My disappointment with SPX and, by extension, GM

[volt11]

I've been trying to get my 240V charger this year while the tax credits are much better, but it certainly won't be happening that way now.

I had filled out the survey with SPX months ago, but they never contacted me proactively. Finally I called them a few weeks ago, and they sent a local contractor out to do an estimate. While at our house, he saw that our main panel has a double slot all ready to go, and there's nothing complicated about the run to the installation spot. Both the mounting point and the panel are in the same garage. He said the job looked "straightforward" with no complications. A couple of days ago and over a week later, I still had not heard from SPX so I called them. We had decided to go with the "free" Coulomb charger.

I was told that they had the estimate but were waiting on the permit price. As background, our town shares a post office (and zip code) with a neighboring town, and even though I had given my town information in the survey, SPX made the permit inquiry to the neighboring town, obviously just based on the zip. I pointed out the error so they said they'd call the correct municipal authority. The SPX rep gave me the quote without the permit, and it was around $2100!!!! I calmly said that the figure was higher than I was expecting (certainly no more than the $1600 I've heard about here), and pointed out that the contractor said the installation was very straightforward. I also mentioned that I was concerned about getting the deal done in 2010 for the better tax break. I was told they would contact the contractor about the pricing and get back to me, possibly later that day. in the interest of getting this settled before time ran out on 2010.

Now 2 days later and not hearing from them I called SPX, and I was told they haven't been able to get more information from the contractor, nor from the (now correct) town about the permit. They're supposed to get back to me on Monday. That's 2011 of course.

I assume SPX is marking up these contracts, but without inside information I can't be sure what's really going on. My guess is that both SPX and their subcontractors are trying to milk this whole situation in the extreme, and the lack of competition from GM handing them the monopoly on 240V chargers is hurting all of us. GM may or may not be complicit in all of this, but either way I'm going to do my best to make sure they hear my feedback in the end. Given the way things are going with this, it's probably going to be just a tiny bit scathing.

[Marty]

This has been thoroughly discussed here. I even started a poll on EVSE options, and to date zero responders are paying for the SPX installation. http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5760

Buy the $490 Voltec from SPX and have a local electrician (who will be familiar with the permit process and knows the town boundaries) install it. If the layout of the panel and EVSE location are as you describe, a reasonable installation cost should be in the sub-$500 range. I installed my own with less than $100 in parts including wire, breaker, conduit and fittings.

Yes, SPX has been a pain to deal with, and their installation rates are outrageous. SPX typically deals with shipments of parts and tools to automotive dealerships and not the general public. I'm fairly sure that they haven't been in the business of contracting out electrical wiring services nationwide before.

I agree that GM blew it. In my opinion, they should have sold the chargers through the parts departments of dealers that have Volt allocations. The dealers' parts departments are accustomed to dealing with SPX and also with the general public.

The other place where they blew it was assuming that installing this equipment is rocket science. Every town where Volts are being sold will have local electrical contractors that the Volt owners can hire. Many Volt owners will have an electrician that is familiar with their home wiring. Also the type of customer who buys this car is more likely to be technical in nature and may be perfectly capable of performing minor home wiring such as adding a branch circuit.

[ClovisVOLT]

This has been thoroughly discussed here. I even started a poll on EVSE options, and to date zero responders are paying for the SPX installation. http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?5760

Buy the $490 Voltec from SPX and have a local electrician (who will be familiar with the permit process and knows the town boundaries) install it. If the layout of the panel and EVSE location are as you describe, a reasonable installation cost should be in the sub-$500 range. I installed my own with less than $100 in parts including wire, breaker, conduit and fittings.

Yes, SPX has been a pain to deal with, and their installation rates are outrageous. SPX typically deals with shipments of parts and tools to automotive dealerships and not the general public. I'm fairly sure that they haven't been in the business of contracting out electrical wiring services nationwide before.

I agree that GM blew it. In my opinion, they should have sold the chargers through the parts departments of dealers that have Volt allocations. The dealers' parts departments are accustomed to dealing with SPX and also with the general public.

The other place where they blew it was assuming that installing this equipment is rocket science. Every town where Volts are being sold will have local electrical contractors that the Volt owners can hire. Many Volt owners will have an electrician that is familiar with their home wiring. Also the type of customer who buys this car is more likely to be technical in nature and may be perfectly capable of performing minor home wiring such as adding a branch circuit.

Agreed.....SPX has been subpar, but they have at least been competent in billing and mailing out the $490 unit and charging my credit card for such - the shipping charge was also reasonable. If you can get them to do this today (charge your credit card), you should be able to at least write off the cost of your charger in 2010.

Installation should be $500 or less unless the local utility requires you to pull additional wiring to the house - but this was not required in my case and given the 240V unit pulls less than 4000 watts should not be applicable for most everyone.

