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Old 06-10-2021, 10:55 AM   #11
JST
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 24,611
Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde View Post
I've been tracking the Camaro daily (because I'm obsessive) at Carvana and Carmax (and a separate Carmax offer you can get through edmunds.com, too) and Vroom weekly. The past few Vroom offers have been about $6k (~13%) more than I paid for it (Carmax and Carvana have been right about or just under what I paid) which is enough to make consider for a moment, but the question is "What do I get when this is still the car I want?"

It gets a little more interesting when I put info in for my wife's 2019 RAV4 Hybrid. The car has 55k and a fair number of dings and scratches. It cleans up nice, but will need a little reconditioning and I think I've accurately entered its condition into those online appraisers (possibly even been more critical). Mostly, it has 55k on it. I paid $28ish just over two years ago. Carmax is offering $25,400 and Vroom $26,000. An identical (but with fixed gas tank) new 2021 stickers for $29,975.

The problem there is that we'd probably have to travel a couple hundred miles to be able to buy one at or under MSRP. The local dealers are looking for $2-$5k over MSRP on the handful of cars in inventory. For a RAV4 Hybrid? The fuck?

My wife isn't wed to another RAV4 Hybrid, but she wants something that comparable in size/utility with similar or better mileage, but I don't think we want to spend much more than low $30s. Maybe a little more for something fully electric. So, I'm thinking Mach-E, ID4, and, weirdly, maybe Ford Maverick. I don't think we'll make a serious effort here, but starting to explore. If it's going to take a while to get one of those new vehicles, is her current car going to be worth the same when we get there? And, if it is, will it take more to buy one as well?

For Fil...I might think about a lower cost beater for the short term that could then potentially serve in a utility role after getting the "real" vehicle at whatever point in the future.
Ford is offering incentives on custom order cars; I assume other manufacturers are, as well. The Escape Hybrid seems closest to what you've already got, though it's a whole lot more expensive than the Maverick. There seem to be a fair number of them locally on lots.

Honestly, I would jump at the chance to replace your existing RAV4 with a new one even if it required a drive to pick up. 55K miles is a fair amount of miles, and you'll never get close to this kind of trade in value again.
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