Lease Return? What would you do?

[bt3k]

Hey all,

I have been going back on forth on what decision to make on my Rav4 EV, which my lease is up on 10/01/17

My Telsa Model 3 delivery estimate is Feb-Apr 2018, and I'm on the West Coast, so hopefully it's sooner than later in that estimate. However, I am fully aware of Tesla' delivery history when it comes to date estimates.

I have been debating on whether returning the Rav 4 EV and finding either a short term lease (something from swapalease) or a low cost used car to fill the gap of time, roughly 4-8 months.

Additionally, I have been also considering buying the Rav 4, and then trading it in or selling it when I do finally get my Tesla, but I don't know if the hassle of buying the car when I only expect to keep it for a few months is worth it. If I did go down this route, I would probably also invest in the ToyotaCare Platinum Warranty, as my car is still under 36k miles.

Any thoughts or experience in this sort of matter?

 

[TonyWilliams]

You can extend the lease up to 6 months, I think.

Call Toyota Financial.

 

[james]

Interesting...

I also have my lease ending Oct 1 so Iv'e been thinking a lot about returning versus purchasing. Just did the Tony battery test and the battery in fine (almost 100%). This has been a great car and only has 23K miles. Only issue was to replace the on board charger about six months ago.

For the money, I just cant find another EV that I would rather have at this time so I'm now shopping for an extended warranty.

Just wondering if anyone knows the % of lease returns versus lease buyouts?

thanks

 

[MRL]

I am facing this same question - buy out the lease or turn it in?? My biggest concern in turning it in is that Toyota will ding me for every little thing wrong with the car and then I'll end up paying them money to turn it in. If I buy it, the cost is $19K, which seems like a lot when I can buy a new Bolt for $35K, net $25K after tax rebates.

Any thoughts??? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[jgblair]

We bought out the lease on the RAV and added the CHAdeMO fast charge option because we need/want to travel longer distances. Our last ICE, a Ford Windstar minivan, died about then, and so we were down to two EV's, a first and second generation RAV4-EV. The Bolt is smaller and uses a CCS fast charger, which is currently not as plentiful as the CHAdeMO. You have to add in that as an option on the Bolt. We could not find any other SUV EV that would do the job besides the RAV. Second choice would have been the Tesla Model X. Besides the much higher price, at that time (a year ago) the seats did not fold flat but just moved forward. It was not workable for us. So our ultimate choice was the RAV or an ICE SUV. For someone who does not have to fast charge often (or else has CCS DC chargers available on the routes they plan to travel on) and they don't need the size of the RAV, a Bolt is not a bad choice. Unfortunately, those were issues for us.

 

[bt3k]

So to update everyone who posted on here, I did contact Toyota Financial to extend my lease on month to month basis. Should give me an additional 6 months to make a decision.

I will not buy out the vehicle because the residual is much higher than actual market value. If I really wanted to keep driving the Rav4, I could actually turn this one in and buy one with similar mileage at a dealership for 3-4k lower than my residual amount.

 

[KurtManz]

how many miles and whereabouts are you?
In the Seattle area low 30Ks RAV4s are selling for about $19K...

I wonder what prices you're seeing on used Rav4evs.
If yours is in good shape and can extend the warranty I'd consider keeping it.

You don't have to face the uncertainty of how the previous owner treated the car... you would know if you did all the recalls.
That car is still one of a kind... that would carry weight for me over marginal $ savings.

 

[michael]

I am facing this same question - buy out the lease or turn it in?? My biggest concern in turning it in is that Toyota will ding me for every little thing wrong with the car and then I'll end up paying them money to turn it in. If I buy it, the cost is $19K, which seems like a lot when I can buy a new Bolt for $35K, net $25K after tax rebates.

Any thoughts??? Thanks in advance for your help!

When we turned in ours, they were very fair. Tires were nearly worn out, minor damage to rear bumper cover, etc.

They added up about $750 in issues but treated them all as normal wear and tear. No complaints from me in that regard. You will also get stuck with about $1800 in sales taxes if you buy out the lease.

We moved to a Bolt...it was a very good decision. New car warranty, better range, lower payments....

 

[bt3k]

how many miles and whereabouts are you?
In the Seattle area low 30Ks RAV4s are selling for about $19K...

I wonder what prices you're seeing on used Rav4evs.
If yours is in good shape and can extend the warranty I'd consider keeping it.

