Newbie considering a used RAV4 EV in Canada

[oilerlord]

Hello everyone,

Have been lurking here for a while, but just signed up. We just finished installing a 9kW solar project, and I've been considering picking up a used EV. I like the fact that the RAV4 has greater range than others, and several seem to be available at reasonable prices.

Buying an EV is more of a want than a need. I'm driving a VW TDI Sportwagen that I'm able to squeeze a combined 40MPG (and at times, over 700 miles on a tank). The car is fantastic, and it's had absolutely no issues for the three years I've owned it (I'm the second owner). I put a lot of miles on my cars, and value reliability more than fuel economy. My wife drives a 2004 BMW 330, and along with it only getting about 17MPG, service bills are starting to add up. I'm thinking a used EV may make sense for her.

The question I have for owners is: Is it worth dumping the BMW for a RAV EV? From what I've read, it seems commonplace for RAV EV owners to have motors, batteries, and other components replaced after relatively few miles driven. Though I put a lot of miles on my TDI, but my wife only drives her car only about 5,000 miles per year. I'm thinking about buying an EV for her, but I don't want her being stranded from failures, or the vehicle becoming a money pit with no resale value. Please share your thoughts.

 

[TonyWilliams]

My wife drives a 2004 BMW 330, and along with it only getting about 17MPG, service bills are starting to add up. I'm thinking a used EV may make sense for her.

The question I have for owners is: Is it worth dumping the BMW for a RAV EV? From what I've read, it seems commonplace for RAV EV owners to have motors, batteries, and other components replaced after relatively few miles driven. Though I put a lot of miles on my TDI, but my wife only drives her car only about 5,000 miles per year. I'm thinking about buying an EV for her, but I don't want her being stranded from failures, or the vehicle becoming a money pit with no resale value. Please share your thoughts.

I had a BMW 330 convertible; I think 2001 or 2002. I don't remember now. What a maintenance PIG !!! If cost of ownership is important, the Rav4 EV is under warranty for up to 125,000 miles. Don't buy a used one without the warranty (Toyota Platinum), or make sure the car is LESS than 3 years / 36,000 miles since delivery when new and then buy your own Toyota Platinum warranty (about $1200 for 125,000 miles).

Virtually all the issues that the car experiences are warranty, so it's most definitely not a "money pit". The car holds its value extremely well, and is quite frankly the best urban utility car I've ever had. I say that as somebody who has replaced EVERY Tesla component in the car except the battery. Not one penny has come out of my pocket to date.

My car is for sale. It is equipped with JdeMO for DC quick charging, and is white (only three colors offered, blue, white and silver... no other differences in the cars). 54,000 miles. I have too many cars at the moment.

 

[JDP]

+1

Rav4ev is best choice I ever made. No problems so far at 12mo and 11k mi. Love the car. Range is unbeatable for the price. There literally is no comparison. The only downside I see with EV ownership so far is you'll have a hard time selling it because EVs are not in high demand so be ready to drive the wheels off. Don't know that you'll get your $'s worth at just 5k miles per year though. IMHO Rav4ev realizes it's value with higher mileage per year depending on how much you value the environmental benefits.

 

[Larry_in_Seattle]

I'm a WA owner who bought my used RAV4EV 15-16 months ago from CA. Since that time I've put on more than 20,000 miles with no problems that kept it from being used. It has been completely dependable for me, and quickly became our go-to car for almost everything. The Jetta TDI is being used by my wife and daughter when she's in town and now that I have the JdeMO quick charge option installed (from Tony's company QuickChargePower) I'm using the car for longer trips (Canada, Oregon) now too.

My daily commute for the last year or so has been 50 miles RT, and that costs about $1.25 per day at retail electricity rates here ($0.09 / kWh). I, too have a PV system on the roof. (also solar domestic hot water system and also solar pool heating system). Around here, the AV Charging network (part of the West Coast Electric Highway) costs ~ $20/month for unlimited usage and their L3 chargers are located from Bellingham, WA to Ashland,OR, and around the North Cascade Loop Highway as well. For me, it's a slam dunk.

DEFINITELY agree to make sure you either get one with the Platinum Extended warranty already in place, or a car that is less than 3 years old and less than 36k miles so you can add that yourself. Another thread in this forum shows competitive pricing for that.

