Questions About 2009 Camry

[TX WJ]

I drive 40,000 miles plus each year as part of my job. So far I have driven the cars the company supplies, but I have put a pencil to it and it would pay for me to drive my own car, if the car can last 4-5 years.

I had a 2005 Chevy Malibu V-6, what a piece that thing was. It did get 28-29 mpg with the kind of driving I do (highway mostly). It was replaced at 65,000 miles (thank God) with a 2006 Ford Fusion SE V-6, this thing is 10 times the car the Malibu was, but it is getting 26-27 mpg. It now has 65,000 miles and they are going to be contacting me about another car (Choices this time Fusion SE, Milan, Aura, all with 4 cyl's).

So if the car has to last 5 years with regular service, I think my best choices are a new Accord or Camry. I was thinking about a Camry XLE or Accord EX-L with Navigation with a 4 banger, until I started reading the boards and the mileage on the V-6's seem to be great. There is a guy I work with that gets 29-31 in his XLE V-6, so I guess that is right.

In order of importance here are the features that I think I want

1) Bluetooth, I drive all the time, my car is my office

2) Navigation, I have had Garmins for years I know that there are pros and cons, my wife Ody has Navi, but the Toyota only stores 110 addresses? I have 500 clients, plus favorite hotels etc, I might have to keep my Garmin.

3) Comfort is important, I am 6 foot 4, 300 lbs so I have to have power seat, I prefer leather.

4) Trunk has to be good size.

I have been doing some research online and I now have some questions that you folks could help me with if you would be so kind to do so.

If you have a 2007-09 with a V-6, please tell me how many miles you have on it, and if it has had any issues, and what kind of MPG are you getting and your highway to city mix?

If you have Navigation, do you like it. Can you compare to others you have had?

How does the bluetooth work, do people complain they can't here you?

What does the 30k, 60k, 90k etc services cost you? Would $1000 cover it?

What did you drive before the Camry? Do you think the Camry is quiet?

If you have it, is Smart Key worth it?

Anything else I should know?

[workerant]

1) Bluetooth do have issue on mine. It's too soft and the other side have problem hearing me. But some say theirs is fine. It does become a problem sometime. But I hardly use my phone so that's OK.

2) I don't have Nav.. but a portable GPS is always a + cause U can't take Ur car along when U fly.. and the rental with nav is expensive.

3) NO complain from tall/large people.. at least the one I heard say Camry is comfy for them.

4) It's not a minivan or pickup but I think it's pretty large. Enough for my stuff to bounce around.

I haven't done any service yet on my 2 years old '07 Camry SE V6. *knock on wood* (beside the usual oil change and stuff)

Everyone that ride in my car say it's comfy and they love it. For me personally I do have a tiny issue with parking the car. The back trunk is too high so sometime I think the car is closer or farther than it really is.

[98CamryLE]

Originally Posted by TX WJ

How does the bluetooth work, do people complain they can't here you?

What does the 30k, 60k, 90k etc services cost you? Would $1000 cover it?

What did you drive before the Camry? Do you think the Camry is quiet?

If you have it, is Smart Key worth it?

Anything else I should know?

1. The bluetooth works great. I've never heard anybody that I've talked to complain that they can't hear me... but they can tell that I'm in the car, and sound "different". Overall I think the system is awesome and I wouldn't buy another car without it. It is somewhat fussy with the voice commands... I've gotten used to using the 6 speed dial buttons on the radio instead.

2. The price of the 30K, 60K, and 90K mile services vary greatly depending on what dealer you go to, and what exactly you ask for. (Plus, prices very greatly depending on where in the US/Canada you are. If you ask for the "30K mile service", most dealers will add on a bunch of services that aren't recommended by Toyota. For instance, on my old 1998 camry, when I asked for a 30K mile service, the 5 dealers in the Milwaukee area had prices that ranged from $200 to $550 (Because most of the dealers add on a bunch of stuff that you don't actually need) The best thing for you to do is to call the dealers around you, and ask for price quotes yourself- and make sure that you request that they follow the owners manual's maintenance guidelines.

