The short answer is: yes, we picked a new vehicle!

Where we started

I started this journey after selling my car kind of on a spur-of-the-moment decision. My husband and I planned to purchase a new vehicle at the end of 2022 once I graduate. He was given a work vehicle (2022 Tacoma which is gorgeous), and my car was needing some repairs so we decided we could try having only 1 personal vehicle. Knowing that there is a vehicle shortage we decided to research vehicles and order one so that we had one when needed… Well this may have been a mistake

What I have learned

I started by researching whether we should go electric, stay with gas or hybrid. Looking into the price of electric vehicles we immediately decided to go with gas or hybrid if possible. This lead me to look into the price of replacing hybrid batteries. I found the cost of replacement quite affordable, especially with the length of time batteries last.

Throughout this inquiry process, I learned all about the vehicle shortage. The shortage is mainly due to a shortage in chips, that is chips that run the computer for the engine of the vehicle. Pretty important, but also such a small thing to be causing so much of an issue.

This shortage has caused huge inflation of used car prices, making used vehicles more expensive than buying new ones. Because of this, we decided to plan to buy new. At the start of this process when I inquired about the new vehicle we decided on in early February I was told it would be about a 3-month wait. When I contacted the dealership last week I was told a 9-15month wait.. Cue the stress!!! How can we wait for 9-15months?!

Due to this we are once again looking into different vehicles.

What vehicle did we choose?!

We chose a 2022 Hybrid Rav4!! I have always wanted a Rav4, so having the research point us in the direction of one was amazing! However, due to the 9-15 month wait for the Hybrid Rav4, we have decided to look into some other options. Those options include Hybrid Ford Escape, Plug-in Sante Fe, Toyota HR-V, and the Nissan Rogue.

Canva

Now what?

  • Figure out if we are staying in Victoria with my husband staying at his current job (aka has a work truck and would be able to wait for the Rav4)
  • Are we moving to Ottawa? Could my husband use one of his familes vehicles while we wait for a new one?
  • Do we try to wait out the shortage and hope that when we need a new vehicle they will be more accsessible?
  • Do we simply wing it and just buy a vehicle when we need even if its not what we truly want
  • We should probably go and actually test drive some vehicles!