I missed the 70K mark, but updating my net gasoline cost avoidance shows a lifetime savings of $6335 so far.
For the bad news, I hit a deep puddle and it damaged the underbody tray yesterday. I zip tied it together for now.
I missed the 70K mark, but updating my net gasoline cost avoidance shows a lifetime savings of $6335 so far.
For the bad news, I hit a deep puddle and it damaged the underbody tray yesterday. I zip tied it together for now.
I did not buy a Bolt by January 3rd, but it looks like the GM Friends and Family discount is good for another year on the Bolt. The price did rise a little bit as of January 2nd, but that's more than offset by the new eligibility for a $7500 tax credit.
I'm still mulling it over. Might have to go for a test drive.
I parked in the garage for a visit to my doctor, and they have some chargers there. I parked next to a polestar 2, no pictures because the guy was there. It's a super looking car in person, very sleek and clean. He had a bolt previous to the polestar, and loved it as well. The polestar is way prettier!
In reply to frenchyd :
The volt does better in hybrid mode instead of strictly using the battery above 50-55 mph. On the highway with the ICE running the electric motor the mpg is about 45. Using just the battery in the warmer months it's gets right around 4 miles per kwh or approximately a 45 mile range. Colder months (northern ohio) it drops to 28-30 miles per charge. The particular Volt I'm talking about has 170k miles and in my opinion is super solid even with the miles.
In reply to Blunder :
My wife decided that travel for her ( other than local) is pretty much over. Her Diabetes has her morbidly overweight that and other medical issues makes even an hour in a car difficult.
200 miles range is about all that's needed. Thus something like a Bolt, Volvo or Kia EV should meet our future needs together. I am looking for advanced drivers aides to extend our ability to remain in our home as long as possible. Plugged in at home costs should really be trivial. Since none of those 3 really has the highly advanced drivers aides we are looking for we will wait.
The pickup (88,k ) and Jaguar sedan (53k) should provide the rare extended range requirement I will want.
That credit has me thinking as well. How does the tax credit work exactly?
Also how is charging with a regular 110v outlet with a regular plug? I don't drive much during the week so it wouldn't be a big deal..
In reply to dxman92 :
Originally I was told the credit could apply to the purchase discount. The dealer would use it on his taxes.
I haven't heard that confirmed by anyone else.
But you can use the tax credit and even if it's more than you owe. My tax guy say you can do a corrected tax return to use it.
Second hand information my neighbor plugs in 110 and it's fully charged by morning. I think he has a 35 mile commute not sure if that's one way or round trip.
frenchyd said:In reply to dxman92 :
Originally I was told the credit could apply to the purchase discount. The dealer would use it on his taxes.
I haven't heard that confirmed by anyone else.
But you can use the tax credit and even if it's more than you owe. My tax guy say you can do a corrected tax return to use it.
Second hand information my neighbor plugs in 110 and it's fully charged by morning. I think he has a 35 mile commute not sure if that's one way or round trip.
No, this info isn't correct frenchy.
1) The dealer cannot give you a discount currently, though that may change in 2024.
2) The way the new credits work, it's based on what you owe in taxes in the year you purchase the car - if you didn't pay $7500 in federal income taxes this year, you won't get it all back. There's no carrying over til next year.
3) there are hard income limits on the tax credit - only eligible if you make $150k filing single or $300k jointly.
4) There are battery sourcing and vehicle assembly requirements to the tax credit. Right now you need to buy a vehicle assembled stateside to qualify. The battery requirements haven't gone into effect yet but should in March this year. Most vehicles won't meet those requirements so most will only qualify for half the $7500 credit. The old limit of a manufacturer having produced just 200k EVs no longer applies
5) If you do any real driving in a Bolt you're gonna want a level 2 charge station installed. On a 110 outlet you would get a max of ~4 miles of charge every hour plugged in, so like 50 miles charging for 12+ hours.
