A car is supposed to lose value the second you drive it off the lot, but the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid didn't get the memo. With gas prices high, used versions of this fuel-sipping crossover are selling for more than buyers paid new - and in some cases, more than a brand-new one.
Start with the receipts. CarMax recently listed a 2024 RAV4 Hybrid XSE with 29,000 miles at $46,998, well above that trim's original $38,735 sticker.
Carvana went further, pricing a 2025 RAV4 Hybrid Limited with about 5,600 miles at $48,590. That's $6,040 over what it cost new, and more than the $43,300 sticker on the 2026 version.
Used and gently driven, and still pricier than the new model on the lot. That's the part that breaks your brain, since a car is the classic asset that's supposed to lose value over time.
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High gas prices are only half the story. The other half is that there are almost no new RAV4s to buy.
Toyota is sitting on about five days of new RAV4 inventory, while the wider auto industry runs closer to 62 days. When the new lot is empty, buyers chase the used ones, and prices climb.
The new RAV4 is now hybrid-only, which should eventually cool things off. But factory lines take months to hit full speed, so the squeeze is here for now.
If you don't need the Toyota badge, cheaper new hybrids exist, with a Honda CR-V Hybrid all-wheel-drive starting around $38,580 - below those used RAV4 prices.
Production should ramp through the year and bring used prices back to earth, according to Bloomberg's reporting. The buyers paying a premium today are betting it won't happen soon enough.
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