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Comments
Oh, and to donzi81 - Shame on us dealers for trying to make a profit when we can - but that's another topic.
TM
me: So in this day and age where you can buy a vehicle over the Internet at a dealer down the road or 3,000 miles away, why does it matter what they have in a region. Buy a $100 plane ticket and take a little vacation, use your RAV instead of a rental, and drive your vehicle back!
Another dealer just got a silver unit in stock, but I could not stop to see it up close, or to test drive it. Maybe, I will get around because I am definetly interested in the RAV.
NO! Its not even close. The Ltd RAV 4WD 4c we have on our lot lists for $26400 ( no leather ). The interior is more up to date than the Highlander but it is not nicer. But look at the price difference. The Highlander is much closer to the Rx330 than to the RAV. But that's intentional. The RAV is the entry level SUV.
Express your dissatisfaction to the GSM. Toyota has nothing to do with how each region orders it's vehicles. The GSM though is part of that decision-making process.
actually as you posted above there are about 1600 dealerships in the US. Lexus excluded.
But.. initially all of them will come from Japan as in the past. In the last few years 'Yota has delivered about 60-70000 RAVs here. Thus on average about 40/year or 3-4 /mo. This is consistent with our experience and we're on the larger side. Some of the mega stores in Boston, Miami, DC and LA will have way more than 4 per mo.
But.. They are building a new RAV plant in Canada intending to produce about 100000 units there. Launch next year(?) This is the reason for the 135000 figure - in the future - 100K from Canada and the balance from Japan as in the past. That's a 100% increase in sales expectation. I think they see that they have a winner.
So true.. We are on the eastern edge of VA.. next stop east is Portugal and I've sold vehicles to clients in Atl, Niagara Falls, Ohio, San Diego and Pensacola. Big Navy presence here so they are used to moving vehicles all over the world.
Cosidering that the CRV and RAV4 are being cross shopped, It is far fetched to think that people do not want or does not consider SAB when purchasing their vehicles.
And no, I do not want to go out of state to buy a Toyota. I'm not that desperate to drive a Toyota if that is what Toyota thinks of us consumers.
I'm on the fence on this. If after a month, I dont see what I want in the RAV4, I'll take my business elsewhere. I'll reconsider the Pilot LX or maybe the new Hyundai Santa Fe is worth the wait.
Again talk to the GSM at the stores in Houston it's them and the people at Gulf State region that decide what you get. Toyota doesnt make that decision. It's a local decision.
It is far fetched to think that people do not want or does not consider SAB when purchasing their vehicles
It may appear farfetched to you if you are safety conscious but in meeting the public everyday it is real that many people decline the SAB option.
'I've never had it, I've never used it. And I dont want to pay for it.'
And if it is already in the vehicle a Camry lets say then they will either decline that vehicle to look at a cheaper one or ask for a discount of $700 because they dont want those airbags. It's quite a struggle sometimes to explain the benefits and show them the IIHS website and they still ignore the benefits and go to the less expensive vehicle.
Granted it's a lot less in the last year or two but resistance still exists.
Jim D
richard
I think that number is way, way high. Isn't it more like 1200?
The dealer quoted $480.Mo for a 36Mo/12K mile lease
That price sounds just plain absurd to me. You can lease a Tribeca for $299 a month. Even if popularity of the new model makes prices higher, residual values should move up with that.
Basically they're saying you will pay an extremely high price up front and they will give you very poor residuals down the road. $480 is a luxury car/SUV payment, not an entry-level crossover payment. You can probably get a Benz ML for less than that.
They are nuts.
-juice
Lets say Gulf State Toyota control the retail/distribution, doesnt Toyota have any say at all to all this nonsense? Dont they ever step in an say this is not right?
-juice
No, at the local level Toyota has no say in how the vehicles are configured and priced. None. Your problem with useless options that you dont want is with the local dealer and the regional office in Houston.
Yep you are correct and we do this all the time. Within the parameters of our regional office we can configure a vehicle anyway the client wants. It may take some time for that special vehicle to arrive but it will come.
There are regional restrictions though. For example on the Prius there are 8 packages on the new '06's. In CAT we can only order 4 of these 8. In SE Toyota they can get a package #4 but we cannot get that package in CAT. District rules.
Unless I'm misreading the option packages, In Canada, one would have to pay $38,000K to get a Rav4 with side curtain airbags as part of the opt. package. The honda CRV and Kia Sportage have them as standard equipment on base models.
