Buying a Rav4 outside of CA

[jabroni420]

I am looking at purchasing and shipping a RAV4 EV through CarMax out of California.
The CarMax Warranty seems to be comparable to the Toyota Platinum Warranty (covers almost everything outside of consumables and battery), I was quoted 60 months/75,000 miles starting from my purchase date for $1,250.
As a sanity check to current owners, does going this route make sense for $22k for a 2014?

 

[fred_dot_u]

How many miles are on that 2014 model? 22K and $1250 for the warranty sounds like a steal. I would suggest that you not purchase the vehicle, but to send me the contact details. I will then purchase it and tell you how it went.

 

[miimura]

I am looking at purchasing and shipping a RAV4 EV through CarMax out of California.
The CarMax Warranty seems to be comparable to the Toyota Platinum Warranty (covers almost everything outside of consumables and battery), I was quoted 60 months/75,000 miles starting from my purchase date for $1,250.
As a sanity check to current owners, does going this route make sense for $22k for a 2014?

When the underwriter of the CarMax warranty gets a bill or quote for $13,000 for a drive unit, do you really think they're going to pay it? I don't think any third party warranty will be worth the hassle compared to the Toyota extended warranty, even the "Used Car" one that you can get outside the 3/36k new car period.

 

[jabroni420]

I just heard back from the local CarMax operations manager, I have in email " the electric motor and the charging port would both be covered by the maxcare service plan".
I can only get the warranty contract when I purchase so it will be up to me to verify in the fine print.
Again, this is an additional 5 years and 70,000 miles for $1,259.
Do any current owners have any thing else to recommend I verify is covered by this warranty before purchasing?

 

[miimura]

I just heard back from the local CarMax operations manager, I have in email " the electric motor and the charging port would both be covered by the maxcare service plan".
I can only get the warranty contract when I purchase so it will be up to me to verify in the fine print.
Again, this is an additional 5 years and 70,000 miles for $1,259.
Do any current owners have any thing else to recommend I verify is covered by this warranty before purchasing?

The following are all important EV-specific items that have been known to fail:
- Cabin Heater
- On-Board Charger
- DC/DC Converter
- EV Gateway ECU

 

[TonyWilliams]

I just heard back from the local CarMax operations manager, I have in email " the electric motor and the charging port would both be covered by the maxcare service plan".
I can only get the warranty contract when I purchase so it will be up to me to verify in the fine print.
Again, this is an additional 5 years and 70,000 miles for $1,259.
Do any current owners have any thing else to recommend I verify is covered by this warranty before purchasing?

I think it's silly to risk NOT having the Toyota Platinum warranty (if that's available to you). If not, then good luck with this one. I wouldn't bet anything on an email from anybody. It's either in the warranty, or its not. They absolutely will take your money, however.

If you think the email is "real", ask them to show you with the ACTUAL WORDS of the warranty where it covers:

1) electrically powered cabin heater
2) onboard electric vehicle charger
3) 3 phase electric inverter
4) DC to DC electric converter
5) electric drive motor (I will guess that they specifically disallow electric motors, or electronics)
6) electric powered center navigation screen
7) gateway computer

Be sure and read all the things it disallows, like electrical items, wear items like batteries (the one in this car costs $36,000), etc.

Again, I wouldn't waste my time buying an aftermarket warranty for this car except to make you feel warm and fuzzy and "save a few dollars".

 

[shikataganai]

This thread is right on the mark for our current situation. Our legacy Rav4EVs are getting tired. My wife's is losing range and mine is disabled at the moment for a failed thermal sensor. It's time we moved into the current century by buying a newer model.

I've been putting out feelers and found three that fit our requirements and perhaps also the requirements about which I've read, regarding the extended warranty.

I understand from my reading that if the Rav4EV has fewer than 36,000 miles, it qualifies for the buyer to purchase an extended warranty. The first dealer I've contacted tells me that the vehicle has to be shipped to California (from our home in FL) for warranty repairs. The other part of the phone message appears to indicate that the dealer is not familiar with Toyota's warranty program. I'm certainly not familiar with it either and had hoped the dealer would do the necessary research to verify the program.

I've also read that it is not required to ship the vehicle to CA for warranty repairs.

Can anyone offer officially recognized links regarding both the requirements and restrictions on the extended warranty and also on the location/shipping for warranty repair situations?

I own a RAV4 EV in Denver.

1) Extended warranty is available if the car has less than 36k miles on it AND also its in-service date was less than 36 months ago. This is for the product you want, the Toyota Platinum VSA. As evidenced in other threads shop around for price on that--any Toyota dealer can sell it and the profit margin is obscene at list price, well over 50%.

