ME_Andy's fleet

[ME_Andy]

We bought a Bolt! It's a massive upgrade from the Leaf. Having 250 miles of range compared to 80 miles is a big deal for my wife, and we'll be using it for more roadtrips. Never could do that with the Leaf.

My favorite feature so far is the regen lever on the steering wheel. Regen is powerful in this vehicle.

A nice side benefit of the Bolt is, my wife can charge for free at work. Because the range is longer, she doesn't need to charge at home ever, really, unless we go on a roadtrip. We also aren't constantly topping the battery up at 100% so it should last a LOT longer. 8 year, 100k mile warranty.

If anybody is in the Austin TX area and wants a 2015 Leaf for $11k, message me.

[Isaac Zachary]

Congrats on the Bolt!

I would consider a Bolt if I were in the market for another car.

[ME_Andy]

Thanks IZ!

We took care of some of the basic things that will help us appreciate the vehicle for a long, long time, hopefully:

- Window tint (also helps with efficiency)
- Seat covers
- Steering wheel cover

The underbody isn't as flat as I expected, but realistically I'm not going to change it any time soon.

[ME_Andy]

The Bolt is awesome. I'm still happy to drive it, every single chance I get.

[ME_Andy]

When I saw that the Silverado EV will get 450 miles of range, I put a reservation in. Wonder how many reservations they have already and how long it will take?

[ME_Andy]

Bought a $70 adapter so we can charge our Bolt at 240V. I didn't realize until recently, you don't actually need a dedicated charger unit. Thanks aerostealth for the video on that. Here's the adapter:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153731040798

[aerohead]

Did you happen to catch Aerostealth's 'combiner'?
Plugging cords into a 120V outlet from circuits coming from each 120 VAC bus inside the breaker panel creates a 240v source for the charger, if the home or apartment lacks a 240v receptacle.
Another 'tool' for opportunity charging.

[ME_Andy]

I didn't see the "combiner" video but that's a cool idea, could save people some $$. Luckily I don't need it because my garage already has 240V.

[ME_Andy]

Just recording another oil change. This one was at a 16 month, 6000 mile interval. Oil Life Monitor said I had 35% left. Don't drive much, these days.

Went with Valvoline Full Syn just because I had a stash in the garage.

The itch to buy a truck is strong so I started saving for a Maverick. Maybe this was my last Cruze oil change. I really appreciate the easy access GM designed.

If I do make another oil change, it will probably be Costco (Kirkland) full syn. It's only $4/quart and from a UOA I saw online, the wear rate is comparable to Mobil 1.

Also did a timing belt change in January. That was a challenge.

[ME_Andy]

We are now a gas-free household. �� The Cruze was traded about a month ago for another Bolt. This one is a Bolt EUV.

The Cruze was still doing great; no real reason to sell it other than I wanted an EV.

The EUV is not quite as fun or quick to drive as the baby Bolt but it still feels really nice. It's a 2023.

We also test drove a 2014 Model S and a 2020 Mach E. The Mach E was too heavy and squeaky for my taste. The Tesla was really fun to drive and impressively quiet for its age but the interior was a wreck.

The cost of the Bolt was $20k and it only had 13,000 miles.