The fact that it's a Toyota RAV4 is relevant, you should have disclosed this in the first post instead of fishing for what some hypothetical slightly used car is worth in Canada, (most of us here are in the USA).

If it's a car that sits on a new car lot for months being discounted like crazy, that's different from a high-demand vehicle that is probably not discounted much if at all when sold new. Without confirming, I'm guessing that a RAV4 falls into the latter category.

Search completed auctions on eBay and see what 2015 RAV4s are selling for. Why are you asking a bunch of random car guys what some imaginary car is worth?

Granted, it's no longer an imaginary car now that you described it but most of the first page was like Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

One of the problems that you will likely run into is that the seller in his mind may have remembered paying close to 40k for it (all in) and may have a hard time going down to a reasonable number because of the big tax etc. hit he has taken.

I've rarely found a seller of a new car very good to negotiate with for this reason (versus the person who has owned a car for a while and the tax sting has long since worn off)

Forgive me for the wild goose chase. I realized the error of my ways and so laid out the car details I question. Thank you for the feedback.

This^^^.

The haircut is so severe when selling an almost new car that someone bought new, it's difficult if not impossible for most sellers to accept the full shellacking they are facing. At any rate, it's easy enough to find out what a 2015 RAV4 is worth with X number of miles and decide if it's worth buying as opposed to new. If it is, offer him that and stick to your guns. Also pay $50 or whatever for the dealer to put it on a rack and look underneath for damage but any 2015 car that has had an accident would most likely show on a carfax or whatever they call it up there.

Toyotas depreciate so slowly that there is often no good reason to buy slightly used as opposed to new. :cool:

I would not touch such a vehicle with a 10 foot pole unless it was severely discounted. If you buy it new off the lot, there is zero stories. No azzhat teen driver doing burnouts, no grandpa leaving the emergency brake engaged for miles, no car that turned out a lemon and someone wanting out ASAP etc. etc. On a $30k new car, I would look for max. $25k, otherwise I'd just go for new. Yes, that's $5k, but you are already spending a boatload of money, so it is only 20% more to get a no stories car ...

G

Consider the value of retail incentives, too. Low APRs and rebates can narrow the gap.

So when I saw the add I thought it might worth looking into, but not being really in the market decided to not pursue. Also, this would have been for my wife and she wasn't interested yet in changing vehicles. She has half the commute I do, so she drives the thirsty F150 (5.4). I can buy years worth of gas before the savings...oh that's a whole other argument.
For much of the reasons cited here I will likely buy new when the time comes. Since I'm generally a long term owner I will get my value from buying new.
Thanks for the replies; always interesting to get the various perspectives.

It's December. The 2016 cars have been out for a while. A 2015 is now "last year's" model.

When I had my wholesale license, I used to search for the word "moving" on Craigslist in the car section. I'd call up someone who was leaving the state, or better yet, the country, and tell them that I'd agree to buy their car at a significant discount, but would let them keep it right up until the last day and even drive them to the airport after we completed the deal. I had several takers since folks end up have to rent a car or bum rides from friends if they sell well in advance of a move.