I could deal with a crappy stereo, or the unavailability of a sunroof in some trims, but side airbags are a must-have.
I'll just buy the competition which will allow me to easily configure a commonly found model to my needs. Side airbags are hardly an exotic feature in this day and age.
It was a 4x4. Does that still count?
BTW, that was in SoCal.
The dealer is going to call me when he gets a V6 or Sport version of anything. My present lease ends in Dec. 2006 so I have time. I guess in 6 mo. this RAV4 stuff will settle out some and we can all see what the real story is. If RAV is too hard then I just replace my A6 with an A4 Avant for two or 3 years. Lots of good lease deals on them. They are perfect but just don't have as much cargo space as RAV4.
Jim D
We think the RAV has several advantages for us over the current CRV: a) it seems less sluggish when accelerating, b) its cupholders are within arm's length and not on the floor, c) The limited includes auto climate control. d) controls are better overall; with the CRV you have to reach for the radio controls e) it has a real armrest (yes you can pay to get a "suspended" armrest on the CRV, but we thought it looked cheesy and too small... the Highlander's lack of a real armrest is why we aren't considering it).
Hope that helps.
LEATHER, MOONROOF ETC.
AND THEY ARE ASKING MSRP. ALSO TAKING ORDERS WITH A DEPOSIT.
WHAT A JOKE.
What features would you like? As I understand it, you could upgrade the seats to leather if you wanted to spend $1,000 + and wait awhile. It's very annoying that leather doesn't come standard with the limited so you have to pay for a $3,800 option package (on top of the already high Limited price) just to leather seats - which are standard in the CRV SE.
I've only driven the Sport which I liked a lot, but I don't think the 18-inch low profile tires would be good if you go even a little bit off road. Or in snow??
It would be great if this forum could collect info on what packages are available in different regions, so if someone wanted to go out of their area to get what they wanted, it would be possible.
Or, for you dealers on the forum, is there any online service that can find you the package you want - assuming you know what ones are available?
My wife and I are pretty sold on the RAV4 over the CR-V, but now it's a matter of waiting until the supply increases. I don't like the idea of paying MSRP, but the dealers around Boston are saying (of course!) that they won't be budging for a long time because of the high demand.
richard
Toyota.com ==> CAT ==> build/price your Toyota
RAV Base FWD + Package #1 ( SAB, DRL, Roof Rack ) $21955 +TTF.
RAV Ltd 4WD + Package #1 ( SAB, DRL ) $25250
RAV Ltd 4WD + Package #4 ( SAB, DRL, Leather+heated seats, 6 Disc JBL, Sunroof ) $27980
BTW.. more than 50% of buyers do not want leather in their vehicles. They would not buy it. So it has to be offered as an option on an entry level vehicle.
And do you have to order these from Toyota, or are they configurations that will be available at dealers at some point (depending on the region, of course.)?
You could just get a different trim level instead of leather.
In the Base 4WD the Pckge #'s change a little.
Pckge #3 ( SAB, DRL ) ..... $22295
Pckge #4 ( SAB, DRL, Roof rack, Tonneau ).. $23355
Pckge #5 ( same as #4 + 17" wheels )....... $23475
Pckge #6 ( same as #5 + 3rd row seat )... $24275
accessories are your option
Of course, she is used to relative luxury, so when I saw the base model of the RAV4, I thought, "I better wait til a limited model shows up before letter her see a RAV4". Would you guys agree that the Limited has a nicer interior, especially in leather? I'm not expecting luxury by any means, but coming from a ML320, I don't want to shock her (though to be honest, the interior in that vehicle has plenty of cheap plastic). She already doesn't like the spare tire hanging off the back thing...
Also considering:
Avalon (I know it's sedan, but darn nice and higher seat cushion for easier entry and exit)
Highlander (probably the right vehicle, but a tad boring)
RX330 (horrible rear visibility when backing up)
ML350 (terrible reliability and wider now, plus $50k, but electric folding mirrors (like on my Trooper))
Freestyle (tad big and wide and weak V-6, but Volvo platform)
Explorer (good V-8, but tad wider)
4Runner (hard to get in and out of versus crossovers, but the right size)
or wait til "whenever" for the new CRV/Acura RDX.
