So I saw the article on the hompage here (I don't go there often) about a Rav EV on ebay, so me being the nosey & ebay watcher I am I watched it...
$90k Are you kidding??!!
I mean $90k, for a 7-8yr old car with a 100mile range. I don't know about anyone else, but have you had any battery last 8-10 years?? So it'll probably be time to replace the batteries soon. (I do believe I read they are similar to golf cart/marine batteries, not a battery pack like we have!)

So a NEW Escape is a little over $30k. 400-500mile range on a 15gal tank. So even at $4/gal 400 mile avg that leaves $60k for gas, or about 400k Miles!

Guess I'm just jealous I don't have that kinda money for toys.. Will have to stick to my 20mph golf cart & my Escape!

 

The really funny part is, you can take any car and convert it to all EV using lead-acid batteries for about $10,000 if you are willing to settle for a 50 mile range, with no gas back-up.

If EV Rav4's are really selling for $90k ( doubtful, how do you know anyone actually wrote a check for that? ) Then I'm going to start buying some high-mileage gas Rav4's and converting them myself. I could make a living off 2 or 3 conversions a year!

( lots of people would be doing this if it was that profitable, and there would be lots of them on the street, knocking the price down to $20k. )

 

This 2006 link http://www.autobloggreen.com/2006/10...ay-this-month/ has an article on this vehicle
that was featured on e-bay. Way at the bottom of the link someone replied it sold for $58,100.00

this is a link from Toyota about this vehicle: http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/rav4ev/
Note this statement: "It is cost-prohibitive to replace an EV battery. The cost to replace the battery is more than the value of the vehicle."

 

I have a feeling these are the rare survivors of the whole California EV fiasco back then. Once CA repealed their Zero Emissions laws, 99% of these electric cars were repossessed (all of them were lease vehicles) and destroyed.

A few people found loopholes in their lease agreements, and the manufacturers had to sell the vehicles to those few, leaving a couple RARE EV's still driving around today.

The reason these are going for such a high price is because these are cars that technically 'shouldn't be on the road'.

If you ever get a chance, watch "Who Killed the Electric Car?". It's a documentary about this whole ordeal, and while it's based on a biased point of view, it's quite informative.

 

The RAV4 EV's were both sold to the public ($42,000 MSRP) and leased with typical buy out provisions. It was GM's EV1 that could only be leased with no buy out.

That being said, that is crazy money for this vehicle. That is Tesla Roadster territory.

 

I drive these on occasion from my work's fleet. They're a lot of fun and can cruise on the freeway no problem. I always look forward to driving one! It seems odd that these came out long before the FEH, but they still have regenerative braking and NiMH battery packs which are very expensive to replace. Someone in my neighborhood owns one privately as well, so they are street legal for private ownership. I've also noticed that they have special 16" Bridgestone LRR tires which I'm curious how they would work on a FEH.

There are companies offering smart, Mini Cooper, and Scion XB EV conversions now, so the price of these Rav4s will be held down. Plus, Nissan has committed to selling some of their EVs here and I'm sure other major manufacturers will follow.