My daughter is shopping for an ev she is looking at a bolt

[Osmethne]

Yeah, she lives in an apartment complex, she will only be able to charge at work...
Idk of its practical for her.

I've got to say I don't think EVs are a good idea if you don't have a 240v outlet at home. Maybe a plugin hybrid.

I have an EV. Charging at home is awesome. We have chargers at work. Sounds great. Free electrons. But the number of EVs at work has gone up while the number of chargers remain the same. If I had to rely on work for charging then I'd have to show up at 5am everyday.

 

[42OhmsPA]

I've been debating purchasing a Bolt for 6 months or so.

You can check the status of the battery recall here, https://experience.gm.com/ownercenter/recalls
I've found it helpful in weeding out used ones.

 

[time2roll]

Yeah, she lives in an apartment complex, she will only be able to charge at work...
Idk of its practical for her.

I charge at work virtually 100% at no cost. Enough range to get through the weekend and full again by Friday.
Weeks with holiday weekends or time off can easily run low with the additional time away from work and more places to go.

I have L3 charging close by so I could make it but charging away from home can be a pitn if not in the right spot.
With charging at home there is no worries. IF she is up for some adventure and life is not too complex the EV should be easily workable.

 

[spawnofvstech]

Even the used Kona/niro appear to be stellar options. I know @ksmithaz1 has a ton of insight on them.
I imagine for OP that price is a factor hence a used bolt. Typically the most affordable of the 200+ range EVs. The Korean platforms are a bit more money, but also seem to offer more if they catch her interest.
I’d only buy a bolt that had zero mechanical/historical questions. Meaning the one she’s looking at would be a hard no. There’s bolts everywhere. No need to settle for a crapshoot

There’s also the $4k usd used ev tax credit available for 2022 and older with a sales price under 25k and not having a used ev rebate claimed last year by prior owner

I am looking at cars $15k and under, if I can get the $4k point of sale tax credit that would be great. My work has free chargepoint for us in the parking deck. I live 3 miles from work. I really enjoy how quiet and spaceship like the Bolt is. I have not had a chance to test a Nissan leaf. I really dislike the Nissan logo... My previous vehicles were a 1984 300SD and a 2003 Honda Civic EX coupe. I am ready to have something with a higher driving height/better visibility.

 

[Supervstech]

I am looking at cars $15k and under, if I can get the $4k point of sale tax credit that would be great. My work has free chargepoint for us in the parking deck. I live 3 miles from work. I really enjoy how quiet and spaceship like the Bolt is. I have not had a chance to test a Nissan leaf. I really dislike the Nissan logo... My previous vehicles were a 1984 300SD and a 2003 Honda Civic EX coupe. I am ready to have something with a higher driving height/better visibility.

This member is My daughter...
Everybody be nice to her!

 

[spawnofvstech]

Unless she needs a car asap, it’s a buyers market, keep shopping.

If I were in the market I’d look at the Leaf over the bolt.

I have not had a chance to test a Leaf. Why would you choose the Leaf over the Bolt? Which year/trim Leaf? I am looking to keep sticker price under $15k.

 

[740GLE]

I have not had a chance to test a Leaf. Why would you choose the Leaf over the Bolt? Which year/trim Leaf? I am looking to keep sticker price under $15k.

Only for the history of the Bolt battery recall.

IMO bolt was always an after thought to check a box for GM.

My coworker had a gen1 Volt for 9 years and had no issues until it wouldn’t charge and GM started the parts cannon at $1600 a pop but didn’t fix the issues. He unloaded it for 3k, good thing it had the gas generator onboard.

For the Leaf they are on what gen 2 or gen 3? I’d buy the latest your budget could afford.

They seem to be the more of a no frills simple transportation. I’ve never driven one so I can’t comment on trim levels. I’d always go the cheapest until you see some feature you need and go up from there.

 

[G00SE]

I am looking at cars $15k and under, if I can get the $4k point of sale tax credit that would be great. My work has free chargepoint for us in the parking deck. I live 3 miles from work. I really enjoy how quiet and spaceship like the Bolt is. I have not had a chance to test a Nissan leaf. I really dislike the Nissan logo... My previous vehicles were a 1984 300SD and a 2003 Honda Civic EX coupe. I am ready to have something with a higher driving height/better visibility.

I’ve been going thru the same, with the same price target.
It’s been tough. I did also open my choices to a 2020+ hyundai ioniq as well. Offers almost all the pros of the newer Kona but a bit cheaper and imo nicer inside.
They are the most “efficient” mass scale ev as far as I know.
Many of the dealers I’ve spoken with are still confused at the tax credit stuff but AutoNation told me that they were prepared to handle it at point of sale.
The leaf was attractive to me for a while but locally there is a total of Zero chademo fast chargers. I figured I’d almost always charge at home but didn’t want the risk

A 2017-2019 e-golf is intriguing as well due to their price but you’re limited to roughly 100 miles and their app got turned off as it was native 3g so you don’t get a lot of the remote feature access anymore.