In reply to Erich :
Aggghh! I hate having to spell out every single detail. It makes the reading too long and boring.
But you must be very good at proof reading. As I said it isn't confirmed. But I did read the option of a discount in leu of a tax credit was going to happen I didn't read anything about 2024 . ( doesn't mean you are wrong just what I read is it Was it was going to be available). Obviously not every source is perfect.
I read the income limit and said OK we qualify.
I also assumed Those with incomes over $300,000 wouldn't be buying one of the price limited ones. ( their tastes are likely much higher).
Regarding prices. That's why Musk lowered the prices of some of his Tesla cars to meet those limits. Again the full details come out later. He didn't lower all prices by $20,000 that was just one model. Some cars were only lowered by $5000.
Finally the list of cars that actually meet the manufacturing criteria isn't due out until March. Maybe as late as June according to another source.
The domestic ones Ford, Chevy, Chrysler should be safe.
But imports are likely to be limited or not available at all. Not sure how that will work with current trade agreements.
My wife likes the Volvo. Darn.
And her Tesla Model X is too expensive.
Regarding income taxes. Really get someone who really understands taxes.
I am not the person for that. There are over 77,000 pages in the tax code and nobody at the IRS to explain it to you. If you do happen to get someone to talk to and call back, you will get a different answer.
Finally the person we're responded to said he has 110 volt plug in and it works fine for him.
It will also be fine for me starting with 260 miles. ( in the tank) I'm 23 miles from the bus company. I regain about 50 miles every night. So even with out of the way runs I'll have more than 200 in the "tank" at the end of the week. I suspect most commuters will also be just fine once they sit down and do the actual math.
Once I retire our mileage will go down significantly. My wife's limitations prevent her from traveling more than an hour or two.
Mrs. DX and myself went to the Philly Auto Show and took a test ride in a Bolt EUV and I think she is on board with one of those or a regular Bolt. Also, it appears there is a ev credit on pre-owned as well. Does the range decrease on a Bolt with say 50k miles on the clock?
In reply to dxman92 :
Yes and no - the used credit starts in 2024. I'll let others speak to battery degradation but here are the details for the used credit:
dxman92 said:Mrs. DX and myself went to the Philly Auto Show and took a test ride in a Bolt EUV and I think she is on board with one of those or a regular Bolt. Also, it appears there is a ev credit on pre-owned as well. Does the range decrease on a Bolt with say 50k miles on the clock?
I have 72K and no battery degradation to speak of, though of course it was replaced midway with the recall action.
Spent too much time looking at used Bolts today. Looks like going price is $20k right now. I'd have to unload some cars to swing that price, I end to keep cars a decade at least so it might be worth it.
Tuna has anything started to fall apart inside or wear out? I have small kids too and I want to know how it is handling family duties. We have a 2017 Sedona so I don't care about road trip manners, but I do the usual parental errands around Atlanta and an EV seems darn near ideal.
Have you turned a wrench on it for any reason yet?
In reply to slefain :
at $20k I'd suggest you look for a new one. The new ones are selling for that or less after the tax credit.
slefain said:Spent too much time looking at used Bolts today. Looks like going price is $20k right now. I'd have to unload some cars to swing that price, I end to keep cars a decade at least so it might be worth it.
Tuna has anything started to fall apart inside or wear out? I have small kids too and I want to know how it is handling family duties. We have a 2017 Sedona so I don't care about road trip manners, but I do the usual parental errands around Atlanta and an EV seems darn near ideal.Have you turned a wrench on it for any reason yet?
A really deep puddle tore the underbody tray, and I zip tied it together.
A brake caliper got stuck and I replaced it. It was hilariously cheap, like $35.
I rotate the tires. That's about it. At 72K, the hatch struts are a little weak, and since I got rear ended, there is a little squeak now and then over bumps.
That's it, really. It's been solid.
