Anyone else planning to buy an EV due to Build Back Better?

Current math for a Chevy Bolt:

• MSRP: ~$35k for 2LT (premium) trim
  
• Federal credit: -$7,500
• USA-made credit: -$2,500
• Union-made credit: -$2,000
• USA-made battery: -$500
  
• State credit: Varies (-$2,500 in Oregon)

Looking at $20k for a brand new EV.

With the Taco as our only vehicle, we currently spend up to $350/mo gas (typically ~$250). An EV like the Bolt would cover 75% of our driving needs, saving at least $100/mo in fuel. That would offset the insurance cost at the very least.

Other vehicles would of course be discounted as well but the Bolt is particularly attractive due to being USA Union made. If you can get past the exploding batteries and such.

Anyone else have plans for getting an EV due to the credits?

 

Before the chip shortages folks were leasing Chevy Bolts for $125 or so per month.
It makes more sense at times to lease (except Tesla) since these electric cars have shitty resale value.
If you were spending $350 a month in gas, the fuel savings you gain per month makes perfect sense on why to lease the Bolt instead.


FYI , Teslas don’t lease well. Tesla you are better off buying.

 

Aren't the Chevy Bolts the one they are telling people to charge outside of their house because it could catch fire from the batteries getting hot? Think that they are on recall for 2017-2022 models.

Maybe your savings of insurance from the car switch should go into getting extra coverage for your house.

 

Definitely a consideration. I imagine lease prices will be set to compete with the buy new prices, which will influence decision-making.

 

They are indeed. The recall seems to fix the issue. Otherwise I'll just be setting myself up to take advantage of the next Diesel-gate

 

IF we needed another economical daily we’d just buy a used Prius and save even more…

 

No, no I don’t believe I will be celebrating “build back better” with a new car. There are a lot of associated costs with an extra car. The costs you pay would buy a lot of gas, or it used to buy a lot of gas…

I did buy a Himmiway cruiser e-bike in the fall though, and that thing is cool AF, and has a smaller carbon footprint to manufacture so I get extra social status points.

 

Yes the federal credits are kept by the manufacturer so the lease payments drop substantially.
Some dealerships do it the right way and you end up with these low lease payments.
Other stealerships will just rip folks off.

With the new credits we might see some of these Bolts leasing for $85 a month with no downpayment.

 

I'm with you. In spite of some progress, I think the EV has a long way to go before it is well integrated in the US transportation web (think of cost and lack of infrastructure). However, I'm a strong fan of the Prius and other hybrids. But, not for off-roading.

 

Na. If I ever got an EV, it would be a ridiculous looking car like the smart car lol. But most max mileage for EV are like 200 miles or less.

 

Heck yeah. We have a Rad bike that we like to use around town.

We're actually shopping for a second vehicle regardless of BBB. I'd rather pay $20k for a new EV than $12k for a used Prius.

 

Sure oil burner to coal burner

 

Sure. I'd say 99.9% of our driving trips are under 200 miles, so not too worried about the range component. That's what the Taco is for. Those short trips around town for groceries, dog park, etc are what eat up a tank of gas for us.

 

No don't worry I also own multiple refineries and am converting them to solar

 

When you say, “most max mileage for EV are like 200 miles or less.“ How do you figure that? Most EV’s in the U.S. are teslas, and Outside of some of the earlier models, all Teslas Exceed 200 miles of range, most by a good bit. There is so much misinformation about EV’s online.

 

I saw a parking garage with a large sign at the gate that said Chevy EVs were banned from the property until further notice. Makes me wonder how much damage happed there to warrant that sign.

 

I once took a 2015 Honda Fit off road. Blew out the front shocks and scraped up the belly . . . but we made it to our climbing spot haha.

The money saved on a used hybrid (or EV I guess) can be greater than the money saved on a discounted brand new EV. So if you’re in it to save money why not save even more?

 

The Alpha motors ‘Wolf’ definitely is a step in the right direction. Probably my favorite of the EV trucks I’ve seen.

 

Yeah, those coal plants are so dirty. That why we should get rid of them right?

Back to the discussion
For around town hops they make a lot of sense. They even serve pretty well if you do only the occasional road trip. Not sure I would get a bolt however, there is the recall but I believe GM recommends charging even the fixed versions outside your garage. Tesla, even if they are somewhat of a crappy company, really leads the game in this department.

As far as cost goes I ran the math for my family driving and it’s about neutral when considering a Tesla, that goes strongly in my favor when looking at a Bolt with a TON of rebates. Average electricity prices are so much lower then gas in most parts of the country, combined with an EV using roughly 1/4 the energy per mile, that cost wise it came out significantly in our favor. I would have switched to a Tesla but I really really wanted a truck and I would have picked up a performance model Tesla 3 and it was just way too much to NOT get a truck. I’m still holding on to my Cybertruck reservation though…