RAV4 EV in NW Arkansas

Toyota Rav4 EV Forum

Help Support Toyota Rav4 EV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Birddog

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
7
Location
Rogers Arkansas
Well count me into the out of state owners club. I have been watching the RAV 4 EV for years, reading the forum and wondering about warranty support. I went to my local dealer numerous times and tried to talk to them about the car, but I was just another “nobody” wanting an electric car. I got a chance to test drive a Tesla at the Dallas Showroom and look at the car up-close. It got my juices running again. So just for the heck of it I did an Auto trader search for the Rav and found a Columbia Mo. Dealer with one for $24,000. They had bought it at a Toyota auction. According to them the car was a factory take back due to the 2nd owner’s complaints. They put the car through all their procedures in Texas and then Toyota sold it to a non-California dealer and put a 12 month or 60,000 odometer mile warranty on it. I met the delivery driver in Springfield Mo. and drove it home. Figuring the trip right at a hundred miles, I thought I would be safe if they gave it the full charge as they promised. However, it rolled off the trailer showing only a 75 mile range and had not been given the extended range charge. I still thought it would be doable because the range was based on the previous owners driving habits. So I headed home riding the rear end of my daughter’s car as close as I could, using all the mileage saving techniques I knew. At the halfway point I had gained 17 miles of range so I was feeling pretty confident. I even got some real time coaching from Dennis, one of the site moderators as I drove. I arrived home in Rogers Arkansas with 13 miles to spare and an efficiency rating of 4.3. No charger was in the car, so a local search found a Kum and Go convenience store with free charging 14 miles away. A tense drive got me there with 3 miles to spare and an overnight charge put me back on the road. (A charger is on order.) My initial thoughts are very good toward the ownership so far. I also purchased a 5 yr, 100,000 mile warranty, and they know it is an electric vehicle. So it may take a while but I should be able to get repairs. I have a lot to learn about the car. Stay tuned.
 
Good luck with that particular Rav4EV...a lot of people had their eyes on that one but did not want to take the risk on that buyback.
 
As long as it's under 36,000 miles and you get a Platinum VSA, I would not worry about the buyback. The ones that are over 36k and don't have a VSA already - steer clear of those.
 
miimura said:
As long as it's under 36,000 miles and you get a Platinum VSA, I would not worry about the buyback. The ones that are over 36k and don't have a VSA already - steer clear of those.
This is the car that has been passed over several times because it is not eligible for the Toyota Platinium warranty.

Let's hope that the warranty that was purchased is more than placebo.
 
Yes, as I normally do, I have of course flown into the face of informed judgement and acted against both recommendations.
The car has 44,000 miles on it and the warranty is after market. So we will see how all turns out. However, in the couple hundred miles we have driven, the car has performed flawlessly, and is a pleasure to drive. I tried sport mode leaving the church parking lot Sunday, I fear the squealing tires may have mistakenly made some think I didn't like the pastor's message. It really has some pep.

So if we review this car deal, what experience over the next, say 5-10 years would make you look back and say, "that was a heck of a purchase, I really got my money's worth"? In other words how much maintenance costs, battery disintegration, and miles/years of service is within your tolerance to make you feel that you had a good to very good experience? Just courious.
 
I will be buying the Toyota Platinum VSA for less than $1,500 to get to 8 years and 100,000 miles with no other major expense. If you get to the same age and mileage for the same amount or less out of pocket unscheduled service, you should consider yourself lucky.
 
Welcome to the group! I have had mine for a little over a week and loving it! It is a little scary having one out of California for warranty issues but seems like Toyota will take care of me here in Utah. Enjoy the car!
 
Yes, welcome.

Looking at the bright side, you've got at least 1 year, 16k miles of manufacturer warranty, then an extended warranty. Also, many of the issues may have been already sorted out.

My own experience with 3rd party warranties is that they will pay whatever a licensed repair shop charges, minus the deductible. This was for a Nissan pickup purchased new from a Nissan dealer. I had a lot of drivetrain problems with that vehicle, and the warranty was not an issue. If you have any questions, give them a call and ask what is covered.
 
Birddog said:
Yes, as I normally do, I have of course flown into the face of informed judgement and acted against both recommendations.

If you purchased with an informed decision, great. All transactions have some risk; if we accept them, then just hope for the best.

My 2012 is still for sale with a full 125,000 mile Toyota Platinum warranty.
 
Well with service on the Rav the challange with be who will work on it. Our local Toyota dealer had people looking at the car today who were surprised it was really their vehicle. But regardless they don't have a cable to interface with it and nobody here will probably want to work on it. So will the regional service manager get involved and fly in a tech? I'll be surprised and if there is a problem during the aftermarket warranty then I'll be really surprised if they stand the expense of bringing in a trained tech. We will have to wait and see. Hope I just wasted my money and never have a serious problem.
 
Birddog, once again, CONGRATS! You got one for less than HALF the original MSRP, so that in itself should make the rest of us somewhat envious of the deal you got! Here in CA, I paid very close to sticker back in November 2012. However, up through the following year, CA dealers were heavily discounting new RAV4 EVs piling up on their lots. Needless to say, I missed Toyota's "fire sale" discounting window BIG TIME! Sadly, I did not even get 0% APR financing from TFS at the time, which was being offered on standard RAV4s, just not EV. The only thing that makes up for a bad case of buyers remorse, is that (overall) the car has been a great "family car" purchase, and certainly the largest cargo area equipped CUV of any other EV on the market, and still is! Plus, it certainly was A LOT CHEAPER than buying an actual TESLA to get a truly "peppy" EV drivetrain! :mrgreen:
 
Back
Top