You don't have to face the uncertainty of how the previous owner treated the car... you would know if you did all the recalls.
That car is still one of a kind... that would carry weight for me over marginal $ savings.

Southern California. https://www.truecar.com/used-cars-for-sale/listings/toyota/rav4-ev/location-chino-hills-ca/

 

[Allen]

This is exactly the issue I am running into. Was sure I was going to buy out the lease. I have a 2014 with 27,000 miles on it. I go to look at the bluebook and it's like $17200. My buyout is $19400. I called Toyota financial and they said "no negotiation." I argued that the street price was usually much lower than the bluebook even and that if they took it to auction they could only lose money. No deal.

The Toyota care person at my dealer even suggested, like others have said, that I turn mine in and then go over to the used lot to buy another one at a discount. Not really an option because range anxiety is a big deal for me so I don't think I would lock myself into 100 miles again.

So I start looking at what it's going to cost me to turn it in. $350 "dispensation fee." Any damages (I don't really think there is anything to speak of.) But I have the Chademo so I ask, what's the labor to remove the chademo going to cost me? $700! $175 at 4 hours they quoted me.

So I have a choice, pay $2000 over bluebook for a car I might be able to buy for $4000 under bluebook or pay $1000 minimum to get out of it and look for something else.

Like everyone else though, I really like the cargo space so I don't think a Volt or a Bolt would do it for me. I could always go back to full gas... And used Teslas are $40K for 200 miles range. $50K gets you 265 miles. Then there's a whole new generation of affordable electrics coming out.

I was so certain I was going to buy it out I'm down to about 6 days to make a decision now. I am considering extending the lease as well. But those numbers won't change in 6 months, the only thing that will be different is there might be a different outlook on what's available on the market.

 

[Allen]

Oh, and then there's the DMV registration coming up as well which is around $340.

I feel pretty abused by Toyota at the moment.

 

[fromport]

Oh, and then there's the DMV registration coming up as well which is around $340.

I feel pretty abused by Toyota at the moment.

Ditch it.
Toyota is not supporting the product which means you will always have to fight the dealer and Toyota USA.
Mine had less than 25k, so could have gotten the 10year 100k mile warranty on it.
But having to remove the JDEMO every time you want warranty work done, really doesn't make sense.
They wanted me to remove the analog volt/amp charge power indicator , that has no connection to the can bus whatsoever!
If Toyota doesn't want my customership/loyalty, i will temp go with something else (i think i will go for bolt, not done deal yet) and in 3 years time might get a second hand model X or whatever is available then.
If you would want to finance $19k in 36 months, you are talking about $500+/month
By that time your rav4ev is 6 years old and paid off.
If you now lease a new EV, you get (part of) the $7500 as tax break, (I am looking at a bolt premier with full options) with 15k/year looking at $360/month (no money down, including tax) for a NEW bolt for 35 months.
That is apart from the $2500 clean air act (in my neck of the woods) plus $450 from SCE (my utility company).
Total lease costs for 3 years will be 35x360=12600-2500-450=$950/36 months = $268/month

I will miss the space, will love the longer range, it's cheaper and if something fails, most (if not all) chevy dealers will be able to handle it.

Made my choice easy

 

[michael]

Oh, and then there's the DMV registration coming up as well which is around $340.

I feel pretty abused by Toyota at the moment.

Don't forget sales tax 9% or whatever in your area, about $1800

What will this car be worth in three, five years? Almost nothing is my guess.

What you would end up paying would make the lease payments on two Bolts.

Ditch it

 

[smkettner]

If I had Jademo installed and the car was not a problem child I would buy it.
Plan to keep it 2 to 5 years until the flood of EVs hits the market.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Oh, and then there's the DMV registration coming up as well which is around $340.

I feel pretty abused by Toyota at the moment.

Don't forget sales tax 9% or whatever in your area, about $1800

What will this car be worth in three, five years? Almost nothing is my guess.

What you would end up paying would make the lease payments on two Bolts.

Ditch it

I don’t think the car will be worth “almost nothing”. The first generation RAV4 EV from 15-20 years ago is not worth “nothing”, and they have batteries that fail with no shops to rebuild them.

You’re being an alarmist. The Bolt is an ok car, but it doesn’t replace a RAV4 utility or size.

Yes, there will be a host of new EVs in the coming years, but nobody has planned for a RAV4 EV type replacement vehicle. I think the Tesla Model Y might be the closest replacement on the horizon.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If I had Jademo installed and the car was not a problem child I would buy it.
Plan to keep it 2 to 5 years until the flood of EVs hits the market.