I can see this is going to take quite awhile for me, personally, to sort out, and for dealers/potential buyers in general. This is the first time in my life I've shopped for a NEW new car, and the introduction of a new model makes it all the more confusing.
keep up the helpful posts!
rs
Jim D
Thx
Guy
DRL is Daytime Running Lights.
Noone can order from Toyota. These are the packages that any consumer can order at a Central Atlantic Toyota store. Go in and place an order. Get lucky and they might have one in stock in the color you want. It should be an easy process. Prius customers do it all the time for the last 2+ years.
It looks like the same system that's been out on the Avalon since last year. No problem to have it done locally or order it that way.
I hope Toyota has gone away from the Goodyear 225 65 17's and installed Goodrich or Michelin.
Happy New Year Everyone.
Does anyone have a difinative date for v6 availabilty and pricing. I've heard everything from a few more weeks to April from the salesman yesterday for availability and MUMM on cost.
I had been planning to buy a CRV .. but in all honesty I really don't care for it's looks. When I heard a new RAV was coming I put my plans on hold. Moving from a WRX, the V6 stats were more to my liking and the MPG penality is supposed to be minimal.
- hutch
- hutch
Have fun!
Sigh.
Ideally, we'd like a decent cloth with auto climate control & side airbags. Since decent cloth is apparently not available and since auto climate is only available in the limited, I guess we'll look at leather/heated seats & side airbags (but no moonroof or any other pricey add-ons that jack the price up further). I have a feeling it's going to be very difficult to find this. Also, even if we can get Toyota to discount to, say, $500 over invoice, the invoice price is only like $1500 below retail. So that means a limited like we want it is going to cost around $25K. That's a lot for a RAV. You can buy a base 2005 Murano around here for that (no leather but everything else, imo, is nicer). The whole cost issue is depressing, as is the package nonsense. It makes me wonder if we should explore a Mariner or something like that which is discounted big around here.
If prices would soften in 3 months, I might wait. If it's going to be 6 months or more, it may not be worth it.
rs in boston
PS I talked to Ira Toyota north of Boston, and they say they have 20 vehicles coming in beginning next week.
I think people have it in their heads that "X" price for a certain vehicle is too much. Well, times change. A $25K RAV seems very reasonable to me, especially given the comprehensiveness of the package. 10 years ago, I think people would be having heart attacks at the thought of $$29K Accords, for example, but thats what an EXV6-Navi costs. With respect to the RAV, the redesign has the vehicle playing a different ballgame against larger contenders, and I feel it will aquit itself well.
The couple of things that we didn't like about the LTD and sport were (1) the middle seats are both moderately comfortable at best, which is ok if you're driving an hour or so, but not if you're taking long trips; and (2) we thought the slide open compartment in front of the passenger seat on the LTD and Sport was a little cheesy. I'd be afraid of breaking it when I lean back in the passenger side with my shoes off and put my feet up on the dashboard on long trips. (:>) Otherwise we both liked the vehicle, and the spousal unit said she could see us adding that vehicle to our stable in a year or so.
We decided to wait on buying an SUV until after the LTD/V6 is available, the first year bugs are ironed out and any modifications/additions are made to the RAv. We also want to see what the '07 CRV and Acura RDX will look like, which should be about mid-06 according to the Honda dealer. By then we suspect the current RAv mania and MSRP pricing will be moderating sufficiently to make a purchase decision worthwhile.
In the meantime yesterday we traded the 2004 Mazda3 stickshift for a Honda Accord EXLV6. Also a great car. And dealing on the last day of the year when the dealer had 600 cars on the lot - and an allocation to protect - didn't hurt at all.
Please be careful, that is INCREDIBLY dangerous in any vehicle with a passenger side airbag, you run the risk of destroying your limbs in a relatively minor crash.
~alpha
Also, I am fine with FWD. In fact, the 25K price I mentioned for a RAV4 limited is for FWD. If you do a rav up like I suggested before with AWD, the price jumps to something like 27K. For a RAV!
The Murano's cloth is fine and better than the RAV4s. The 2006 CRV is also significantly better. "With respect to the RAV, the redesign has the vehicle playing a different ballgame against larger contenders..." Which is exactly why they should not have used lousy cloth in it...
Don't get me wrong, the RAV is a good vehicle and I would love to own one, I just don't think it's as good a deal as I first thought.
Also around then the 2007 CRV should be out.