Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see May lease deals!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Sorry to hear about your little incident Lynn. It could have been worse though. Glad you are okay.
I have an appointment to take it to the appraiser next week.
I am usually a very careful driver, but I have known so many people who have been in the same situation the person moves forward at a speed that appears they are going to merge into traffic and they stop.
I checked out the site, but unfortunately they're all too far away make it worth my while.
I thought the Seafoam Blue was supposed to be one of the most liked colors (although I know they didn't make many of them.) I wonder why they didn't...
We will go for the power pack, as its nice to have the power windows. Also the velour trim is quite nice too.
I might try to fit cruise control after we get it and run it in. I fitted it to our Corolla and it wasn't to difficult, apart from finding a place to mount the speed sensor on the transaxle.
lynanne 1 - usually we get crappy options in Australia so it is unusual that we should be getting power windows whereas in the US you don't. We also get digital speedo and tacho in the central pod, not the analogue instruments that the US model has.
panic. ABS is a very useful feature in the wet and
slippery conditions. And even if you can't steer around, in the panic situations it WILL make your stops shorter, no matter how good your standard brakes are to begin with.
Some of the drivers simply don't understand what
ABS stands for. They overestimate the benefits of
the system and start to tailgate the cars in the
front of them and pay less attention to the road
conditions in general, believing that no matter
what they do, ABS will save them.
You don't have to be ingenious to practice how to
use it. A couple of panic stops in the control
environment of an empty parking lot on the rainy or snowy day will give you a very good idea what the system is all about.
Worth of every penny.
melodyecho, how's the service in Molle? They seems real friendly, not like Superior Toyota who stress you out, just want your money.
My belief on what colors are available is based on this site. I have not seen a 2001 brochure yet, but if it is in the brochure, they must be offering it. I asked Jay Wolfe Toyota to send me one, but they never did. I asked the internet sales manager about it in an email and she said that she was had one for me when I came in.
My favorite color was the seafoam blue, but now my favorite is Black Sand Pearl and that is the color I am planning on getting.
Did you tell the dealers you have been dealing with the color you wanted and that you wanted a 2001 model or did you just tell them that you wanted a seafoam blue one?
Actually, I think if Toyota perfected what they had, they would stay number one!! The only problem is when a dealer knows he is selling the better, they forget we are the buyer...
Give the guys a deal...
On certain exposed roads, especially 65 mph highways, I definitely notice being buffeted by crosswinds. Ditto for being passed by gigantic trucks that are obviously going 80 mph+... On the whole, it doesn't bother me much, but a few times I've felt compelled to slow down a bit to stabilize matters.
But I LOVE driving this car. Can't beat the mileage, that's for sure... It's pretty darned zippy, even in mountainous areas. I've been stopped numerous times by people telling me they like my car (with one person shouting to me as I drove out of a parking lot...). And every guy who's pumped gas for me has had lots of questions.
I noticed a couple posts referring to a recall, though, and wondered if someone could bring me up to speed here. Anything I should be worrying about? having had my last car totaled in a head-on collision in July, I'm a little paranoid when it comes to safety these days.
Also wanted to relate my car-buying experience to you guys. Not a pleasant process!! I wasn't planning on buying a new car to begin with, and wasn't in a position to do so, being in between jobs (that is, in the midst of a major job search and doing only long-term temp work at the time). My salesman was way too high-pressure and kept trying to force me into a Corolla, when I kept telling him I wanted the most basic car I could get.
He kept insisting that all the cars were the same price, that none of the cars on the lot had manual transmissions, and said the only way he could get me financing was to submit the application based on a Corolla. My answer was that if he called with an approval on a Corolla, I'd be saying "no, thanks." After an hour of my pleading "You mean there's not ONE Echo on your lot with a manual trans that costs less than a Corolla?!"... he finally led me (grudgingly) outside to see the one Echo they had in stock. Needless to say, it had a manual trans and cost $3,500 less than the Corolla he was trying to pawn off on me. And that, my friends, is what I drove away in the next afternoon...
I've had my new Echo for not quite two weeks now (still less than 150 miles on it) but so far it's been wonderful. A few comments on the car buying process, and a few questions.
The decision to buy the Echo was brought about by unforseen circumstances -- I'd been planning on trundling along for another year or two in order to save a little longer. I'd been driving a 1986 gas guzzling tank of a lincoln towncar. So old and large was the towncar that it had a beeper for backing up, and I was frequently mistaken for a dump truck. It was dying in pieces on me -- leaky trunk, dead power windows, a radio that blew up, wiring that fused and caused the back interior lights to stay on during night driving, mold in the airconditioning system -- and then finally the steering snapped, and that was pretty much the end of that.
