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Goodbye Denali, Hello Avalon
neacpa
Member Posts: 2,711 ✭✭✭
Wife traded her 01 Yukon XL Denali the other day for an 06 Toyota Avalon XLS. She had the Yukon for 3 years (I do believe a record for her) and has thoroughly enjoyed it, but she got tired of paying the $ for gas (16 mpg average). We do not need the size of the Yukon even though I definitely felt more comfortable with her driving it for safety reasons.
I had told her back in January or February that I didn't want to see any more gas charges on the credit card and that she could pay her own gas bill. Since then, she has made a few comments about $75-$80 to fill it up and I think it had gotten her to maybe prioritizing things (i.e. need for the size versus economics).
Not too many Toyota dealerships around here. Closest one is 30 miles. I contacted five, told them what she wanted, the price we were willing to trade for, and waited for one to call. Played them a little bit (but did not lie or mislead) and got what she wanted at our price. Had to go to one about 60 miles from us. Thus far, 34 mpg but time will tell. Sure hope it stays at that!! I figure average every day driving will wind up around 28-30.
She had driven both an Avalon and a Nissan Maxima in Memphis about two weeks ago and was deciding which of them to pursue. She liked both quite a bit, but thought the Avalon had more interior space. The first Toyota we've had.
I had told her back in January or February that I didn't want to see any more gas charges on the credit card and that she could pay her own gas bill. Since then, she has made a few comments about $75-$80 to fill it up and I think it had gotten her to maybe prioritizing things (i.e. need for the size versus economics).
Not too many Toyota dealerships around here. Closest one is 30 miles. I contacted five, told them what she wanted, the price we were willing to trade for, and waited for one to call. Played them a little bit (but did not lie or mislead) and got what she wanted at our price. Had to go to one about 60 miles from us. Thus far, 34 mpg but time will tell. Sure hope it stays at that!! I figure average every day driving will wind up around 28-30.
She had driven both an Avalon and a Nissan Maxima in Memphis about two weeks ago and was deciding which of them to pursue. She liked both quite a bit, but thought the Avalon had more interior space. The first Toyota we've had.
Comments
The first Toyota we've had.
... you won't regret it - had one for 20 years and I'm still regretting selling it![:(]
Welcome aboard. [:)]
Show me a large category quality American car that gets 30 mpg with the smooth ride of this car for $32k. Lincoln? Cadillac? Look at the blue book values and see how much more of a percentage they depreciate than the Toyotas.
It is not a question about going foreign, it is about quality.
Select - your comment is so hypocritical. Did you inquire on the immigration status of the Mexicans you hired to work on your house before they did the work? Or did you only ask during or after they had worked. Admit it, you didn't give a rat's *** about it. You only looked out for a buck. Is the quality of your house any better with the Mexcan built job?
Show me a large category quality American car that gets 30 mpg with the smooth ride of this car for $32k. Lincoln? Cadillac? Look at the blue book values and see how much more of a percentage they depreciate than the Toyotas.
It is not a question about going foreign, it is about quality.
Don't let your mouth overload your A**. I just purchased a New Chevorolet and very satisfied with it. It gets better mileage than your avelon which is 31mpg highway, and has the same size engine 3.5 as yours ,is quality built. And once again , I didn't hire the Mexicans and knew nothing about them working on my home. This custom home was purchased thru a Contractor. But I did save probably a good $75,000 ( that is Seventy -Five Thousand ) dollars thru this contractor. Put that in your depreciation column..[;)]
quote:Originally posted by neacpa
Select - your comment is so hypocritical. Did you inquire on the immigration status of the Mexicans you hired to work on your house before they did the work? Or did you only ask during or after they had worked. Admit it, you didn't give a rat's *** about it. You only looked out for a buck. Is the quality of your house any better with the Mexcan built job?
Show me a large category quality American car that gets 30 mpg with the smooth ride of this car for $32k. Lincoln? Cadillac? Look at the blue book values and see how much more of a percentage they depreciate than the Toyotas.
It is not a question about going foreign, it is about quality.
Don't let your mouth overload your A**. I just purchased a New Chevorolet and very satisfied with it. It gets better mileage than your avelon which is 31mpg highway, and has the same size engine 3.5 as yours ,is quality built. And once again , I didn't hire the Mexicans and knew nothing about them working on my home. This custom home was purchased thru a Contractor. But I did save probably a good $75,000 ( that is Seventy -Five Thousand ) dollars thru this contractor. Put that in your depreciation column..[;)]
I saw Select's new chevy. it's a nice car, but it was riding kind of low in the back. i suspect he had a trunkload of illegal aliens that he was importing from KY back to SC for his next home improvement project.
per share the auto industry needs all the help it can get.
But, until the domestic car quality and safety comes up you cant fault consumers for buying the better cars.
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
quote:Originally posted by neacpa
Select - your comment is so hypocritical. Did you inquire on the immigration status of the Mexicans you hired to work on your house before they did the work? Or did you only ask during or after they had worked. Admit it, you didn't give a rat's *** about it. You only looked out for a buck. Is the quality of your house any better with the Mexcan built job?
