Would you buy out yours at lease end?

[macfly]

I'm generally very happy with my Rav, and am wondering if my trouble free 30 months reflects others experience and if you think it would be a good idea to buy it out or not? Mine has 17,500 miles on it so far, so will likely still be under 20k at turn in time.

There are a lot of used Teslas coming to the market, and they do seem to be attractively priced, but they're still a huge amount more than just buying out the Rav would be.

So, would you keep yours? Have you had a lot of issues that put you off it, or is it something that you love sand would invest in longer term?

 

[TonyWilliams]

I would like to think that anybody that has had "too many issues" and were dissatisfied with the car would have already unloaded it through lemon law, or outright sale.

There are multiple threads on buying out the lease, problems with the car, etc. There is no right answer. If you can afford a Tesla, and it meets you're traveling needs, then go get it. I put over 30,000 miles on my Tesla Model S in the first year I had it. I just drove the Model X, and I suspect that will be what will replace my S at lease end.

But, neither of those cars replace the utility of RAV4 EV. When I hit a deer in upstate New York causing $34,000 with the damage to the Tesla, it took several months to get the car fixed. The same repairs for the Toyota would've taken weeks.

I much prefer to pick up kids from sporting events with the RAV4 (parents will know why). It pulls a find a small trailer just fine, and has "adequate" range for typical driving.

Actually, my two big complaints with the car are range and quick charge abilities compared to Tesla. We fixed the quick charger issue with JdeMO, plus we will fix range at some point down the road.

I personally will never own another electric vehicle that does not have quick charge capability and well over 100 miles of range.

 

[smkettner]

With no issues I would buy in a heartbeat. Mine has intermittent starting, stopping and charging issues.

If it would just die and get fixed I would be happier. Shall see with seven months to go.

 

[eplantz]

My lease was up on July 17. I just purchased.

Serial 1775. No problems at all in 3 years. I was able to get the Platinum extended warranty for a good price ($715 for 7/75K). Since I only had 21,000 miles, this seems to suit me.

There were few options here in Chicago. I wanted a BOLT but the timing did not work. I could have gotten a VOLT and probably would have been happy but the seating position is hard on my old body (I had 2011 Volt for 3 years).

I like the RAV4 so I think this will work well for me.

 

[cpboy99]

My lease ends Aug 1. I turned it in last week. It did an awesome job for 3 years but having the mileage limitation was keeping it from being our long term family weekend car. With the unlimited mileage lease I turned my vehicle back in with just under 57k miles. I'm actually amazed I was able to get that many miles on it. Picked up a CPO Model S which had another 4 yr warranty. Even though I didnt have any major problems in the 3 years, I can't say I had good service experiences and not knowing the future of Rav4 EV support was the deal breaker for me.

 

[fromport]

My lease ends Aug 1. I turned it in last week. It did an awesome job for 3 years but having the mileage limitation was keeping it from being our long term family weekend car. With the unlimited mileage lease I turned my vehicle back in with just under 57k miles. I'm actually amazed I was able to get that many miles on it. Picked up a CPO Model S which had another 4 yr warranty. Even though I didnt have any major problems in the 3 years, I can't say I had good service experiences and not knowing the future of Rav4 EV support was the deal breaker for me.

Bang for the buck you can't get anything better, even today (probably until the bolt is out there)
Since it is such a versatile car, I intend to keep one my 2 rav4ev's (with the extended warranty in place).
After a few years I might want to trade it in for a second hand model X. But it will be a few years ;-)
In the mean time I really enjoy riding my EV, and with the Jdemo, even though as efficient as a gasoline/tesla, I can get where I want to (including a trip to washington state in 2015)
Good luck with your Tesla!

 

[geo]

My lease ends next summer. I love the RAV4, but chances are good that I will turn it in. I'm going to decide after I test drive the Bolt.

I also have a deposit on the Model 3, but my gut is telling me that it will not be the car for me. My lifestyle really demands a hatchback, and the trunk in the Model 3 probably won't cut it. Timing will also be off, I doubt Tesla will be shipping before 2018.

