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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. 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. [1] https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/kodiaq [2] https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda…
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.
Whoever think we'll phase out regular cars by 2035 is either lying, being naive or getting something out of it.
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. 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. [1] https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda/kodiaq [2] https://www.carwow.co.uk/skoda…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What I cannot accept is that the dealerships are pocketing all the markups Why?
In many states car dealers are either the single largest or one of the largest groups that donates to state and local politicians. They use those markups to make massive donations to politicians ensuring there are middle men laws on the books guaranteeing they can continue to charge more markups in the future. Many people would rather their money go to the people actually designing and building the product their buyi…
For example if you purchase a car at a local dealer all the sales tax goes to the local taxing body (city / sometimes county). This generates a huge amount of money for public services.
Additionally the employees of the dealerships typically live in the same region further spreading the wealth.
Yes buying direct from dealer would be cheaper but eliminating dealerships nationwide would have a devastating effect on local municipalities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4_EV
Crazy to think what PHEVs goes for now.
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?
1) Prices in the US don’t include tax.
2) Ireland is also an expensive place to purchase a car because of VRT. RAV4 PHEV is €47k in Germany for example.
3) Lastly, could be some spec differences between the cars that account for a difference, as in my experience, cars in Ireland aren’t always the same specs/trim as other areas (but I could be wrong about Toyota, I don’t know).
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. W…
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.
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.