I haven't had a full night's sleep in the last week, since I've now discovered the TCH.

I'm not a current owner, but hoping you owners can help play devil's advocate and assist me in finding tangible or intangible factors that will push me over the edge into a Camry Hybrid purchase.

Briefly, I currently own an '05 BMW 525i w/10k miles, and although it's a great car with 2.5 yrs free maintenance left on it, I'm looking to get into a new vehicle. (It has bluetooth, but doesn't have mp3 playback on stereo, no jack for Ipod, and I'm in the black on it right now, so feel the time might be right to sell to capitalize on equity.) As you can see, I don't drive a ton of miles.

Initial motivators to change vehicles were: saving some money on payment, acquire mp3 capability and external audio jack, and just getting into something new.

A good friend owns a Nissan dlrship so I spoke to him about getting a new Maxima 3.5L with CVT. All the features I want, the interior refresh has brought it much more luxury AND he'll sell it to me for net-net, meaning I buy for invoice less holdback and he makes no profit: an effective $32000 vehicle purchased for $29k and change.

THEN MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

I discovered these forums, learned a ton, and decided perhaps my priorities might have changed. Finally the TCH offers a blend of technology, fuel savings, a good stereo etc. without looking like a space pod. It has mp3 capability, by the accounts I've read a good stereo, and has bluetooth. With the amount of miles I drive, it will save me a similar amount on my car payment, but perhaps an extra $60/month ($720/year) on gas expenditures vs either my car or the Maxima @ 20mpg.

I'm REALLY leaning towards getting a TCH, but here are my problems:

1. The tax credit is great, but that's all I'll really reap here in AZ, where they haven't enacted HOV priviledges or other incentives.

2. I HATE thinking that I'll have to pay MSRP for a vehicle. The mark up is almost $3k and the breakeven point for my $60/mo gas savings will take a long time to attain, else the markup will gobble up my $2600 tax credit.

3. Also the camry interior seems a bit stark vs. the the maxima's, and since I have a dog, I'd like to get a black cloth interior instead of the lighter grey and cream options currently available. (MSN autos says there is a Dark Charcoal fabric available, but I can't verify that.)


One school of thought is, go with the TCH, save the extra $60/month and have your gadget laden wow-factor car, and drive it til the wheels fall off.

The other thought is, get the Maxima, hold it for 3 years until prices on the TCH fall and/or other more practical options are available (e.g. when they've positioned the battery to allow better trunk and pass through storage.)


Certainly I'm an adult and can make my own decisions here, but since this community seems to be so helpful, I'd love all current and prospective owners to weigh in on this through my eyes and let me know what your thoughts are.

Thanks a ton!

 

It's a really tough decision. The problem with waiting for prices to come down is that when they do come down, it's because there's a brand new and even more desireable model or upgrade. For example, I've read of a new, simpler, and more efficient and more powerful electric drive coming up for hybrids in a year or two (please note that my source may have been passing along a rumor just like I am). A new-tech diesel/biodiesel hybrid could be fabulous.

Before I finally ordered a TCH this week, I'd been shopping for a new car for seven years (!). I looked at every sedan out there. Problem was, my 17 year old Toyota with 200K miles is running fine, looks good, and is still a pleasure to drive. I just couldn't bring myself to buy anything. They say "buy a car you love and drive it 'til the wheels fall off." My car's wheels won't fall off. But mileage has started to be a factor ...

Finally the TCH showed up and the specs and performance numbers seemed just right for me. Since I trust and like Toyotas, I know I'll be content with the TCH for a decade or two.

Buy the car your heart leans toward. Prowl the dealerships looking for a model and color that catches your eye. Tell the sales folks "I'm not buying today, just looking. May I test drive that one?"

And feel free to completely ignore my advice. It's free, and worth every penny.

 

My advice is to go to the dealerships and bring your Ipod. Sit in the vehicles and listen to music for 10 -15 mins, drive them around afterwards. Go home, sleep. In the morning you can reassess which one you want more.
I know what I would get but you may have different expectations moving from the Bimmer.

 

Your Bimmer, and the Maxima, will feel "sportier" than the TCH. If you enjoy the ride of a sports sedan, you may want to think twice about the TCH, or any Camry for that matter.

