50k range + advice?

[BrinkHouse]

I absolutely guarantee that CarMax (or anybody else) will promise the moon, and be happy to take your money.

Adding a third party into what can be a contentious warranty issue on a very unique car is just not wise. Why anybody would even want to do that is baffling to me, but then I'm the guy that gets fairly regular calls from RAV4 owners about "I'm having this warranty claim issue, can you help?".

NOTE: please don't ever call me about "CarMax" (or other third party) won't honor my warranty work. My life is too short to help you with self induced frustration.

I'm still calling around to some local dealers to see if anyone will sell me just a warranty but no luck yet. And if at the end of the day I can't make that happen, and the Maxcare warranty is the only real option, I think I'd rather do that and have the car than not have a RAV4 at all because I couldn't get a Toyota warranty...

 

[jabroni420]

Regarding the warranty issue, is there a mileage past which it is safer to assume the motor is not faulty?
There are many 2013s / 2012s for sale with higher mileage, I assume it is much less likely that a high mileage motor develop the milling sound?

 

[miimura]

Regarding the warranty issue, is there a mileage past which it is safer to assume the motor is not faulty?
There are many 2013s / 2012s for sale with higher mileage, I assume it is much less likely that a high mileage motor develop the milling sound?

I would only feel comfortable that another motor replacement would not be needed if it was already changed after March 2016. I think that's when they implemented the "real fix" where they added the brush inside the motor housing so that the induced currents would not go through the bearings.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Regarding the warranty issue, is there a mileage past which it is safer to assume the motor is not faulty?
There are many 2013s / 2012s for sale with higher mileage, I assume it is much less likely that a high mileage motor develop the milling sound?

My motor with about 80,000 miles howls...

 

[Hoosier]

Why not look for a used Rav4 Ev with a transferable Toyota Platinum Warranty? Buying a low milage Rav4 Ev without a Platinum Warranty is a HUGE gamble. Buying a high milage (50k+) Rav4 Ev without a Toyota Platinum Warranty is INSANE!!!

Toyota Platinum NEW car warranty is the only option. All other used car warranties (Carmax/Toyota/ect) are useless. Most used car warranties have a clause that states "if the repair costs more than a percentage of the value of the car" they won't fix it! Warranty companies are just like insurance companies! They will fight you tooth and nail not to pay a claim! They will defiantly not pay for repairs more than the value or a vehicle. Repair costs for the Rav4 Ev can easily top $20,000!!!

 

[asavage]

Why not look for a used Rav4 Ev with a transferable Toyota Platinum Warranty?

You make that sound so easy. Not everybody can get the deal you can get.

My uneducated guess is that 95% of leased vehicles didn't get the Platinum warranty.

I venture that most RAV4s were leased.

The 2014 I just bought was off-lease. There was NO possibility to buy a Platinum warranty, due to both mileage (50k) and time (over by three months).

Buying a low milage Rav4 Ev without a Platinum Warranty is a HUGE gamble. Buying a high milage (50k+) Rav4 Ev without a Toyota Platinum Warranty is INSANE!!!

Hyperbole aside, I was set to buy a Leaf, checkbook in hand so to speak. It's a kinda a "meh" car to me, I didn't like any of the colors, I hate black interiors, but I was going to suck it up because driving my minivan or even my renewable-carbon-neutral B100-burning E300 55 miles per day just seems . . . insane . . . when I could be doing so much better*.

If you don't live in SoCal (or even NorCal) you pay top dollar for even "insane" purchases, and the R4 I just bought was twice the money I'd wanted to spend (when factoring in 10% tax, registration, and a L2 charger), and I'm going for a used vehicle warranty that'll push the expense even higher. But the R4 is just that much better than the Leaf for me.

Used cars are gambles. The R4 has a mixed track record for expensive failures (heater, DC/DC converter, drive unit, ECU gateway). But I do not feel my purchase of this vehicle in my circumstance is insane, and I am feeling resentful of you characterizing it in those terms. Your insane is my good decision.

I have rolled the dice on my R4. There will be parts failures. There will be phone calls to Toyota. There will be periods when I can't use my investment for the purposes intended. I am going into this informed and with my eyes open.

