Prime bump!
Dareo will remember that I'm a sucker for deals on vehicles and track expenses closely. My first new car was due to VW's dieselgate giving me an awesome deal on a new GSW.
So when I saw that my 2016 GSW kept increasing in value... I told myself, if it gets to $12k I'll sell it and replace it. Originally I had planned on keeping it for another 1-2 years - it was a little over 5 years old and had 72k miles ($18.5 + TTL new!). I figured it was worth $9k privately as there was a dent/crease (small, and not that bad actually) on a rear quarter panel. Base model. Stick shift. Used car values made me jump - I knew that in 2 years the GSW would be worth a good bit less.
Well in June 2021 I sold it and replaced it with ... Rav4 Prime SE. I got 1.24% interest from DCU for a loan, so I put the $ from the VW into the market and just financed nearly the whole thing. $700/mo payments - WTH. That's so abnormal for me. Over twice the cost of my GSW!!! But with the tax credit, and rarity of the R4P, it has increased in value and I can sell it today and pocket thousands (net after tax credit). High resale, so I don't plan on owning it all that long, actually.
We also have a Prius Prime, and used the GSW for camping/climbing trips where we need storage space. The Rav is taking over that role. Nearly identical storage/cargo capacity vs the wagon, but it has higher ground clearance and the adaptive cruise that we wanted. That was a main driver for the upgrade - lane centering and adaptive cruise on road trips makes the drive much less tiresome. Also I'm not irked by the vehicle slowing down with ACC b/c its regenerating! If I was in a Subie (was sure we'd get an Outback) I'd be annoyed each time it slowed down and sped back up, wasting gas.
The Rav4 Prime and hybrid have amazing powertrains, IMO. Toyota hybrid design and implementation is something I'll be hard pressed to go away from on future vehicles. Long-term I'd rather own a Rav4 XLE hybrid, as it gets 10% better mpg, and we can just use the Prius Prime for local EV miles. A bit more cargo space than the R4P and I'd be much more comfortable scratching up and soft-roading in a cheaper vehicle. ($31k vs $42k) I don't need the 300 hp either! I'd be happier with more efficiency. lol (thread drift - if Ford would allow adaptive cruise on the XLT level hybrid Maverick, I'd be tempted for that as a cheaper alternative, but you must load it up to get ACC at over $31k - kills the cheap vibe)
The PHEV tax credit won't always be around, so that $7500 along with the Prime's exclusivity makes it an easy call for short term ownership. I might replace it with another one in 2022 to try and get a more base model SE without the moonroof package. If I can find one...
Ws6 - great vehicle choice!
We pay 25c/kwh here and it still is cheaper than gas per mile by 25% roughly. Would love our own solar setup, but our electric bill is low enough that break even is too far off to deal with installing currently.