In the other hand, the TCH has its own, unique and pleasant driving experience, and its a Toyota, which means its reliability should be bullet proof. For what its worth, the fellow that frequently drives me to the airport works daytimes at an import garage and said the latest Maximas are notoriously unreliable, he said the biggest problem is a series of computer chips that can go bad and are difficult and expensive to replace (if the warranty has expired).

 

I'd go for whatever "feels" best to you after you research and drive 'em all.

My wife wanted a loaded Camry. We then realized that the TCH is almost exactly the same price as the car that she wanted. The Tax Credit (if you buy very soon) offsets the discount that you would get on your car.

Additionally, the gas savings will be about $1K/ year and you are saving fuel itself, reducing emissions, and all of that "green stuff."

We decided not to worry about a few dollars monthly savings on the car payment. Geeezzzz these days a $50 a month payment difference is the same amount we spend on one dinner out with the family!

I'm the haggler of all hagglers. Especially when it comes to cars. I decided to give up on this one and just get the car that we wanted.
In short, buy what you want, enjoy it, and don't over analyze the deal.

Oh yeah.... there is a charcoal interior available on the non-hybrid. I don't think that you can get it on the TCH.

 

My car before my TCH was a 2000 BMW 540i 6spd manual. I loved that it was extremely fast and sporty, though I have to admit over the past year I rarely drove it even remotely "aggressively" anymore. What swayed my decision was that I was getting 18-19mpg, it required premium gas and most importantly for me, the warranty had expired. BMW repairs are very expensive, even at an independent shop. Last month I needed to replace the entire radiator, and there have been several minor electrical "gremlins." I ultimately decided that I wanted something that had an automatic, got much better gas mileage, was reliable, and exacted less of a toll on the environment. My requirements also included that the vehicle be crashworthy, and had to have side and head airbags as well as VSC.

The TCH fit the bill. I drove one and it was fast enough for me, accelerating somewhere between the Camry 4cyl and V6, and it had a comfortable and quiet ride. I decided these features ultimately fit my needs and got a TCH with leather and sunroof package. The leather was a must for me given it looks nice and is easier to clean than fabric, especially if you have a dog that sheds.

My advice to you would be to consider specifically what your needs and wants are and determine if the TCH is the best compromise for you. I can tell you that based on economics, if I were you, I probably would wait for my BMW factory warranty to expire before purchasing another car. My car was 6 yrs old and seemed to no longer fit my needs...

 

I have been driving a Toyota Supra which is lots of fun to drive with the turbo. However, the high price of gas and the issue of global warming has caused me to look at things differently.

There is no question that the TCH will not be as fun to drive. However, there is also little question in my mind that gas prices will continue to increase. Next summer we will be looking at at least $4 a gallon.

I decided that if I could find a car which used the hybrid technology and didn't look as ugly as the Prius, I would consider buying it.

Eventually, there will be more hybrids to choose from. But at the present, the TCH is IMHO the best available and has enough neat gagets to keep my interest.

Incidentally, the acceleration is pretty good even coming from a Turbo Supra.

 

Thanks to all so far. Definitely some good things to think about. I'd certainly appreciate any other opinions as well.

I am fully prepared for a less than sporty ride, and realize the reasons for a purchase of a TCH. Truthfully, this beemer is about the only car I've ever splurged on in my life.

Most of my life has been in company cars, and I wanted to step into the german engineering and see what the hubub was all about.

I really do like the car, and think the exterior styling is gorgeous, but I'm over the butterflies and don't need a blue and white badge to feel special.

I also agree with the poster below wrt the extremely high cost of maintaining my current car when the free maintenance runs out, which spurs me on to make a change.

I also think I'll need to visit a dealership and see touch and smell the camry. Since no one seems to have TCH in stock...can anyone tell me which camry model will have the most similar interior (including the JBL stereo) to the TCH?

Thanks all again!

 

That would be the xle v6. However, the TCH does not have the wood trim, sliding sunshade or the reclining rear seat.

 

By "sliding sunshade", you aren't referring to the "cover" that closes off the power sunroof when needed, right?

Also, on a completely off-topic can anyone tell me what is the difference between a "moonroof" and a "power sunroof"?