Me too. With a new motor, new onboard charger, and a future new cabin heater, I’m good for the next 100,000 miles (I hope).

The only things I plan to change:

1) New wheels / tires (I like the 18” ones on the RAV4 Sport)

2) Leather interior

3) New floor mats

4) Small body repairs

5) Upgrade to JdeMO charging speed (200 - 250 amps... nearly double the 125 amp speed)

6) Auxiliary battery pack of 15-30kWh

7) Maybe the roof rack

I already have a trailer hitch, which I use regularly.

With the above, I will be quite happy into the next decade. CHAdeMO charging stations continue to be added daily in the world, and they are only getting faster. Nothing on the immediate horizon can replace the RAV4.

Perhaps one of the best features of the RAV4 is the Toyota parts... nearly bullet proof, and can be easily maintained anywhere. I love how the non-Tesla parts just “work”. My Tesla Model S just had the driver’s door, then the passenger front door fail. Can’t open either door. They want $700 per door to fix. This is something I’d never even think about with the RAV4.

I have to also say that Toyota has ALWAYS repaired these cars... there are no RAV4s that were abandoned for lack of a Toyota repair. Their commitment to getting parts (by cannibalizing existing lease returns) when Tesla won’t respond in a timely manner (after 5 years!) is a testament that they will do what has to be done... plus they get future potential warranty repairs off the market ;-)

 

[fromport]

Yes, there will be a host of new EVs in the coming years, but nobody has planned for a RAV4 EV type replacement vehicle. I think the Tesla Model Y might be the closest replacement on the horizon.

According to the RAV4EV tech at the dealership I turned my car in Toyota is working on a new battery only RAV4.
This time without the help from Tesla.
We will see

 

[TonyWilliams]

Yes, there will be a host of new EVs in the coming years, but nobody has planned for a RAV4 EV type replacement vehicle. I think the Tesla Model Y might be the closest replacement on the horizon.

According to the RAV4EV tech at the dealership I turned my car in Toyota is working on a new battery only RAV4.
This time without the help from Tesla.
We will see

I seriously doubt that there will be another RAV4 EV, *unless* they have given up on hydrogen.

 

[michael]

Oh, and then there's the DMV registration coming up as well which is around $340.

I feel pretty abused by Toyota at the moment.

Don't forget sales tax 9% or whatever in your area, about $1800

What will this car be worth in three, five years? Almost nothing is my guess.

What you would end up paying would make the lease payments on two Bolts.

Ditch it

I don’t think the car will be worth “almost nothing”. The first generation RAV4 EV from 15-20 years ago is not worth “nothing”, and they have batteries that fail with no shops to rebuild them.

You’re being an alarmist. The Bolt is an ok car, but it doesn’t replace a RAV4 utility or size.

Yes, there will be a host of new EVs in the coming years, but nobody has planned for a RAV4 EV type replacement vehicle. I think the Tesla Model Y might be the closest replacement on the horizon.

The first gen Rav EV has value primarily as a collector's item, not as a practical car. I'd almost call it a "cult car"

 

[Allen]

I have to also say that Toyota has ALWAYS repaired these cars... there are no RAV4s that were abandoned for lack of a Toyota repair. Their commitment to getting parts (by cannibalizing existing lease returns) when Tesla won’t respond in a timely manner (after 5 years!) is a testament that they will do what has to be done... plus they get future potential warranty repairs off the market ;-)

It was actually these things that made me think Toyota didn't want us as customers. I had only browsed the forums occasionally, namely when the going into neutral issue first popped up. I was happily going along with my 100 mile range on my daily 25 mile commute. Half a dozen times I've had an issue with the range and twice I've used the Jademo.

My lease is running out this week and I fully intended to buy it out until I looked at the blue book and then the street prices. Toyota wants $2K over blue book and that might be $4K over the street price. I talked to Toyota financial and they said "no negotiation." That along with the horror stories on the forum here made me think that Toyota really doesn't want us as customers and since they are the only ones who can service many of the cars problems that's alarming.

My car has been basically trouble free and has low miles on it (27K) but if Toyota doesn't want us as customers and only wants to get rid of them I'm inclined to move on since I have an out right now. And I would never buy into a 100 mile range again by choice which eliminates me swapping it for another cheaper used one.