Personal: Fidelio II–My New/Old EV for 2020

Moving from New Chevy Bolt EV To Used Fiat 500e

I’ve enjoyed my time with my Chevy Bolt EV–in fact, I love the car. However, my lease ends on January 8, 2020, and I’ve been considering my options for months.

One possibility would be to go into another expensive lease on something like the fine new Hyundai Kona Electric. Or, I could buy my Bolt at the end of the lease. But with a residual value of about $25,000 (the original list price was nearly $44K), that would mean my loan payments would be higher than my lease payments had been.

The third option was to grab a used EV. I recently researched the used EV market, and found there are some great deals out there. I wrote about six great used EVs under $15,000. Believe it or not, you can drive home an early Nissan Leaf for $6,000! So, I decided that I would go cheap and try to keep my monthly payments under $200.

Over a  year ago, I wrote about Rose Motorcars, a small dealership in Castro Valley that specializes in used EVs. I decided that I would patronize them for my next car.

I intended to start looking in mid-November, and it was November 16th. Fresh off reading an online story about the wonders of the Chevrolet Spark EV, I decided to visit Rose and check out the Spark, along with my old favorite, the Fiat 500e.

I had the unique experience of securing a three-month journalist loan on a cute blue 500e back in January-April of 2016, and wrote extensively about my test car, which I named Fidelio. I even did a video review of the car. The Spark and 500e are both available for under $10,000, which was the amount I figured I’d need to keep the payments under $200/month.

Two Test Drives

So, I drove the Bolt down to Rose Motorcars and chatted with Miles, a friendly salesperson there. Rose appears to hire only friendly salespeople. Part of that may be that they are not paid on commission, so there is an incentive to deliver great customer service and to work together to help close the deal.

We looked at the online listings (which I’d studied earlier at home) and picked out a light blue Spark to test. I also mentioned my affection for the Fiat to Miles, and he said he had one in the same color as my Fidelio.

The Spark looked like new and drove like a smaller version of my Bolt. It had the “L” setting in the transmission, which enables one-pedal driving. I love that feature in the Bolt, and the Fiat doesn’t have it!

We drove to my house and checked to see if my upright bass would fit in back–and it did, passing that test.

I liked the car fine, and drove it on curving roads, neighborhood streets, and a piece of freeway before returning to the store.

Then, Miles said he already had the keys to the blue 500e in his pocket (smart). So, we took that one out, driving most of the same route. We didn’t stop at my house because I knew that the bass would (barely) fit, so we just headed out over the hills, onto the freeway and back.

Well, if I liked the Chevy, I loved the Fiat. It is simply more fun to drive, and the retro design looks more upscale. It felt just like it did when I drove the first quarter of 2016 in one. We pulled back into the parking lot and walked into the showroom.

On To the Paperwork

“Do you mind if we fill out a little paperwork?” asked Miles. I said, “sure.” What I realize now is that he was doing what any good salesperson does–start processing the order. There was no pressure, but it made it seem more and more possible to just do it.

“Run a credit check?” he asked. I said “OK,” since it was just information. David, the general manager, was able to work up a deal that brought my monthly payments down to $195 a month on a five-year loan. Check!

It seemed like things were moving awfully quickly, but I already knew the car, had done all of my model and price research, and was sitting in the exact place where I planned to buy the car. And–it was a ringer for my beloved Fidelio–only a model year newer. So why wait, and take a chance it would be sold?

I texted my wife. She said that if it was a fair price and everything was good then it would be OK to go ahead. After all, I did have to buy something in the next few weeks. We got the financing to allow making the first payment 45 days out, so it’ll be December 31. I had hoped for the first week in January, as my last payment on the Bolt is December 8, but that’s really close.

A Small EV Fleet

Now, I have my new car, and have named it Fidelio II, of course.  It sits, along with the Bolt, at my house as part of my small EV fleet. I’ll be saving a lot of money next year, and the Fiat has a sunroof that the Bolt doesn’t, but I’m aware of the things I’ll be losing, too.

For one thing, my EPA range will drop from 238 miles to 84. I figured out, between my three-month test and my Bolt usage, that 84 miles will likely be sufficient for most things. I have Level 2 (240-volt) charging in my garage now, too, if I need to charge up quickly. It doesn’t leave any margin for error, though, or permit any 50-mile side trips.

I will miss having Apple CarPlay, which lets me project my iPhone onto the screen on the dash. I’ll miss my video rear-view mirror and my bird’s eye camera. I’ll perhaps long for two rear doors and the extra space. But Fidelio II’s job is to take me to my BART train and around town, so I should be fine. We have other cars for longer trips.

If I had been willing to pay $250 or $300 a month, my choices would have been wider, but I’m happy, and plan to enjoy my Bolt for the rest of the year. But in January, there’ll be a new little car in its spot on the driveway.

More to follow.

Related Stories You Might Enjoy—Steve’s Research

News: 2019 Hyundai Kona Compact Crossover Goes Electric

Personal: In Search of My Next Electric Car

Buyer’s Guide: Six Used EVs for Less Than $15,000

Feature: Rose Motorcars—Affordable EV Destination

Long Term Road Test: Fidelio Fiat 500e

Personal: My Two Years with the Chevy Bolt EV