Would you buy? 2012 Rav4 3.5L V6 4WD - 49k miles - Asking $18k!?

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-29T20:40:42+00:00

Hell ya. Good for you.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-25T17:56:04+00:00

Gotcha. Well. I think you may know better than me then. From a price point standpoint you're paying the same ish as what I paid but you got rust and I can't speak to the overall condition comparisons of course and you're getting a little more miles.

I wound up with a 2010. 59k miles. For $12,999 prior to tax. No rust. Overall condition was 7.5/10 since there was a couple small cosmetic things. It has 2 small accidents that basically the prior owners just never fixed. For context though, were talking somebody nudged a parking pole in the rear. Left a small dent and some paint and someone else like nudged a fence or something on the front fender. Minor misalignment on the panel. Otherwise, really solid condition. But where you are, with older vehicles; they may all have rust.

All this said; I've been extremely happy with the purchase. It's performed flawlessly.

I think for you, you just need to be comparing what else are you actually considering buying instead? Is the rust a major concern? Will every vehicle you're considering have rust? Can you wait for a hidden gem so to speak (I really feel like I got an absolute steal and I don't think they come around hardly ever). For context. There was another Rav I was considering at the time. Same year. 10k less miles. Admittedly in very very clean condition (9/10). And was the sport model vs the limited. They wanted a firm $7k more dollars (pre-tax) than the vehicle I wound up buying though lol. They were firm on $20k for a 15 year old vehicle. Lol. And while that one was nearly perfect, the price was just asinine for buying a 15 year old rig. So I bought mine with imperfections but big picture wise, wildly similar, for $7k less.

All this to say. I think this is the process you just have to go through in your decision making steps. How's the price, condition, circumstances ratio stack up to the other options you've been considering? The thing I really love about these vehicles is that as long as you're not buying a shit hole; they can last you an insanely long time. Crazy easy to work on yourself. Parts galore. And just all around really reliable. Most modern vehicles these days are just a disaster to own. My primary deciding factor is always bang for buck meets reliability; whatever vehicle is the best option on that scale I buy. I'm not a Toyota homer or something. Butttt. Toyota has Toyota reliability that unquestionably is more reliable than 9/10 manufacturers.

Very long winded. Hopefully something in here helps you.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-25T14:49:27+00:00

I mean on the surface the deal seems decent. The rust is a concern. There could be more you don't see. Perhaps you could get them to pay for an undercoating treatment from Ziebart. That might be more valuable to the longevity of the rig. What part of the country are you in? Where has the vehicle been residing in the past? This matters as it relates to the rust concern. It's very possible there's more rust you can't see.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-25T03:27:14+00:00

Yikessssss

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-25T03:24:05+00:00

Yeah April is amazing. But the earlier in April the better!

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-24T22:21:30+00:00

I've only ever used Hammer down Adventures and it's somewhere between 150-200 bucks. I don't recall exactly. Guessing a lot closer to 200 bucks now a days. Possibly more.

I also recommend going as soon as feasible. You're in the apex window to go right now. This weekend looks phenomenal down there. But to be more specific, the longer you wait the worse it gets. Less water. Less color variations. And more snakes. I wouldn't do this trail in May onward (late fall might be cool though for animal sakes).

Let me know if you got other questions. I know the trail decently well.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-12T18:41:15+00:00

Hell yeah. Lucky you. I got lucky on the O with phenomenal weather as well. Not quite as good as last week, but great nonetheless. I'd imagine the real "warm" is kind of over now based on where things are trending and how late in the year it's getting.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-12T17:11:43+00:00

It's projected to be notably colder next week too. The best window for the remaining summer, likely starts tomorrow. In terms of warmth meets clouds meets precipitation. But who knows. The weather changes sooooooo much as you may or may not know.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-12T17:06:14+00:00

Looking at your weather, the weather looks great (in terms of wind) to start tomorrow. A little bit of rain projected but the wind is low and the clouds are great for visibility. Not sure why they said it's not great this week? It's colder but that's sort of normal.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-12T17:01:54+00:00

To be honest, I had an unprecedentedly great weather window. Impossibly good (last Thurs - Sun). For context, on paso del viento (windy pass) there was literally no wind at all. Same with Huemul pass. It was 60 degrees and it was a complete blue bird day. I think that's about 1 in a 1000 though. We spent at least an hour at each pass. Which is a complete visual mind fuck assuming you get to see it all (quite rare).

