What other cars did you look at?

[leeherman]

Hiya,

I'm wondering what other vehicles you cross-shopped (Accords, G6s, 300s, etc) before buying your fifth and sixth generation Camrys.

Please let me know.

Thanks!

Lee Herman
1969 Dodge Dart GT convertible
1996 Toyota Corolla
1999 Toyota Solara
2004 Acura TL

[heyabbott]

We looked a the Altima and Accord. No regret here

[brian01togo]

i thought of accord, altima, and camry. ass all where in range i needed not luxury but not hyundai kia or saturn cant afford infinitti acura or lexus... i think it's all in your budget. i was mid range and out of the mid range 4 door sedans the new camry was hands down better in styling than accord or altima so im the proud owner of 07 14 super wht camry xle .. if money allowed i would have entertained the thought of bmw mercedes lexus and acura .. when it comes down to it .. its about the all mighty dollar and the best bang for your buck !

[watchcrazy]

Originally Posted by leeherman

Hiya,

I'm wondering what other vehicles you cross-shopped (Accords, G6s, 300s, etc) before buying your fifth and sixth generation Camrys.

I looked at the Ford Fusion V6 and the Nissan Altima 3.5. I looked at the Accord, but the dash looked like you could not remove it and install an aftermarket NAV, so I didn't go any further. Overall I like the Camry SE and I have no regrets at all.

[Yazovets]

Once I came to the decision of the Camry, I was actually going for the Camry Hybrid. It would have cost me more money initially, but I would have received a total of $3500 in Hybrid-incentive money both from the federal and provincial governments to offset the extra cost.

What killed that idea? Well, the batter in the trunk severely cut down the available trunk space. I might put in a subwoofer there one day...and I'd be left with 0 trunk space like in my old Echo. The other, more serious, reason was that the dealers which I visited all told me to wait 2 months for a car.

Considering how this car is made in North America, I consider this unacceptable. So then I wanted a Camry LE 4-banger with all the options. The devilish salesman however, only had an SE V6 to drive with all the options minus NAV. And that's what got me to buy one for myself at the end.

I sampled a variety of both new and used vehicles.

My criteria was:

Sedan or wagon (no ugly coupes)
$25-40K Canadian
Under 40K kilometers for used cars
Certified Series for used cars
Only automatic trannies
Preference for leather or leatherette

I checked out:

2003-2005 BMW 325i
2003-2005 BMW 330i
2002-2003 BMW 530i
Nissan Altima (Hybrid and non-Hybrid)
VW Jetta GLS
VW Rabbit 2.5
VW GTI
Audi A3 2.0T
2003 Lexus IS300
Mazda "3" GT w/ Luxury Package
2003-2005 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro
2003-2006 Mercedes C230
2006 Mercedes B200

I obviously never even checked anything from GM, because in my view, they are the world's scum. Also, I happily skipped Honda because I really, really hate their cars. This hate is mostly caused by the kind of drivers I see driving their popular Civics...why is it that these people think the Civic enables F1-style driving and taste-less mods like fartcans?

[islandboy57]

Hmm.. I looked at the Corolla - but once I test drove the Camry, I fell in love. But I did keep the Altima/Maxima and Accord in mind. In the end, I'm really happy with my car. I'd kill to trade up to a gen 6.5 Camry when the time comes though

[leeherman]

I bought my last car in 2004. I was replacing my 103K mile 1993 Toyota Camry V6 XLE and was cross shopping the 2004 Camry SE V6, Honda Accord EX V6, Infiniti G35x sedan and Acura TL.

In the end, I looked at price, performance, amenities reliability, and interior/exterior style.

While I loved my old Camry, the style of the '04s didn't do anything for me. Accord sedan styling didn't do it for me either. The G35 sedan was a nice car but I didn't like the exterior styling and the '04s interior was cheap looking.

In the end, the Acura TL w/navi was a few thousand dollars more than a loaded Camry V6 SE and around $5,000 more than an equivalent Accord. The G35x would have been a few thousand dollars more than an equivalent TL and would have given slightly better driving performance, but the TLs style, interior quality and standard features won out. I haven't regretted my decision yet, but I still miss my '93 Camry!

The reason for starting this thread was that I've been debating with a co-worker about whether people would cross-shop Camry and Dodge Charger. The co-worker posted a similar thread on a Charger forum.

So far it appears that he's correct in that people are not cross shopping Camry and Charger. I wonder why, especially Camry against six cylinder Chargers, 300s, and Magnums. Any thoughts>

Thanks!

[Yazovets]

Originally Posted by leeherman

So far it appears that he's correct in that people are not cross shopping Camry and Charger. I wonder why, especially Camry against six cylinder Chargers, 300s, and Magnums. Any thoughts>

Thanks!

The answer to that is simple. American car brands suck in general.