Show me a large category quality American car that gets 30 mpg with the smooth ride of this car for $32k. Lincoln? Cadillac? Look at the blue book values and see how much more of a percentage they depreciate than the Toyotas.
It is not a question about going foreign, it is about quality.
Don't let your mouth overload your A**. I just purchased a New Chevorolet and very satisfied with it. It gets better mileage than your avelon which is 31mpg highway, and has the same size engine 3.5 as yours ,is quality built. And once again , I didn't hire the Mexicans and knew nothing about them working on my home. This custom home was purchased thru a Contractor. But I did save probably a good $75,000 ( that is Seventy -Five Thousand ) dollars thru this contractor. Put that in your depreciation column..[;)]
I saw Select's new chevy. it's a nice car, but it was riding kind of low in the back. i suspect he had a trunkload of illegal aliens that he was importing from KY back to SC for his next home improvement project.
Actually it was tequilla in the truck for the Mexican's. I did some research on the Avalons. Pretty impressive all around. So impressive I am glad I bought the Chevrolet. Compared to the Malibu The Avalon is an inch higher, 2.8" wider, and has .5" more shoulder room and 2" more hip room, However the Malibu has 1 more inch headroom ( cause Americans are taller I guess ), .6"more legroom ( cause Americans are taller), and one cubic foot more cargo space. It also does 1 mpg better than the Avalon. Now the Sell... it is 10K dollars cheaper than the Avalon. Now don't say my car isn't equipped. It has everything including a Power sunroof, spoiler, power adjustable pedals..totally loaded.. blah blah blah...
and one cubic foot more cargo space.
that's like two or three gallons of tequila!
Neacpa, please don't complain when your job gets sent over seas because some slave laborer can do it cheaper than you can. It is a sad day when people are proud to buy foreign products.[V]
I wouldn't say that too loudly until you run a full parts + assembly audit on all the cars mentioned. "american" car companies frequenty are assembled or use parts mostly from Mexico.
with Global car companies assembling and doing parties in the same country they sell in the issue gets a lot less cut and dry than people think.
The big 3 "gave up" on low budget, gas sipping cars for a long time, and let all the first time drivers of the 70's to early 90's get started in japanese brands. That was a mistake so big it is hard to properly quantify the damage they did to their businesses. Quality as a perception is built on the economy models.
We have the best labor and among the WORST management in the world, in automobiles the weaknesses of short term thinking of failing to listen/respect the buying public will come back to bite them inthe * and continue doing so for a while.
quote:Originally posted by Mooseyard
Neacpa, please don't complain when your job gets sent over seas because some slave laborer can do it cheaper than you can. It is a sad day when people are proud to buy foreign products.[V]
I wouldn't say that too loudly until you run a full parts + assembly audit on all the cars mentioned. "american" car companies frequenty are assembled or use parts mostly from Mexico.
with Global car companies assembling and doing parties in the same country they sell in the issue gets a lot less cut and dry than people think.
The big 3 "gave up" on low budget, gas sipping cars for a long time, and let all the first time drivers of the 70's to early 90's get started in japanese brands. That was a mistake so big it is hard to properly quantify the damage they did to their businesses. Quality as a perception is built on the economy models.
We have the best labor and among the WORST management in the world, in automobiles the weaknesses of short term thinking of failing to listen/respect the buying public will come back to bite them inthe * and continue doing so for a while.
My Chevrolet was built by Americans in Denver , Colorado
There is a reason why the Avalon is 10+k more.
http://www.toyota.com/avalon/interior.html
I admit the GPS is a high dollar option NOT on most Avalons. However do they have power adjustable pedals? I know you cannot get Traction control and Remote Start as an option. Unless the Remote start would be aftermarket. LMAO .. high dollar car and mine has more.. But I do have to admit something , Mine is an 05. Window sticker said $23885. which if someone bought it they could get it for around 20k. , and 05's are bringing 14.5-15K loaded. I went to Ky. and got this one for $12k. cash. Now that is 20K cheaper than a new 06 Avalon. Deal or NO Deal ?
And it's a nice looking car too! very european for a chevy. I'm 6'2" and i can get in and out of the back seat very easily with plenty of leg room.
Of course I know that all cars parts are not made in the US, but many American car companies do still assemble their cars in the US. I would rather have those people working than the ones in Japan, Korea, or wherever. If we don't start supporting companies that manufacture in the US we are all going to be in alot of trouble.
Yep, but the bad part is .. when you buy a foreign car the money is going to the Foreign nation... Flame away...
cub, American and Japanese to me.
Date: 4 July 2006
Organization: ILC
Location: Room XXI
Public / Private: Private
Interpretation: ACEFRS
The Toyota will still be worth $5000 plus with a helluva lot less repair bills under its belt.
[8D]barto[8D]
& when 10 years down the line when you try to recoup some of your money by trading your POS Chevy in or sell it outright some kid is gonna offer you $200 for it which is about what it will be worth.
The Toyota will still be worth $5000 plus with a helluva lot less repair bills under its belt.
