Buying a car?

[tweetdrivr]

The new Toyota hybrid motor in the 4Runner and Landcruiser is awesome. And I mean awesome.

[Invictus]

Hydrogen powered looks to have a more promising future than full electric.

[everfeb]

We have a #1 car but a #2 car is also needed...occasionally. My #2 currently is a '99 Acura TL with 118,000 km which was purchased new and was well maintained but now needs some parts. Gonna get brakes all around. Need a windshield wiper transmission. And a few other minor issues. $2000? That should hold us for several years.
Cars have shot up so much in price the last few years it is crazy. If you currently have a car that is working well but needs this or that just get it fixed. Hell of a lot less expensive than buying a new one.
I'm a believer in Consumer Reports If buying a vehicle get a 1 month subscription and do some research.. Astonishing and stunning how crappy the BIG 3 are rated.

[doulos]

We'll drive our two vehicles into the dirt. Highlander only has like 180k and the Kia Rio 120k. I expect a lot of years out of them yet as long as we maintain them, particularly the Highlander. After that we'll grab electric for sure. Most of the worries on them are based on misinformation and already they are just fine for most people. By the time we get around to needing one hopefully there will be even more competition and the advances in battery tech etc are improving all of the time. While there are always some exceptions, nearly every EV owner I speak to loves theirs. I have no doubt we will also.

[loppantorkel]

Yes, I meant 180k km, which is a decent amount, but not a huge issue. I believe it's a 2015 year model. I don't travel as much now though, so getting good mileage isn't as necessary. Could even get something more exciting, like a smaller sports car or coupe. Seems like the last chance for it. I'll keep looking around for newer used cars and see if anything interesting pops up. The Toyota GR86 does look fun

[butch]

I have one year left on my lease which has a lease rate of close to 0% . The end term buyout is 13 k + hst so lets say 15 k so I'll likely buy it out cash and become a free-agent to shop around for a few years . The current resale value on my CRV is incredibly good , I'd say probably 10 k more than my buyout price of 15 k so I should be able to parlay that into a good trade-in

the gen 5 crv's from 2017 to 2022 with the 1.5 turbo has some known issues but I'm hoping to avoid those with some tips from experts on a crv forum .Honda is still standing by that engine considering its also being used in the gen 6 non hybrid crv's , some some civic trims .

my older brother leased a hybrid crv sport trim 2023 and he's not the type to buy at lease end so I might plant a seed in his ear that I'd like to buy it in 2027 for whatever his lease end is (usually its a fair price - see above my buyout price of 13k for my 2020)

OP -if your not going hybrid , I'd grab a 2024 RAV / Highlander if your buying new or if going used - a 22-23 RAV

[Pit Bulls]

I've been looking at getting rid of my truck for a few months now and getting something more economical.

I'm interested in hybrids, but the lack of charging stations, the winter and the geographic distance to get anywhere is a challenge in Northern Ontario.

I checked out Honda, Nissan & Toyota and found the only vehicle I had room in (I'm a big guy) was the RAV 4. I struggled getting in and out of all the rest and I felt like the cockpit was closing in on me. I got stuck on the highway a couple of winters ago due to a fatal accident and it took me 18 hours to reach my destination as opposed to 8 hours for a normal trip. That is why comfort is high on my list as you never know when you might get held up for an extended period of time while travelling.

I was surprised to find out a RAV 4 Hybrid is not much more expensive than a gas powered vehicle. It also has a regenerative braking system to charge the battery so there is no need to worry about charing stations.

When I see people in parking lots with RAV 4 Hybrids, I usually talk to them to find out about maintenance and fuel consumption. For where I live, they all say they run mostly gas in the winter (as expected for our climate) but if they are not running up and down hills or trying to be a rally driver, they find their fuel consumption to be excellent in the summer. As far as maintenance goes, the jury is still out as most of the people I talked to have 23 or 24 models so maintenance hasn't been an issue. From all my research online, it seems like the RAV 4 is a very dependable vehicle with low maintenance costs.

As far as pricing goes, Honda, Nissan & Toyota are all very similar for the same size vehicle so there is no advantage there.

I haven't made the move yet due to high interest rates so I'm building up my cash reserves for a bigger down payment. I'll probably make the move in 2025.

