Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Stories from the Sales Frontlines
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2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Maybe if I had that happen to me I would feel differently. I doubt it.
The extra 13% was caused by a combination of drunk driving and being drunk :P
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
He thinks it was a study that was bias about the value of seatbelts.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
You wrote that message twice, you must have been "distracted".
I think it is my problem if you are yakking on your cell phone, collide with another car, then I have to wait in traffic while the ambulance comes to take you away. When Healthcare becomes available to you, your fellow citizens will have to contribute to your medical care
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
If it was a fluke the chances of it working twice are even less. It's like the chances of winning the lottery. Since far more people survive a crash with a seatbelt, it is all the more reasonyou should be wearing one now.
Why don't you quote a bias study that shows talking on your cell phone doesn't make any difference in accident rates. I can find dozens of studies that show cell phones are a major cause of accidents, I haven't seen one study that says cell phones have no affects on accident rates.
I have also seen lots of studies that say hands free just as distracting as regular cell phones.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Given that you have already won the lottery does not change the probability of your next lottery ticket being a winner. But we knew what you meant! The odds are strongly opposed to your winning the next round.
I am wondering what the odds are in favor of us getting another story from the sales frontlines in the near future.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
Is the 2007 the end of the prior body style or beginning of the current one?
And more importantly (and on topic), did you grind Bill until his eyeballs bled and he screamed for mercy?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The sharks at the Subaru dealer were an entirely different story. I know where I'll not go for a car!
About as good as winning the lottery.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
if my vehicle is needed overnight i can take the opener with me.
you still have to push a button either way.
my wife had a funny onstar experience years ago.
one day she got a call, although we never used the calling feature.
after some confused conversation, the caller asked my wife, what is your phone #?
my wife replied. 'i have no idea, you called my car!'.
One of the caller's amny questions was "Does it have a power top"?
I had no idea and I told him I would go out to the car and look it over and call him back.
Of course, being a BMW, it had cute little symbols on the various knobs and switches. I tried everything hoping it was a top botton. No luck
But then I spotted a red button under a spring loaded clear plastic door. I flipped the door open and pushed the button onluy to hear...
" THIS IS BMW EMERGENCY SERVICE...WHAT IS YOUR SITUATION?"
I locked the car back up and called my customer back with the answers I had...No power top! Then I drove home...well actually to the local watering hole.
My cell phone go's off. It's one of my co-workers...
"Craig, the cops are here! Did you set off something in that BMW?"
At first I thought he was kidding then another person got on the phone and confirmed this.
" Tell that cop I have no idea what he is talking about"
Ah...technology!
'fez'...that's the important thing. Since she doesn't post here, I'll congratulate you on making her happy because we all know that will now make you happy.
I'm a little surprised that 'isell' didn't try to sway you toward a Honda before the Camry purchase. He must really be a friend of yours to let you buy something without badgering you on the merits of a Honda.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Maybe I'll buy your Genesis when you move to your next car. I won't have to ask if it's been waxed lately...
Craig, I dropped a line to your yahoo account.
"Craig, the cops are here! Did you set off something in that BMW?"
That is a good one, Craig!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Or maybe not....... :P
Geez...the reputation one can get around here just because one likes a shiny car.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Richard
I often wonder what goes through the mind of a driver whose car is on fire and he can't get the seatbelt unlatched.
Richard
if my vehicle is needed overnight i can take the opener with me.
There's nothing stopping you from carrying your opener around with you in a situation like that, if you need to leave your car someplace and still get into your garage. You still have your openers when you've got Homelink; you don't give them up or anything.
In fact I had a few situations where I left an opener with a neighbor while I was traveling for a couple days, so she could get in to feed and walk my dog. It doesn't hurt to have both the Homelink and your opener as an extra for whatever reason.
So , I was planning to buy a car and decided on either the Camry or the Avalon. I found each of them with the desired features and price range. :shades: The details :
09 Toyota Camry XLE - 4400 miles-$19900
08 Toyota Avalon Limited -27k miles-$22900
And here are the ebay links for both of these:
09 Camry - link title
08 Avalon - link title
So what do you folks think/suggest? Should I go for the lower mileage Camry or for the higher mileage but with more options and a bigger car in the Avalon?? The Camry sale ends at 5pm ET and so I am not sure if I should make a decision that fast !! And if yes to any of these cars-- how about the price?? I like the Avalon better as it`s a bigger,nicer car ,,but damn,,the really low miles on the Camry is really tempting !! Decision making times !..:confuse: :P
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
At that point, if it's too far to commute, I was already facing an extra $7k in yr 5.
