bocastephen
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 6
Based on the amazing tips and feedback from this site, we are looking at a RAV4 EV from LA to be shipped to WA - but I want to post my financial analysis to make sure my numbers are right and we've assessed the risks...
Selling price is 48,200 minus 10,000 minus 7,500 - so total net cost is 32,300 with no sales tax, then minus the private sale value of our other car, maybe another 7,500 so net is about 24,800 after everything is priced in.
Purchase with 60 month loan and zero interest, no downpayment, monthly payment is: 638/month (does not include the tax credit).
7500 tax credit is 625/mo in value - so first year cost is about $12/month (638-625) after return of the tax credit next March
Sell the existing 2005 Rav4 L for about 7500 or so after 6-8 months of making sure we can function with the EV without anxiety, so second year cost is the same net $12/month after the sale
Third year, or late in the second year, we are looking at the Tesla X (the 1yr delay is why we are interested in trying out the RAV4), so we need to blindly estimate both the value and demand for the 2012 RAV4 EV - but if the net cost after tax rebate and the sale of the old car reduce our cost to 24,800, I would hope we could sell it for at least that as the loan balance would be around 15k and we'd want the value of the sold RAV4 back if possible to use as a downpayment on the X.
Trying to figure out the risk of the worst case scenario - we buy the RAV4 EV, and after a few months, discover that it's just the wrong type of car for us - the range is not enough and we're either constantly anxious or constantly driving the old car - so we would need to sell the car used after a few months of ownership - could we get 28-30K for it up in WA where it's not sold by dealers and get most of our money back? That is the big question.
The other issue is the startup costs, which is where we're hitting an analysis snag:
$800 to ship the car
$200 to install the 240V/40A plug in the garage
$750 (net after tax credit) for the Aerovironment portable charging station so we can take it up to our relatives in Bellevue and charge while visiting (or in a pinch, a RV park)
The $1,750 total is almost our fuel bill for the existing RAV4 for almost 2 years - thus, are we better off just waiting for the X if that's what we really want?
Selling price is 48,200 minus 10,000 minus 7,500 - so total net cost is 32,300 with no sales tax, then minus the private sale value of our other car, maybe another 7,500 so net is about 24,800 after everything is priced in.
Purchase with 60 month loan and zero interest, no downpayment, monthly payment is: 638/month (does not include the tax credit).
7500 tax credit is 625/mo in value - so first year cost is about $12/month (638-625) after return of the tax credit next March
Sell the existing 2005 Rav4 L for about 7500 or so after 6-8 months of making sure we can function with the EV without anxiety, so second year cost is the same net $12/month after the sale
Third year, or late in the second year, we are looking at the Tesla X (the 1yr delay is why we are interested in trying out the RAV4), so we need to blindly estimate both the value and demand for the 2012 RAV4 EV - but if the net cost after tax rebate and the sale of the old car reduce our cost to 24,800, I would hope we could sell it for at least that as the loan balance would be around 15k and we'd want the value of the sold RAV4 back if possible to use as a downpayment on the X.
Trying to figure out the risk of the worst case scenario - we buy the RAV4 EV, and after a few months, discover that it's just the wrong type of car for us - the range is not enough and we're either constantly anxious or constantly driving the old car - so we would need to sell the car used after a few months of ownership - could we get 28-30K for it up in WA where it's not sold by dealers and get most of our money back? That is the big question.
The other issue is the startup costs, which is where we're hitting an analysis snag:
$800 to ship the car
$200 to install the 240V/40A plug in the garage
$750 (net after tax credit) for the Aerovironment portable charging station so we can take it up to our relatives in Bellevue and charge while visiting (or in a pinch, a RV park)
The $1,750 total is almost our fuel bill for the existing RAV4 for almost 2 years - thus, are we better off just waiting for the X if that's what we really want?