[Belexus75]

I've been looking at getting rid of my truck for a few months now and getting something more economical.

I'm interested in hybrids, but the lack of charging stations, the winter and the geographic distance to get anywhere is a challenge in Northern Ontario.

I checked out Honda, Nissan & Toyota and found the only vehicle I had room in (I'm a big guy) was the RAV 4. I struggled getting in and out of all the rest and I felt like the cockpit was closing in on me. I got stuck on the highway a couple of winters ago due to a fatal accident and it took me 18 hours to reach my destination as opposed to 8 hours for a normal trip. That is why comfort is high on my list as you never know when you might get held up for an extended period of time while travelling.

I was surprised to find out a RAV 4 Hybrid is not much more expensive than a gas powered vehicle. It also has a regenerative braking system to charge the battery so there is no need to worry about charing stations.

When I see people in parking lots with RAV 4 Hybrids, I usually talk to them to find out about maintenance and fuel consumption. For where I live, they all say they run mostly gas in the winter (as expected for our climate) but if they are not running up and down hills or trying to be a rally driver, they find their fuel consumption to be excellent in the summer. As far as maintenance goes, the jury is still out as most of the people I talked to have 23 or 24 models so maintenance hasn't been an issue. From all my research online, it seems like the RAV 4 is a very dependable vehicle with low maintenance costs.

As far as pricing goes, Honda, Nissan & Toyota are all very similar for the same size vehicle so there is no advantage there.

I haven't made the move yet due to high interest rates so I'm building up my cash reserves for a bigger down payment. I'll probably make the move in 2025.

you dont need charging stations with hybirds...well you do and you dont but mostly you dont. There are 2 types of hybirds these days.

1. Regular hybird - no charging at all, you still fill up and for mid size SVU you will use anywhere form 5.5 to 6.5 litters per KM. When you drive on gas, it chrges battery and then battery kicks in when its charged and when you not going too fast. It work much better in the city than it does on the highway.

2. Second type is plug-in hybird. This uses charging station but its not necessary. Most people plug it at home at night, then you get about 60k fully electric and then it changes in to regular hybird.

As for RAV 4...when i got mine, difference on same model was 2.5k between regular hybird and gas operated...There is big difference when you looking at plug in.

[Daydream Nation]

The new Toyota hybrid motor in the 4Runner and Landcruiser is awesome. And I mean awesome.

I hope it is better than the turbocharged V6 in my Tundra. They keep having total engine failures from the initial 2022 rollout. The numbers are not clear and dealers deny it but I keep reading about them on FB. I'm about to do something I never thought I'd have to do.... buy an extended warranty for my Toyota.

[Belexus75]

I hope it is better than the turbocharged V6 in my Tundra. They keep having total engine failures from the initial 2022 rollout. The numbers are not clear and dealers deny it but I keep reading about them on FB. I'm about to do something I never thought I'd have to do.... buy an extended warranty for my Toyota.

Wow, thats surprising tbh, i find Toyota to be most reliable vehicle out there but i guess even the best have issues..

[tweetdrivr]

I hope it is better than the turbocharged V6 in my Tundra. They keep having total engine failures from the initial 2022 rollout. The numbers are not clear and dealers deny it but I keep reading about them on FB. I'm about to do something I never thought I'd have to do.... buy an extended warranty for my Toyota.

The gas portion of this motor is a 4 cyl. They’ve been on several Lexus models for a couple of years with great results.

[Daydream Nation]

Wow, thats surprising tbh, i find Toyota to be most reliable vehicle out there but i guess even the best have issues..

Yes, very surprising. I knew the concept of never buying the first year of a new edition vehicle but it was a Toyota and they'd had positive results with all their new generation models over the last 20 years. Plus, my Tacoma was 14 years old and I was wanted to move it before a major repair was due. I guess there is a bearing failure in the engine from a certain batch of 2022 Tundras that will just randomly occur without any warning causing a total engine failure and my truck is in the group. The Big 3 full size trucks have all sorts of issues too so getting a different truck wouldn't have been a necessarily better choice. I'll wait till my Tundra's warranty is just about to expire before extending it.

[Invictus]

I've been looking at getting rid of my truck for a few months now and getting something more economical.

