First Post, I need a little help or advice on a couple of questions. I am planning on purchasing a new tch. I have not owned a car in over 20 years, I have only driven a full size pickup or suv. Looking to get something with better fuel economy.

First question- Do I purchase an 07 now or wait on the 08 model? The reason I ask this is because I may not like driving a car and might be trading it off in a year or so. I know I will take a beating, would the 08 be worth waiting on and be worth that much more if I decide to trade?

Second- I have priced a 50th Anniversary model and have been quoted $2400 off MSRP. Is this a fair or good price on a year end model?
Any advice appreciated. TIA.

 

Welcome Silverfox - new TCH owner myself, and I think you'll be happy with your decision!

1) I've seen a few posts around here and elsewhere on the '08, and it looks to me like what they're doing is pulling features off the '07 to create a less expensive base model, and then upselling into the current set of features. '07 was a redesign of the Camry in general, and the first year of the hybrid Camry, so I'd be surprised to see anything significantly different (however, I've been surprised before - YMMV).

2) $2400 seems like a good hit off list to me, if you want everything that's in the 50th anniv. package. What's the spread between a loaded TCH and the 50th anniv. edition? Frankly, a year-end package on a TCH sounds great, because they're flying off the showroom floor in Denver - the day I bought mine, there were 3 on the lot, I drove the last one off the same day!

 

I'd also point out that the federal tax credit must be running out of time, so If you want to get that (I think it's still available? Buy by end of Sept maybe?) you won't want to wait too much longer. It's only $650 at this point but that plus the $2400 makes a nice incentive. It's more than I got when I had to pay MSRP to buy one a year ago, with a $2600 tax credit!

 

Good point about the federal tax incentive - it is $650 from now until 9/30/07.. Beyond that you lose it.

What state do you live in? If you look up the car on http://www.fueleconomy.gov, there's a link to incentives, including state tax incentives. In Colorado, the TCH gets a $2,265 credit off state income tax. In Connecticut, sales tax is waived, etc...

 

From a car vs suv standpoint.

I have been driving a truck for the lonest time, and I still love driving my truck, but I also love driving the car. It is a lot better ride and gets much better FE.

I think you will like the car.

 

I live in Texas, the only tax break would be the $650.00. Stevil, we have a small place in South Fork, CO. and will probably use theTCH to travel to and from. How do these do in the mountains? I know my Yukon seems to do a lot better on fuel up there than it does here. How is the power? Thanks everyone for your input, greatly appreciated.

 

I've not had the time to get it up in the mountains yet - hopefully at some point in the next couple of weeks I will... I drove from Denver to Cheyenne, which is a fairly gentle increase of 1,000 feet over long shallow grades over about 100 miles... about 37 MPG going up, over 40 coming back. That's at speeds between 75 and 80.

Power is tricky - the accelerator pedal isn't linked for hard acceleration (my 05 Accord V-6 would leap off the line), but if you need the power, you'll get it - just step on it. Driving with a CVT is interesting, as posted elsewhere here - the power delivery is so smooth that at higher speeds you may not be aware you're accelerating (also, the car is so quiet, except for the times when you're really using the ICE - like on steep hills)

I've read in some posts that I shouldn't expect the same gas mileage or power at high altitude (in both directions) - I don't know if that's true or not, and I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm happy with the mileage and power so far.

 

Update-I put up a deposit on the Blizzard Pearl tch last week as it was supposed to be in either last Friday or this Monday. It did not show up as of today. Now I find out that it has been scratched on the rear bumper and they are painting it at the port, supposedly. I am now concerned as to the paint matching, being that it is pearl. I am also concerned about pealing after being repainted and also if it was just a scratch or some more damage they are not disclosing. They have offered me a couple hundred more off the price. I guess I will just have to go look at the car when it arrives. Any input from anyone here? Any advise?

 

If it was on metal, ask if surface primer was used prior to painting.
Ask if at least two coats of the pigmented paint was used, (preferrably 3 for metallic paint, which I think it is.)
Ask if at least two clear coats were used.

If the answer to any of the above is "NO" find another car or be prepared to repaint it in 3-5 years in the patched area.

Also, since the paint is a metallic (I think) examine the painted area for fleck pattern consistency. If you can "see" the repair due to a difference in luster or sparkle, it will only get worse.

I think you got a very good deal on the 50th Anniversary badged car, so your decision is to accept the repair or be prepared to lose the great deal.

Good Luck.

 

1) The Toyota Hybrid Camry ("TCH") has a lot of options that you will not even find on the XLE or are options (e.g., Vehicle Stability Control - a great safety feature, Smart Key (a very cool feature), Bluetooth). I have also read that they are removing some of the features that you find in the Hybrid for 08 to make them cheaper and then up sell them as options)

2) Federal Tax Credit is being phased out as Toyota sells more and more Hybrid models. When I purchased my TCH, I only qualified for 50% of the credit. Some of the other manufactures (e.g. Nissan, who has licensed the Hybrid Synergy Drive from Toyota, and is now offering an Altima Hybrid may be a good alternative to the TCH in order to qualify for a higher Federal Tax Credit due to the fact that they have not sold that many Hybrid models)

3) Keep in mind that purchasing a Hybrid, has other non-financial benefits:
ˇ Image – Environmentally forward thinking folks, such as yourself, want to leave a greener planet for your kids/grandchildren.
ˇ Technology Investment – Remember the days that DVD players and Plasma TV’s were for the super rich? New technology costs more at first. We all know this to be true. Without those folks that were willing to help the Technology take off we would still be watching movies on VHS. The difference in this case is that we are investing in a better technology that will help reduce our carbon footprint.
ˇ Oil Dependency – Right now, we few Hybrid owners, are a drop in the bucket, we barely have impacted the daily consumption of oil. That will change as the technology spreads, becomes more affordable, and good willing some help from Congress.

4) Technology Improvements – The only thing that I think will help the Hybrid technology improve in the near future is battery storage capacity. Based on the few articles that I have read, battery technology enhancements are 3 to 4 years out.