50k range + advice?

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BrinkHouse

Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2017
Messages
19
Location
Burbank, CA
Hey guys! I have to say, this forum is full of so much knowledge, I've had a great time skimming threads old and new in the past week! Wanted to start by thanking everyone who has shared their experiences good and bad. It really does help those of us still peering in from the outside.

Long story short, I purchased my first EV in 2015, it was a '13 Nissan Leaf. Drove it daily and fell in love with the non-ICE lifestyle, there's no way I could go back! Unfortunately however the Leaf also showed me how amazing it would be to just have a LITTLE bit more range. I remember drooling over the RAV4 EV years ago when I would occasionally see one around town, and now the universe has brought me back around! So I'm currently looking at one for sale at a local Toyota dealership, it's a 2014 w/ about 50k miles and they are asking $14,900. I'd try to get them to include a used car warranty in that price. Another one is available from a private seller, 2012 w/ 50k miles w/ Jdemo installed for the same price. This would be the one I'd pick up, except for the fact that I wouldn't have any warranty. :\ I've seen a few pop up in the $16k range with half the mileage, but they seem to disappear just as quickly, and rightfully so.

My big question for those of you with some mileage under your belts, I'm just wondering what the avg max range seems to be at 50k miles? I've read Tonys chart projecting 10% degredation at that mileage so I guess I'm just wondering if that reflects in all your experiences? My basic math of 142mi - 10% leaves us with about 127mi range at 50k, does that seem accurate?

Thanks all!
 
Also as a sanity check/confirmation... I DEFINITELY shouldn't buy one of these from Carmax, right? Because they actually have a pretty great deal on one for $17k w/ 29k miles... That damn warranty. :?
 
BrinkHouse said:
Also as a sanity check/confirmation... I DEFINITELY shouldn't buy one of these from Carmax, right? Because they actually have a pretty great deal on one for $17k w/ 29k miles... That damn warranty. :?

Why not buy from CarMax?

Certainly, don't buy the CarMax warranty. ONLY considered the Toyota new or used Platinum warranty for the RAV4 EV.
 
TonyWilliams said:
BrinkHouse said:
Also as a sanity check/confirmation... I DEFINITELY shouldn't buy one of these from Carmax, right? Because they actually have a pretty great deal on one for $17k w/ 29k miles... That damn warranty. :?

Why not buy from CarMax?

Certainly, don't buy the CarMax warranty. ONLY considered the Toyota new or used Platinum warranty for the RAV4 EV.

I was under the impression from people here that the Toyota warranty was only able to be purchased at the same time as a purchase of a vehicle FROM a Toyota dealer. Is that not the case?
 
Hmm, so seems it is possible to get a warranty from Toyota without buying a car at the same time? Guess I'll have to call around my local dealers tomorrow and see if anyone seems willing to consider it.
 
BrinkHouse said:
I've also emailed Thorn for clarification on this, hopefully I'll hear back.
That's really not his area. The extended warranty products are sold and backed by Toyota Financial, not Toyota Motor Sales who administer the factory warranties and all of the national customer service operations.
 
Found another at Carmax for 15k w/ 35k miles... Still has powertrain warranty till June of next year... Going to see it today, can't help myself.
 
BrinkHouse said:
Found another at Carmax for 15k w/ 35k miles... Still has powertrain warranty till June of next year... Going to see it today, can't help myself.

I can't remember if I've posted this anywhere else or not. But here's what I've learned ...

Toyota Motor Finance has posted on their website all of their restrictions about extended Service Agreements. However, TMF leaves the sale and maintenance of these Service Agreements up to the discretion the individual service department managers. When I asked a TMF representative on the phone to verify that, she was evasive. She just told me to talk to my local service manager.

My local service manager was happy to sell me an extended service agreement. A few weeks later TMF sent me a letter saying that I wasn't eligible. So, I went back to the service manager that sold me the Service Agreement. The service manager looked it up in his computer system and said that my contract was still active and he was happy to continue honoring it.

My conclusion, it's all about what your service manager is willing to do for you.
 
BrinkHouse said:
Found another at Carmax for 15k w/ 35k miles... Still has powertrain warranty till June of next year... Going to see it today, can't help myself.

Did you end up going to take a look at that RAV4? I'm wondering because it might be the one I just bought transferred out here to PA. Was seeing if they still let you look at it and what you thought?
 
Yeah, thanks for the info!

I'm very tempted by the Carmax deal and even spoke with the warranty manager, he was very insistent that EV or otherwise, the 'Maxcare' warranty covers everything on the car minus your usuals like wiper blades, wheels, 12v battery, etc. most other aspects of the vehicle, powertrain, climate control (like the notorious heater issue), electronics, electrical systems, etc. I mentioned the DC/DC converter as an example as well as the ECU gateway, charger issues, etc. All covered according to him. And honestly @ $1400 for 5yr/100k w/ $50 deductible, it seems like a no brainer compared to Toyota's $2000-$4000 offering, assuming you can even get one. If Doug Demuro's Range Rover stories, seen here-

http://dougdemuro.kinja.com/one-year-with-a-carmax-warranty-and-an-unreliable-used-1485113319

are any indication, it seems like Carmax is willing to pay out when it comes to their warrantied vehicles.

Now I know he can say whatever he likes, but at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is what's in writing, and the Maxcare warranty actually seems pretty good there-

https://forms.thewarrantygroup.com/FormsService/static/MAX400310

For me the biggest thing that stands out in 'Does Not Cover' is the line "Breakdown of a covered part resulting from the failure of a non-covered part". Trying to think what cases that could be, at least things in the top 10 list, can anyone think of any? Ultimately the fact that I'd still have 12months/30k on the factory powertrain warranty + 3yrs/70k on the battery warranty when I bought the car brings me quite a lot of peace of mind for the immediate future, regardless of what Maxcare did or didn't cover.

Thoughts?
 
VECTOR4ILS said:
Did you end up going to take a look at that RAV4? I'm wondering because it might be the one I just bought transferred out here to PA. Was seeing if they still let you look at it and what you thought?

What was the vin? I just called my sales consultant and he assured me the vehicle is still on hold for me.
 
BrinkHouse said:
VECTOR4ILS said:
Did you end up going to take a look at that RAV4? I'm wondering because it might be the one I just bought transferred out here to PA. Was seeing if they still let you look at it and what you thought?

What was the vin? I just called my sales consultant and he assured me the vehicle is still on hold for me.

1844. Mine was at Kearny Mesa. You probably snagged the other one I was looking to buy at Costsa Mesa.
 
VECTOR4ILS said:
1844. Mine was at Kearny Mesa. You probably snagged the other one I was looking to buy at Costsa Mesa.

This one was actually at Ontario Carmax! Pretty sure I remember seeing the one you got on the website, congrats! :D
 
BrinkHouse said:
... it seems like Carmax is willing to pay out when it comes to their warrantied vehicles.
Please read this thread - Carmax Warranty Issues
The guy had to return the car inside the 30 day return window because they wouldn't fix it. However, this was in Nevada, not California where they are easier to repair.
 
I think that's a dicey situation. The owner had taken a vehicle sold only in California out of state, to an area where there was no local Toyota dealership with an EV technician, and then when Carmax told him they could do the work, but that the closest dealership was in CA (where the car was intended to be used) and that he'd have to handle getting it there, he blamed the warranty and Carmax. Well, I'm pretty sure it's not written anywhere that they are obligated to transport the car across state lines for service, I feel like that's more on Toyota not having someone local than it is Carmax... I dont know, sucks either way really. Just my .02. :roll:
 
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.
 
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