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Buying a Used Avalon

33 messages,  Last post on Sep 27, 2010 at 5:23 AM

You are in the Toyota Avalon Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Avalon, Suspension, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 4

#24 of 33 Is it worth it- '95 Avalon needs suspension work 180k by guitarplayeron

Sep 01, 2008 (10:10 pm)

Hello, I'm a poor college kid who's in the market for a first car. WIth insurance rates where they are my budget is <2k. So the neighbors are selling a '95 Avalon with lots of body damage on the doors, 180k, needs new tires, struts, brakes, radio. However, my father has evaluated the engine and transmission to be in good working order, and places the 180k as being of a more 'gentle' sort, since he is familiar with the seller. It will cost 1-1.5k to get the car 'running well' but it is running immediately now. We expect the selling price to be around $500. I live in NYC. Any advice would be well appreciated

#25 of 33 Re: Looking at two 2000 avalons [dreameral] by xruling

Aug 18, 2010 (4:00 pm)

Replying to: dreameral (Feb 22, 2007 5:33 pm)
I would not recommend buying a Toyota Avalon, new or used. I have a 2008 Avalon Limited. Bought it new. After just over two years, the FM radio degraded to the point that it is mostly unusable because of heavy static. Toyota representatives tell me that this is normal for this car and that there is no solution. If Toyota cannot provide or repair ancient technology like an FM radio system, imagine how screwed-up the rest of the technology in the car may be.

#26 of 33 Re: Looking at two 2000 avalons [xruling] by nimimi

Aug 18, 2010 (4:06 pm)

Replying to: xruling (Aug 18, 2010 4:00 pm)
I have had a much different experience. I've owned an '06 LTD and an '08 LTD and BOTH of them were/are outstanding automobiles. No problems whatsoever in almost 5 years of ownership. As for your FM, you need to see another dealer or talk to the Toyota area rep. about your issue.

#27 of 33 Re: Looking at two 2000 avalons [xruling] by fin

Aug 18, 2010 (4:54 pm)

Replying to: xruling (Aug 18, 2010 4:00 pm)
Take the advice given in Post #26 above. My '07 Limited is going strong at 60k, the radio is fine. Sounds more like a dealer issue... what about the 3/36 btb warranty?

#28 of 33 Re: Looking at two 2000 avalons [xruling] by popsavalon

Aug 19, 2010 (5:59 am)

Replying to: xruling (Aug 18, 2010 4:00 pm)
It seems to me, after reading posts on this site for a couple of years, that Toyota is plagued by a lot of BAD dealers who care absolutely nothing about customer service after the sale. I sincerely hope that this "culture of indifference" for customer service is not promoted by Toyota. I have never seen this at my dealership.
 
If you have problems like your FM radio that are under warranty, or extended warranty, they should be fixed, period! If the warranties have expired, it's just that stuff happens, and you probably have to pay to repair or replace the radio. The "normal for this car" response is pure and simple B.S.

#29 of 33 2001 Toyota Avalon Heater any good? by enoculus

Sep 22, 2010 (6:57 pm)

Hello,
 
I'm looking at purchasing a 2001 toyota avalon. It only has 42,000 miles on it, and the seller wants $12,500. I took it for a test drive today and really liked the handling and acceleration. However, I turned on the defroster and noticed that it didn't seem to push a lot of air. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. It gets very cold here (-20F to -40F for extended periods throughout the winter). Can anyone attest to the power of the heater in this car? Any other thoughts on the purchase?
 
thanks,
KB

#30 of 33 Re: 2001 Toyota Avalon Heater any good? [enoculus] by wwest

Sep 23, 2010 (8:57 am)

Replying to: enoculus (Sep 22, 2010 6:57 pm)
Sounds as if you haven't driven ANY new car for awhile, especially one of asian origin.
 
Toyota and Lexus use NipponDenso, or Denso US, for HVAC system design and sub-assembly production, HORRIBLY FLAWED DESIGN.
 
The heater itself will be more than adequate in your wintertime climate.
 
Go to the dealer and have them set the two c-best options that allow you to manually turn off the A/C for an indefinite period, throughout the winter period.
 
When you encounter windshield fogging/misting turn up the temperature setpoint to MAXIMUM and only then switch to defrost/defog/demist mode.
 
Also close monitor the system and do NOT allow it to autmatically switch into cooling mode during the wintertime, HEATING period.
 
There is also a c-best option for that function but I don't know what year it came about.
 
Google for:
 
wwest nippondenso windshield -dfg
 
For more info.

#31 of 33 Re: 2001 Toyota Avalon Heater any good? [wwest] by tjc78

Sep 23, 2010 (9:20 am)

Replying to: wwest (Sep 23, 2010 8:57 am)
He didn't mention whether or not it was an XL or XLS, so we aren't sure if it has the Auto Temp (and all its faults). My 03 had manual controls and while the heat wasn't fantastic it was more than adequate for a typical NJ winter. My 06 Avalon was much better.
 
To the OP. I think 12,500 is bit high for an 01 Avalon, regardless of miles. I just looked it up and it comes out to around 9200 dealer retail. That was for a top trim XLS in outstanding condition.

#32 of 33 Re: 2001 Toyota Avalon Heater any good? [tjc78] by enoculus

Sep 23, 2010 (7:50 pm)

Replying to: tjc78 (Sep 23, 2010 9:20 am)
Thanks for the information. I'll check if it is Auto Temp or manual controls. I'm not sure if it is an XL or XLS. I agree that 12,500 is a little high. I'm also very apprehensive about purchasing a toyota V6 from that year due to the oil sludging problems that I've read about. Is the sludging problem exaggerated or something that I should be legitimately concerned about?

#33 of 33 Re: 2001 Toyota Avalon Heater any good? [enoculus] by tjc78

Sep 27, 2010 (5:23 am)

Replying to: enoculus (Sep 23, 2010 7:50 pm)
I am no expert on the sludging problem, however, my best advice would be to ask for service records to make sure the oil was changed regularly. Those engines were fine AFAIK if properly maintained.

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