Erich said:In reply to slefain :
at $20k I'd suggest you look for a new one. The new ones are selling for that or less after the tax credit.
Amen to that. New often is as cheap or even cheaper than used. Shocking but true. However call first. Some dealers are real unscrupulous. Don't forget, you will loose on a trade in compared to selling it private party and the dealers make a profit on financing. So get that from a local credit union. ( most will let you join when you finance a car
Erich said:In reply to slefain :
at $20k I'd suggest you look for a new one. The new ones are selling for that or less after the tax credit.
I was able to buy from Carvana for a few thousand less than new with the rebate subtracted. YMMV regarding wacky new pricing and dealership experiences.
Do the math. Estimate your annual mileage, and how long you intend to keep the car. Assume you'll own a used car for less than a new car by the dividend of the annual mileage and the odometer reading. $/mo, it's all easy math, so let that guide you.
Thanks for your post. I have been driving my new to me 2017 Bolt fo just a few months. It seems to be working well for an old retired couple like us. 99% of our trips are no problem and the two long ones are no problem if we spend the night and plug in. Our car just got a new battery installed at the dealership so all our miles so far are with the new pack. Running right at 3.9kWh from new now and I love the instant torque.
tuna55 said:Erich said:In reply to slefain :
at $20k I'd suggest you look for a new one. The new ones are selling for that or less after the tax credit.
I was able to buy from Carvana for a few thousand less than new with the rebate subtracted. YMMV regarding wacky new pricing and dealership experiences.
Do the math. Estimate your annual mileage, and how long you intend to keep the car. Assume you'll own a used car for less than a new car by the dividend of the annual mileage and the odometer reading. $/mo, it's all easy math, so let that guide you.
You are correct, well except. We are comfortable with judging by miles how much life a ICE car has left. If we judge wrong, well, presumably most of us have some mechanical skills.
I'm not so sure Our ICE experience will translate to EV's. Assuming a ICE lasts 20 years and 240,000 miles.
I believe ( with no other proof) that EV's Should last more than 20 years and 240,000 miles. Pistons that stop and start, cams that open valves. One stroke out of 4 actually doing work.
An electric motor is so simple in comparison. No transmission needed. Only 1 moving part instead of hundreds.
Then known of life of the batteries? Well my phone was still working 10 years after I bought it. Less life but more than 1/2 the life.
It's easy to envision. A battery cell service like a quick oil change place. Pull your car in and cells changed while you wait.
"Mrs. Smith you had 22 cells that weren't up to standard. That will be $220 for the cells and $50 fee for the work".
The neat thing is at least in Tesla's you can ask the car how the battery is doing.
I crossed over 80K earlier this week. The spreadsheet calculates a net savings (using the onboard efficiency meter, actual miles driven, and actual gas prices averaged out per week) of $6700 or so.
And yeah, I just keep driving it. I never think about it. It's the perfect commuter so far.
And... uhh, if you still don't see EVs replacing ICEs, you're not looking hard enough.
Well it's barely relevant but this happened and it delayed me 10 minutes on the way home thanks to the awesome compressor and plug kit that carvana bought for me.
Nearly 90K update:
Other than replacing both brake calipers due to the weird issue where a ring of corrosion pushed the pistons out into the rotors, which cost under $100 including fluid for both new calipers, I have not made any repairs which cost me money. This thing continues to be an excellent tool. A pocket knife isn't going to turn a screw and a compressor isn't going to lift up your car. This tool gets me back and forth to work and brings my kids to so many events I lost count, all while saving me huge dollars on gasoline. I'm nearly in need of tires again, likely buying me second set around 100K. The only negative is that, since I leave briskly from stop lights if given the chance, every Dodge Ram within visual range feels the need to race me. I do not know why.
I love seeing this thread updated. I'm at the point where I would highly consider pulling the trigger on one of these, but I have no place to charge it :(
90,000 last week, and so the calculator says $7,658 saved.
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