I tried to buy one of these this month. The dealership I went to has a policy of not selling over MSRP, which I appreciate. As a result, they are no longer even taking names for the RAV4 Prime waiting list because they estimate the wait is 2-3 years.
Yup, I went to buy one last year, I think the advertised price was $40k, but the dealership wanted to charge me a $15k "dealership fee" for the pleasure of doing business with them. I went for a Tesla Model Y instead, and I'm very happy with it.
I was hoping to buy a new car this year but frankly, there's nothing wrong with my 2012 Nissan Altima right now. I'm going to wait and hope that this craziness subsides soon.
Makes sense. That car is the perfect car for my family. Electric range is enough to do most of our daily errands, taking the kids to classes, etc. But the gas range is enough to take family road trips.<p>And in my case, it also happens to have 100% support from Openpilot, which is a requirement for me.
Unrelated to price it's great to see PHEVs getting better and better on larger cars and drawing demand.<p>I've got a first-gen Volvo XC90 T8 PHEV which only gets like 17miles (ok more like 14 if the heat or A/C is on which is basically always) on electric but it makes a huge difference in overall mpg since I use the ICE on the highway and switch to electric in-town.<p>My one concern is that there's a huge question mark about what happens when the battery degrades over time. I'm happy to replace it when that happens but will be really bummed if my only option at that point is to put the same lower-capacity battery in.
We tried to buy one in fall of 2020, and we weren't able to get one until June of 2021, although we did actual buy it for MSRP (and after state and federal incentives, I think it was ~$34k total). It replaced a 2005 Honda CRV, and it's been great so far. We pretty much only buy gas on road trips (in hybrid mode it gets ~40 MPG), the car has crazy acceleration and is very fun to drive, and the final price was great. We had also considered a Model Y, which we would have wound up paying at least $30k more for - at its MSRP, especially with incentives, the value was great.
Supply and demand, yadda yadda, sure.<p>I can accept that the observed behavior on my end is "pay up or wait".<p>What I cannot accept is that the dealerships are pocketing all the markups.
Funny, when I tried out the range of hybrid Crossover SUVs (like the RAV4) in late 2020, I found the RAV4 Prime felt like driving a boat. It had a kind of inertia I didn't feel in other cars.<p>I ended up getting a Ford Escape Hybrid (not plug-in) instead, which I really like (then again, I guess it's a different kind of product, not being a plug-in hybrid)
These are asking prices.<p>Dealers are putting high asking prices into these websites to anchor the negotiations at an unreasonable number. Gullible customers come in and feel like the dealership is doing them a favor by selling for "only" 20% over MSRP.<p>I really doubt that RAV4 SUVs are selling for 50% over MSRP in high numbers. Maybe one or two sales to people for whom money is no object who also, for some reason, won't simply buy a more luxurious vehicle for the same price. Don't let dealers fool you into thinking this is the new market rate, though.
I bought my (used) Toyota Corolla in early 2021...fortunately right before the used car prices hit an upwards inflection[0]. Every time I've checked the KBB value, it has increased.<p>One year ago today, it the trade in value is 12% more than I purchased it. Today, it is 36% more. This is wild.<p>0. <a href="https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/price-trends/</a>
Not sure about the RAV4, but I strongly doubt people are <i>actually</i> paying some of the markups on the Prius Prime that I've seen.<p>Here's a real email exchange I had about a Prius Prime LE:<p>Dealer: We have one in stock!<p>Me: What's the price on it?<p>Dealer: The MSRP is 30119 plus 20k, tags, and taxes.<p>Me: Plus 20k?<p>Dealer: Yes that is the mark up on our Prius Prime. It can be negotiable, but have to be in person.<p>**<p>That looks to me like a number pulled out of their ass as an ad-hoc out-of-state spam filter. It worked. But I see no evidence that it has shit to do with the actual price that a human being would pay to buy a new car.<p>HN is a big place-- anybody pay 15-20K over MSRP for a Prius Prime in the past 6 months? I strongly suspect dealers are having fun touting their spam filter numbers as if that's some kind of real car price...
I bought one last Fall for sticker price and as the commute to my daughters school is 50 miles rt we fill the tank once a month or so.<p>Basically a great gateway drug to fully electric, which is what I want when I can get an F150 which is not taking orders atm.