I was holding out for a new car until he graduates, but with $4k rebates on Malibu's and my GM card maxed out at $3500, I decided to get one near the end of his 3rd year. My brother who is in banking said all the big banks just got together and decided that cd and mm rates will very soon get dropped to .5% and stay there for a long time. No sense saving money.
I did not know that - bummer!
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
So ya, months tick by untill earlier this month they leave me a voicemail on my cellphone account stating that if i don't contact them they will automatically bill my credit card for another years subscription even though i still have roughly 7 months of service left Now this really p/o's me i call them up and tell them i wish to cancel my Auto renew subscription of XM radio of course the operator trys to compensate with me, and when it was all said and done i ended up getting my CC taken off their accounts so i cannot be auto billed, even though i bet they will badger me with phone calls in the future.
I don't pay any of my utility bills in advance and i don't pay my mortgage in advance nor do i pay my car payments in advance, so i definatly will not be paying my Satelite radio in advance.
Extra mileage isn't enough to really matter, IMHO.
Good luck!
This accident that just happened is more typical of what happens:
The Eshs’ van was hit by an 18-wheeler head-on.
John and Sadie, daughters Rose, Anna and Rachel, son Leroy, daughter-in-law Naomi, grandson Jalen and Rachel's boyfriend Joel Gingrich all died at the scene. A friend of the family Ashley Kramer died at the scene as well.
Two young boys, Johnny and Josiah, were saved by their car seats.
The family was described as a pillar of the small community.
horrific accident
Occasionally someone is safe because they weren't wearing seatbelts, but usually people without seatbelts fly through the air and hit a tree, OR, their car rolls over on top of them.
I won't say more because it won't change anyones mind....but even in a fire, the person would have a better chance of escaping, because there is a better chance they would still be conscious....what's the use............
.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
What is this on the Avalon:
2008 Toyota Avalon
08 AVALON LIMITED NAV LTHR ROOF 1-OWNER 26k FLAWLESS
Do I see leather roof? That might be an estate sale too,...where does this vendor get his cars?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I was a previous Avalon owner, so I may be a bit biased. However, the Avalon is so much more car than the Camry (even the V6 Carmy) its larger, more comfortable and the interior materials are a touch better. The Toyota 2GR V6 is amazing, incredibly smooth and quick revving, not at all bad on gas either. The Avalon rides soft and quiet, not the best handler but secure. The one thing some people have compained about is the nav system, but I don't think that would be a deal break for most (I didn't have it on my 06). I miss my Avalon so much and am practically counting the days until I can get out of my Genesis and back into an Avalon.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
What are the reasons you liked the Avalon more than the Genesis? That sounds like an interesting story.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Richard
Must have been difficult keeping your ear on that hood at 90 mph and speeding up.....
Hey! Maybe that's mako's Avalon...
When we bought the Camry Saturday another option was an Avalon. Just seemed like more car than we needed and my wife was in immediate "this is fine" mode with the Camry. I wasn't going to argue with that. How much of that was that the Camry is black and the Avalon was white I don't know.
Don't trust the CarFax. E.G., I looked at some used cars last summer where the dealer published a link to the carfaxes. On looking closely at one I found a scratched mark on the taillight lens from the sanding done on the rear bumper to repaint after an accident. The shop didn't even both to take off the bumper to try to sand to the edge of the flex bumper. Didn't want that car. It had a clean CarFax.
Take the car to a professional body shop and garage for a thorough checkout.
I would be afraid of buying a car where the seller had a "rush" sale. I suspect the car will still be for sale tomorrow.
As for the Avalon, remember the Avalon is based on the previous Camry and was "improved" on that chassis. Then the new improved Camry based on the new chassis came out. Everytime I see the Avalon I think of how it's based on the Camry of the previous generation and am turned off.
The quickest test for a used car is a paint thickness indicator. I see some of those available for relatively low prices, but still a bit of money. Checking the differences in paint thickness from fender to fender will show up a repaint job. I was told that buyers use them at auctions to check for cars that have had damage and repairs, especially on newer, higher value cars where a repair might lower the price to a knowledgeable buyer who checks.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Richard
It mostly boils down to the ride and the refinement of the (V6 engine). A little quick history, I owned 2 Avalons prior (and 03 and 06) they were different generations, loved them both. When it came time to replace the 06 (lease up) the 09 was essentially identical, so I started looking at alternatives. In my mind I wanted something a little sportier and better handling. I looked at a bunch of cars (G8, TL, Maxima, Genesis) however the Genesis really was a great combination of features, style and price I was looking for. To top it off I think its a great looking car.
I drove it 3 times and thought I could live with the ride in favor of some road feel and nice handling. I have now learned (after just about a year and 10K miles) that I just hate the way it rides. Its jittery and expansion joints and ruts in the road just intrude way too much into the cabin for me. Its ride is a compromise, it tries to be a little soft like a Toyota/Lexus but also firm enough to satisfy the BMW/Infiniti crowd. That is what causes the "unsettled" characteristic.
