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New Toyota Camry Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report

558 messages,  Last post on Oct 30, 2009 at 1:05 PM

You are in the Toyota Camry Hybrid Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer

What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry Hybrid, Car Buying, Sedan


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#392 of 558
Re: Trunk dimensions? [larsb] by nvbanker
Mar 31, 2008 (2:54 pm)
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Replying to: larsb (Mar 31, 2008 12:56 pm)

(Just my opinion.) I bet any good lawyer could get your warranty restored if Toyota ever tried to void it because you merely had a hitch installed.
 
If there's a hint of a hitch installed on that hybrid - I bet NOT. I've seen them stonewall for much much less.
#393 of 558
Re: Trunk dimensions? [larsb] by wvgasguy
Apr 01, 2008 (7:00 am)
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Replying to: larsb (Mar 31, 2008 12:56 pm)

"I bought the hitch used." or if you got the car used: "It was on there when I got the car."
If it was an issue then I don't think these arguments would hold watter. However Toyota says "recommends" it does not say prohibts./ Recommends sounds like a suggestion, not a rule. If they had followed it uop with comments on voiding the warranty then they might have an argument but a recommendation (same way with oil changes, tire pressures etc) is not a finite requirement in my opinion (for what that's worth ).
#394 of 558
Re: Trunk dimensions? [wvgasguy] by nvbanker
Apr 02, 2008 (10:41 am)
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Replying to: wvgasguy (Apr 01, 2008 7:00 am)

However Toyota says "recommends" it does not say prohibts./ Recommends sounds like a suggestion, not a rule.
 
Have you forgotten how Toyota denied the existence of the "sludge" scandal in their engines for nearly a year? Then blamed everything from independent shops changing the oil with the wrong type, to negligence on the part of the owner for not changing it soon enough, or at all. If the car hadn't been to the dealer and logged into the Oasis for every oil change, they denied coverage on a froze up engine for a long long time before they finally admitted there could be design problem.
 
If I see a hitch on a Hybrid Camry - I'm going to assume the car was abused, and bet I could pretty easily avoid a claim that way. The burden would be on the owner to prove they did not abuse the car by pulling too much weight with it.
#395 of 558
Re: Trunk dimensions? [nvbanker] by larsb
Apr 02, 2008 (11:20 am)
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Replying to: nvbanker (Apr 02, 2008 10:41 am)

That would be easy. In the absence of any proof I towed anything, the court would side with me instead of "$40 Billion In the Bank Toyota."
 
Being that I don't own anything "towable" nor could a review of my bank records turn up anything that said I owned or rented anything towable, I'm sitting pretty.
 
This is kinda silly anyway. No one has ever heard of any hybrid car getting "de-warrantied" because of towing. Talking about it is a solution looking for a problem.
#396 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [s60leaser] by mikec
Apr 03, 2008 (11:19 am)
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Replying to: s60leaser (Mar 30, 2008 7:27 am)

Allow me to clarify; the "2009 Fully Loaded Hybrid for $24K" - this basically included the opportunity costs, fuel cost, maintenance cost, lower trade-in on current car, etc.
 
I will provide this as a rough summary which helped me make my decision (I'm excluding taxes, title, licence from this scenario to keep it simple):
 
If I bought now:
Camry Hybrid (fully loaded) : $28,000
Minus Trade-in/Sales of old car :$12,000
Net on vehicle: $16,000
Minus avoided maintenace: $2,000 (was near a big maint interval in terms of miles)
Minus avoided fuel cost: $1,500 (minimum)
Plus refund on extended warranty: $250
Plus Camry Maint for a year:$250
 
Overall net cost: $12,500
 
If I bought a year later (estimate):
Camry Hybrid (loaded): $29,000 (could be higher or lower)
Minus Trade-In/Sale of old car: $9,000 (could be higher, but the trend pointed to this)
Net on vehicle: $20,000
Plus additional maint: $2,000
Plus additional fuel cost:$1,500 (minimum)
Minus refund on extended warranty: $50
Minus Camry maint (which I would not have since I didn't buy the car in the previous year): $250
 
Overall net cost: $23,200
 
So basically, it was $11,000 "cheaper" for me to buy now, than wait a year.
 
You can look at what you pay for a car as one factor - I took a more wholistic approach to determine my oppotunity cost.
 
