In April 2021, I bought a Chevy Bolt EV. I started this channel at the start of 2022 to share my experiences charging my EV, managing range anxiety, and calculating the benefits of going electric. My videos provide an amateur, non-technical perspective that tries to share the ordinary aspects of EV driving. ✌🏼
📍East Bay, California Email: theelectrickats@gmail.com
We own 2, purchased about a year ago from the local Chevy dealership. 1 is a 2018 Premium and the other a 2019 Premium. Both cars were lease return purchases, under 12k miles each with newly replaced updated batteries, and were in pristine condition. With my trade in I was able to buy one outright and got the 2nd for about 17k(bought them both on the same day). We drive these exclusively now, unless a long road trip is required. That being said, so far we average over 230 miles of range in dead of winter(Utah) and just shy of 340 miles in the 2 most-ideal seasons. We love them and think they are about the best EV value for the money you can find these days.
Our local EVGo station is in Massapequa NY, and they named the chargers after two locals who made it big: Seinfeld and (Alec, Stephen & Billy) Baldwin.
Thanks for the Heatshield recommendation. I will order one tomorrow. Maybe I can get one for the rear window, too. I only use ChargePoint, so can’t give you a name. Thanks for your video. Best wishes in your life, and safe travels.
They take the charging cords cause they are made from copper, so thievs steal them to sell the copper. And since LA does not seem todo much about criminality I guess it will continue.
Hey Katz, good to see you again. I was looking for your report of improved charging but cordless chargers is “no bueno”! Your report of named chargers is the first I’ve heard (east coast). Also, I’m in elons world. Numbers only. Do make the vid about the new charging station. I’d like to see it.
Have you had any problems when paying? In some stations (For J1772 these are third-party stations, not car brand dedicated), the machine won't start charging just nagging on my credit card/cards that are all otherwise fine or taping by the phone wallet! Very frustrating if you are low on charge and have no more charging stations nearby. Tesla doesn't have this problem as they supply the charge directly to an online account. I will go with Tesla ONLY, for these important reasons. TESLA HAS THE BEST INFRA STRUCTURE like no one else. If you want full satisfaction, drive only Tesla. Please share your opinion here and I love to be proven wrong! Rationally & correctly.
have never had an issue paying at 3rd party chargers, if there is an issue it’s more likely to be broken charging cables or plugs. In the USA the key is to organize the top 3 charging apps (ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVgo, and optionally Tesla) on your phone like Kat did, creating accounts and storing your credit card in each before your trip so you can just tap the phone to pay or initiate the charge via the app without tapping. buying a Tesla is no longer necessary as Tesla has opened their charging network to non-Teslas. the Bolt can currently be charged at Tesla Supercharger 4 with Magic Dock without requiring an adapter and using the Tesla app to pay. Ford and Rivian EVs can now charge at many other older Tesla Superchargers using a free Tesla NACS to CCS1 plug adapter owners were provided. for the GM Chevy Bolt Kat has, GM is next in line to get the adapter in the next month or two. it really depends on the chargers available where you live and where you are going. in California EV chargers are everywhere except very small towns or wilderness because there are so many EVs. on the highways, non-Tesla chargers are often available even on holidays and weekends with no wait vs the Tesla Superchargers with long lines, because the majority of EVs doing long road trips are Teslas. in fact for J1772 Level 2 public charging, half the cars I see are Teslas using J1772 adapters and not Superchargers present even in the same parking lot because the Level 2 charging is cheaper per kWh than the Superchargers, meaning many Tesla owners don’t even use the Supercharger network when they have a choice.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Good to know the non Tesla chargers work well! Range anxiety is an issue when I don’t know where the chargers are or if they’ll work when I get there.
Great channel! I'm also an apartment renter and hesitated for a long time until some recent EV rentals convinced me I don't need to own a house. Now I'm on the hunt for a 2023 Bolt EV and hope to be on the road with a Bolt soon. I appreciate your perspective on your experiences so far.
As much as I absolutely love my Bolt, I wouldn't have one as my only car and if I didn't have a level 2 at home. I could buy 2 used Prius' for what I paid for my Bolt even after tax incentives. A Bolt is the perfect 2nd car though! ❤
My local automatic car wash is very popular, so, in order to avoid sitting in line, I go there late at night when no other cars are around. The same goes about charging EVs.
The Bolt will draw a maximum of 55 kw, no matter how much a fast charger can put out. With colder ambient temps or a charge level greater than about 45%, the charging speed will be less than 55 kw, sometimes by a lot (temps below freezing). Great that you have level 2 access where you work, since that doesn’t get slower with reduced temperature.
I work at a University that has some chargers, and I get free charging on campus, but it is a little worrying that more and more people are going to have EV's and the charging stations don't expand.
I used to when my go-to station was an EA one. Since moving in April 2023, I charge most frequently at EVgo stations (aside from the ChargePoint stations I use at work).
Thanks for sharing! Glad to see you're back to posting, will be curious to see how that translates to miles driven in the future. I'm hoping my 20+ year old CR-V holds out long enough for Tesla to release their "Model 2" or Chevy the next gen Bolt. This generation's Bolt nearly hit it out of the park for my intended uses.
Thanks for watching and for your supportive words! Unfortunately, I didn't keep precise track of how many miles I drove in 2023. But based on my monthly diagnostic OnStar emails, I drove about 5,000 miles. So I think that comes out to 0.053 cents/mile!