Is the car perfect? No, I've had some warning lights come on and being out of state (CA) has some definite minuses when it comes to finding a trained technician with the appropriate equipment to deal with the electronic/Tesla components of the vehicle. I LOVE the size, the performance, and range of this car! I added a trailer hitch & bike-rack, mud flaps, WeatherTech floor liners (hey, it's rainy Seattle here!), and a 3rd party product to override the NAV lockout while driving.

It's a great car for me, and seems like it could be great for you guys too. Hope my comments help you in your decision.

 

[davewill]

I have to concur that this car is a keeper. I fully intend to get the Platinum warranty and drive the snot out of this vehicle. It's comfortable, has good range, and has all the cargo space anyone could ask for. The only thing missing is DC charging and Tony Williams has fixed that for us.

I want to get his CHAdeMO upgrade, but funds are really tight. Do you think he'd let me put one on layaway? :lol:

 

[oilerlord]

I forgot to mention that I live in Western Canada - far away from any California dealer that is equipped to provide service (or warranty) for the EV. Reading other posts, it does seem likely that the majority of RAV EV's will require warranty service. I know she would love the EV experience but being 2000 miles away from the closest warranty service is going to be the deal breaker for me. Might have to look at a used Tesla, or perhaps cheap out on a used 2013 Leaf SL.

 

[DevinL]

I forgot to mention that I live in Western Canada - far away from any California dealer that is equipped to provide service (or warranty) for the EV. Reading other posts, it does seem likely that the majority of RAV EV's will require warranty service. I know she would love the EV experience but being 2000 miles away from the closest warranty service is going to be the deal breaker for me. Might have to look at a used Tesla, or perhaps cheap out on a used 2013 Leaf SL.

I recently moved to Vancouver and am at this point somewhat debating bringing my RAV4 EV up from California. Originally I intended to do just that but have been rethinking it due to the issue of warranty service - and here in Vancouver I'm very close to Washington if something did go awry.

I have some time to think about it as I'm waiting on Tony to "bless" the recall's compatibility with JdeMO. The recall is necessary for the car to be imported to Canada as Transport Canada/RIV requires a recall clearance letter from Toyota - and the car is of limited utility to me (personally) without JdeMO.

I wouldn't be contemplating selling the RAV4 if it weren't for the fact that Nissan's new 30kWh LEAF (with better heater than RAV4 EV) would fit our needs well, would be available and could be serviced easily in Canada. We considered a pre-owned Tesla but the cost is still quite high and the vehicle is physically too large for our uses.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I have to concur that this car is a keeper. I fully intend to get the Platinum warranty and drive the snot out of this vehicle. It's comfortable, has good range, and has all the cargo space anyone could ask for. The only thing missing is DC charging and Tony Williams has fixed that for us.

I want to get his CHAdeMO upgrade, but funds are really tight. Do you think he'd let me put one on layaway? :lol:

Everybody is on lay away (well, except for the dozen or so that are operational).

 

[cwerdna]

I forgot to mention that I live in Western Canada - far away from any California dealer that is equipped to provide service (or warranty) for the EV. Reading other posts, it does seem likely that the majority of RAV EV's will require warranty service. I know she would love the EV experience but being 2000 miles away from the closest warranty service is going to be the deal breaker for me. Might have to look at a used Tesla, or perhaps cheap out on a used 2013 Leaf SL.

I don't recommend it. Some people have had enough trouble getting repairs outside California and you want to try a neighboring country? (Yeah, yeah, I know the Rav4 EV was assembled in Canada, but still.)

If you're going to import it, see https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-importation-usa-index-445.htm and related links at the bottom. You might have to get a bunch of work done to it to register it. And, you might have warranty claim hassles.

Ages ago, when I lived in WA state, I was interested in possibly buying a new Nissan Maxima from Canada and importing it into the US because of the low prices after exchange rate. From talking to Nissan dealers, it seemed like it'd be a pain in the butt if I needed warranty work. I'd have to pay for it out of pocket and file a claim each time. But this is the opposite in terms of country and another automaker.

 

[DevinL]

If you're going to import it, see https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-importation-usa-index-445.htm and related links at the bottom. You might have to get a bunch of work done to it to register it. And, you might have warranty claim hassles.

