My wife has 7 months left on her 2020 RAV4 Limited lease. I was offered $8K over current payoff (residual + 7 months of pymts) by Carmax. So I set about trying to work with wife to figure out what car is next (or if we just buy this one out at lease end).
I thought I was all set and wife was going to get a Jeep Wrangler 4xe… for 20 years she’s wanted a purple jeep and they brought purple back for 2023!! Then she learned the 4xe isn’t actually “green”.
Then she wanted a RAV4 Prime, only to find they aren’t available without ordering and waiting and don’t qualify for the $7500 rebate (even when this new bill passes as it’s assembled in Japan unless we find one on a lot before JB signs it into law)
Then she decided on a Ford Escape Titanium PHEV but ran into the same issue as the RAV4 Prime.
I am located in MA but will travel anywhere for a good deal. Note if I trade the RAV4 in to a MA dealer and lease the new vehicle from them, I will save on the 6.25% sales tax but ultimately it comes down to the best deal.
She does not want a full EV, she wants a smaller SUV (like RAV4 sized) hybrid. We only buy the top trim level fully loaded AWD/4WD. I know nothing about what dealers have in lots right now but am striking out on everything she is picking (I almost LMAO when she mentioned Bronco).
There’s no reason this HAS to be done NOW with 7 months left on the lease, but I started down this road because I saw purple jeep, $7500 incentive killer lease deals with a 6-7 month order time and now the wife is kind of stuck on this road.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated. I’m trying to keep payments in the < $550 area after using the ~$8K equity in the 2020 RAV4 + (hopefully) $7500 hybrid incentive for a 36/12k lease.
She’s all about the environment (I’m not going to try to educate her on battery manufacturing). We all know why Jeep made the 4xe with about the smallest battery available. So green to her is something that gets the equivalent of 40+ mpg and doesn’t require premium fuel.
The volvo could be a good choice if they’re on lots. I like where they’ve gone with their designs over the past decade.
This will be your biggest problem IMO. Unless things have changed, MA does not allow out-of-state temp tags for MA residents. Many out of state dealers may not want to deal with this, but YMMV.
I just bought a C8 from out of state. The dealer registered the car with MA, MA sent permanent plates to the dealer, I paid the dealer the taxes and reg fees.
This is the problem - depending how far you are buying, not all dealers are going to send a runner up to MA to get the plates and bring it back to the dealership.
They just hired a service to handle the MA registration. Dealership was in GA.
That’s interesting (above) about the Jeep. Maybe I can get her back on the Jeep if I find some stats about how it compares to other PHEVs. I’m the idiot that told her it only gets 22 miles out of the battery.
The Sportage Hybrids are in short supply and long waits but it is a fine vehicle. They also have a plug in version on the way. Tucson plug in is out already, could be another one to check out.
Thanks. I worked with him a few years ago but ultimately ended up going with the RAV4 she has now. I’ll check his most recent google sheet and see what he’s got cooking.
The Jeep 4xe was designed in such a way as to meet those bare minimum requirements for the full credit. That’s why I was saying it’s not really a green vehicle, it wasn’t designed with that intent. Stellantis was buying clean energy credits from Tesla. When Tesla cut them off, the 4xe was their quick solution to up their average mpg across the brand. Do the bare minimum to check the EPA boxes.
Does the $7,500 rebate really matter if you are going to come reasonably close to realizing that in fuel savings over a five year period (assuming you finance and keep it)?
Another way to look at it if you are looking for savings/value: You could keep the car that’s worth 8k over payoff and save on fuel vs the average new car as well. Especially if it’s a top trim that has all the bells and whistles you need or want.
The 4xe battery is about 10% larger than what is required to meet the full credit requirements. It definitely exceeds the bare minimum to meet requirements.