2) Service technically must be done in California. That said, in Denver I've had the one drivetrain-related recall performed on it at a local dealer. There's a regional rep who comes around once per month and he alone is authorized to work on it. This may be a special arrangement since there are about a half dozen RAV4 EVs in the Denver metro area, I am told.

 

[shikataganai]

I am looking at purchasing and shipping a RAV4 EV through CarMax out of California.
The CarMax Warranty seems to be comparable to the Toyota Platinum Warranty (covers almost everything outside of consumables and battery), I was quoted 60 months/75,000 miles starting from my purchase date for $1,250.
As a sanity check to current owners, does going this route make sense for $22k for a 2014?

When the underwriter of the CarMax warranty gets a bill or quote for $13,000 for a drive unit, do you really think they're going to pay it? I don't think any third party warranty will be worth the hassle compared to the Toyota extended warranty, even the "Used Car" one that you can get outside the 3/36k new car period.

CarMax's warranty is legit. They will pay. Look up Doug DeMuro's travails with a Range Rover for an illustration of this.

That said, a good price on a Toyota Platinum VSA will be cheaper than the comparable MaxCare plan, so why not just go with Toyota?

 

[fred_dot_u]

We took delivery of our "new" 2013 Rav4EV just after Christmas. I'm sure we paid a premium but we have a vehicle that is only now just over 20,000 miles and is in beautiful shape. I expect that the new-car smell came from an aerosol can, but it's believable for this car. The interior is spotless, there are no dings or scratches, it's simply beautiful. It's a darn good thing the manuals were included. It took me a while just to figure out the HAL9000 built into the dashboard. At least it doesn't say "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."

It's barely larger than our legacy 2002/2003 Rav4EVs but feels twice the size. So darn quiet too, even compared to the legacy versions.

My wife has a heavier foot and is getting a bit more than one mile per one GOM, while I can get 1.5 miles for each GOM figure. I'm a serious hypermiler, while she just drives it.

Part of our dealer "negotiations" was that I got free delivery from the cold, frozen north, as the owner drives to Florida for the holiday. He pulled a fully enclosed trailer with the car inside, keeping it clean for us. That saved us about a grand, but we paid almost two grand for the five year extended warranty, Toyota Platinum. The dealer from whom we purchased the vehicle confirmed that Toyota will send a tech to the local dealer if service under warranty is required.

We now have a 2013 in great condition, a 2003 in mediocre condition, as the pack is down to 60 miles per charge, and my 2002 with a failed battery thermal sensor. If I can find another deal on a low-mileage 201x model, the older ones are going to the curb!

 

[TonyWilliams]

CarMax's warranty is legit. They will pay. Look up Doug DeMuro's travails with a Range Rover for an illustration of this.

That said, a good price on a Toyota Platinum VSA will be cheaper than the comparable MaxCare plan, so why not just go with Toyota?

Nobody is disputing, or even suggesting that CarMax doesn't have a reputable warranty. I'm confident any traditional (oil burning) car is well taken of.

I'm equally confident that somehow there are exclusions in the warranty that would seriously impact things that go wrong on a RAV4 EV.

So, as soon as somebody has a drive motor ($15k) or high voltage battery ($36k) replaced by the CarMax warranty, then I'll believe it. Any insurance would just TOTAL (write-off) the car when faced with that kind of bill.

Plus, adding yet another party into an already somewhat convoluted warranty process that involves three parties today (Tesla, Toyota USA, and the privately owned Toyota dealer) doesn't sound wise.

Finally, would CarMax replace my whiny motor (probably the number one repair on the RAV4). I doubt it... it would have to outright fail, which may not happen until well outside the stated warranty period.

The Toyota Platinum warranty is about as rock solid (and PROVEN to be so) as any warranty product you could buy. It is essential for peace of mind when operating these cars.

When we all have cars that are 7-10 years old, and outside any warranty, and that first large repair bill comes, most people will just sell the car "as-is". My brother just did this with a diesel pickup that destroyed the motor. The repair bill was greater than the value of the car, so it was cheaper to give it away and buy something different.

Anyhoo, my advice as always is to stick with Toyota for this very unique car. Actually, the more I think about it, I can't imagine being out-of-state with a repair shop who knows next to nothing about the car, negotiating with a a warranty manager who also knows nothing about the car.

Save your sanity. The Toyota Platinum warranty is available for all RAV4 EV, whether:

1) "Used" - over 3 year 36,000 miles... may require Toyota inspection, or

2) "New" - any car still covered under its original Toyota vehicle warranty

 

[Davidew98]

Please help me!

