ground clearance is highly advised when living on the leeward shore of Lake Michigan. Hence the family truckster.

 

[jeff_h]

Salesman---Sir, we have decided NOT to carry that particular car.

I asked, why not?

Salesman----Sir, we don't have the capability to charge it and would have to invest heavily to do so.

This was very close to the quick conversation I had at my local dealer just yesterday. It didn't take long for me to get a few small rock chips on the Bolt and it shows up clearly on the Kinetic Blue paint, so I went to my local dealer to get some pricey-but-matching touch-up paint.

I parked and walked in to the parts counter, and one of the salesmen had followed me in and asked how I liked the car and where I got it, etc. I told him that the first place I asked about ones on order was this very dealership and was told that they wouldn't be selling them, and he knew about that and said "yeah I know, we would have had to install one of those big charger things so the management decided not to."

That must have been a reference to the below story that someone already posted here a few months back:

http://insideevs.com/chevrolet-bolt-dealers-required-install-ccs-chargers/

And with the above, this dealer only carries 1 or 2 Volts and they sit on the lot for a month or two while trucks and SUVs sell in much larger numbers - so with the expense ($5k? $10k? more? I have no idea) to install a DCFC charger in order to sell 3-4 cars per year, my local dealer decided to skip it.

But the salesman was eager to finally see a Bolt and while I was still standing at the parts counter he said "I'm gonna go outside and take a look." Once I got the touch-up paint I walked outside and he was looking it over, so I opened up the back and then the back doors and he sat in the back seat and then sat in the driver's seat and looked around. Then he called over a colleague to have him also check it out, and so I gave a second quick tour and they said thanks and congrats and that was that.

 

[supchrgamx]

today I find myself in LA, rydell chev is 1 hr away
the airport is prius land, no volt rental
so I am going to my ,anything but local, dealership to look at a bolt
hope they have some on their lot
why do I feel like a unicorn and a bolt are the same, maybe because ive heard of both but never seen one

 

[FranandPat]

Went to the Rochester Auto Show yesterday specifically to be able to see and touch the Bolt EV. Really nice. Can't wait to get one. The funny thing is there was a 2017 Volt in Kinetic blue about 15 feet away. Two young guys with i-pads were the spokespeople/reps. I stumped them on a few simple questions about the Bolt and just went about my business and checked everything out on my own. My wife, on the other hand, was busy selling a couple of guys on the merits of the EREV vs BEV and how to open the charge port and flip the cover for fast charging, how close chargers were and the economics of our Gen 1. The reps were following her around listening like school kids. And all this time I din't think she was paying attention.

 

[llninja]

People that respond with a sentence beginning "I don't think..." usually are correct.

There is no excuse for a sales person not knowing their product line. I bought a Dodge Dakota truck and asked where the jack was stored. No clue.

I once asked a salesman whether a Colorado on the lot was 2wd or 4wd. He had no idea, started scanning the window sticker for a clue. I crouched down and looked for the front transaxle, then showed him how to tell the difference. Yeah, no excuse for not knowing your products. I think I would enjoy working as a salesman using my vehicular encyclopedia in my head, but I probably wouldn't do well at it as I'd end up sending people elsewhere for the best vehicle for them, not for my paycheck.

 

[llninja]

Went to the Rochester Auto Show yesterday specifically to be able to see and touch the Bolt EV. Really nice. Can't wait to get one. The funny thing is there was a 2017 Volt in Kinetic blue about 15 feet away. Two young guys with i-pads were the spokespeople/reps. I stumped them on a few simple questions about the Bolt and just went about my business and checked everything out on my own. My wife, on the other hand, was busy selling a couple of guys on the merits of the EREV vs BEV and how to open the charge port and flip the cover for fast charging, how close chargers were and the economics of our Gen 1. The reps were following her around listening like school kids. And all this time I din't think she was paying attention.

You married up, man. Congrats.

 

[El Dobro]

I know the Chevy dealer I bought the Volt from is going with the Bolt. I saw the new battery lift cart and there were a couple of boxes sitting there that I was told was the charging station.

