Chevy Bolt Pre-orders? Has anyone?

I cam across an article this morning talking about a dealership in Quebec, Canada that already has 33 orders for the Chevrolet Bolt EV!

Are we able to pre-register for the Bolt EV already? Is there a down payment required?

Has anyone on this Bolt EV forum pre-ordered?

Thanks, please let me know, I don't want to miss out and then be way down the list

Nope, not me.

I spoke with my local VW dealership and he said that it was simply the dealership taking reservations in order to have an order to sell the first few Chevy Bolt EVs it receives.

A similar thing happened with the LEAF I think, where Nissan dealerships would take orders and downpayments, but it was purely at a local dealership level and created animosity because a non-reserve in the next city could get a LEAF before a reservee at the local dealership because Nissan was trying to spread the LEAF out to different dealerships...

picasso said:

A similar thing happened with the LEAF I think, where Nissan dealerships would take orders and downpayments, but it was purely at a local dealership level and created animosity because a non-reserve in the next city could get a LEAF before a reservee at the local dealership because Nissan was trying to spread the LEAF out to different dealerships...

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Not exactly, it was organized entirely by Nissan. Nissan had an online advance ordering system setup where you could essentially order your car with the specific options then choose the dealer you wanted to get it from. Fontana Nissan was popular among forum members in Los Angeles because if you chose them for your allocation they would give $1000 off the MSRP. There were some instances of people buying the car before those who ordered in advance had received theirs, but this was due to "orphaned" cars (ordered and subsequently cancelled, but already en route to the dealer).

It was quite unlike what happened with my father, who reserved a Volt in advance - but did so through a local Chevy dealer just by contacting the dealership directly. Nissan handled the LEAF pre-order very differently, more similarly to how Tesla sells a car. Evidently Nissan wasn't particularly invested in the process as they abandoned it quickly as more cars became available.

I am very eager to get a Bolt as soon as practical, but I wouldn't want to get involved in early ordering and reservation. Very often the dealers hold out for high prices through the initial demand. I'd rather wait a few months and hope for considerable savings when the initial flurry of buying dies down.

Bourgeois Chevrolet is now counting 93 Bolt EV pre-sold!

https://www.facebook.com/srbourgeois/

I agree that waiting until the initial price surcharge phase is a good idea, unless you have a dealership you can trust that won't do the price gouging stuff...

I think that GM has done a commendable job of bringing a compelling EV to the market. The weak link is still the dealer network, the training they get, and their willingness to sell electric vehicles to people that come on the lot.

Once we know what the buying experience will be like, and how well the dealerships handle the Bolt EV, we will know how well the Bolt can sell. With the LEAF it took time for Nissan dealers to get up to speed.

I talked to two dealerships in Denver and both were very responsive to my inquiries. No option for pre-ordering at this point, though they said they would keep me updated on info and would expect to have a better idea about trims available and ordering around September.

September ordering, and trim options... good to know. I guess that means first GM Bolt deliveries in October 2016?

If everything stays on track, production should start sometime in October. I would not expect deliveries to begin until Nov/Dec and it could be a gradual roll out similar to the 2016 Volt.
1) California
2) ZEV Sates - Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon and Vermont
3) Nationwide

I have reason to believe we may not see any in Oregon until Jan/Feb 2017 (at the earliest).

Ordering usually opens up a 2-3 months before delivery (The '16 Volt ordering followed the same pattern as above).

Which could mean late Spring or even early Summer for us in the great white north of Canada [sad face]

boltplease said:

Which could mean late Spring or even early Summer for us in the great white north of Canada [sad face]

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Actually, I think the first 2016 Volt was delivered in Canada - so who knows. It's all speculation at this point.

DucRider said:

boltplease said:

Which could mean late Spring or even early Summer for us in the great white north of Canada [sad face]

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Actually, I think the first 2016 Volt was delivered in Canada - so who knows. It's all speculation at this point.

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True, but likely only earlier in QC/ON where there are generous incentives. Unless the BC CEV program comes back around launch time we'll likely be low on the priority list.

Wesloh Chevrolet in Carlsbad is now taking $500 pre-order deposits. Call Oscar Morales at (760) 692-1558 to get on the list. Tell him Scott sent you!

Save yourself a ton of money...wait for the initial flurry of orders to die down.

michael said:

Save yourself a ton of money...wait for the initial flurry of orders to die down.

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If you're dealing with a dealership you can trust, who won't price-gouge with over MSRP because of initial demand, then I see no harm in putting a deposit down for one of the first available Bolt electric vehicles.

gmvoltguy said:

michael said:

Save yourself a ton of money...wait for the initial flurry of orders to die down.

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If you're dealing with a dealership you can trust, who won't price-gouge with over MSRP because of initial demand, then I see no harm in putting a deposit down for one of the first available Bolt electric vehicles.

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You can usually save thousands by not buying the initial batch of any anticipated car, but I find this especially true for EVs that tend to get discounted very fast with how quickly the market changes each year. I think waiting just 3 months after release would save you thousands.

As a possible example.. Some years ago, I pre-ordered a new GM car, a low-volume Solstice, about a month before production started (early September) . The car was delivered Nov. 10.