thait84 said:
I know most people are leasing the Rav4 EV and will probably turn it in after they use it for 3 years, but did anyone make the decision to purchase? If so, do you regret it?
The cars acquired between September 2012 and June 2013 were largely purchases, not leases. That means that until July 2017, there won't be very many lease turn-ins at all. This was because Toyota would not pass through the $7500 tax credit on the lease. For July 2013, Toyota went to the industry model of passing through the entire credit.
Since most of the residual values on the RAV4 EV are between $17k and $19k, and as you stated, the RAV4 EV resell currently for $28,000, it would be ludicrous to turn in their RAV4 EV.
Anybody who does turn it in needs to have their head examined, even if they do not intend to keep it... just sell the car on the open market. As I've consistently stated over and over, anybody that wants to make some extra money at lease turn-in, I have it waiting right here for you if you give me your car for the residual value INSTEAD of turning it in.
I read that there are some reliability problems and it is hard to service. One poster even mentioned that you should have a good lemon law attorney on standby.
There are no shortages of issues with the car, however, virtually ALL of those issues are very well known. Without exception, every issue is covered under warranty, which is why myself and others highly highly recommend maintaining the Toyota warranty. I would not own this car without the warranty.
If the car is a lemon, clearly Toyota has brought back a whole bunch of RAV4 EVs!!! But it's also a relatively simple machine. There are only a handful of major components that are replaced to solve all the problems (all of which are from Tesla).
So, in summary, should you buy a car under warranty, the hardest thing you're going to have to do is drive it to the dealer to have them repair it. Of the three RAV4 EV's that I have had, one must've had every component changed at least once and one has never had any component changed.
Used prices seem to be in the upper 20k range. (~$28000) Does this seem fair for this car? Should I wait it out for a Model 3 instead? I know some Leafs are selling for quite a bit less, so I was hoping that Rav4 EV would depreciate a bit quicker as well.
Thanks for any input!
If you're waiting for massive depreciation of the Toyota RAV4 EV, good luck !!! It has already been exposed to a US government recall and well-known list of it's numerous warranty repairs, yet in the marketplace it still commands value far above the residual value that the business geniuses at Toyota determined it should be worth it at the end of three years.
Tesla Model 3 won't be readily available for three years (at least) and it won't cost just $35,000, nor will it be the utility vehicle that is the RAV4 EV. You could drive a RAV4 EV for the next three years before considering the Tesla Model 3.
If a cheaper Nissan Leaf meets your needs, then why not just get that?