I'm interested in hybrids, but the lack of charging stations, the winter and the geographic distance to get anywhere is a challenge in Northern Ontario.

I checked out Honda, Nissan & Toyota and found the only vehicle I had room in (I'm a big guy) was the RAV 4. I struggled getting in and out of all the rest and I felt like the cockpit was closing in on me. I got stuck on the highway a couple of winters ago due to a fatal accident and it took me 18 hours to reach my destination as opposed to 8 hours for a normal trip. That is why comfort is high on my list as you never know when you might get held up for an extended period of time while travelling.

I was surprised to find out a RAV 4 Hybrid is not much more expensive than a gas powered vehicle. It also has a regenerative braking system to charge the battery so there is no need to worry about charing stations.

When I see people in parking lots with RAV 4 Hybrids, I usually talk to them to find out about maintenance and fuel consumption. For where I live, they all say they run mostly gas in the winter (as expected for our climate) but if they are not running up and down hills or trying to be a rally driver, they find their fuel consumption to be excellent in the summer. As far as maintenance goes, the jury is still out as most of the people I talked to have 23 or 24 models so maintenance hasn't been an issue. From all my research online, it seems like the RAV 4 is a very dependable vehicle with low maintenance costs.

As far as pricing goes, Honda, Nissan & Toyota are all very similar for the same size vehicle so there is no advantage there.

I haven't made the move yet due to high interest rates so I'm building up my cash reserves for a bigger down payment. I'll probably make the move in 2025.

you dont need charging stations with hybirds...well you do and you dont but mostly you dont. There are 2 types of hybirds these days.

1. Regular hybird - no charging at all, you still fill up and for mid size SVU you will use anywhere form 5.5 to 6.5 litters per KM. When you drive on gas, it chrges battery and then battery kicks in when its charged and when you not going too fast. It work much better in the city than it does on the highway.

2. Second type is plug-in hybird. This uses charging station but its not necessary. Most people plug it at home at night, then you get about 60k fully electric and then it changes in to regular hybird.

As for RAV 4...when i got mine, difference on same model was 2.5k between regular hybird and gas operated...There is big difference when you looking at plug in.

There are a few types of drivers. Ones that drive a lot often and go through vehicles every 5 years or less and ones that drive less often and change vehicles say every 10 years.

Pit Bull you seem like maybe the latter. I am also Northern Ontario.

I would avoid the plugin hybrid. It will end up costing you much more. There's much more parts to it that will age and be more cost to replace. A charging system will need to be installed which is at least another $1k. More initial cost too as Belexus stated.

A regular hybrid parts replace a lot of regular ICE parts so there is not much additional maintenance costs. The price difference between it and an ICE engine isn't that much either. I'm not sure on the Rav4 but I know on my Corolla Cross the hybrid system added peppiness to the drive (I didn't get hybrid though). This hybrid system can definitely be an option to consider!

Another thing to think about when looking at costs, that I doubt many do is insurance!

For example, the cheapest vehicle to the car I bought (of the comparables I was looking at) was the Mitsubishi RVR. The MSRP was atleast $1000 less then the Corolla Cross, but the insurance was ~$300 a year more than the Corolla Cross. I was also going to save ~$255 in gas a year with the Cross (and that was with current prices of $1.55/litre, which will go up!). I'm also getting much better fuel economy than what it was rated for and I think Rav4 reviews also say the same thing.

Also there can still be long wait times for new Toyota's so try and shop in advance.
I needed a new one quick and lucked out that they already had one on order that fit perfectly with what I wanted - still took a 3 week wait.

[Invictus]

I hope it is better than the turbocharged V6 in my Tundra. They keep having total engine failures from the initial 2022 rollout. The numbers are not clear and dealers deny it but I keep reading about them on FB. I'm about to do something I never thought I'd have to do.... buy an extended warranty for my Toyota.

I think Toyota has said if it happens they will replace the engine, but I'm not even 80% positive on this. Or maybe I'm thinking about a previous engine problem. Ya I'm thinking of something else... Sorry lol

[everfeb]

Wow, thats surprising tbh, i find Toyota to be most reliable vehicle out there but i guess even the best have issues..

Most reliable brands according to consumer reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars...s-a6159221985/