3. As stated above, my previous car was a 1998 Camry LE. I think that Camrys are very quiet. I have a hybrid version, which is even quieter, but I've driven an SE and XLE, and they were very quiet also.

4. I think that the Smartkey is awesome and I don't think that I would buy another car without it. Once you get used to never having to take your keys out, you'll never want to go back to a conventional key. It's only available in a $1500 option package that also includes VSC, and heated seats though- kinda pricey.

[holimont]

Mine is an 08 4cyl, but I can respond to three of your questions. BlueTooth works fine, with one quirk. When you talk the other person is cut off. Takes a little learning.

Trunk is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside.

I test-drove the Accord before buying the Camy. The road noise mentioned by Consumer Reports is noticeable.

[workerant]

Originally Posted by holimont

When you talk the other person is cut off. Takes a little learning.

I think mine have the fix for that... by making it so soft that the other person have to shutup to hear U.

Originally Posted by holimont

Trunk is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside.

I think they also make it higher so visibility through the rear window is less.

[RareBird]

my car: '08 XLE V6 with smart key, leather, Sirius sat radio, no nav (use my Garmin 660), heated seats - 14,xxx miles

1. pair with my Blackberry Curve - perfect. redial, speed dial, all from the wheel, voice is great, to me and people on other line

2. garmin works great and saved $1,500. got a vent mount also have a bean bag mount, love both, hard to pick which one's best

3. love the seats. tested accord ex-l, was not happy with seats, not eough thigh support. heated works GREAT. tested azera - center console hand rests just not in the right place.

4. trunk fits everything

5. mpg - i drive 90% highway, 10% heavy, standstill traffic (north NJ area). i have a heavy foot and regularly hit 100+. In traffic I relax and go with the flow. Camry's amazing in regulating the speed - when you're going slow, it's keeping the revs low and allows the car to just drift, when you're going fast on highway, it FLYs.. especially from 70 to 100.. it's super fast.
my MPG = about 29-30 average.

Smart Key - great! I put my key in my purse and never think about it again. love it. I wish Camry had the 'close car' buttons on all 4 doors, like Lexus.

I also considred and test drove the Azera 3 times before settling on a Camry. Camry's comfort level was a key for me. Center console cover sliding forward is great. Azera was fast though, and very responsive. You could actually hear the engine, unlike Camry.

I drove a WS6 (Ram Air) T/A Firebird for 8 years before this car. A 350PH V8 beast. No comparisons - literally. 2 different cars.

Some notes: if I had to buy again, i'd not change a single thing. I do wish still to this day Camry would offer a wood steering wheel.

[TX WJ]

Thanks for the input, I drive a V-6 EX-L then immediately drove the XLE- V-6. I went back to drive the Accord again to cofirm what I thought about the seats.

I loved the seats in the Accord, and the headroom. The Accord was louder but handled better. The Camry was super quiet and nice inside, with the seat all the way down, and the seat on a slight recline my hair was against the sunroof liner, I could pull the cover back but on a hot day I would just deal with it. I did find the seat was cut short and did not provide as much thigh support to me. The radio sounded better in the Camry. The Accord seems bigger inside, not sure that it is but that is the way it feels.

I love the Smart Key, a buddy of mine has a Hybrid and his battery in thye remote died, and he was stuck looking for a battery. He keeps a spare in the glovebox now, he says that he could get in the car but not start it so keeping a spare battery is a smart thing to do.

My buddy also mentioned that the Toyota Navi has reverse phone lookup, so that may overcome the fact I can only put 110 names in the address book.

Waiting to see when I can turn in my car. I think I am leaning towards the Camry since the dealer is a client and the two Honda dealers in my town are not. Service has been poor to ok with our van, and since I know the dealer at one of the Toyota dealerships I guess that gives them the edge.

Please keep the comments coming.