[8D]barto[8D]
LMAO at you ... Malibu has a 3 yr..36k bumper to bumper warranty.. And I bet it also has another option the 32K dollar Avalon has. NO PAYMENTS... Just think of all the interest paid. Well that would take care of a little repair IF I had it..[8D]
I work in the Kentucky plant where the Avalon is produced. Hope it works out for you. Nice ride.
Nice one JEP. I personally enjoy those people who call the Accord a Jap built car. It's built in Merrysville, Ohio. The only Jap part is the transmission. Hyundai has the most technologically advanced plant in the world in Ohio also.
In no way is this a personal attack to any one person, just sort of making my feelings known to those that are too blind to look at something other than an American owned product. Venting....if you will.
Why would I want to dump my money to the domestic market? GM and Ford are laying off left and right. Ford is moving to Mexico <http://www.conway.com/ssinsider/bbdeal/bd031201.htm>. Ending how many Americans jobs???? Thousands. Me buying a single vehicle from them isn't going to make that change. Plus, if I buy it it would show that I'm supporting their decisions. Such decisions are Bogus. The fact that an American Company will stab their own country and employees in the back to save a few dollars, and move to other countries for the cheap labor. The only Chevy I'll ever own is a Corvette. Just because of it's gut-wrenching power. If I buy a Truck it'll be the Tundra. Until you precious "Domestic" car maker and produce anying in comparison with the overseas (Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti) makers, I'll continue to buy these foreign owned, American built cars and trucks.
One word of advise...If you own stocks in Ford or GM, sell them and get in with one of the afore mentioned makers. This is a dog-eat-dog world. No one gives more of a crap about you than you do for the next guy. You've got to think about yourself. If you feel that a domestic car is your best choice, good for you. Just don't count out the "overseas" guys because you want to help your country. Japan is building plants overhere in America. Think about those who work there if you want to help someone.
Finally, while resale value of a car doesn't matter to some. It does say quite a bit about the cars quality. Nowadays you find 96-98 Accords for $10k+ with 140k miles. My brother just bought an 03 Taurus with 38k miles for $9,000. What does that tell you?
There, I'm done. Like I said this isn't a personal attack towards anyone. I'm just expressing my feelings in this subject. Something I'm very passionate about. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just remember that. I hope no one judges me by what was said. If anyone was offended, I apologize.
The only Chevy I'll ever own is a Corvette.. Nice words cublovers and 32K would buy a nice used one...I've owned quite of few Vettes and they sure do hold their value well..
They are the only Chevys that don't take a huge hit on value the minute you drive it off the lot.
You might even compare the Malibu to the Camry, but even that would be in size only, definitely not quality. In three years, I would bet you will have so many rattles, pops and wind noise you will think you are at one of your Mexican bean parties.
Edited for statistics typo.
I went to kelly blue book and tried to do a comparison between a Malibu and the Avalon. My computer started laughing. Said don't even think about it. Finally, I convinced it to do it. Some figures you failed to mention are the (1) rear leg room - Avalon +2.4 inches (2) front shoulder room - Avalon +2.7 inches (3) rear shoulder room - Avalon +2.1 inches (4) interior space - Avalon +4.3 cu ft (5) power train warranty - Avalon +24,000 miles (6) horsepower - Avalon +about 50 hp (I think it was) (7) corrosion warranty - Malibu 100k miles - Avalon unlimited miles (8) Malibu is listed as medium size and Avalon is listed as large size, thus the Malibu should get better mileage - but it won't.
You might even compare the Malibu to the Camry, but even that would be in size only, definitely not quality. In three years, I would bet you will have so many rattles, pops and wind noise you will think you are at one of your Mexican bean parties.
Edited for statistics typo.
You should compare it to the Impala,,,I don't drive from the back seat for legroom.. And you are saying the Federal Mileage stats are wrong..LMAO at that. Mine says 32 highway and actually got 36.6 driving it home. Your Avelom is just a blown up Camray with goodies. Same as the Malibu to Impala. And what about goodies my car has that you cant get on yours... Remote start, traction control.more front legroom..Headroom. And if yours wasn't made out of cheap thin sheet metal they wouldn't have to warranty it to 100K. Big deal , I don't know anyone who has ever taken a car in for sheet metal replacement on warranty. I live in the South, no salt. Hell there are AMERICAN cars down here that are still running BEFORE Jap Junk made it to the U.S.A. Just wait till you have to buy a part for it... Expect to pay way more than an American car.. And DWS your right, even Foreign colors on them are boring...
Where's DWS, he could put it more succintly, than I.
jegreenfield 08-18-2005 02:46 PM
2006 Avalon fuel requirement
I am thinking of buying a 2006 Toyota Avalon and was surprised to learn that Toyota recommends 93 octane fuel for this engine, particularly in light of recent trends in fuel prices. Can anyone share their experience in using 89 octane "regular" gas in this vehicle? Some dealers advise "off the record" that the engine runs okay on regular without pinging, while others only repeat Toyota's basic recommendation.
A fuel sipping unibody pickup...Dodge Rampage.
New Dodge Rampage Unibody Pickup....Hemi Powered to boot!
What is that BallPark Frank extension behind it?
Inquiring (nosy) minds like to know.
[?]barto[?]