Would a Bolt work for me?

2heeldrive said:
$.088/kWh seems low. Is that all-in, with fees and taxes? My all-in rate in Kansas City is around $.15/kWh.

I was talking to a guy the other day who had just turned in his leased Bolt. He had nothing but good things to say about it. He was driving a new Hyundai Ioniq 6, which he also leased. He doesn't want to own an EV until the technology matures a bit more.

As long as you have another (gas) car for long trips, an EV makes a great commuter.
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Ameren is 13.7c for the four summer months and 9.3c up to 750 kwh and 6.3c after. I averaged the 13.7 over four months and the 6.3 for the other eight.

Not really sure if I use 750 kwh in the winter, since I'm gas for heat, stove, and water heater. Electric dryer. I don't know about taxes and fees - I thought most of the fees are fixed; I'm going to have to pay them no matter what I drive.

Ameren has some great "saver rates" if you can avoid peak time usage, but there's usually someone at home during the day, so I don't use those options.

https://www.ameren.com/missouri/company/rate-options
 
brages said:
My car was recently totaled, so I'm thinking about replacements.

One idea is that of an electric car. I am thinking about a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt. Many of these have had batteries recently replaced under recall. I am seeing prices around the $10,000 range at the lowest end.

Let's assume I can get one for $12,000 minus a 30% tax rebate makes it $8400.

I'll compare it with a couple of other options... a 3rd-gen Prius, which would probably be about the same price as the Bolt, and a BMW 3-series. There's a 2001 convertible 330ci on Marketplace for $5500, let's say I talk him down to $5000. These will represent a fun-to-drive gas car and a sensible hybrid.

I have a daily commute of about 50 miles round trip, let's say 15,000 miles a year.

Assuming 8.8 cents per kwh and 3 miles per kwh, that's $440 of electricity per year for the Bolt.
A 3rd-gen Prius at 45 mpg and 15,000 miles, assuming regular at $2.90 per gal: $967 of gas per year
Assume 23 mpg and $3.38 premium on the BMW: $2204 gas per year ... in a couple of years, that's the difference in price between it and the Bolt.

I guess I should also think about insurance and taxes...

Seems to me like the Bolt might be the smart move, if I can deal with the hassle (?) of charging a couple of times a week. I would expect low maintenance and repair costs. I think I'm a good EV candidate - I have other vehicles to use for longer trips so the range issue isn't a big one. I like the Prius and if I could get a cheaper one it might have a lower overall price. But more expected costs AND TIME in repair and maintenance. The fun-to-drive gas car would end up costing me quite a bit more over the long term, I think. But it might be my last chance to enjoy a car like that. I wanted to include the numbers to think about whether the fun would be worth it. Mid-life crisis question, I suppose.

I also thought about a Chevrolet Volt - I think they are pretty cool. But they seem to have a lot of problems, some expensive or difficult to repair.
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If you're only going to charge at home with 120v power and drive on the highway or interstate you may struggle to make it more than 50 miles per day in the winter.
You may need a full day cooking on the charger one day during the weekend.
 
oil pan 4 said:
If you're only going to charge at home with 120v power and drive on the highway or interstate you may struggle to make it more than 50 miles per day in the winter.
You may need a full day cooking on the charger one day during the weekend.
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I think I'd install a 240v charger (level 2 I guess they call it)
 
alarmguy said:
deleted, already answered by others with proper links for used EVs
Also keep in mind it must be bought from a dealer for the rebate
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keysavvy.com is sort of virtual dealer and escrow that can be used for person to person sales. Just have to convince the seller it is on the level. I believe key savvy actually has some good protections for buyer and seller.
 
TomYoung said:
I think that this poster knows what is being said here: that a Bolt is gonna break badly and expensively in a way that a used Corolla won’t. Batteries are very expensive and don’t go the distance. Among EVs and hybrids, the Bolt rates low.
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The replaced battery has a warranty until 2032 and 150K miles.

If all you have is misinformation, why bother posting your FUD?
 
Brons2 said:
It's on all our backs. Taxpayers pay the service on the debt, the principal never gets touched (unfortunately).
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I agree except 47% don't pay any net federal income taxes - and often are negative via the "earned income tax credit" where you can get more income tax back than you paid in.

So its on 53% of our backs.
 
I ended up getting a Honda Accord Hybrid with a ton of miles on it. Maybe a Bolt would have been a better choice.

I saw someone say Corolla and I think the new Corollas are pretty nice, but I don't want the expense of new car.

I end up commuting probably 80 minutes a day. I think my practically full size sedan is probably a more comfortable place to be than the subcompact Bolt. Also it's my go-to for carrying the family (me+wife+two six foot boys) where a bolt would be a bit snug.
 
As a Bolt owner, I would have picked a Bolt, as it's just about the best value used vehicle in America, but your Accord is probably the more comfortable car for having wife and big kids in the car with you.
 
No doubt about it, our Camry is way better in every metric than our Corolla, other than initial purchase price. I could see an Accord vs Corolla being no different.

Good luck.
 
SC Maintenance said:
I agree except 47% don't pay any net federal income taxes - and often are negative via the "earned income tax credit" where you can get more income tax back than you paid in.

So its on 53% of our backs.
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That's a sad commentary on our wealth divide. Personally I wish I paid more taxes, that would mean I was making more money!
I sure as heck don't wanna be in the lower income brackets; that's a hard way to go.
 
johnachak said:
And, who pays the defecit and interest on it? Taxpayers.
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EVS are less than 1% of .gov expenditures, they spend more on cleaning supplies and tp

LDB said:
We taxpayers don't pay the deficit? I want my money back from that college!
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Most people (around 95% of the population) who say that even if they pay massive amounts of taxes usually pay little to no federal income tax in comparison to how much they pay in fees/taxes for “other things” like local/state taxes &fees .

You might pay payroll/ssi or even gas taxes but likely only a small percentage of the total taxes you pay are actually federal income.

Even many people earning over $250k a year usually pay a small amount of federal due to all the other things that get subtracted or written off.
 
Last edited:
TomYoung said:
What misinformation???
Click to expand...
"I think that this poster knows what is being said here: that a Bolt is gonna break badly and expensively in a way that a used Corolla won’t. Batteries are very expensive and don’t go the distance. Among EVs and hybrids, the Bolt rates low."

Except, the batteries have an extended warranty to 150K for the early ones that had the recall. Your post is 100% personal opinion and not informed by the current status of the vehicle and it's battery.
 
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