60 day wait for Spark EV

Visited the chevy store yesterday, and they said it's about a 60 day wait for a new spark EV (I'm in Central Oregon). The guy said the lease payment would be 139 (1LT) and 149 (2LT). So we'll see. Hopefully i don't drive over to VW and test drive an e-Golf.

The dealers in the Portland area have both in stock. Not a lot of them, but there are several.


I've had one on order for about 5 weeks, and they quoted 60-90 days.

Cars.com shows 9 Spark EVs within 200 miles of Portland. If you find one in Oregon that you want, they can ship the car, or you can drive the distance, stopping at charging stations along the way.

Yeah, internet.
You don't have to walk into your local Yee Old Horse Traders these days.
You can shop and buy a car online!!
Of course you can't simply drive this car home from far away, unless there are DCFC on the route, spaced exactly how you'd need them.

Me, I borrowed a friends SUV and drove 800 miles, rented a one way uhaul dolly and then towed my Spark EV home.

SteveC5088 said:

Cars.com shows 9 Spark EVs within 200 miles of Portland. If you find one in Oregon that you want, they can ship the car, or you can drive the distance, stopping at charging stations along the way.

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So i've done that, and i've seen Spark EVs on there, and even responded to a couple, inquiring w/ the dealership. In both cases the cars are sold. I don't believe that cars.com is very up to date.

Keep trying.
Don't talk to 'Car Salesmen'.
Only deal with the 'Internet Sales Manager' through email.
I did this twice and had everything settled with email, only.

You have a paper trail and you don't have to worry about 'The things car salesmen say'.

It's a new day. You don't have to kick the mud off your boots and have your hat in your hands and walk into the Ol' Horse Traders.

NORTON said:

Me, I borrowed a friends SUV and drove 800 miles, rented a one way uhaul dolly and then towed my Spark EV home.

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I thought I was crazy, but Yeah, internet to find someone crazier... "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" But then again, SparkEV is that good of a car.

In Portland, two of the larger dealers are Wentworth and Tonkin, both do internet sales. At Wentworth, Vernon Bagley or Michael Earl handle internet sales.

To check inventory, have a look at chevrolet.com, you can see inventory for any location, seems to be acurate.

Nys,

Emmert motors in St Helens had three - I think two silver 1LT and one Black 2LT. All with fast charge. I spoke with Jeremy there...

The salesman that I dealt with at Wentworth in Portland, OR was Matt Uhrlacher - very nice young gentleman from North Dakota with a great demeanor - no pressure at all.

I sent you a Private Message...

jeff

Thanks for the info...

talked to the guy here at the chevy store and they may get one in eventually. I'm in a position to not be in any hurry... hopefully holding out for a red one.

Just leased a 2015 2LT w/fast charge for $139 a month for 3 years - ran the numbers and at that price the lease made more sense than buying. Particularly since there is no lease break price for a lower option model. This is the last one in Southern Oregon until the new shipment hits.

Looking forward to poking around the forums, particularly in deciding what to do about the 240v fast charge system.

ReddyKilowatt said:

deciding what to do about the 240v fast charge system.

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Not sure what you mean by that.

ReddyKilowatt said:

... - ran the numbers and at that price the lease made more sense than buying. ... particularly in deciding what to do about the 240v fast charge system.

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I guess if renting a car for $5004 makes sense to you.
Why would you consider an L2 if you're only renting and the L1 works for you?

For what it's worth, we also decided a lease made more sense at $139/month, and we have done just fine on a L1 charger-- overnight charging is more than enough for our driving patterns.

Why buy a EVSE/charger for a leased car? Because I like the idea of having an electric car and will likely purchase one after the lease is up on this car. Also, if I go with a Bosch, a 240V 30 amp charger is $95 plus installation, which, since our garage is already set up for an easy install, should be cheap (we'd do it ourselves but the $500 Bosch rebate requires a "Bosch-certified" installer).

Leasing made more sense because of residual value, which seems to drop off quickly on EVs - in 3 years, the value of the car is likely to have dropped more than the lease payments. A Nissan Leaf, for instance, starts at around $30,000 and a 3 year old car can be bought locally for about $13,000 - other EVs show a similar projected price drop off.

In my area, a new 2LT goes for around $24,000 (after you have negotiated away the "market price adjustment" and taken the cash back offer). So the questions is - in 3 years, what will the car be worth? There is no state tax credit and I ran the $7,500 tax rebate through my last year's income taxes - I don't see $7,500 out of it, more like $3,500. So knock that down to $20,000, to be generous. With the lease, I am assuming that the value in 2018 will be less than $15,000. Partly because I expect better range by 2018. If I am wrong, I doubt I am going to be wrong by very much $$$ and this way I don't have to finance the vehicle or withdraw savings to pay for the car outright.

Although by 2018 I may be consolidating our cars (previous: RAV4 and Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 for towing a travel trailer) down to something that tows (like a truck) and a Volt for similar.

ReddyKilowatt said:

(we'd do it ourselves but the $500 Bosch rebate requires a "Bosch-certified" installer

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ReddyKilowatt,
Welcome to the forum! You might want to contact Bosch about this. I just received one of their 30 amp units without even a hint towards getting them to install it. Their sales rep was Bill Mroue at 877-400-7603. I think you only need their installers if you want the extended warranty. Don't take that to the bank.

About leasing, this was the first time a lease deal was tempting - almost tried it, but I tend to run cars into the ground with special appreciation for years 5-12 when no payments are required.

Enjoy your new Spark!

I just received bosch charger. I just told them I would install myself and ordered it up. Shipped out quickly.

Jeff

oregonsparky said:

I just received bosch charger. I just told them I would install myself and ordered it up. Shipped out quickly.

Jeff

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Same here, aside from the "just received" part. It's been over a year already and the Bosch is still keeping the Sparkler happy.

cwerdna said:

ReddyKilowatt said:

deciding what to do about the 240v fast charge system.

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Not sure what you mean by that.

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Since you didn't respond, I guess you didn't understand what you wrote. DC fast charging is not at 240 volts. It's typically ~400 volts.

Level 2 AC charging is NOT "fast charging".

ReddyKilowatt said:

Why buy a EVSE/charger for a leased car?

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For level 1 and 2 AC charging, the charger is on-board the car. You'd be buying an EVSE. Please see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14728&p=332668#p332668 and http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=262630#p262630.

ReddyKilowatt said:

A Nissan Leaf, for instance, starts at around $30,000 and a 3 year old car can be bought locally for about $13,000 - other EVs show a similar projected price drop off.

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In some markets, like Nor Cal, which have plentiful lease returns, 2 year old Leafs can be had for less than that. As I posted at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=19362&start=70#p430825, I bought a '13 Leaf SV w/premium package, built 5/2013 w/under 24K miles for $9,325 + tax and license.

I'd imagine western WA and OR Leafs go for a premium due to the ideal climate there for having a lot less battery degradation than most of the SF Bay Area.