 

[dannycamps]

The dealer I go to is about 45 minutes from my house but they are pretty knowledgeable on the Volt. The have at least one trained technician and have several on the lot at any point in time. I have a feeling they will carry the Bolt once it gets here.

 

[KJoules]

Muskegon? You may well have been the first person who asked about a Bolt. 4WD with some ground clearance is highly advised when living on the leeward shore of Lake Michigan. Hence the family truckster.

I’m sure you’re right about my being the first person to ask about a Bolt at the dealership. I suppose it was lucky that the Sales Manager knew what a Bolt was.

Regarding ground clearance and snow on Michigan’s West Coast, that was most definitely the case for many years. I remember some years in the seventies and eighties when it snowed every day here between Thanksgiving and March 1. There were times when the snow along my driveway was piled up seven feet high. The snowblower couldn’t shoot the snow high enough to get over the pile. Snowmobilers were a common site going down city streets in the winter.

These days it’s like we have the weather that Kentucky had in the seventies and eighties. It snows a little bit, sits for a day or two, then melts. Or it rains – in February. I believe I used my snowblower three times this year and twice last year. I’ve slipped into the habit of waiting a couple of days after a snowfall to see if the snow will just melt and more often than not the waiting is justified.

It’s tough for the winter sports enthusiasts, but I’m more of a sailor so no complaints from this corner.

 

[Ladogaboy]

today I find myself in LA, rydell chev is 1 hr away
the airport is prius land, no volt rental
so I am going to my ,anything but local, dealership to look at a bolt
hope they have some on their lot
why do I feel like a unicorn and a bolt are the same, maybe because ive heard of both but never seen one

Prepare to enter the enchanted forest.

 

[Steverino]

These days it’s like we have the weather that Kentucky had in the seventies and eighties. It snows a little bit, sits for a day or two, then melts. Or it rains – in February. I believe I used my snowblower three times this year and twice last year. I’ve slipped into the habit of waiting a couple of days after a snowfall to see if the snow will just melt and more often than not the waiting is justified.

Same here in Chicago. We haven't had any meaningful snow since the beginning of December. My 47" John Deere dual-stage snowblower sits unused. I finally recognized reality and took off my snow tires last month, immediately gaining 5 miles of range. In hindsight I only needed them for one week in December.

But regarding snow, with the weight of the Volt or Bolt, plus snow tires, snow is not an issue. My Volt with snow tires is like a tank, it just plows through.

 

[mbsmd]

Guess I'm thankful that the dealer & sales rep. I bought my '17 Volt from has sold the highest number of Volts in the state. And they had 6 on the lot when my wife and I bought our two (mine was on the lot, hers was on a truck on its way there).

 

[BAZINGA]

I'm fortunate, my local dealer who I have done business with since 1989 and have purchased over 20 vehicles from including 3 Volt's is going to sell Bolt's. And deal's even on orders. I can highly recommend Jack Schmitt Chevrolet in O Fallon IL (about 20 miles SE of St Louis).

Having said that I fear they are the exception in the GM/Chevrolet kingdom. I hope GM's management is reading these posts.

 

[dutch husky]

I’m sure you’re right about my being the first person to ask about a Bolt at the dealership. I suppose it was lucky that the Sales Manager knew what a Bolt was.

I bought my Volt at DeNooyer in Holland and fortunately they've always been very supportive of the Volt. Their radio ads almost always mention the Volt right along side Malibu, Cruze, and Silverado, and at least two of the sales people actually own one. The salesman I dealt with buying my Volt was not one these, though (he was relatively new there and actually drove a Jeep) but he did have a picture of a Gen 2 Volt that his daughter drew for him hanging above his desk. He's supposed to call me when they have a Bolt available for test drive, we'll see if he remembers though.

My Volt is actually at their body shop right now due to a deer hit a week and a half ago, and I was impressed to be given the keys to a 2017 kinetic blue Gen 2 as a loaner. Going to try to convince them to just let me keep it since it has 20,000 less miles, and several additional options, vs my 2016

 

[Bacardi]

Not shocking that a dealer lied and didn't know his stuff...I get that some folks like to start their car search on the dealership but you're so much better off emailing or even calling...Saves on your fuel costs, too!