I purchased a nice little 1988 Chevy Nova fairly cheap, (I knew every inch of the repair history, and wasn't worried about it at all) as a stopgap car, and was certain that it would get me through those next two years I'd been counting on. Three hours after purchase, an elderly gentleman who'd apparently never actually learned any of the traffic laws, plowed through a blinking red light and completely totalled my brand new-used car.
I took advantage of the holiday weekend to hit every dealership I could in the local area, new and used -- looked at Mazda's, used Hondas and VWs, Toyotas, etc. Hated the Mazda dealership, way too large and impersonal, we practically had to mug a salesman to even get their attention. I also was not as impressed with the Mazda as I had hoped after everything I had read about it. Most of the 2000 models they had left were ES, while I was going for a lower end model, but I was still less than overwhelmed.
The Toyota dealership was the last stop of the day. I'd noticed the Echo because of a seafoam blue Echo that parks near my work every day, and wanted to check it out. This dealership had 4 Echos on the lot -- two 2000 models, two 2001.
The dealership was swamped. Apparently, all their previous Columbus day holidays were very quiet, and they let half their staff go home, and were unprepared for the rush of car buyers who descended on them. Still, they got to me fairly quickly, and when they determined I was interested in the Echo, basically just tossed the keys at me, said "take it for a drive," and then went off to help someone else. I appreciated the trust there -- I don't think I could have gotten a test drive at the Mazda dealership to save my life. I also checked out a 1999 Corolla they had on the lot while I was there, and then went home to think it over. I decided that I much preferred the sitting position of the Echo, and the fact that the car would be brand new for the same price (my first *new* new car!)
Called back the next day to see what they could do on the price. The window sticker price they'd had on the car -- black, automatic, w/both option packages, was 14.5K. They offered me 13 K instead, and I didn't haggle over the price really, but did argue them down a couple hundred on the extended warranty which I added on. This seemed like a good price to me for the package, even given that it was a 2000 model. Hopefully, I wasn't too far off. A total lack of hassle from the dealership -- no real pressure from the salesman, perhaps a tad more from his manager, but considering they'd already given me the price I was hoping for, it was nothing big. When I asked them about floormats, they suggested I look elsewhere, since in their opinion the ones they had to offer were overpriced, and I could do better. (I'm actually sort of regretting that -- I've found no floormats specifically for the Echo out there, and purchased a set meant for the Corolla instead -- a tight fit, but they were right about the price, 50% less than I would have paid for the dealers Echo floormats, apparently).
Besides being my first new car, this is also my first small car (I can't count the Nova, as with
only two trips on city streets in it before it was wiped out, I never really got to know it...). I find that between having driven the towncar for six years, and the recent accident, I'm overcompensating wildly for space, and the actions of other vehicles. Hopefully, I will soon adjust to the feeling of having so much extra room to maneuver.
I am nervous about the reports people have given about it being buffeted around in high winds on highways -- has anyone found this actually made them feel unsafe, or as though they couldn't control the vehicle? I purchased the Echo despite these reports since realistically, most of my driving will be city driving, not highway, but, I'd still like to be prepared, and know what I should expect. It's not a problem I've experienced before, as the towncar, despite its other problems, was like a particularly large boulder, completely unmoveable by the forces of nature.
Reading through these archives, I also wonder about the paint job on the Echo. Is this an inferior paint from Toyota's other vehicles? I already have two minor scratches -- one, unfortunately, from the bushes I have to park next to, and the other from taking a suitcase out of the trunk. I also see a lot of reports here about the need for touch-up paint, and chips from stones on the highway. Is this the equivalent of any new vehicle, or a particular problem for the Echo? I'm going through a frantic stage of wanting the Echo to stay mint as long as possible, and wondering if I'm just not being careful enough, or if this is the norm.
Apart from that, the only other nerves were caused by the cold engine light coming on for about 2-4 minutes each time I start up, which the dealership assured me is normal until the engine warms. I'm a small person, and really appreciate how high up the seats sit, and the view it gives me of the road. And, after my experience with the towncar, and the dying power windows, it's actually a huge relief to be in a car with good old-fashioned, reliable, *hand-cranked* windows instead.
I'd been looking at the Ford Focus as well, which every single reviewer seems to love (while only about half of them are as fond of the Echo) but there seemed to be too many recalls and problems reported on that vehicle. I need something rock solid dependable, and am counting on the Toyota name, despite the fact that this is the first year of a new model.
I also appear to be one of the few people who just outright love the look of the Echo, and do not understand why so many people call it ugly.
The gas prices make this car even more attractive with each passing day.
Your are right about the free country.
Having spent 7 wonderful years (well, the first 4 weren't that good - had to learn English from the scratch and the American way of life in general) I
would say that this is the best country under the Sun.