[Dragon88]

2009 SE:

3) This car is super comfortable. I'm 5'11" with pretty broad shoulders, the driver's seat is very roomy and enjoyable to sit in. My car is also kryptonite to drunk people, they fall asleep instantly in my leather seats. There is never any drama with people fighting for shotgun as the rear bench is very comfortable and spacious, plenty of leg room.

4) The trunk is huge. This is a wide car and you will be surprised what you can fit inside. I recently moved into a new apartment and transported nearly everything in the Camry. 42" LCD TV? Yup. Disassembled furniture? Yup. Big storage bins? Yup.

MPG: Not very good for me as I do almost entirely "city" driving with lots of short trips. Probably right around 24.

I rarely use the navigation, but when I have it has been flawless. Really enjoy that feature.

This car is very quiet in my opinion, comfortable and fun to drive.

As previously stated, visibility leaves something to be desired when reversing. The trunk lid sits up very high and you can't really tell where your rear end is.

[njerald]

Originally Posted by TX WJ

My buddy also mentioned that the Toyota Navi has reverse phone lookup, so that may overcome the fact I can only put 110 names in the address book.

Please keep the comments coming.

I could care less what car you get but the Camry NAV will hold 1,000 names and up to two numbers/name.

[TX WJ]

Just going by what Toyota says

http://www.toyota-eshowroom.com/part...oyota_nav.html

Perhaps you might want to tell them that they are telling people bad info.

[TX WJ]

I listened to the navigation presentation again and I was wrong, its not 110 addresses but 106, according to Toyota.

Do you have more that that stored?

[njerald]

Originally Posted by TX WJ

I listened to the navigation presentation again and I was wrong, its not 110 addresses but 106, according to Toyota.

Do you have more that that stored?

Right 106 NAV memory points and up to 1,000 names/2,000 phone numbers for Bluetooth phone book.

[_Charles_]

I have a 2007 Camry SE v6. I drive 42,000 miles a year. I'm a lead foot, and routinely find myself doing 90mph down Florida's interstates, so my average MPG is 24-26mpg.

Bluettoth for me is the Parrot 3200 LS-Color, and the navigation is Nuvi 660 with vent mount.

I love the car, but then of course, I love cars period. the car has 44,500 miles on it right now, I use Full Synthetic Oil every 5-6k miles. I do routine maint, etc. The tires and brakes both have 44,500 miles on them, but the tires are getting replaced on wednsday. the brakes aren't worn down bad enough to replace them yet, but I have some shimmy when I brake from high speeds , so I'm having the front brakes re-done. No warrenty work needed yet.

I was driving a 2003 4runner, I put 125k in 3.5 years. No service issues. retired it (gave it to the wife) and got the Camry. I haven't looked back.

I love my Camry. I get reimbursed about 25,000-27,000 miles per year, and the new rate as of July 1st is 58.5 per mile, so no complaints here.

I've had Fords, Mazdas, Hondas, and toyotas in the past. Only Honda and Toyotas have lasted without needing Major repairs. Never american again (except for my Cadillac, which is an exception). I never thought I would own a Camry after I got rid of my '97 Camry in 1999 (126,000 in 2.5 years ), but this new Camry is such an awesome car.

Charles

[98CamryLE]

Originally Posted by TX WJ

I love the Smart Key, a buddy of mine has a Hybrid and his battery in thye remote died, and he was stuck looking for a battery. He keeps a spare in the glovebox now, he says that he could get in the car but not start it so keeping a spare battery is a smart thing to do.

There is a procedure for starting the car even if the remote battery has died, as outlined in the owners manual:

1. Depress brake pedal.
2. Touch the smartkey transmitter against the start button, with the toyota logo side towards the start button.
3. When the light on the start button turns green and a buzzer sounds, you have 5 seconds to press the start button, which will start the engine.

In addition, the car tells you well in advance when the remote battery is low. (It pops a message on the display in the instrument cluster when you start the car.)

[workerant]

The key will always work and don't have to worry about battery.