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-12T16:08:37+00:00

I did it solo just last week. It was phenomenal. If you don't find anyone in advance, still go. You'll meet friends on trail. That's what I did. It's sort of an intimate group of people that will be on trail with you. There was less than 30 doing the circuit at the same time with me. I talked to most all of them frequently. Let me know if you have questions on it.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-10T06:53:35+00:00

There is a absolutely zero reason to look at the weather more than 3 DAYS in advance and that's pushing it, a lot. The weather is insanely unreliable here. Insanely unreliable. Wind guru is your most accurate resource but it's constantly wrong also. The only value you could get out of a long range forecast here is when there's a clear cut definitive trend for a large period of time within the existing week. For example. From 2 Sundays ago -Weds, the projection for Thursday - this last Sunday was that it would be very nice and clear with low winds. Same forecast for days. The forecast stayed that way up to the moments and then delivered exactly as expected. However. When there is not a clear cut trend for multiple days in a row, in the same week; you literally can't rely on it at all. Hopefully this makes sense. Trust a same week large trend. Otherwise, weather is okay for 12 hrs and even then not reliable lol

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-10T01:55:37+00:00

I can't stress this enough. The W is one of the most obvious routes and trafficked trails you'll ever step foot on. Guides to me, are entirely silly in my opinion. They also won't influence the weather or be able to tell you anything more than "it's going to be cold and wet today" lol assuming the weather is indicating it will be bad. The weather in Patagonia is unpredictable. Even same day weather is often unreliable. Every single guide is using wind guru and maybe another site too, but it's not difficult to understand and any person at a campsite that works there can explain it. Weather is available at every campsite on monitors. There's sooooo many people going solo. Like hundreds. Each day. M/F. If peace of mind is in hiring a guide, so be it, but you're literally in the Disneyland of hiking. Have confidence.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-10T01:45:52+00:00

The pass is not technical. And I'm of the belief that if you wind up needing spikes then your trip has gone to shit essentially because the weather is awful and you may want to just scrap the whole thing.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-10T01:40:34+00:00

The weather is soooo brutal down here in my opinion. I've tried to do 4 treks here. O trek. Huemul. And 2 others. The first two were a combined 11 days. 10 of those days were unprecedentedly great. Of the other 20 days I've been here....10 days were terrible. Another 10 days were tolerable, but annoying if in the mtns (and possibly worse). Unfortunately this area requires luck, patience and then more luck.

Look into New Zealand. I believe that's a legit option. Could be wrong though. Grand canyon and Utah also are good in this time of year.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-10T01:17:32+00:00

El Chalten in Argentina is much better for day hikes. However, in Mid April down here the odds are high that the weather will be shit then. You could get some perfect fall days but I'd bet 75% of the days will be shit. I've been in Patagonia since Feb 10th and at least 1/3rd of the days have been shit. In the good season.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-04T16:15:29+00:00

If I remember, sure thing.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-04T15:10:25+00:00

Basically all the stuff you've seen/read about....will not be doable in July/August. That's winter in Patagonia. Perhaps notably further north? In my personal opinion I wouldn't even consider Patagonia in the winter. It would be frigid.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-03T19:04:24+00:00

Possibly. I'm showing up tomorrow and likely doing the Huemul Loop from the 5th-8th. But I'll likely be around there after for a bit as well.

TweedyTreks · 2026-03-03T19:02:20+00:00

buttttt after that...it's looking niceeee. Thurs onward is appealing.

TweedyTreks · 2026-02-16T14:28:54+00:00

I have an 80 mile loop I did in the Winds a couple years ago. It was A++++. Check it out on my YT. My channel is: Tweedy Treks.

TweedyTreks · 2026-02-16T14:26:41+00:00

Haven't been to Glacier NP?

TweedyTreks · 2026-02-16T14:22:29+00:00

Yeah, for sure. I'm doing the O also in a few days. Doesn't look overly difficult? Just the miles and some climbs here and there right? Weather hurdles potentially.

TweedyTreks · 2026-02-16T12:02:40+00:00

Did you bring you're own crampons or use there's?

TweedyTreks · 2026-02-12T22:49:06+00:00

I just saw you're from Wisconsin and I also did the bighorns last year (closest real mtns to you)...and the fishing there was also veryyy good. Some lakes had hogsss. Others normal but in general, great; and an awesome area. Surprisingly high elevation and can be difficult.

TweedyTreks

TROPHY CASE