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Comments
I thought they put a pocket on the passenger side of the console where you are supposed to hang an iPod sitting out and exposed in plain view waiting to be stolen and also out of arms reach of the driver.
You can also disconnet the wiring from the MP3 player and take the player with you or just store it out of sight.
Who wants that hassle?
It would have been better if the AUX and power port were under the center armrest under a flip up lid by the gearshift where it would be hidden and easily accessible at the same time with no dangling wires hanging out.
Simple enough, even though Toyota should have done it.
until I turned the dash lights control to maximum lighting.
P.
Thanks -
My next door neighbor has a 5 year old Camry. When I pulled up to my house my wife said " I thought you were getting a car like the neighbors". The ride is very smooth and the MP3 port access is awesome. My other neighbor that owns a Lexus could not believe it was a Camry.
I had been looking at the Accord but when I saw a picture on the new Camry I knew that would be my next car. Thanks to this forum I was able to get pre-approved on my loan and had all of the information I needed.
I did go to the Honda dealership to get my game face on. They had a 2006 Accord in stock that I liked. I was able to get them down on the price. They had a $499 doc-fee and would not give me much for my car. I told them I was going to the Toyota dealership to look at the new Camry.
Once at the Toyota dealership I test drove a base LE with nothing on it. They located me the Camry I wanted. The deal was very painless thanks everyone here.I was able to get a better deal on the my new Camry than the 2006 Honda.
http://tinyurl.com/h53hx
Interesting.
Toyota wants you to use that pocket on the right side of the console as pictured above.
That is a very awkward reach for the driver and any iPod left unattended there will make the car a target for "smash and grab" thieves.
You could unplug the portable mp3 player and take it with you or move it to the glove compartment every time you park, but that's too much hassle.
The storage are where the AUX port is better for security than that exposed MP3 player pocket they designed, but still still not nearly as nice as being right at arms reach under the center armrest. If the aux and power ports where under the center armrest instead, that would have been great.
There is NO WAY Toyota is doing this on '07 Camry's. Right now, if you were to shop Accords and Camry's equipped the same way, the Honda is going to be significantly cheaper virtually every time.
I'm not saying the new Camry isn't worth it, or trying to start an argument. I'm just speaking facts. A car in the first few months of its model life is going to cost more than one that's been out there for a while. Particularly if said car was already #1 in sales. If Toyota dealers have to sell new Camry's under invoice like Honda dealers are doing right now, something is wrong.
And as for that doc fee---that's just murder. Nobody reasonable is going to pay that. If you negotiate the doc fee with the price of the car and make it one package, it should work out.
I suppose in real world terms there's little concern for the 07 Camry and the like to be stolen via decryption technology because there's not a fence market for it, but for a luxury car that's coveted, say, outside the US, the risk could be compelling. That the criminal geeks could conceivably duplicate a smart key fob and sell the stolen car without signs of physical tampering makes the crime attractive. The fob OEMs really need to use 128- instead of just 40-bit encryption.
At any rate, I still want to test drive the Camry and go from there. I'm sorry to hear about those who have had the trouble. I can appreciate your fustrations. I does sound like Toyota is doing what they can to remedy the issue, however my biggest issue is that they will not communication a VIN range of cars that could be affected. I'm not sure if it's because they don't want to or they can't. At any rate, I'd be fearful that sometime down the road this issue would surface and would be SOL.
I'm not sure what to do now.
Don't worry and fret about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two Toyota dealers in Tn would not come off a dime. So I went to Georgia and the gave me discount right off the bat. They did not included the Southeastern fee. They also gave me more for my trade-in and had a smaller doc-fee.
After this my purchase price was less than the Accord. The only things I did not get was the 6 disk changer with XM and dual air. But I did get a better looking car that I can play my MP3 player on.
Besides steel wheels have some advantages. You don't have to cringe every time you parallel park and scrape the cheapo wheel covers. Similarly, when it's time to get new tires, you don't have to fret that "Bubba" the tire man will mangle your alloys on the tire changing machine!
But it would be sort of nice if they could bring back metal wheel covers. I'd even go for the old "dog dish" hubcaps with separate trim rings.
I "just" wanted to add some more bass, however this journey quickly turned from "just" adding more bass to replacing all speakers. However, after a good needs/wants test, I decided to "just" add a subwoofer. Of course, adding "just" a subwoofer is not "just" that. Here's what I had to do.
1) Install an amp
2) Install a line convert for an input for the amp (since my amp did not have high level line input
3) Connect the subwoofer to the amp
Details.
