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Comments
for your car?
My understanding of TMV is for seller to buyer, not seller to re-seller.
Manik.com now has side steps for the HL..
Hobie
If you pay 1000 or 1500 over invoice your not getting ripped off. Please note that the dealer gets 2% hold back off the Base MSRP up front. If you finance your car through them, the dealer also stands to make another 250.00 to 1000.00 on that as well.
I passed on the extended warranty and rust protection. Most importantly read the other post here at edmunds. Go back through the last 75 post and see what other information you can gather.
I think your choosing and outstanding car with great safety features and Toyota reliability.
Good luck!
Thanks
Made my order from http://www.toyotaguys.com/index.html
1-800-231-2909
$4.75 ea. + free shipping
To thirdsuv: the TMV @ $15527 for my car was trade-in value per Edmund's. Private party is $16859 and Dealer Retail is $19230...and they offered $13000? Go figure.
Thanks guys, your feedback helps alot!
Your story also is an illustration of something I discussed on the Sequoia topic last week. Many customers hold off introducing the trade until the price of the new car is agreed to. Most dealerships love it when you do this. You have mentally taken ownership of your new vehicle and it makes you much more flexible on the trade. Had you discussed the trade and the new one at the same time, you would not be experiencing the gloom right now. You still would not have the HL in your garage, but you would have had less time and emotion invested.
I know this is hind sight. Maybe after a bit more research, you will find that the dealership was on the level on the trade. If not, keep shopping.
I was a little apprehensive of the lack of power that the 4 cylinder might present going up the steep mountains here in Hawaii. I was pleasantly surprised. It drove smoothly uphill and I didn't feel like it was under-powered. Of course I test drove one up the steep mountain road but I still wasn't quite sure it could keep up with the road conditions. Of course I don't expect to be carrying a whole bunch of people or things in this car. Its mainly for my wife and little boy. You have to make sure that the overdrive is shut off so it stays in the lower gear. Its funny but I haven't seen any other HL on the road in my area in Honolulu except at the dealers. So far driving the HL has been a very happy and rewarding experience. If anything I believe that the price for the HL here in Hawaii might even go higher if the law of demand and supply goes into effect. Living here on an island that becomes a reality very quickly.
jhambham@aol.com
The highlander is a great vehicle. I've got 800 miles on it in 1 week. A gold v6 with everything. Paid $2,200 off MSRP. It was worth it.
you asked me, several posts back, about paying extra for the PIO leather. When I was gathering info for my purchase, in late January, I found two options for Leather. One was MSRP @ $1,429 (PIO) and the other was MSRP @ $1,015.
After you asked me about paying extra for the PIO I started looking through the invoice pricing sites, including this one, and I cannot find mention of the more expensive price.
I did find a copy of a window sticker with a price of $1,429 for "LA1" "distributor installed options" "perforated leather faced seats." The copies of dealer's invoices that I have list "LA10" @ $1,024.
This is why I said that I would have paid extra for perforated leather if they were richer.
I hope this is not confusing the issue even more than it was...
For those of you who purchased the HL after researching the Lexus 300 ....
I'm currently making the decision between the 2 vehicles. Would you mind telling me what caused you to decide on the HL instead of the Lexus? Was it only the price difference or did you find other things about the HL that you preferred over the Lexus?
Thanks for your input!
Lauren
BTW, the on board computer says that for the 3000 miles driven it has an average of 21+ mpg overall (V6, FWD).
I had used autobytel and found my dealer 120 miles away...so I went to my local dealer who usually never gives good deals and told him my story. They do a "locate" on the color I want and gosh, there were at least 8 on his list. One was in the same city that my autobytel dealer is in! My local dealer told me they'd give me the same deal and are calling about this vehicle today to see about doing a dealer trade.
I figure I can get out of my autobytel deal because the vehicle he promised me never arrived...or I think it did, it's just that it was the dark blue and he knew he made a mistake and didn't want to admit to it. I can't believe it is this hard to give away $31000!!!
To cliffy or dianne: If I have signed something with the price on it and given the dealer a $500 deposit (he just verified my credit card, hasn't ran it) can I get out of it smoothly? How do I need to approach the dealer...it was originally signed assuming that the vehicle was in production and would be delivered in 2 weeks....so since this didn't happen am I obligated to him in any way?