I’m looking into buying a 2014 Toyota RAV4 EV and I live in Maryland. I called 2 of my closest Toyota dealers, first one only was aware of the early 2003 models and not the 2012-2014 models, bad sign one, I asked if they had full EV full Electric certified techs and manager said no. I asked if they had a rep in the area who was and they called while I was on the phone and the guy said no one in Maryland is certified. Then called second dealer and dealer mananger was a woman who knew of the 2012-2014 EV line, said she had 2 certified techs on staff to work on them and the full electric high voltage drive train!! She was also fully understanding that I was cautious to believe her. What can I ask for her to tell me or show me that would confirm her 2 techs are RAV4 2012-2014 total EV total electric high voltage certified!

She said she actually had one customer who brings his 2013 RAV4 EV in for work and she feels they have worked on the high voltage drive train! I hope someone can tell me what to ask or see to confirm this! I’m going to the dealer today after work to talk to her in person to verify! Please help!!! :roll:

 

[fred_dot_u]

If you read the pages of this thread prior to your post, you'll note a few important points for your purchase consideration.

One is that it seems to be to your benefit to spring for the Toyota Platinum extended warranty. We did so for both of our non-California vehicles, as they were purchased from a Toyota dealer and qualified in terms of miles accumulated and year of manufacture. It was curious to see that both dealers offering the warranty had different pricing, but I was able to talk the higher price down a bit. I suspect one does not have to purchase this warranty from the dealer from whom the vehicle was purchased, although I did not know that at the time. I suspect that the higher priced dealer didn't want me to approach the lower priced dealer and take away a sale.

The cost of repairing one of these vehicles out of warranty is frightening. I think I could buy a new model EV for the cost of some of the more severe problem repairs. There's just nothing else out there in the EV world to match this wonderful SUV/EV combo, at least not at these affordable prices.

From my reading, I'm going to believe what others have posted and that if there's a problem with a covered vehicle, the local Toyota dealer will get support from the national resources, even to the point of transporting qualified personnel to the dealer for repair. I'm thankful I have not had to test this aspect of the warranty coverage. I don't mind the expense of the extended warranty even if it never gets used. The peace of mind it provides from bankruptcy-level repair costs more than justifies the expense.

I don't think you have to validate or verify that a specific location is qualified to perform service on your vehicle, unless you expect out-of-warranty problems.

Your mileage may vary. California mileage will be less.
(1970s automobile advertisement disclaimer)

 

[comm3000]

I wanted damn car so much that I hunted one down in SC bought it and brought it to Atlanta GA. Now I have it with not much of apparent problems and pretty happy.
Thought, first couple of weeks I had to restart onboard computer a few times, but now it seems like no problem anymore. Heater doesn't work !!! What is up with those heaters??
Car looks like a flood victim, looking at seats, but it dry and clean anywhere I could stick my head or camera with no smell and runs ok-great. Got and installed myself JuiceBox Pro 40 and it charge fast and nice.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Toyota Platinum Warranties (Vehicle Service Agreement - VSA) are available for purchase at any Toyota dealer in the USA (although not every dealer will want to sell you one).

The 2012-2014 Toyota RAV4 EV is a "Tier 3" vehicle in the warranty program.

The two types of recommended warranties are:

1) Toyota NEW car Platinum warranty (VSA). The Toyota vehicle must be less than 3 years / 36,000 miles from new. Available for up to 10 years / 125,000 miles from the new car sale date. There should be very close to zero of these vehicles remaining.

2) Toyota USED car Platinum warranty (VSA). The Toyota vehicle must be less than 9 years / 150,000 miles from new.

Available for up to 3-year / 36,000 miles warranty if more than 100,000 miles on the used RAV4 EV.

Available for up to 5 years / 60,000 miles from the extended warranty purchase date if less than 100,000 miles.

Today’s recommended dealer for warranty sales is in Bozeman, Montana. Ask for the Finance Department.


***************

See the thread linked below about CARMAX warranties. A guy bought a RAV4 EV from CarMax in Nevada with their warranty and it died on the highway 3 weeks in. He returned it within the 30 day guarantee period because they wouldn't / couldn't fix it.
http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=25069

 

[TonyWilliams]

... Heater doesn't work !!! What is up with those heaters??
Car looks like a flood victim, looking at seats, but it dry and clean anywhere I could stick my head or camera with no smell and runs ok-great. Got and installed myself JuiceBox Pro 40 and it charge fast and nice.

Yes, the seats look like crap. There’s no easy answer, short of seat covers or reupholster.

We have the cabin heaters in stock. We also have the upgrade charging system JdeMO™, which allows your 2012-2014 Toyota RAV4 EV to recharge in 30-45 minutes at over 25,000 CHAdeMO charge stations worldwide.