1) Install an amp
- ran a 8 gauge power cable from the battery to the trunk
- this meant cutting into the gormet in the firewall and pulling the power cable through
- it also meant "lifting" the door sills of the passenger side (front and rear)
- I installed a switch (I used an old cell phone recharger adapter) into my 12V adapter (the one in the centre console) for the "remote on" of the amp. I know I could of just spliced into the 12V line, however I didn't want to touch the factory wiring
- of course, the cables were run according to best practices, including proper circuit breakers
2) Installing a line convert
- this is probably the toughest decision I had to make since this device would take the signal from my rear speakers and convert into an RCA output for my amp. My amp is extremely clean so I wanted a clean converter. The reason why it was my toughest decision is because if I bought the wrong device then I would have tons of "amplified noise". I talked to a number of installation shops and prices ranged from $30 CDN - $250 CDN. I found a great shop that swore by a specific "no-name" product for $60: I installed it, it worked and I have no engine feedback (noise)
- anyway I took the rear speaker leads (in my trunk) and wired it to the line converter
- I connected the RCA out from the converter to the amp (because my amp can accept input from one channel and send it to the subwoofer channels, I only need one pair of RCA, if you need two, then buy a "y" connector)
3) Connect the subwoofer
- I bought a cabinet for my Kicker 10" subwoofer
- I mounted the amp onto the cabinet (I added an additional platform for my amp)
- connected it to my amp
- from the amp, I connected the rear speakers (remember I took the original lines and connected it to my line converted.
FINALLY, I balanced my amp output so it does not drown out my factory front speakers and I was done. The full installation took me about 8 hours an I loved every moment of it (of course the pros will take 2-3 hours and will cost about $120 -- great deal!). The total cost of the upgrade was about $300 CDN (Canadian) or $225 US.
Hope this helps.
But take a look at the Honda "prices paid" thread. Buyers are reporting Accord EX V6's for LOW 23's!!!
If you aren't familiar with Accord structure, that's the top of the line Accord, lacking only Navi. V6, leather, heated seats, XM, moonroof, dual climate, etc...
That's just hard to beat. I want to look at the new Camry, but its really going to have to bowl me over to be a better deal than an Accord more than $4k off MSRP.
Crutchfield told that there are currently no speakers that will fit the 2007 camry speaker locations w/o modification.....???
Well, they cannot guarantee that I will have a car by next week. Further they offered to pay a lease payment and extend the warranty. I explained that the warranty is useless for me since I will not have the car more than three years because I am leasing, and since I prepaid 50% of my lease payments, they should pay 2 payments. They said they would only pay one month, and that I was out of luck. So, I got the color that I didn't want, I don't get the car for my road trip, I wait weeks longer despite being out-of-pocket and all I get is one half a lease payment for my trouble. For everyone that thinks toyota is handling this well, I certainly beg to differ. They are treating their lease customers very poorly for their shoddy engineering.
Thanks,
Russ
They told you up front that they couldn't guarantee
delivery of the color you want within your time
frame.
You made a decision to accept the Blue car, They
didn't force you to take it.
They offered 1 month's payment; you wanted 2. That'
part of the negotiation process.
If you didn't like their car and/or offer. why not try another dealer?
Further, my decision was to accept a blue car that worked. Instead I got a blue car that drove for four days before it went belly-up. Now I'm without a car for 3-4 weeks. I didn't choose this.
Lastly, it's toyota that made these offers and is trying to stick it to me and not the dealer. In fact, my dealer has been fantastic and they are trying to find me a new car much sooner rather than have me wait for toyota. Toyota could take a lesson in customer service from their own dealers.
:sick:
Mackabee
Anyway, I think there were several people in that thread that stated Toyota had offered to either replace the transmission, buy back the car, or get them another car. Have they offered you another car and just can't get you one quick enough? Have they offered to buy back the car?
Also, when was your car made (on door label) and how many miles on it when it broke. If you don't mind can you post the last 6 numbers of the VIN?
Mike
Sorry for your troubles, but why on earth did you do that?? I hope you realize that if your car is totaled or stolen during the lease, you will be out the $8000. Your insurance will pay off the leasing company, you will get nothing.
Rule #1 of car leasing is to put as little money down as possible. You can't build "equity" in a leased car, since you don't own it. You could have put the $8000 in the bank and used it to help make higher monthly payments, while pocketing the interest on the balance. And Toyota wouldn't have your $8000 right now.
Unfortunately as you are painfully aware, you got snagged by a situation where the vehicle was made pre-May 2006 with a defective transmission, and the vehicle wasn't pulled or fixed by Toyota from the dealer inventory. Toyota doesn't appear to have made public any plans to fix these vehicles before customers buy them.
As for what I'm waiting for, well that is very interesting... The Toyota TSB instructed the dealer to contact them and await instructions. They contacted Toyota, and were told that they would contact me directly within 24 hours. I called them later that same day, and I was told about the one month payment, the extended warranty, and that I needed to wait for my "case manager". That is the whole story. The only things that stick are Toyota's response to leaser, customers who put cap reduction down, and your condescending post.
