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Taxman

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2016
Messages
107
Location
Michigan
I contacted a couple of dealers today, first salesperson told me the car 'can't be registered in Michigan' after I gave her my zip code and she talked to her manager. 2nd one took my zip code and phone number so he could get back to me after talking to his manager, never called me back.

So, has GM made it impossible, or at least more expensive, to sell Spark EVs to people who don't live in the three states?
If there are thousands of dollars in zip code specific factory incentives, that would do the trick.
Am I going to have to have a relative in CA buy the car in her name and sell it to me?

Also, I'm seeing pricing around $19k at some dealers. Is this price for purchase only, or can the cars be leased with capital cost around $19k-$7.5k=$11.5k?
 
I would advise you not to have a third party buy your EV for you, as this may void your eligibility as original owner for federal tax credits. That's $7500 if you owe that much in taxes.

Clearly you would do better financially to fly first class to Cali, buy the car yourself, rent a U-Haul, and tow it home.

Perhaps it is not necessary to appear in person when buying a car, hard sayin', not knowin'.
 
I can't buy it in MY name and get the federal tax credit, because I don't pay federal taxes. It either has to be leased, in which case GM Financial gives me $7500 off the top, or it has to be bought by a high dollar taxpayer, like my nephew in law.

A dealer in Oregon quoted me a very nice capital cost on a lease, then stopped replying when I gave him my zip code and asked about money factor and residual value. Just like the two dealers in MA I online chatted with.

I'm about desperate enough to hitch up the tow dolly, drive to Oregon, apply for a driver's license, lease the car, and dolly home. The good part about Oregon is no sales tax and a 4 year license plate costs $172.

Unfortunately the closest Oregon cars are about 4700 miles away, round trip. I wonder how mountainous I-90 is out west?

Another fun thing to do would be to make a two week trip of it, fly out there, and try to drive home on EV power. I could probably do it in under 10 days if GM had put a 6.6kW level 2 charger in the car.

I've got shipping quotes from Western Oregon for $800-1000, or Eastern Maryland for $500-600, door to door, open carrier.
Why doesn't Chevy have any EV dealers in Eastern Oregon or Western Maryland?
 
Getting a lease from an out of state dealer will probably be very difficult. If you do not qualify for the federal rebate, then I would suggest doing what I did. I had a low mileage Spark EV shipped to me from California to my local Carmax. The car had less than 10,000 miles on it and the price was very good.

There are 13 Spark Evs on Carmax right now. The higher mileage ones are under 12K. Just be sure to check with the CA Carmax first to make sure it has the CCS charging.

I do not recommend trying to drive 4,000 miles in a car with less than 90 mile range... especially while fast chargers are still scarce.

https://www.carmax.com/search#Distance=all&FreeText=Chevrolet%20Spark%20EV&Zip=75093
 
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