So bascially, I am driving a new car for $12.5K, and, as Larry David would say "prettay, prettay, prettay" happy about the decision.
#397 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [mikec] by talmy1
Apr 04, 2008 (6:18 am)
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Replying to: mikec (Apr 03, 2008 11:19 am)

You are counting items twice in a way that makes the difference greater. Looking just at expenses and assuming cars held for same period:
 
Buy now:
Net on vehicle $16000
New maintenance $250
Lost future value trading new hybrid that is a year older $3000
Additional maintenance of new hybrid held a year longer $2000
Overall net cost 21,250
 
Buy in a year:
Net on vehicle $20000
Maintenance of old car $2000
Additional fuel cost $1500
Additional extended warranty cost on old car $200
Overall net cost $23,700
#398 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [talmy1] by mikec
Apr 04, 2008 (7:31 am)
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Replying to: talmy1 (Apr 04, 2008 6:18 am)

Your numbers do not make sense. There is no double counting. (although I should have been clearer that the Camry maint. and refund on Warranty cancel each other out in the "buy now" scenario; the net number is still correct.
 
Each transaction would need to be viewed as discrete events and compared.
 
The future value of the hybrid resale or maintenace have no relevance in the buy now vs one year later scenario. It's the opporunity cost of purchasing the Camry now, not selling it in the furture. Not only are they not relevant, your estimates for furture maint and resale are incorrect (becuase you assume them to be the same as my current vehicle.)
#399 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [mikec] by talmy1
Apr 04, 2008 (9:06 am)
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Replying to: mikec (Apr 04, 2008 7:31 am)

You are showing the difference in cost between buying this year (let's call it A) and next (lets call it B), so you are looking at B-A. If you add an expense, say X, to B and also subtract it from A, then the difference in cost is B+X-(A-X) or B + 2X - A, so the cost is factored in twice. You've done this on several items which make a purchase this year more favorable than it actually is.
 
As a separate matter, I tried to take into account that by buying now you end up with a hybrid that is a year older, so will at any point in time have more depreciation and presumably more maintenance cost. Hard to say what those exact values are, and I just plugged in the same numbers as for your current car, but it still should be part of the equation.
#400 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [talmy1] by jaxs1
Apr 04, 2008 (9:17 am)
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Replying to: talmy1 (Apr 04, 2008 9:06 am)

Yes, I have seen car salesmen use that type of logic to sell cars. They say you better buy it now, because if you buy later your trade-in will be worth less than it is now (ignoring that the depreciation on the new car will also start at that point).
#401 of 558
Re: To buy a Hybrid now or to buy a regular next year [talmy1] by mikec
Apr 04, 2008 (10:24 am)
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Replying to: talmy1 (Apr 04, 2008 9:06 am)

Again, nothing is factored twice - let's look at the assumptions I am using. And I will do this clearly without X-B+C formulas. And I will even simplfy it. This is a classic economics example.
 
Today, based on my assumptions, what is more advantageous by now or one year later?.
 
Assumptions - I want to drive a similar style vehicle. I want to avoid excessive out-of-warranty costs, maintenance costs, or fuel costs. I prefer to buy a new vehicle.
 
My current car is a sunk cost. I have it. It is a fact it will be have less value when I sell it one year from now with the additional mileage. (So the whole depreciation of the new vehicle (Camry) is irrelevant - it does not factor into the purchase decision. (Sure it may factor into a furture selling/purchasing decision down the road, but that is not the part of this decision scenario)
 
It is also a fact that it I stay with current car, I will have at least $2,000 in additional maintenace, and at least $1,500 in additional fuel costs. Right there, based on today, if nothing changes, I have "spent" $3,500.
 
It is an estimate that the price of a Camry Hybrid will go up by $1,000. I think this is a conservative estimate, Other's may disagree. A basic 2007 TCH was $25,900. A basic 2009 TCH is 27,160, so I think I'm in the right ballpark.
 
It is an estimate of how much my current car will be worth a year from now. I see a $3K difference, based on the trends for similar models. Maybe it wil only be $2K less. Again, I thnk I am in the ballpark, but others may disagree.
 
So if I do "nothing" I am still out the maint, additional fuel. and current resale potiential (total $6,500)
 
If I buy next year, I pay 29K, sell old car for 9K, So cost is 20K. I have to add in the maint and fuel differentials, because I had to incrur them. So that's $23.5K of "opportunity value/cost"
 
If I buy today, I pay 28K for the car. I sell my old car for 12K. So the cost is 16K.
I have to factor in the cost avoidance and fuel savings of $3,500, because I would have incurred that (even though I do not have the old car). (Some may disagree but remember, I know I will spend that if I do not buy now, so it _has_ to factor into consideration. So it's $12.5K to me in terms of "opportunity value/cost").
 
If I buy next year, I pay 29K, sell old car for 9K, So cost is 20K. I have to add in the maint and fuel differentials, because I had to incrur them. So that's $23.5K of "opportunity value/cost"
 
Buy today - $12.5K
Buy tomorrow - $23.5K
 
Again this is "opportunity cost/value", of the "what-if", not "actual dollars" examines after the fact a year from now.

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