* I love ICEs and have run a website for old Nissan diesels since 2006, but I'm convinced that ICE is yesterday's technology and that I need to move away from it entirely. I've wanted an EV for at least 15 years -- I'm on the EV600 (Jet ElectraVan) listserve, and my diesels -- all on B100 -- were my stopgap until I could afford an EV that would work as my primary vehicle. Now, in 2017, my finances and the available used technology have converged in my life to make commuting etc. on electricity possible.

 

[BrinkHouse]

I have read the Maxcare contract top to bottom and nowhere does it state that costs above the value of the vehicle or any other metric can be used to deny a claim. It's very clear that if the damage/repair is not in the 'named exclusions' category that it will be covered. We shall see... happy that I still have the OEM power train and battery warranty though.

 

[TonyWilliams]

It seems that the Toyota Platinum warranty (VSA) for used cars isn't being considered?

The vehicle has to be less than 9 years old and less than 150,000 miles to be considered.

It is frequently offered at the time of sale as a used car from a Toyota, but can be sold with an inspection from any Toyota dealer. Find that dealer and get the warranty.

This has been done many, many times.

 

[Jonathan_UK]

I've just bought my RAV4 (now at 60K miles) from CarMax with the CarMax warranty for $1,700 USD. I believe the CarMax warranty is the second best option (the best of the risky options) to the Toyota VSA warranty (the safe option). I took out the warranty with the specific aim of covering the motor replacement as soon as the noise gets loud enough.

Regarding the CarMax 'MaxCare' warranty, it is provided by one of several insurers. My own warranty is provided through Consumer Program Administrators. I also went through the warranty agreement and could not find any clauses that would exclude a repair valued at more than the car's value. Further, there have been some real-life examples where a MaxCare warranty has been successfully claimed against to cover a repair costing more than the car's value. The biggest risk I will have to face is that the insurance administrator will, in the future, cancel my warranty agreement, which they are able to do. I believe this will happen, when they start receiving multiple warranty claims for the motor.

The Toyota used car warranty has to be bought at the time of sale (which means from a Toyota dealer), according to the Toyota VSA website. If the vehicle you are buying from CarMax is the same (or similar) price as from a Toyota dealer, then you should buy the vehicle sold by the Toyota dealer and get a Toyota VSA warranty included for a reasonable additional cost (around $1,500). For me, the CarMax RAV4 I bought (at $13,000) was several thousands below the nearest Toyota dealer, and I'm willing to take the risk. If my warranty gets cancelled, I'll have to source a motor from a salvaged Tesla Model S, and do the replacement myself. The same logic applies for other parts (cabin heater, DC-DC converter, etc) although its the traction motor which would provide the biggest financial headache. The positive is that the motor noise is a gradual degradation, so you do have time to source a motor from a salvage vehicle.

The topic or warranties has come up so many times on this forum, it may be a good idea to start tracking claims, especially for non-Toyota-VSA warranties.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The Toyota used car warranty has to be bought at the time of sale (which means from a Toyota dealer), according to the Toyota VSA website.

This is not entirely true. Yes, the Toyota dealers want to sell you a high profit margin Platinum warranty, whether you buy a new or used car.

But, you are able to also buy the Platinum warranty (whether new car or used car) from a dealer after an inspection. You do not have to buy the car from a dealer to do this.

It's been done many times.

 

[BrinkHouse]

I’ve had the car for three days and I’m in love. Headed 50mi out to Leo Carrillo beach tomorrow with the pup and sister, now I’m just looking for excuses to drive it!

 

[BrinkHouse]

What’s the consensus on actively switching between D and B modes while driving? I find it really helpful while driving in the city and in traffic, but I don’t want to do any damage to the car if there’s an issue in doing that. Thanks!

 

[davewill]

What’s the consensus on actively switching between D and B modes while driving? I find it really helpful while driving in the city and in traffic, but I don’t want to do any damage to the car if there’s an issue in doing that. Thanks!

No issue at all.

 

[TonyWilliams]

There are not even mechanical switches in the gearshift... it is a Hall Effect Sensor

 

[BrinkHouse]

Copy that, figured as much.

Tony- can't wait to buy one of your Jdemo units! Already missing the QC capability I've always had on the Leaf. Think that will be a real game changer for the RAV.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Copy that, figured as much.

Tony- can't wait to buy one of your Jdemo units! Already missing the QC capability I've always had on the Leaf. Think that will be a real game changer for the RAV.

Oh, it is!