This story amazes me,…
This story amazes me, because I bought a brand new Toyota Rav4 for about $36K in May 2022, when new cars were in a shortage due to the chip issue. I really liked it, though it wasn't absolutely "perfect" for me, because i had not been able to hand-pick all the options, and i intended to keep it for quite awhile.
But, after only about a year, when i took it in for a maintenance check, they started telling me they wanted to buy it back from me, and would give me a good deal, because they were in demand. At first, i didn't even consider it, thinking it was crazy.
But after they kept doing that each time, then started sending me potential offers for $32,000 (!) , i started to think about it!
I visited them, and decided to do it! I got my car ready, took it in, and they evaluated it, but said they could "only" give me $29, due to a few small dings in the point. I expressed some disappointment in that (because i still owed a little more then that, due to financing costs), so they considered it further, and were able to rework some guarantees i had previously purchased, to refund me an additional amount that brought the total to essentially the 32,000 offer! I took that happily in late Nov 2024.
After shopping the field of similar small hybrid SUVs, i decided to buy another Rav4, a 2025, which i got on Dec 20th, for $42,000, with a down payment such that my payments are essentially unchanged. And it has everything just as i wanted, and i love it!