Regarding my experience with Chuck Olson Chevrolet, one very annoying thing was that they put me in a car for the test drive with < 20 miles left in range, so the car was in a "limited power" mode (not sure if you can override that). Really? I mean it's not like I came in at the end of the day - we arrived at the dealer at 10 AM. Over the past year I've driven various plug-in hybrids and often had similar experiences - put in a driver that doesn't have enough power to run in electric only mode. Oh well, it's a growing pain for the industry.
I think Olson's is also misinformed about the WA sales tax exemption. My understanding is that the exemption cliff at $42,500 (see the law - it changed July 2016) is based on the "base model MSRP" and not the actual sales price of the vehicle including options. They told me that the *actual sales price all-up* had to be below $42,500. Given that the trim line (Premier) and options I included had an MSRP above that price, that slip on their end was definitely a negotiating point in my favor - the deal had to stay below that! But beware if you end up over that and they tell you that you cannot avail the exemption - it was worth about $3k in savings for me! The exemption is taken off by dealer at time of purchase, unlike the federal $7500 tax credit.
Does anyone know for sure if "base model MSRP" means the base trim line, or does it mean the MSRP of the trim line actually purchased without additional options? In other words, is the exemption supposed to apply to *all Bolts*?
My initial impressions of the car are very inline with some of the things I've read here. Interior materials seem a little on the cheap side and the seats are firm to say the least. But it drives really nice and it has capable electronics. There's a reason it was Motor Trend's COTY. Then again, on that point of electronics, my last new car was a 2005 with a 6-CD changer (I refrained going with the 8-track tape option), so I've not got the best baseline for comparison on that!
With all the tax credits, very cheap electric rates in Washington, and the extremely low maintenance requirements (and no emissions tests! Yay), it seems like a terrific value to me (assuming the $7500 credit doesn't get pulled retroactively by #45's admin).
I'll give updates once I've had a chance to drive it more.