The Evil Empire past (if you get my drift) allows
me to recognize all of the blessings this country is enjoying. Just lately I'm getting a little bit confused and surprised with the level of popularity of the liberal (read: communist) ideas.
And those ideas are generally wrapped in the very attractive rhetoric, so they're not as easily recognized as such.
Dear Americans, I've seen that all: Socialist/communist propaganda was a part of my life since I was born and until I arrived here, in the US.
I don't want to see and hear that again.
Please don't allow this wonderful country to be steered towards dependence on the Big Brother. History showed time after time how disastrous it can (and will) get no matter what continent you're on.
In other words - don't get Gored.
Your children will thank you.
I'm only 5'6" and hate being anywhere near the dash, so I drive with my arms fully extended, and have the seat al the way back...
Works great!!!
Saw a Prius at dealership and was very impressed.
The high seating position for such a small car is almost my favorite thing about the Echo and why in retrospect I would never have made another choice. I also prefer manual to power windows; never understood the big deal about rolling a window up or down; with power I'm always zigging and zagging another inch or hitting the wrong button (usually with rental cars). And I don't like cruise control so I don't miss that either.
I really think the car looks great but I understand (objectively) why people think it's ugly--to me it's just "cool weird," which is infinitely preferable to all the other faceless drones you see out there. I wouldn't mind if they discontinued the seafoam blue as some have talked about, now that I have one--maybe it'll be a collector's item some day...
way car loans get figured and sold to customers.
There are legal challenges to it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/27/business/27LOAN.html
then i wanted an Accent GSI..
and then i wanted an Echo again..
now i wanna get a yamaha or honda scooter.. hehe
You're right, politics don't belong to this board.
Unfortunately our freedoms and the existence of this very board depends on the politicians and the course, this country will take as a result of the President race.
I build my views on my past experiences. And they weren't that pretty. Truly hope that americans will learn on mistakes of others.
In my post I was referring to my Russian past (remember former President Reagan called the Sovient Union an Evil Empire).
And what I learned in a couple of words is:
don't trust the commies (hidden or open).
The consequences could be disastrous. Look at Russia after 80 years of communism. Not a pretty picture.
Bush is not an angel. But Gore in comparison is true evil (as any disguised communist).
I really know what I'm talking about. I've been under commies for 25 years of my life.
Please be aware.
God bless America.
rukawa- heeeee, heeee. That`s so funny LOL.
I just purchased an aftermarket cruise control made by "Specific Cruise Systems" (SCS). It is a "Servo" type unit rather than the older "Vacuum" type which means that the motor that pulls the throttle open is electric powered rather than engine vacuum powered. It was more expensive than the vacuum motor types but my experience with them is that they sometimes won't maintain speed when the engine is running under heavy load like a steep hill or a strong headwind. This is because of too little vacuum available under full or nearly full throttle conditions. I am very happy with it.
The dealer said that he could have it installed for me, or I could do it myself and it wouldn't affect the warranty as long as it was installed by a reputable outfit. The place that handles the SCS unit wouldn't sell it uninstalled, and I wasn't sure that the dealer considered me to be "reputable" so I had them install it.
to echoz:
Note that this unit doesn't require you to mount a speed sensor to the transaxle. It just picks up speed information from a "vehicle speed signal" in the wiring harness. As a result, the installation is very simple. Besides the electrical connections (which are mainly to an existing connector in the Toyota wiring harness), there is only the servo motor unit which was mounted on my right spring tower on existing bolt holes (I wouldn't let the guy drill any holes so he modified the bracket a bit instead to use the 2 existing holes), and the little control lever that mounts below and behind the turning signal lever. It looks very clean, and similar in styling and graphics to the Toyota controls. Most people wouldn't know it from a Toyota factory unit.
On the highway I could tell that I "Little Sir Echo" was working a little harder than usual, so just for fun I floored it at about 60 mph to see how it would handle itself. It down shifted to second gear and pulled like crazy. That variable valve timing is really slick the way that little mill honks when you put your foot in it! Any way it soon shifted into 3rd and the next thing I was doing 75. It reminded me of that kids story about the "Little Engine that Could". Anyway I traded an F150 4x4 for my "Echopod" (as my friends and family humorously refer to it) and don't miss that big tank one little bit.
In summary: One canoe - no problem.
About crosswinds. I get a vibration on my Echo at about 60mph and over in crosswind situations. I'm pretty sure its some kind of whistling around the windsheild because it increases with the crosswinds and vehicle speed. It doesn't seem to last long, only during strong gusts.
Has anyone else noticed this ? I guess it could be the antenna because I usually extend it fully when I'm on the highway.