I think with persistence you could definitely find the right bolt for you, should you end up deciding that is the right vehicle. I’m simply not a fan of their aesthetics which is why they didn’t make my short list, but dollar for dollar I don’t know what beats it

Best of luck in your search!

 

[Danke]

I am looking at cars $15k and under, if I can get the $4k point of sale tax credit that would be great. My work has free chargepoint for us in the parking deck. I live 3 miles from work. I really enjoy how quiet and spaceship like the Bolt is. I have not had a chance to test a Nissan leaf. I really dislike the Nissan logo... My previous vehicles were a 1984 300SD and a 2003 Honda Civic EX coupe. I am ready to have something with a higher driving height/better visibility.

Have your dad get you a used Leaf for ~3K and a new 62kWh battery from China for ~6K. Tell him he’s the best dad ever while serving him refreshments as he installs it.

Edit: Recover some of the costs by selling old battery cells to Timothy Sparky Electric.

 

[42OhmsPA]

Iirc the early gens of the Leaf had issues with battery conditioning / lack of good thermal management.
I was considering a leaf for a while. I forget why I ruled it out and have the Bolt at the top of the list. I wish the e-Golf had better specs.
I saw a Bolt EUV rural mail carrier a few months ago, didn't realize it was an EV until I got close to it.

@spawnofvstech ,did you verify the chargers at your work are compatible with the Bolt? (probably a dumb question...)
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Osmethne]

One thing you have to be aware about with the older leafs is that they didn't have any thermal management for the battery packs. As a result those packs degraded a lot quicker.

 

[Supervstech]

One thing you have to be aware about with the older leafs is that they didn't have any thermal management for the battery packs. As a result those packs degraded a lot quicker.

Those older leafs are only like 4K so i doubt she is considering one.

 

[G00SE]

The 2018+ leafs are stout. And I don’t know of a single leaf battery fire…..ever.
The 2019 “plus” models with the 200 mile range are getting cheap and they are very nice
6 months ago i could ignore the charge port. I no longer can. Simply for the “what if” situation.
I don’t mind the lack of thermal management or anything else. Just the port
Heck, it’s one of the easiest ways to get an ev with guaranteed heat pump. Simply buy an ‘18+ SV or SL
Every other platform made it complicated to decipher. Oh it’s “regional” well, not really but kinda is the sentiment I always got in the other platforms
Wait, the 2017-2019 e-golf SEL models are all heat pump too. But they are prone to failure at about 1300 a pop to fix

 

[740GLE]

I’m a stout VW diehard (after Volvo ditched RWD platforms) and I don’t see anything from VW electric line eGolf or ID.xxx that has me reaching for my wallet.

Again eGolf complete after thought to check a box.

My only hope will be for the Scout, but I fear it’ll go the way of >60k luxo bronco wanna be.

 

[G00SE]

I’m a stout VW diehard (after Volvo ditched RWD platforms) and I don’t see anything from VW electric line eGolf or ID.xxx that has me reaching for my wallet.

Again eGolf complete after thought to check a box.

My only hope will be for the Scout, but I fear it’ll go the way of >60k luxo bronco wanna be.

I only like em because they are well appointed. Definitely feel more “solid” like most German cars and there’s been a handful pre tax credit as low as 13-14k now which makes it a 10k car at the end of the day. Didn’t seem to shabby

 

[42OhmsPA]

I don't think any e-Golf will bring the same excitement as my 337 'silver bullet'
I like the SUV platform of the EV so I'm not expecting a race car...
Crazy to think this was back in 2012... How things change.

 

[740GLE]

I only like em because they are well appointed. Definitely feel more “solid” like most German cars and there’s been a handful pre tax credit as low as 13-14k now which makes it a 10k car at the end of the day. Didn’t seem to shabby

Love the mk7 platform. Have a 17 Alltrack with a GTI turbo, it’s basically a Golf R with a big boot.

 

[teal95]

Aren't there adaptors for the charge port?

I recently got moved into EVs by my employer. I've had both Chinese and European spec vehicles and had adaptors for both.

 

[G00SE]

Aren't there adaptors for the charge port?

I recently got moved into EVs by my employer. I've had both Chinese and European spec vehicles and had adaptors for both.

There are for ccs and nacs but I haven’t found a reputable lead on one for chademo to either, stateside. Companies keep advertising them, but don’t wanna take money

 

[Osmethne]

Chademo is dying. Though it is the manliest connector.

It's not as simple as using an adapter. There's bits below the surface that have to be made to support nacs.

There is however a legend of supercharger stations that also have ccs connectors.