Your questions answered: Why are Toyotas so hard to buy?

Long wait times for Toyotas and sometimes crazy prices are on the minds of carsales shoppers this week.

We delve into what’s going on – and why people aren’t getting the sort of service and information they deserve.

There’s also one reader wondering why the latest EV from Ford isn’t headed our way, while another is concerned about what an EV will be worth once its expensive battery pack is no longer covered by warranty.

One reader wants to know how best to plan for his first EV with a home charging installation.

And then there’s the bloke with a V8 Commodore that’s making the right engine noises but no beeping noises…

Question:

Answer: Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series prices are high because people are paying them. The market is pretty simple and works on supply and demand. But keep in mind the advertised price is often different to what they actually sell for.

That said, near-new second-hand versions are typically higher than what a new one would cost. Except you can’t order a new one because the queue is too long and Toyota is expected to change the drivetrain – possibly adding a hybrid – sometime soon-ish.

As for that near-new one, it’s often someone profiteering from the stratospheric demand. Toyota has tried to stop it but is failing. And, no, there’s nothing the ACCC will do because the consumer organisation encourages a free market – whichever way that happens to go.

Question:

Answer: It sounds like you received the price guarantee on your RAV4 Hybrid when you placed the order (Toyota stopped it in May 2022, meaning anyone who ordered from then had to lump any future price rises, of which there have been multiple).

That’s a bonus because it means your price is locked at whatever it was when you ordered the car. The bad news is, like many Toyota customers, you’re getting the run-around on delivery times. Or, at least, you’re not getting a clear picture of when the car might arrive, which is ludicrous in an era of tracking and planning.

You’re one of many would-be Toyota buyers currently not getting the treatment you deserve when spending that much money.

Fortunately, there are now alternatives. The Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER isn’t cheap, but it’s a surprisingly good car. Great to drive, relatively efficient and well presented. Our advice would be to switch to the Nissan and hopefully get it sooner.

But don’t cancel your RAV4 order. When Toyota finally gets around to delivering it, have a look at the used car values and if they’re still higher than the price of what you have to pay – which they currently are – you could take delivery and sell it straight away for a handy profit.

It’d be a nice little earner off the back of more than a year of frustration.

Question:

Answer: You’re right, it is a cool-looking car. But despite being manufactured with the steering wheel on the right for the UK market, at this stage the new Ford Explorer EV is unlikely to head Down Under, instead being reserved for Europe (the same nameplate is used on a very different vehicle in North America).

Add it to the pile of very cool Fords we don’t get. Others include the Bronco, Bronco Sport, Edge, Maverick and Mustang Mach-E.

As for why we don’t get it, it likely comes down to volumes. Australia is a relatively small market and the focus for Ford is Europe, China and America – although the Ranger is big business in Australia.

We are expecting to see the Ford Mustang Mach-E here sometime in 2023, though. So that’s one consolation!

Question:

Answer: You’re right, replacement battery packs are expensive, just as new engines and gearboxes are expensive. But just as an engine or gearbox generally doesn’t expire once the warranty period has ended, don’t expect your battery pack to die once the eight-year warranty has finished.

The biggest issue with lithium-ion batteries is degradation related to various factors, including charging cycles and temperature.

Given EV batteries are carefully temperature and voltage controlled, they tend to last longer than batteries in your phone or computer.

So expect some degradation – maybe 10 per cent – but also expect many more emissions-free kilometres after the battery warranty has expired.

Question:

Answer: Car-makers are often open to helping out with small issues like this if they occur shortly after the warranty period has expired. That can be especially true if you’ve serviced their car at one of their official outlets.

First step is to ask the dealer if they’re prepared to honour it as a warranty repair. Point out that the item is generally a life-of-vehicle component and that Australian Consumer Law stipulates a vehicle should last a reasonable time.

We don’t think five-and-a-bit years is a reasonable time for a horn. We’d be surprised if the Holden service centre or AC Delco outlet didn’t come to the party.

Question:

Answer: Good thinking in preparing the house when the sparky is there and everything is easy to access. Have a chat to the electrician about the best type of wiring. A 32A wire will get you about 7.4kW provided your local electricity provider allows you to draw that much from a single phase (most do). And 7.4kW will do a full charge of any EV overnight.

But if three-phase is available and won’t cost much more it could be worth considering, especially if your local electricity supplier limits the maximum current from each phase. Either way, a three-phase AC outlet can supply up to 22kW, which most new EVs won’t accept – but it would be the ultimate in future proofing.

As for where to put the charger, there’s no typical or standard place for cables. MG, Nissan, Kia and Hyundai have models with the charging port in the grille on the nose of the car. Porsche, Audi and others put them behind the front wheels. Tesla bungs them in the back corner, as do other models from Kia and Hyundai. So it can be at any location around the car, depending on which you buy.

Our recommendation would be to get a charger with at least six or seven metres of cable so it can reach any corner of whatever EV you go for.

Question:

Answer: EV utes are on the way – and there’s already enough interest from fleets and businesses to suggest they’ll be a big hit.

That said, we appreciate they’re not for everyone. There will be some applications where an EV ute currently isn’t up to the task. Typically that involves heavy loads and/or travelling big distances. Each can theoretically be solved by ultra-fast charging, although the tech and infrastructure isn’t there yet.

Rest assured you will have plenty of diesel-powered utes to choose from for years to come. All the big players are planning diesel drivetrains in their load luggers for a long time into the future. If the market were to take its natural course, we’d suggest diesel utes will be here for another 20 years or more.

There’s one big unknown here: emissions regulations. The federal government has promised to introduce them but currently there are no details about what that legislation might look like. If it’s as strict as what is applied in Europe then petrol and diesel drivetrains could be phased out much sooner. But we’d still expect them to be around in a decade.

Got a question but don’t know where to find the information you need? Email us at editor@carsales.com.au

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