Another thing that I have noticed is Hyundai's V6 isn't nearly as refined as Toyota's 2GR. Its slower to rev, doesn't have the grunt down low the Yota does and doesn't sound as sweet. To top it all off mine sounds like a freight train (clattering) at startup and according to other forums I am not the only one.
Sorry for being so long winded, but its not just a simple answer. The Genesis and the Avalon are both great cars. The Genesis wins on styling, interior materials, and handling (RWD) the Avalon wins on refinement, ride, and has a little more interior room.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Probably a REPO.
Everytime I see the Avalon I think of how it's based on the Camry of the previous generation and am turned off.
There are worse things it could have been based on. This is no different than any other manufacturer. Wasn't the Park Avenue on the same platfom as the LeSabre, the mid 90s Fleetwoods the same as a Caprice? The Maxima is the same platform as an Altima..... I could go on. All manufacturers do it, heck GM was king of it for a while.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
In terms of the runaway acceleration, I'm not sure that's true. At the time the "new" Avalon was introduced it was described as all new. It was on Edmunds that the review mentioned the basis was the previous generation Camry and not the then new generation Camry coming soon. I always found that interesting. While many people thought the Avalon was a truly different, unique vehicle, it is based on an earlier generation Camry chassis.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
1) Overspray....look under the hood, door jambs, under the trunk, undercarriage. That's where paint overspray will turn up....especially if a body shop wasn't real careful in masking off the car while respraying. Sometimes, the shops are so sloppy that you'll find overspray on the labels in the door jambs, the labels under the hood and trunk. Sometimes it won't be so easy to spot. But, it's very difficult and time consuming to mask against all overspray.
2) Feel around the edges of the hood openings, the door edges, the trunk edges, to feel if the paint feels different that on the rest of the car. If the paint is generally smooth everywhere else, and a bit rougher around the edges, there's a good possibility it's been repainted.
3) Under the hood, especially with a car with low mileage, look for parts that stand out as looking newer than the rest of the parts around it. While, there may have been some pieces that needed to be replaced due to failure, it's not very common when a car has low miles. If there are newer parts, I'd want to know why. Same with tires. If one (or more) tire looks like it has more tread than the others, only one of two things could explain that. First, perhaps a tire picked up a road hazard puncture that required the tired to be replaced. Or, the car was in a wreck where the tire was destroyed.
4) Look at the back side of the wheels. Some body shops only try to mask the wheels/tires in areas that you can readily see. Seeing paint on the back side is a pretty good indication that the car has had a repaint (and that the repair shop didn't bother taking the wheels/tires off the car before repainting). Same with the wheel wells. Is there any paint on the internal part of the wheel wells?
5) Look under the gas tank cover door. Any new paint there?
Again, these are just a few of the things I like for on a used car...especially a low mileage one. And, it comes from making many mistakes in listening to the seller tell me "nope, never been wrecked". Finding out later (after forking over my cash) that it had indeed been wrecked.
Also Ebay has a buyer protection policy for $50k if the car is grossly misrepresented. And as folks said-the listing should be up for sale again if there are no buyers by today`s auction end time. It`s been listed for about a week now. But if it is not sold,he can relist it..
Also the new 2011 Avalon is out - dont know if it is much better than the 05-10. But boy- the Avalon is as quiet and plush like the Lexus. And as Tidester said the newer Camry and Avalon are even quieter than the previous ones which already were pretty quiet.And yes the materials on it are better than the top line Camry too. And the price difference is only about 2k though.Let`s see how it goes. I will keep you folks posted !! :shades:
You do know that the 05+ Avalon and 07+ Camry are both on the "improved" previous generation platform right? The 07+ Camry doesn't have anything the 05+ Avalon didn't already have. The platform tweaks pretty much meant an entire new front section (north of the firewall) for the new (yes completely new in 05) 2GR V6.
No matter how you slice it the revised 05+ platform (GSV) is the base for many Toyota vehcles.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Solara got 31 MPG avg with about 238 hp. Good hp for that car, plenty of power. The Avalon gets 28 (these are total averages of combo driving) with 278 hp. More power than you need and could get you a ticket because the Avalon makes 80 feel like 60. It's that smooth.
Just some numbers to add to your calculations. I'd take the Avalon. Dave
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Me, I can't stand that Buick like floaty mushy ride and lack of handling but others do!
I think it was Motor Trend who compared the Camry to the Accord a few years ago.
They said..." If you like the ride of a ten year old Buick, go with the Camry"
I guess this is why restaurants have menus. Everyone has a different idea of what is good!
Oh well, gave him something to do!