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WyrTwister

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2016
Messages
45
Please forgive my ignorance & probably dumb questions . I just learned that the Spark was / is made in an EV version .

Is the Spark EV 100% electric , or does it also have an Internal Combustion Engine ?

Is the $ 7,500 federal subsidy still available ? I think I heard it is a tax credit ?

My wife is 100% retires on Social Security & I work 1/2 days and also draw Social Security . So , our taxable income is not very high , not $ 7,500 a year . So , how would that work on our limited income ?

Thanks , :)
Wyr
God bless
 
WyrTwister said:
Please forgive my ignorance & probably dumb questions . I just learned that the Spark was / is made in an EV version .

Is the Spark EV 100% electric , or does it also have an Internal Combustion Engine ?

Is the $ 7,500 federal subsidy still available ? I think I heard it is a tax credit ?

My wife is 100% retires on Social Security & I work 1/2 days and also draw Social Security . So , our taxable income is not very high , not $ 7,500 a year . So , how would that work on our limited income ?

Thanks , :)
Wyr
God bless

Lease a Spark EV for 36 months. Get the fed tax credit up front (via manufacturer incentives) and you can still claim any state credits (if you live in MD or CA anyways). Depending on where you are, you can lease a Spark EV for 0 down and $130/month....or less. And that's before state incentives are factored.

Note: you HAVE to reside in CA, OR, or MD to lease/purchase a new Spark EV. Otherwise, used is your only option.
 
If you're retired (low income) and have good credit to qualify for lease and live in CA, you can lease SparkEV for free for 3 years. Best lease deals can be found in ev-vin's blog.

http://ev-vin.blogspot.com

Best deal today seem to be Dublin Chevy, $69/mo + $1500 + tax, etc. If you make under 3X poverty in CA, CA gives you $4000 rebate. Then,

$69*36 + 1500 - 4000 = -$16

In addition, I think Chevy still gives $500 rebate to get Bosche L2 EVSE (aka, 240 volt charger).

Of course, you still have to pay the tax and doc fees and so on. But for a new car lease for low income with good credit in CA, nothing is cheaper than SparkEV.
 
So , what is the purchase situation after the 3 year lease ?

I have been reading some more & get the impression the Spark EV does not have an ICE ?

Wonder what the residency requirements / time period are to qualify for the California deal ?

God bless
Wyr
 
WyrTwister said:
So , what is the purchase situation after the 3 year lease ?

I have been reading some more & get the impression the Spark EV does not have an ICE ?

Wonder what the residency requirements / time period are to qualify for the California deal ?

God bless
Wyr

Nope, no ICE in a Spark EV. It's not like the Volt with a range extending gas engine. Once you're out of charge, you're dead on the road. :p

For CA, I believe you need to possess the car for at least 30 months, or else you have to pay back a portion of the rebate.

For buyout prices after 3 years, current residual is 40% on a 10,000 miles/year lease, so depending on the exact MSRP, that is right around a $10k buyout.
 
Like any lease, you could negotiate the residual. Mine is $13K after lease period. But if you're planning to buy for long term, it's cheaper to buy outright. Some in MD are advertising for as low as $17K. Then with rebates and tax credit, that'll end up less than $10K, tax, etc. will be bit more. That is, if you live in MD.

SparkEV does not have ICE. That's good in that there's no oil change, etc. That's bad in that range is about 80 miles (between 140 miles and 50 miles) when new. But with fast charge option (which you should take), you can realistically drive several hundred miles a day using multiple fast charge sessions.

In CA, you have to register the car in CA for 3 years for full rebate. Otherwise, you have to give it back, though not sure how prorating goes. You can check on-line.

It's like SparkEV is custom tailored to benefit the retired people, especially in CA. They mostly drive short distances, which would cause havoc with ICE, but not a problem with SparkEV.
 
SparkevBlogspot said:
It's like SparkEV is custom tailored to benefit the retired people, especially in CA. They mostly drive short distances, which would cause havoc with ICE, but not a problem with SparkEV.
I cannot speak for all retired Californians, but having 2 Spark EVs (2014 2LT w/o quick charge and 2015 2LT with quick charge) has all but eliminated the need for my wife and I to purchase gasoline for our vehicles - we do have a Chevy pickup truck. The Spark EV, in its current form, is ideally suited for our in-town driving which makes up about 90 - 95% of all driving we do. We are fortunate to also have DCFC stations located along routes where we want to go outside of our local area so running out of charge has not been a concern or a problem. From our home in Manteca, CA, we have ventured to Lincoln, CA North-East of Sacramento, to Gilroy, CA located South of San Jose, CA, to Oakland, CA and to the Sacramento International Airport. All of these trips are at or well beyond the range of a single charge - especially when using AC - but are not a problem at all because of the conveniently located DCFC stations. For us, a 200+ mile electric vehicle might be "nice" but it really only buys us a few less charging stops.
 
Pricing is one of the biggest reasons why it'd be perfect for retirees. Low lease cost, low electric cost, especially with solar. When 90+% of needs are met without DCFC and close to 100% met with DCFC, $12K extra for 200 miles ranges doesn't make sense. But if Bolt lease becomes as cheap as SparkEV, which I doubt, it could be an option. It might become closer to Volt leases, which are running about $200/mo, about triple that of SparkEV factory lease post subsidy.

Another reason is that short trips are awful for emission control stuff in gas cars, causing premature wear. Oil still needs changing every 6 months, even if it only had 1000 miles. If catalytic converter dies due to repeated exposure to cold exhaust, that's easily $1000 expense.
 
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