TLDR: Should I sell my old 2018 RAV4 now in preparation of a 2028 vehicle purchase, or wait to be safe? (Also cross-posted from r/UsedCars)
I have a 2018 Toyota RAV4 that I’ve put about 178,000 miles on. She’s certainly getting up there in age and use. The brakes are starting to not feel great again, despite getting them replaced only ~10,000 miles ago.
My husband and I both WFH now with minimal travel (about once a year he will travel for work, otherwise we generally travel together). He just bought a new 2025 hybrid RAV4 that we’ve been basically solely using (amazing gas mileage and just like my older RAV ❤️). We also don’t see either of us having to work in person in the near future (fingers crossed and knocking on wood while I type this) given the companies we work for.
I’m looking at buying a car when the new 2028 models roll out (specifically one model from Ford – we live in MI and the blue cruise is incredibly tempting, as well as the promise of the $30k EV).
Should I sell my older RAV now and we just have one car between the two of us (I would invest the proceeds from the sale, and we would only pay one car insurance in the meantime) or is it worth it to hold onto my car as a fall back in case one of us is traveling or away from home for whatever reason? The old RAV would require some general and specialized maintenance and frequent driving in the 1.5-2 years that I would keep the vehicle, with potentially escalating costs (I.e., the brakes), but I’m hesitant to give up my vehicle (to make sure we have a vehicle per person)?
Sell my 2018 RAV4 now or wait?
byu/Full_Dress7190 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Full_Dress7190
4 Comments
If you don’t need the car, sell it now.
That Rav4 is just broken in at 178k. Brakes shouldn’t be garbage 10k miles after replacement. I’d use another shop next time. If they just make noise, it’s probably rusty rotors from not being driven- rotors rust real fast. Take it out and do some hard stops to clean them up.
If you’re driving it very little, tell your insurance and it should be negligibly more expensive to just carry collision on it versus insuring one new vehicle.
Overall, it’s really up to you and your judgement- if you literally never drive it, I’d sell it for sure.
>The brakes are starting to not feel great again, despite getting them replaced only ~10,000 miles ago.
Have them checked. It may be a loose bolt.
If you don’t need a car then why keep it?
If you really only need 1 vehicle, sell and invest. If you *might* need a second vehicle, keep and maintain. My wife is stay at home (kid grown) and she has her 2010 Rav4 still with @ 150k. Its been cheaper for both insurance/occasional maintenance than buying new. PLUS we dont worry about minor dings/scratches anymore. The freedom from a car payment and not needing insurance minimums is great.