Keep in mind that the HL uses a double overhead cam engine, which produces peak torque at 4400 rpms. Consequently, at 65 in fourth gear you are just getting into the meat of the torque curve and not having to dip heavily into the throttle to obtain reasonable performance by shifting to a lower gear. You may have noticed how lazy most vehicles are in overdrive . . . a consequence of too few rpms and a heavy vehicle.
Fuel economy in the HL will suffer marginally without an overdrive. In fact, there are circumstances in which you may achieve better fuel economy at higher rpms since the engine is operating at more efficient levels and you do not have to apply more throttle to accelerate or maintain speed. My experience with the HL is that it is a little sluggish at low speeds but really shines as you get the engine wound up. Passing at higher speeds is effortless and a lot of fun. I believe it is geared extremely well, and is far superior to my Explorer V8 which produced 288 pounds of torque at only 3300 rpms. It was relatively sluggish in fourth gear due to the overdrive ratio. Due to small displacement engines, neither the Explorer nor the HL are good tow vehicles for anything but a small utility trailer. Don't ever believe the manufacturer's tow ratings . . . they are more than optimistic, and really place undue strain on a light duty vehicle.
Each time you drive your HL, thank Toyota for having the forsight to properly gear the drivetrain for your personal enjoyment.
Next, to those ordering the HL, be careful. There are some very good dealers out there with good pricing and honest people. There are also those around who will take an order with no intention of ever getting your vehicle. It is called "taking you out of the market." It is a stupid theory but still practiced. The idea is to take any order at all. They will put you off for weeks or months until you wear down. They will then call you and inform you that a similar model has arrived, "but it is going to cost a bit more." They hope to be able to bump you to the profit they wanted in the first place.
There are also dealers around that will sell your vehicle out from under you. I know of a local dealership here in the DC area who took a bunch of orders for 4Runners back in '96 for roughly $2000 under what any body else would do. If you were lucky enough to get a call on the day it arrived and you arrived at the dealership within the hour, you got a fantastic deal on a Runner. If you didn't and another customer walked in and offered them substantially more money, you lost. This is when I became a believer in the axiom, "the best price isn't always the best deal."
Finally, deposits are funny. Dealers may try to tell you that they are non-refundable. That is not true. You may have to fight them for it in some sates, but you can always get it back. Until you take delivery of the car, they can't compel you to buy it. If you pay by credit card, you have more recourse since you can challenge the charge very easily.
Robert
I did look at the sticker and get a list of my options - I think it as close to a limited without getting one, but we didn't want the limited package, and this had the options we wanted plus some (and it was ON THE LOT). So, here goes:
Mill. Silver v6 AWD
AG AW CF CQ(and UZ) DJ DL DR GN HE MG PE PG RF V5
We added about 200 miles to it this weekend - and not only are we getting even more pleased with the vehicle, I've now got all the really useful info from in this list, reinforcing the decision that we made. Some of our friends like it so much, THEY'RE thinking about one too.
Happy Suving!
What is the deal with the "break-in" period? The rep I spoke to at 1-800-GO-TOYOTA told me that the engines have already been broken in and that there are no restrictions on driving (but apparently the engine computer is "learning" your driving habits for a while).
Also, opinions on timing of first oil change?
Kind sir, could you delve further into your explanation of overdrive/underdrive. Is it simply a matter of the fourth gear being greater than 1.0 and overdrive being less that 1.0? I missed the exact intent of the discussion, I guess. If it isn't overdrive, when should we use it? I assume when we're cruising and the gear ratio would give us a little greater power for passing but less gas mileage, right? I'm happy with my HL and probably shouldn't read things I don't understand. Why? Because I'll immediately assume something might be wrong or I'm a complete idiot. My former students have already weighed in with their opinion. So, anyways, if you have the time, give me a hint as to exactly what I need to worry about with a HL that came equipped with underdrive. Thanks.
Wally
My mechanics believe the same thing as the people who answered your question. They believe you don't hurt the thing at all by driving however you wish. The only thing they suggest is to go easy on the brakes if you can. You are seating the pads to the rotors.
I do a small amount of racing inspired starts (like 1 out of every 30), and I haven't been heavy on the brakes. All in all, just don't go 90 and take off like a bat out of hell all the time is the jist I've got. And, I've got 240 on mine now.
drew_ "MB M-Class Owners: Photo Gallery" Mar 27, 2001 3:21am
Drew
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