Thanks for posting your information. It is good for comparison purposes. Can you tell me how many miles you drove? I have 2 PHEV’s, and charge at home. But on my road trips, I spent $10.87 on public charging for 2023. I charged for free 7 other times, saving me another $16. (I have a small battery in my car, 8.8 kWh. )
Unfortunately, I didn't keep precise track of how many miles I drove in 2023. But based on my monthly diagnostic OnStar emails, I drove about 5,000 miles. So I think that comes out to 0.053 cents/mile!
How many miles did that account for? Would be curious to know your cost per mile. We have yet to use public charging (have had our Bolt EUV for 13 months now) as we always charge at home on our installed 240V charger, courtesy of Chevy. I don't even try to figure out the cost, as trying to separate it out from our home uses and pool pump use would be pretty difficult. I'm sure I'm saving money over our ICE cars though, and certainly enjoy driving our Bolt!
Unfortunately, I didn't keep precise track of how many miles I drove in 2023. But based on my monthly diagnostic OnStar emails, I drove about 5,000 miles. So I think that comes out to 0.053 cents per mile!
I don't do videos, but I do say the truth! My 2023 Bolt is FANTASTIC! I use a 220 and charge overnight. I have driven many kinds of cars including Vettes, Cadillacs, etc. I love this Bolt. It runs forever on a single charge! It's roomy and comfortable. Press a button and it just about drives itself. Oh, and you can drive it using only the accelerator!
Get your governor to do like California: In California, landlords and HOAs are required to accept any tenant's written request to install charging equipment for their own use. The law also states that tenants must pay additional electrical costs, which may be added to their rent.
Rent is already high in California, 1200-2000 for a single bedroom, up to 3,500 for a 2 bedroom. And if you think that California's infrastructure is ready for the increased demand, than you are deluded. Governor French Laundry can go F himself. California has term limits and he's going to be looking for another job next year if he hasn't started looking already.
@onwisconsin2362 I wouldn't think of moving to texas, California is a good state to work in, expensive to be retired here. We pay a premium for good weather plus jobs Southern California is EV friendly, which is nice if I ever need public charging. Still plenty of people on freeways, I don't see signs of an exodus.
@@rp9674 Nope, as long as the work is here, people will stay, or struggle to stay. It's up to the government in Sacramento to reign in the greedy developers and 1% and come up with a solid, long term housing and zoning regs so that the majority of California don't have to move 1-2 hours away from work in order to own their own homes. I've been looking for a place for 2 years and the only place in CA that is even close to what we paid for for a 2 bedroom 10 years ago is 200 miles out in the desert
Thanks for continuing to watch my videos! I read the Bolt will come out with GM's new Ultium battery for model year 2025! Check it out: www.caranddriver.com/news/a44639082/chevrolet-bolt-ev-second-generation-details/
Certainly the Achilles heel of the Chevy Bolt is "fast charging". I have a 2023 and do almost all of my charging at home or at work, so it's no biggie for me. But if you are someone for whom home charging is not an option and you really need fast public charging, then this is not the best car for you. Otherwise, it is an awesome car for everything else.
the bay just need more public chargers, there are queues everywhere. Every local park, library or gov building that has parking needs to offer charging. To reduce the need for public charging, there need to be more programs to incentivize owners of multifamily dwelling to offer charging for their tenants.
And how do they do that? taxes?? meaning tax the 80% of us who don't and will never own EV's to support the upper crust??? (50-70% of car buyers can't afford the monthly for an EV)
@@ab-tf5fl Bolt has been discontinued as of December 2023. So what ever is on the dealer lot is it. GM has said it will return at some yet not announced time. As of this time they don't even have a design.
Thanks so much for this video. I've had lower range EV's and recently got the Bolt EUV and after watching your video, my family and I are planning a long trip from Scal to the Bay area for my daughter's bball tourney. I'm going to most likely use the same chargers you did. Thanks for the vid!
When fast charging the ac turns on automatically to cool the battery so sitting in the car with ac on is not going to affect your charge session or your range at all if any maybe a very very small amount. Hope this info helps.
Not sure if you mentioned the cost of each charge. Nice vid btw and new subscriber here. 👍 ..... edited.. few minutes after... lol the price is at the end of the video! 😄 thanks for sharing your experience. 👍
Excellent video. Very professional. I have the 2023Bolt EUV. There is nothing better for kicking around town. Not sure I would take a road trip in Texas, though.
I've never used the Chevy app for trip planning. I rarely use the Chevy app--I open it to check my state of charge sometimes or to start my car remotely to heat the cabin in advance. Thanks for watching!
I didn't explain as clearly as I should have! The rest of the price cut was something the dealership advertised at the time as a "Chevrolet family & friends" discount. I'm not sure if this was unique to Chevy dealerships in my region at the time (spring 2021 in the SF Bay Area). In early 2021, Chevy was even offering another $3k off just for having a Costco membership, which was something I wish I took advantage of! getjerry.com/insights/costco-membership-save-3000-on-2021-chevy-bolt
A co near me, Atom Power, sells L2 power posts for fleet use cases, but also has a bank of them free to the public on a path I go down alot. I enjoy doing L2 charging stops and finding new places to do it. Not practical for a road trip, but fun to add to a daily grind routine. Thx for the vid.
It's annoying when hybrids take up the charging station when they don't use full battery pack. Their battery is not as big as the your vehicle and it's a real inconvenience for pure electric vehicles that need and should be charging their large battery
