Opel Ampera & Chevrolet Volt Forum

Hallo aus Bulgarien

Leider ist mein Deutsch zu schlecht dafür vielleicht soll ich in Englisch besser schreiben.

My name is Peter , I am 32 years old and I am from Bulgaria.

I own an Ampera for 5 months now and I am really happy with it. It is a 2012 test Ampera bought from a dealer at 15000 km, now it has more than 26000 km .

I have been reading the american volt form from the beginning this concept was annouced (5-6 years ago), but there are some differences between the american and EU cars, so I have decided to subscribe here as well.
Currently there are only 4 or 5 Amperas in Bulgaria, so the experience of both drivers and technicians here is quite limited.

After 10 days I am taking the ampera all the way to Zillertal - Austria for some skiing and I am really excited to drive this far with it

So far my best battery range was 74 km, and my lowest 39 km (-7 C).
Usual fuel consumtion is: 7 l/100 at 140 kph and 4.5-6 l/100 at country roads (90-120 kph).

Here are some photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/00w1t00n1taaa ... .25.56.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aoh5adtqieefj ... .26.05.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n6g3m22f5gbor ... .26.18.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/lgmcr0pars8cc ... .28.47.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ai7v3kc8hpna ... .38.45.jpg

Hi Peter,

welcome to our community, it's very nice to read about your experience!
The Ampera is an awesome car - the best what happend to me last year - and it's cool to see drivers in Bulgaria as well!
How do you manage the service? Is it done by Opel/Chevrolet stations without problems?

довиждане,
Prodatron

Thank you for the welcoming.

So far the car is under warranty which end in August. It is strange to me that the Opel has 2 year warranty, whereas the Volts in USA have 3 years.. they come from the same factory..

The car is serviced in Opel/Chevrolet dealer. They do have the software and training, but they have 0 experience.. and know nothing about common problems for which I have read a lot in the US forum.

So far I had only 2 error messages:

1. Service high voltage system, - which was simply battery coolant needed.

2. Check steering lock - which did not result in problems so far. However I am a bit worried that I could get stranded somwehere in EU when I leave for skiing in 10 days.. There was no error in the car memory, so the dealer could not say anything! I did advise him to make software updates, but he was hesitant to make updates, because the car did not have problems in his opinion.

I know this is not the proper theme, so I will post about it where needed.

Hello Bulgarien in the best Forum for Ampera/Volt in EU.

You wrote:

2. Check steering lock - which did not result in problems so far. However I am a bit worried that I could get stranded somwehere in EU when I leave for skiing in 10 days..

I'm not sure but i thought i have read here that this could may be a problem with the Battery in the Key? Sorry, I'm really not sure but maybe it will be a good Idea to just take a CR2032 (if this is the right type of keybattery) with you and a screwdriver!
A Tip: depends on where you wanna go in Austria... Maybe you can meet some Ampera drivers there. You will sure have some good discussions, good tips and maybe some freecharging...?
Well... all the best for you, youre loved ones and your Trip to Austria! Have fun on the journey and the stay there!
Greetings from Switzerland!

Здравей Петьо!

Каква изненада , аз сащо се казвам Петър, идвам от Варна, живея в Оттобрунн до Мюнхен и карам щастливо Volt от 2012 г. - по–точно повече жена ми, a аз сам колкото се може на колело. Ще ти пратя на теб по PN[*] личния си емайл[/b] , кадето по-лесно можем да обменяме опит, а ще продължа тук на английски:

This is a nice surprise to me ... Peter has not only the same name, but he is also a landsman and he is driving a simmilar car. I wish you a nice holiday in Zielertall! Unfortunately there is not match snow there. I've been today in Innsbruck with a nice sunny weather and 15 degrees I am already 21 years here in Germany and haven't seen such winter until now.

Regards
Peter

PS: If you drive through Salzburg and through the Inntall-Autobahn, you are welcome to make a small side trip to Ottobrunn.

Hello Peter ! Welcome to the Forum from Austria !
You should definitely give us a basic information about your travel route, we could assist you in respect of charging station or other topics ...

PS: Are you from Sofia ?

Thank you.

I am from the Black sea seaside - Sonnenstrand .

I am planing to go trough Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria. The route trough Romania and Hungary, has no tolls, but it is 200 km longer, so it is almost the same.. and it take 3-4 hours more driving.

I was thinking to stop in a hotel somewhere in Croatia maybe for a rest, but I have not decided yet. Honestly I did not think about charging along the way or in the hotel. I am not used to charging opportunities so I did not even ask the hotel about it. That's the good thing about the Ampera I put in fuel and I do not care

I do have some questions about the better road from Villach on. I don't want to go all the way from Salzburg.. so I was wondering:
1. Spittal an der Drau, Linz, Mettrei, MIttersil..
or
2. Flachau, Sankt Johan, .. and so on.

thx