Sure you can get an equivalently-sized car for less cash. It will probably have a larger engine.

But there has always been something "incomplete" about American cars which has drawn me away from them. I'm speaking of little things here and there that bother me.

Like how they share so many components among their brands/models that you almost feel the grille is the only thing that set your model apart. Like too much plastic in the bumpers and interior. Ugly, huge interior buttons. Disgusting column-shifters. Body panel gaps, interior panel gaps. Missing basic features. For instance, how do you offer a car with leather, but you don't offer an auto-dimming rearview mirror?

Back to the Charger, 300 and Magnum...again these are all the exact same vehicle.

Besides, the 300 is one of the most popular taxi-cars here...I don't want to drive something which is also driven by the masses! True, there are Camrys also used as taxis, but that is a rare thing to see. Plus when you DO see one, they're either Hybrids or 4-banger LE versions.

[JSM1284]

Camry, Only the Camry. I had a 2006 Scion tC when Toyota revealed the Gen6, I told myself I was gonna get one and ordered it and bought it before even test driving one, bought only based on pictures.

[07XLE]

Looked at the Magnum, Jetta, Caliber, Milan, Mazda6, Altima and Camry. Went with the Camry for the quote unquote quality of build. All this happened prior to stubling onto toyotanation, no regrets however, but I probably could have picked up a Passat for what I ended up getting my Camry for. I liked the features of the Jetta but based on initial price range that we wanted to have our monthy payment at, the Passat wasn't even considered. Overall still pleased with my purchase, tranny has only flared on me once. Was only in the market due to an addition to the family and wanting to have 2 cars so there was always one for the wife and kid. I wanted a something big enough for all the supplies that go along with a new baby and safety was a huge factor as well, liked the standard airbags but the Jetta had pinch protection at all windows, Camry's do not.

[CamrySExxx]

civic, accord,

[watchcrazy]

Originally Posted by leeherman

I bought my last car in 2004. I was replacing my 103K mile 1993 Toyota Camry V6 XLE and was cross shopping the 2004 Camry SE V6, Honda Accord EX V6, Infiniti G35x sedan and Acura TL.

In the end, I looked at price, performance, amenities reliability, and interior/exterior style.

While I loved my old Camry, the style of the '04s didn't do anything for me. Accord sedan styling didn't do it for me either. The G35 sedan was a nice car but I didn't like the exterior styling and the '04s interior was cheap looking.

In the end, the Acura TL w/navi was a few thousand dollars more than a loaded Camry V6 SE and around $5,000 more than an equivalent Accord. The G35x would have been a few thousand dollars more than an equivalent TL and would have given slightly better driving performance, but the TLs style, interior quality and standard features won out. I haven't regretted my decision yet, but I still miss my '93 Camry!

The reason for starting this thread was that I've been debating with a co-worker about whether people would cross-shop Camry and Dodge Charger. The co-worker posted a similar thread on a Charger forum.

So far it appears that he's correct in that people are not cross shopping Camry and Charger. I wonder why, especially Camry against six cylinder Chargers, 300s, and Magnums. Any thoughts>

Thanks!

Well as for the Charger .... I have both, but my Charger is the SRT8, with a few added performance mods ... completely different car. I can say for a plus on the Camry .... better gas milage ... the Charger SRT8 way more fun to drive. I haven't had any problems with the Charger and have had it over a year. It is the weekend/burnout car Here's a pic of both.

[Camread]

Originally Posted by watchcrazy

I haven't had any problems with the Charger and have had it over a year. It is the weekend car.

that's the only way to keep it out of a repair shop - limited mileage

[watchcrazy]

Originally Posted by Camread

that's the only way to keep it out of a repair shop - limited mileage

Actually in the past I have owned 5 Dodge cars and none of them ever caused us any problems. And the reason it is a weekend car is the way I drive it and the 12 MPG or so average. I have 13k miles on it and only one problem ...... tires (I wonder why)

This is my first Toyota and I have only had it a month. One thing I really hate is the rattle in the a pillar that the dealership can't find. I plan to take it apart this weekend and dynomat the hell out of it ... hopefully that fixes it.

My last car was a 2006 VW Passat ... I loved that car and for the longest time defended it. Towards the end it started having problems and left me without a car twice for about 2 weeks ... it had to go.

Funny thing is, when I was poor and just got out of the Army I had a 1987 Yugo ... I drove it for 7 years and put 130k miles on it. I never had any problems with the Yugo at all and they were the biggest pieces of crap in the world from what everyone said.

[Camread]

Originally Posted by leeherman

Hiya,

I'm wondering what other vehicles you cross-shopped before buying your fifth and sixth generation Camrys.

Yaris, Corolla, Rav4, Solara, Highlander, 4Runner, Tacoma, FJcruiser, Avalon, tC