Work required to the car? No, nothing beyond what it would normally take to bring a car from the states, which people do all the time. The RAV4 EV already has DRLs and meets all the other Transport Canada requirements and was built in Canada so is duty exempt. I declared my RAV4 EV with CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) as "Goods to Follow" on my B4 form when I returned here last month and the officer said I would only need to pay a fee of around $200 (RIV/CBSA fees). The car is settler's effects for me, however, so a Canadian resident purchasing the car may have to pay other taxes or fees (consult your province's licensing authority here).

Warranty hassles? Yes, I do imagine so. My plan, should I ever need warranty work done, would be to get the car to Washington state. I wouldn't attempt to have warranty service performed in Canada.

 

[oilerlord]

If you're going to import it, see https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesafety/safevehicles-importation-usa-index-445.htm and related links at the bottom. You might have to get a bunch of work done to it to register it. And, you might have warranty claim hassles.

Work required to the car? No, nothing beyond what it would normally take to bring a car from the states, which people do all the time. The RAV4 EV already has DRLs and meets all the other Transport Canada requirements and was built in Canada so is duty exempt. I declared my RAV4 EV with CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) as "Goods to Follow" on my B4 form when I returned here last month and the officer said I would only need to pay a fee of around $200 (RIV/CBSA fees). The car is settler's effects for me, however, so a Canadian resident purchasing the car may have to pay other taxes or fees (consult your province's licensing authority here).

Warranty hassles? Yes, I do imagine so. My plan, should I ever need warranty work done, would be to get the car to Washington state. I wouldn't attempt to have warranty service performed in Canada.

FYI, I've imported several vehicles from the US, including my VW. Though the process is straightforward, in all cases, I've had to supply a letter showing that no current recalls exist. If recalls exist, then the vehicle is not admissible. RIV is sloppy at times, and it's likely that they missed it in your application, or were too lazy to care. From the RIV website:

In order to alert manufacturers to future recall clearance document requests, RIV sends them a list of VINs for vehicles that have been imported into Canada. This information also assists the manufacturer to locate the current owner of the vehicle should there be a future recall.

Acceptable forms of recall clearance documentation
RIV will accept any of the following recall clearance information:

A letter from the vehicle manufacturer’s U.S. or Canadian head office.
The letter must be written on company letterhead clearly stating that there are no outstanding recalls for the vehicle. If the manufacturer's logo does not appear on the letter, it will be rejected. The letter must be dated and signed by an authorized employee of the manufacturer and include their name and title, the vehicle identification number (VIN), year, make and model. RIV routinely forwards a copy of these letters to the manufacturer for authentication.

A printout from an American or Canadian dealership’s vehicle service database.
This document must be produced by an authorized dealer and not a reseller. You can confirm whether or not a dealership is authorized by visiting the manufacturer’s web site or by calling their head office and providing them with the dealership’s location. The printout must also contain the 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN), year, make and model, and indicate that there are no outstanding recalls. RIV routinely forwards a copy of these printouts to the manufacturer for authentication.

Original Equipment Manufacturer’s (OEM) web site.
Some manufacturers post their recall information on their public web sites specific to the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). This recall information will be accepted subject to verification by RIV.
As a courtesy, the RIV will be conducting an on-line check for manufacturers that provide recall clearance on their official website, specifically using the unique vehicle identification number. Should the vehicle have any outstanding recalls, we will require an invoice or work order confirming the recall(s) was completed.
Please note should any of the above documentation indicate that there is an outstanding safety recall, the RIV may accept an invoice/work order from an authorized dealer confirming that the safety recall was completed. The invoice(s) must be dated, contain the vehicle identification number (VIN) and should be accompanied by one of the above acceptable document types.

 

[DevinL]

FYI, I've imported several vehicles from the US, including my VW. Though the process is straightforward, in all cases, I've had to supply a letter showing that no current recalls exist. If recalls exist, then the vehicle is not admissible. RIV is sloppy at times, and it's likely that they missed it in your application, or were too lazy to care.

My RAV4 EV is still in Los Angeles because of the pending recall, hence why it was on the "Goods to Follow" form. If Tony "blesses" the recall's compatibility with JdeMO then I'll have the work performed, get the letter, and import at that time.

I've been using a different type of EV in the meantime:

 

[TonyWilliams]

JdeMO checks ok with firmware 1.3.103 (the recall firmware).