As a side note, from a European perspective, Japanese cars seem to be so far behind in terms of technology that the only reason to even consider them is their reliability.<p>For the price of Toyota RAV4 one could get either a 7-seater Škoda Kodiaq[1], or a fully electric Škoda Enyaq[2], both of which are more practical and more premium inside.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/kodiaq" rel="nofollow">https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/kodiaq</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/enyaq" rel="nofollow">https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/enyaq</a>
This is so weird. Currently only the wealthy are driving the RAV4 Prime and they love it! It is like a status symbol. The RAV4 was supposed to be an economy vehicle. $72K!!! Nothing makes sense anymore.
RAV4 Prime looks good.<p>I probably should plug its competitors: Hyundai Tucson PHEV and Ford Escape PHEV. They're cheaper and roughly the same size. They don't have the insane acceleration of the RAV4 prime, but they accomplish the goal of going from A-to-B with 40ish miles of all electric range + gasoline backup.<p>If you're willing to sacrifice the acceleration, the Hyundai Tucson PHEV should be competitive. Ford Escape PHEV is FWD only and also slower, but its the cheapest of all 3 options.
For those looking for an alternative, I highly recommend the Ford Escape PHEV. It’s about 12K cheaper with the federal incentives. You lose out on some stuff like AWD and one recall, but overall the compromises were worth the 12K difference. The car handles very well and remote app is free. With the electric range and my habits, I would need to get gas every 6 months. I get over 40 mpg if I run on gas (in the summer).
Wild. Reminds me of the lines for 2nd gen Toyota Priuses in the early 2000s, and also the early Highlander hybrids. What's so great about the RAV4? Subaru Outbacks are basically SUV sized these days, with arguably superior AWD to the RAV4. That's what I ended up with when I was buying a few years ago. It's not hybrid, but $30-50k buys a lot of gas, and we don't do many miles. If you did a bunch of miles (commuting?), I'd think you'd want something more aerodynamic.
The 2014 RAV4 EV MSRP'd at $49800 before government incentives. They had 100 mile range, Tesla powertrains, but no DC charging.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4_EV" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4_EV</a><p>Crazy to think what PHEVs goes for now.
We purchased a 2022 Toyota Sienna from our local dealer and paid MSRP for it after a 3+ month wait for it to arrive. Don't know if that's bc the sienna isn't as popular or if it's the dealers policy to not over charge...
I bought an SUV at MSRP in August 2021 and, after a year of use, can sell it today to Carvana/Carmax/Vroom for at least $5-10K more than what I paid for it, and probably even more if I negotiate a private sale. The car market right now is bonkers.
I subscribe to <a href="https://www.realcartips.com/news/" rel="nofollow">https://www.realcartips.com/news/</a> to monitor new and used prices.
No affiliation whatsoever.
As long as you people (and I mean that specifically, wealthy white collar professionals who want a crossover are THE #1 target demographic for this thing) they will keep doing it.
The PHEV in Ireland was €52k when it released in Jan 2022, I ordered it 5 months in advance seems like this model was way cheaper in US and now reaches same price as in Europe?
Tried to find one of these in my area but was told they are only being sold in certain states like California. I ended up going with an Audi Q5 PHEV at MSRP. No regrets.
Pretty much all cars in new york are like 2-6k over MSRP, and thats for non-luxury brands.<p>The best I've been able to find is 1.5k over msrp with some other restrictions.
Look, greed knows no bounds. My country's government gave car importers tax exemptions to bring electric and hybrid cars and what do you think happened after that? They were selling them almost 100% over market value.<p>What happened after that? The market didn't even bother asking anything about them and with electric bills ramping up, the opportunity of somewhat have a seizable market for electric cars was lost.<p>Whoever think we'll phase out regular cars by 2035 is either lying, being naive or getting something out of it.
In any supply & demand market, pay close attention to what's happening at the luxury segment. Across the board, the bubble is imploding in watches, exotic cars. Soon they won't have a supply chain problem but the incoming tsunami of boomers drastically reducing their consumption as they cannot rely on pensions and social security going forward.<p>I am also noticing the same pattern in luxury real estate. I see listings routinely sell below the asking price or not selling at all. There is a cash crunch coming and the rich are urgently putting up their items for sale.