 

[ehelmholtz]

My lease ended the first week of this month and I bought the car. I have 40K miles on it as well as the extended warranty. My lease was not an unlimited miles lease. My car has had its share of rather significant problems including 1. replacement of the traction battery at ~4K miles and 2. ECU replacement. Most recently, it's developed a motor noise at low to moderate speeds. I brought it into Mossy Toyota in San Diego several times but they said it was normal. After I bought out the lease, I went to Toyota Carlsbad for recall work and had the noise evaluated again yesterday. They called me today to say that a new motor has been requested and should be here in a few weeks' time.

 

[tcboyd]

I am really on the fence on this issue. My lease expires on Sept. 19, and the car only has 10,657 very gentle miles on it. I've never had a single problem with the car...knock on wood.

My only serious complaint (which can't be remedied for now) is the limited range. I know I can get JdeMO Fast Charge installed for about $3300, which helps a bit with the range issue, although I still don't think I can drive to Portland, OR (I'll bet Tony can prove me wrong). If I read one of the posts above correctly, I can get a 7/75k Platinum Extended Warranty for $750. And some of the "cheapness" of the interior can be taken care of for another $2000 or so (obviously that's optional).

Not too sure which way to go. There are certainly not a lot of good options.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I drove from San Diego, through Portland, to eastern Washington at the end of May 2016... pulling a trailer... with 1500 pounds of stuff.

Myself and others have done the West Coast Electric Highway many times with JdeMO.

 

[tcboyd]

I was basing my comments on nrg, PlugShare, and ChargPoint maps. I'm assuming that you use Highway 99, and spend a night in Redding charging on Level 2. The drive from Redding to Ashland looks sketchy to me (136 miles). Highway 99 is a couple of hours out of my way. It would be much easier to get from Vaccaville to Highway 5, but then there's nothing I can see until Redding, 163 miles away.

Didn't "someone" once post on here about an extended range battery pack?

 

[burningmay]

Actually, my two big complaints with the car are range and quick charge abilities compared to Tesla. We fixed the quick charger issue with JdeMO, plus we will fix range at some point down the road.

I personally will never own another electric vehicle that does not have quick charge capability and well over 100 miles of range.

Hi Tony

What exactly do you have in mind for the 'range' issue. I do agree with you that the RAV EV is a more practical automobile and I would rather hold on to mine next May if a 'range' solution is in sight.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Actually, my two big complaints with the car are range and quick charge abilities compared to Tesla. We fixed the quick charger issue with JdeMO, plus we will fix range at some point down the road.

I personally will never own another electric vehicle that does not have quick charge capability and well over 100 miles of range.

Hi Tony

What exactly do you have in mind for the 'range' issue. I do agree with you that the RAV EV is a more practical automobile and I would rather hold on to mine next May if a 'range' solution is in sight.

Two separate battery packs, each about 15kWh.

One fits in the third row seat area (not visable) and the second sits directly on top. It will add about 100 miles of range; 50 miles with each battery.

 

[burningmay]

Actually, my two big complaints with the car are range and quick charge abilities compared to Tesla. We fixed the quick charger issue with JdeMO, plus we will fix range at some point down the road.

I personally will never own another electric vehicle that does not have quick charge capability and well over 100 miles of range.

Hi Tony

What exactly do you have in mind for the 'range' issue. I do agree with you that the RAV EV is a more practical automobile and I would rather hold on to mine next May if a 'range' solution is in sight.

Two separate battery packs, each about 15kWh.

One fits in the third row seat area (not visable) and the second sits directly on top. It will add about 100 miles of range; 50 miles with each battery.

Do tell more about these batteries. Where does one source them ? Or, are they your product? Installation? Cost?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Do tell more about these batteries. Where does one source them ? Or, are they your product? Installation? Cost?

There's a thread on this somewhere.

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=21959#p21959

It's our project, but right now, we are finishing up our work on JdeMO for the Tesla Roadster, and starting 10 Sept 2016, we will start a Kickstarter campaign for JDapter, Tesla charging for ALL EVs.

http://JDapter.QuickChargePower.com

So, there won't be anything done with this for quite some time.