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Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

driverbase.com

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Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#31

Post by tmh88j »

chrisseaton wrote: post #4
googlryas wrote: post #3

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.

> but the dealership wanted to charge me a $15k "dealership fee" Do your scare quotes mean you think it's unreasonable? It's supply and demand, isn't it?

>Do your scare quotes mean you think it's unreasonable? It's supply and demand, isn't it?

No, it's not reasonable when you're forced to go through a middleman who adds little to no value to the transaction and wants to take a massive cut. Ford is legitimately worried about dealership greed jeopardizing the success of the F-150 Lightning[1] and EV's in general, so they're moving towards direct to customer online sales for their EV's[2]. They've arguably been burned by greedy dealerships in the past with the Focus RS[3].

[1] https://www.thestreet.com/lifestyle/cars/ford-warns-dealers-...

[2] https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/06/ford-wants-to-sell-evs-...

[3] https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2017/07/barks-bites-focus-...

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#32

Post by nradov »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #27

If it's selling for so much does that mean Toyota (the company) is missing out on a ton of margin that the dealerships are making?

In theory, yes. But Toyota is positioned as a mainstream value brand. They don't want to damage their brand image in the marketplace by raising MSRP just because they temporarily can't manufacture enough to meet demand.

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#33

Post by chrisseaton »

oneoff786 wrote: post #23
chrisseaton wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably it's reasonable because it's supported by market conditions?

Market conditions by an enforced middle man

The market conditions are set by the number of people trying to buy the cars and how much they're willing to pay.

The dealership meets the market price, not sets it. If their fee was unreasonable people would buy other cars until the dealer dropped their prices to something reasonable.

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#34

Post by jedberg »

selectodude wrote: post #21
jedberg wrote: post #7

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. And in my case, it also happens to have 100% support from Openpilot, which is a requirement for me.

"Specific new Toyota models are shipping with a new message authentication method that openpilot does not yet support. So far, this list includes: Toyota RAV4 Prime 2021+" Just a heads up.

Oh thanks! I hadn't checked in a while. I'm not getting a new car anytime soon anyway so hopefully they solve it before I am ready!

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#36

Post by googlryas »

flurie wrote: post #24
googlryas wrote: post #3

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.

This price tracker[1] shows that the price of the Model Y has increased about 9-12k depending on trim over the past year. Are you happy because that's less than 15k? [1] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F5IQOynIawoXiJPVarLD...

Tesla is up front about the cost of the vehicle, save for the default display being "with fuel savings", but in any case the true cost is a click away.

Versus the dealership(Larry h Miller) advertising the car for $40k on their site, and not telling you about the $15k fee until you're in their office.

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#37

Post by BobLaw »

chrisseaton wrote: post #17
alldayeveryday wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15k dealership fee is unreasonable.

Presumably it's reasonable because it's supported by market conditions?

Something being "supported by market conditions" is not a valid test for reasonableness. During disasters for example, all manner of unethical practices can be "supported by market conditions". Yet we enact laws against those things for good reason.

You also seem to forget the fact that much of those market conditions are a result of anti-competitive and anti-consumer laws guaranteeing their the status a middle men by force.

If for example consumers were able to buy directly from manufacturers but chose to pay more at a dealership because they thought the extra cost was worth some surplus value provided then you might have a point.

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#39

Post by hedora »

subpixel wrote: post #9

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. 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.

The pricing on the RAV4 is nuts. For that commute, you could sell it and buy a used low-range EV, like a 2018 BMW i3:

https://driverbase.com/research/vehicles/bmw/i3/2018

and end up with ~$42K in pocket.

(It is particularly inexpensive because they significantly improved the range in 2019. However, the 2018 would easily do your commute.)

We ended up buying one in lieu of trading in an ICE pickup truck for a backordered electric F150.

To me, the crazy thing is that we could apparently sell you the used i3 we bought earlier this year for a 36% profit, and you could end up with a 60% discount on the i3 (vs. pre-Ukraine prices) by switching to it from the RAV4!

Re: Toyota RAV4 Prime hybrid SUV now selling for 48% over MSRP

#40

Post by dmtroyer »

subpixel wrote: post #9

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. 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.

you should probably at least consider selling it according to these numbers.
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