In some markets, an item’s rarity is linked with its resale price. In short, the fewer there are, the more they will cost, so long as there is significant demand. This can be seen in the sneaker market, where limited run shoes that originally sold for hundreds of dollars can be resold for thousands.
However, this isn’t always the case, as is made clear by market trends in recent car production.
As cars that are successful tend to continue being produced, the remaining cars that had limited production time may have been unsuccessful for reasons that would make them less desirable on the resale market.
“If a vehicle is highly sought after by collectors or enthusiasts, its value is likely to be higher than a similar car that has little appeal,” explains Sylvain Tornare for Carequest. “Additionally, a car can be rare due to its lack of appeal or its very limited customer base. As a result, a rare vehicle is not necessarily sought after.”
Still, it can be jarring when a car that was once thought to represent the future gets discontinued—and even more so when it gets resold for a significantly lower price.
What makes this RAV4 so rare?
In a video with over 35,000 views, TikTok user @autopartscity shows off a Toyota RAV4 EV that he discovered in a parking lot.
“I just spotted this 2013 Toyota RAV4 electric. This is an extremely rare car. They only made 2,500 of these, and I can’t believe I just spotted one here in Illinois,” he starts. “These things were only sold in California. Fascinating.”
The TikToker then goes on to explain that later versions of the Toyota RAV4 EV, including this one, had an electric motor powered by batteries from Tesla. At the time, it cost around $50,000 and only had a range of around 113 miles. For context, most modern EVs average around 300 miles on a full charge, though this can vary.
Today, these cars can be picked up much more cheaply, the TikToker says.
“If you wanted to buy one of these on the used market today, they’re between $9,000 and $15,000 from what I’ve seen on the internet,” he states. That said, repair costs could be significant, as he says he found someone online claiming that replacing the battery could cost around $40,000.
What was the RAV4 EV?
The Toyota RAV4 EV has an interesting history. As recounted by Sagar Parikh for TopSpeed, while there were early versions of the car since the late 1990s, the vehicle’s second generation, the one shown in the video, didn’t begin production until 2012.
This was possible thanks to a historic partnership between Toyota and Tesla, a company that, at the time, was not the major player in the car market that it is today.
While the vehicle had some features that made it desirable, it also had quite a few that might explain why the car was not in production for long. Its inability to DC fast charge meant charge times could last a while. Plus, the sale price was expensive, and interest in EVs at the time was not at the levels we’ve come to expect today.
@autopartscity One of the rarest cars I’ve seen the Toyota Rav4 EV Electric #rav4ev #electriccar #rav4 #tesla #evcars #cartok #rarecars #autorecycling #junkyard #autopartscity ♬ original sound – AutoPartsCity
Commenters share their thoughts
In the comments section, users shared their thoughts about the peculiar discovery.
“I used to know someone who has a 1st gen Rav4 EV. it still had about 40 or so miles of range,” said a user. “Considering the battery tech in the 90s and the proprietary charging, it’s pretty astonishing.”
“I was going to say I used to see those all over but I do live in the Bay Area. People had them because they could go solo in the car pool lane,” added another.
“Wont be long before that comes to the yard then,” joked a third, noting the expensive battery replacement price.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikToker via website contact form and TikTok DM, and Toyota via email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
