Chevy Bolt EV Recall

[redpoint5]

At least 5 Bolts have caught fire while nearing charge completion, and a recall is issued that limits maximum charge to 90%. Owners can set charge limits themselves too.

https://electrek.co/2020/11/13/gm-re...ial-fire-risk/

I'm wondering if that means it's a good time to buy? My friend bought a dieselgate Golf early on in the scandal and was able to negotiate a good price because of it, then VW purchased the vehicle back for very nearly the same amount 3 years and 100k miles later.

I expect the permanent remedy to at the very least restore full safety and functionality. There is some possibility of a new battery pack.

[Piotrsko]

I would wait a bit for the market to depress, probably after Xmas when sales generally slow. The sheeple need time to absorb the consequences then publish their anguish on social media

Hmmm no mention of the cause but sounds like they went with a less stable chemistry

[redpoint5]

The lead battery engineer released a video saying they expect a fix in January. That means I should probably buy before the fix.

[Piotrsko]

Latest I have seen is the import batteries catch fire, the 'Murican ones don't, but no mention of how to tell in the sales lot.

[rmay635703]

Bolts have been flirting with the $10,000 mark on and off all year.

Now if I could unilaterally eliminate the excessive title fee and eliminate or reduce the registration hikes it would be a good buy

[redpoint5]

Well it's been 6 months since the original battery recall.

Yesterday GM finally announced the 2019 model year has a software remedy that will restore full battery capacity and presumably reduce fire risk. The 2017 and 2018 model years are supposed to have a similar remedy available next month.

This should release the 6 months of pent up inventory from lease returns and trade-ins, possibly saturating the market and making the price plummet. I'll be keeping an eye out in the coming weeks and months for a good deal.

Prices according to CarGurus for the Bolt went from a low in Feb, to about 10% higher today.

[Cd]

So when do you think we will hit the best time to buy ?

Even if I got a screaming deal on one, I am hesistant about buying one, because it has such a terrible cDxA.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Cd

So when do you think we will hit the best time to buy ?

Even if I got a screaming deal on one, I am hesistant about buying one, because it has such a terrible cDxA.

Fair criticism given your username.

Hard to speculate on these things...

If model year 2019 is just now open for update, how long will it take dealerships to apply the fix to their inventory and list the vehicle for sale? I believe dealers were compensated by GM some percent of retail value per day during the stop sale. When the stop sale is lifted, I assume dealers lose that compensation and would be motivated to move the inventory.

I'll track 2019 inventory in my spreadsheet to see how it ramps up, and use that as an indicator of how the 2017-2018 inventory should ramp, since the remedy isn't expected until the end of next month for these years.

My wild guess at the moment is July for the majority of the price drop to occur and inventory to be at peak. Current CarGurus inventory nationwide for the 2019 model is 56.

[Cd]

So where are all the cheap Bolts ?
They seem to have gone UP in price lately.

I'm not interested in one of these thinly disguised minivans* unless they are under 10 K.

*1990s minivans were only around 3" taller than this "car" is.

[redpoint5]

Inventory is still only 30% of what it was November of last year, and used vehicle prices are up in general.