New hot rod
- June 21st, 2007
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So the Mercedes was nice, but stuff was just insanely expensive to fix if it broke. We had a top of the line warranty, which was up very shortly, so it was time to cut our ties with it and get something that:
1) doesn’t take premium gas
2) is more reliable
3) has another good warranty
What’s weird is Jen and I really weren’t actively looking for a new car. The thought has been tossed around after that last round of Mercedes repairs, but that’s as far as we got. Last Friday we were going out to dinner w/ the in-laws, and on the way to the restaurant, we were stopping at the Toyota dealer to pick up the new car they had just bought. While they were off signing paperwork, Jen and I took a stroll around the lot. We saw an AWESOME fully loaded double-cab Tundra. Such an awesome truck, but at about 14-18mpg, not the best option for the 2 of us that drive 800 miles a week together! So looking at Jen’s parents car, the Camry….. hmm, nice ride, and it gets what, 30+mpg… hey now! Maybe we’ll look a little harder.
So, loving the Internet as much as I do, I did my research. I searched ALL Toyota dealers w/in a 50 mile range for the car that would fit our needs (and my legs), and the 2007 Camry did. Having never driven one, I got to the dealer about 30 mins before Jen, and took a 4 cylinder and a V6 one for a ride. Both very nice cars, but you can’t beat a 268HP V6 in a passenger car. And normally when you drop a larger V6 in a car, you can just cut the mpg by about 20% over the 4 cylinder. Not so on this one. Went from 33mpg/highway to 31mpg/highway with that upgrade, making it a MUCH better option than a 16mpg Tundra for either of us.
After crunching the numbers, it’s really not going to be that much more a month for us. What we’re paying more for in monthly payment, we’ll save in gas/repairs, so it’s near a wash for us, and now we have 2 cars that are only a year/two old.
I have to admit. I’ve always been a GM man, and the Mercedes was our first foray into foreign cars. But after having driven both the Tundra and Camry, they’re both really nice cars! And if anybody is looking for a Toyota, the guy we dealt with, Dave Sosnowski @ David Bruce in Bourbonnais, IL (there’s a free plug for you Dave, do I get the next 3 oil changes free????) was a great salesman. No BS, no haggling, and any question we had, he had an answer for. The overall experience was great, and oh yeah, we have a new car out of the deal too! I was prepared for the whole "this is what you paid for the car, I’ll give you $300 over that!" argument, but it basically went down- Dave: here is what we paid for the car, here is what you pay, here is MSRP, sound good? I’m used to the whole GM deal "now wait, I KNOW that LS package is $1500, why are you charging $2000, etc’ and sit at the dealer for 5 hours haggling. This was 1- me driving the car, 2- getting the price and options for warranty 3- deciding yes/no 4- leaving with a smile
Oh by the way, click -here- for a picture of the new car! Right before it made its maiden 50 mile voyage to work (which by the way, it rode way better than the Mercedes, and had more pick-up to boot)