It was your choice to put down an insane CAP COST reduction on your lease. As noted by several posters here, doing so has many significant drawbacks, not the least of which is the opportunity cost of investing that money, the fact that that sunk sum builds ZERO equity in the vehicle you are driving, and your signficant potential loss in the event of theft or accident (unless you purchased GAP insurance). I would add to the list of risks the potential "$$" (your words) if things go wrong...
FWIW, that you didnt get the color you wanted has nothing to do with the transmission issue, and speaks a bit to your predisposition against your Toyota experience.
As a fellow consumer, I wish you the best of luck, as this is not admriable situation for Toyota whatsoever....... but I cannot empathize with you.
~alpha
John leases a car with nothing down, has to pay $450 his first month and does not receive a car for first 4 weeks because of a bad toyota transmission. Toyota offers to waive the first month lease payment, or the sum of $450. Total loss to John $0.
Steve leases a car with 1/2 the lease payments down, has to pay his first month lease payment of $225, and does not receive a car for first 4 weeks because of a bad toyota transmission. Toyota again offers to waive the first month lease payment, or the sum of $225. Total loss to Steve, $225.
Frank leases a car with all the lease payments down, doesn't have to pay his first month lease because he prepaid it, and does not receive a car for first 4 weeks because of a bad toyota transmission. Toyota offers to waive first month lease, but this is meaningless because it was prepaid. Total loss to Frank, $450.
If you think this is fair and logical, then that is more scary than the bad transmission. Also, don't try to support your position by claiming that the guys who put cap reduction down did so at their own risk because they would lose it in the event of accident/theft. That is a red herring. Under those circumstances, it would be the leaseholder's insurance contract which would govern (and he purchased that risk), and under those terms, yes he/she would be at a loss, but under the circumstances at hand, it is the lease agreement that controls. Further, your feeling that the fact that I put cap reduction down "caused" the problem, is not legal causation. The causation is toyota breaching the lease agreement by not providing a functional car for the first month of the lease.
It is scary to think that logic like yours sits on juries.
Now lets get a little off topic: Let's assume you bought a loaded XLE for $30k (for round numbers). Let us assume you had no trade in, $8k to put down, wanted low payments, with the mind set of putting average mileage on the car (otherwise you wouldn't lease) and selling/trading in the car in three years. Your purchase loan terms would on a 72 month buy would be $330 +/- a month (at 7.5%) with a loan balance of <$14k at the end of 3 years. Your cost at this point is about $16k not accounting for any positive equity. Using general lease terms, the same scenario on a lease would cost you about $18k and you walk away with nothing.
If you are scared of your own inability to discipline not to spend that money, wouldn't you have been better off putting it into a locked (no withdrawals permitted) type of interest bearing account that your payments could be pulled from automatically (many bank and credit unions have these types of set ups)?
In one way, you aren't really any different than someone who paid cash for the car. Neither would get any financial reimbursement for the period of the time you don't have access to the car.
In a second way as compared to a cash purchaser, you wouldn't get the 'benefit' of an extended warranty period, whereas a cash buyer potentially would. But, you aren't as financially committed to the deal as a cash purchaser is either.
Each consumers situation is going to be different, and I wouldn't spend a lot of time comparing to others who you perceive may be getting a 'better deal' in the handling of their problem.
For example suppose you could lease a car for 36 months for $400 per month with nothing down, you will pay $14,400 total.
Alternatively you could choose to pay $7200 up front and pay $200 month for 36 months. You are still effectively paying $400 per month for the use of the car.
As I see it, if you are without the car for a month, then your loss of use for that month is worth $400 in either case.
:shades:
Mackabee
Further, they are not being nice by offering me a lease payment. I paid $8K and $225/month for a total of $16,000 for 36 months of vehicle use. If they are providing me with only 35 months of use, they are obligated to compensate me. I don't need to "unwind" the deal. I am entitled to enforce the lease, just like they would be entitled to enforce it if I breached the lease and failed to make my payments. It's a two way street.
Honestly, I can't believe the toyota apoligists posting on this board. Do you people work for toyota and are posting anonymously or something.
I don't think you (the leasee) will get anything. You don't own the car, the leasing company does. If you don't put down anything and the car is totalled, you get to walk away assuming you have gap insurance. If you put down 8K and the car is totalled, you still walk away but you are out the 8K. I may be wrong but I don't think the leasing company has to be nice and refund any money to you. I guess the question is that when you put down a lot of money and the book value of a totalled or stolen car is more than what is owed on the lease, does the insurance company pay the lease company book value or what is owed on the lease? If they pay book, then the leasing company ends up a winner but as I said, it is not clear that they have to refund any money to you.
Still, I wasn't pleased having written the big check and no new car to drive. In hindsight, it was a minor bump. As is your problem.