[volt11]

A couple of things have so far prevented me from going the Voltec route with my own contractor. The Coulomb charger seems like a much better unit, capable of higher currents (so less prone to obsolescence, like with Volt II), and also has a straight cord. The latter will work better for me when charging my car outside the garage, as it can slip easily under the door. It also retails for $1850, not the $490 of the Voltec.

Some here had previously getting quotes from SPX around $1600, which is what I was hoping to come in at or below. That would make my total out of pocket cost about $800, to get the better charger completely installed. My hopes of that scenario are pretty much blown away now, because chances are they will stick to their guns on the price, and with the lesser tax credit I'll be looking at closer to $1500 to get it installed from SPX, which I am not inclined to do.

I still want to weigh my options, and the tax benefit difference between buying a Voltec today or in 2011 is only about $100. (My understanding is that 2010 allows 50% benefit up to $2000, and 2011 allows 30% up to $1000.)

[mizzou]

SPX finally called me a couple of days ago and said they found an electrician in my area to do the install. The electrician is 40 miles away and SPX said they would be giving a quote either from my survey or coming by the house. So far they have not called to make an appointment to come by the house.

I qualified for a free Coulomb charger and like volt11, I thought it might be worthwhile to pay for the expensive install because of the better charger that is more "future proof" than the voltec. I am starting to doubt that strategy as I am not going to pay the installation fees people are being quoted so far.

[Marty]

I went with the Voltec but wired it with #8 copper so I can go with a 40-amp breaker and higher current EVSE unit later. I'm keeping the Volt for three years and don't anticipate a second EV before then so no advantage to higher current EVSE for some time. Within three years I'm sure that the prices of EVSE equipment will come way down.

[Britta]

Hi Volt11 - this is Britta Gross with GM. I'm really sorry you're having trouble with the charger side of things. I've been trying to keep an eye out on this site for issues that we can help with as we "learn" our way through the home charging installation process that's inherently fraught with so much variability it can be quite demanding. If you'd like, you can send me an email at britta.gross@gm.com and walk me through your particulars and then I'll dig into it and see what's going on.

And by the way, Marty and Leela, we're still following up on your earlier suggestions and we have a zipcode lookup finder that is almost ready that will identify for customers which areas (by zip) qualify for the Coulomb and Ecotality chargers. More to come real soon on this...

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help in defining and refining our home installation process. We selected SPX as our recommended installer because we felt they were exceptionally professional, cost-conscious, and understood nationally how to execute such a complex service-oriented process. Personally, they’ve been great to work with – and now we just need to make sure at every level and with every conversation everyone’s getting a great level of competitive and professional service. We've had some really great experiences with installations - wish all were equally easy, but they’re not. We’ve been able to connect easily with some customers – but not all. Gotta keep working on this area of communications. SPX has a growing and ever-improving network of trained and qualified electrical contractors. Some of these electricians are just plain terrific! Anyone delivering subpar service is weeded out. We’ve already experienced a very broad range of installation costs – something we expected – but nevertheless it makes it hard to manage customer expectations. I’ll share some of these numbers with you once I have them. And we’ll keep working on cost reduction ideas.

Obviously, we can improve and we're taking every comment you give us to heart – and trying to fix everything we see that needs fixing. Keep up the feedback. We’re counting on your help. Britta

[sgc]

I have already worked with Britta directly. She had been very helpful and professional in cutting through the SPX processes that from the consumer side appear hard to understand. Be sure you take her up on her offer to help. You won't find any friend higher up at GM who can help you.

[Marty]

I have already worked with Britta directly. She had been very helpful and professional in cutting through the SPX processes that from the consumer side appear hard to understand. Be sure you take her up on her offer to help. You won't find any friend higher up at GM who can help you.

Times two! Britta is superb and also helped me in working with SPX to get the Voltec unit shipped. Britta is featured in some of the GM videos related to electric infrastructure, by the way.

Also, the Voltec unit is well-designed and easy to install. I particularly like the coiled cord with the stowage built in to the housing of the device.

[ClovisVOLT]

Times two! Britta is superb and also helped me in working with SPX to get the Voltec unit shipped. Britta is featured in some of the GM videos related to electric infrastructure, by the way.

Also, the Voltec unit is well-designed and easy to install. I particularly like the coiled cord with the stowage built in to the housing of the device.

Agreed, the Voltec was easy to install and pleasing to the eye.....only issue was the front cover screws going on from the backside could be designed a little differently to make it even easier for the electricians....

Britta, do you have any feedback on the delayed charging setup becoming 'immediate' and then not being able to get it back to the delayed charge? Since you're the electric infrastructure person, perhaps you've come across this before and can offer some hints....tried the manual suggestions (pulling cord out for 10 seconds and then putting back in), but this didn't work, still no dual horn or flashing green light, just a solid green and instant charge. Much thanks, GO GM , GO VOLT, GO SOLAR, GO LITTLEPLUG!