Drove an '07 XLE with an I4 yesterday, thinking about pulling the trigger - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

HotRod53 · 12-21-2011, 07:41 AM

I have never owned an I4, my '06 XLE and '06 Tacoma are all V6. I was quite impressed with how much power it had, although it did sound like a airplane taking off when I thrashed on it. Quite impressive that I could light the front tires, at least until the traction control kicked in.

I found a laid out '07 XLE with 92K, I actually wanted higher miles for a work car. I got them down to $12.8K, I may pull the trigger and hope I won't hate the I4. The car looks like new and has everything except the wing (which I don't like anyway) and NAV if it was even available. I gotta have the bluetooth link! It has new tires, a clean Carfax, all maintenance records, but I think it needs rear wheel bearings which they said they would replace, sounds like it has snow tires on it.

The steering wheel controls were much more complicated than the '06 XLE but I'm sure I will like that. Going back to see it again today, decisions, decisions..... Maybe I can use my gameroom cash to buy it ...LOL

C11Red · 12-21-2011, 03:35 PM

Sounds like a nice car but it sounds high to me but I have not shopped for a xle. I just know that 10's are selling for around 14000.00 le models with around 50000 miles not the xle though JMO

thesuffering · 12-21-2011, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C11Red

Sounds like a nice car but it sounds high to me but I have not shopped for a xle. I just know that 10's are selling for around 14000.00 le models with around 50000 miles not the xle though JMO

i just bought my 2010 se i4 for 13995. has 45k miles on it.

i honestly dont think an xle that old with that kinda milage is worth that much money.

the se might lack the extra niceness of the xle, but i honestly think its a better looking car overall.

HotRod53 · 12-21-2011, 05:06 PM

I did spec it out on KBB and believe it or not, that is less than KBB value. Yeh, I'm sure I could get an SE or LE for less, but I do a ton of driving and my work allowance will pay for it 100%. I have another Gen 5 XLE and that thing is pretty sweet. This was really my ceiling max for what I had to spend.

I spoke to the dealer today and they were willing to throw in a couple of requests that I had, flush the tranny, change the coolant, and thinking a rear wheel bearing was bad, they said it was cupped rear tires and they are replacing them.

Inside and out it truly looks like a brand new car, and I'm picky. They're working on it now and assuming it is all to my liking, I'm drivin' it home in a day or so.

Luna2 · 12-21-2011, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotRod53

I did spec it out on KBB and believe it or not, that is less than KBB value. Yeh, I'm sure I could get an SE or LE for less, but I do a ton of driving and my work allowance will pay for it 100%. I have another Gen 5 XLE and that thing is pretty sweet. This was really my ceiling max for what I had to spend.

I spoke to the dealer today and they were willing to throw in a couple of requests that I had, flush the tranny, change the coolant, and thinking a rear wheel bearing was bad, they said it was cupped rear tires and they are replacing them.

Inside and out it truly looks like a brand new car, and I'm picky. They're working on it now and assuming it is all to my liking, I'm drivin' it home in a day or so.

Have the dealer do an alignment... B4U take possession. And get a printed copy.
The tires were cupped for a reason...

HotRod53 · 12-21-2011, 06:07 PM

Good point, actually the Carfax showed that an alignment was just done within the last 4K miles. I'm hoping ithe cupping was due to lack of rotation.

hardtopte72 · 12-22-2011, 01:00 AM

I would go check out and drive an LE and see if you can live with what it lacks (woodgrain, bluetooth, jbl, fogs) and add better stuff for less or live with it.

I bought my 09 LE with alloys for 12000 with 80K. 92K and an 07 is still asking a lot for that car even as an XLE.

Also never use KBB. KBB is way biased towards dealerships. There retail prices are astronomical but trade in values are horrible. Use edmunds and research similar cars with with similar mileage.

Frodo65 · 12-22-2011, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HotRod53

Good point, actually the Carfax showed that an alignment was just done within the last 4K miles. I'm hoping ithe cupping was due to lack of rotation.

At 92K miles, there's a good chance the struts are getting 'tired'.

Balance, position, tired struts will all cause cupping wear on tires, with rears being at particular risk - relatively light loading and 'loose' strut spec.

C11Red · 12-22-2011, 09:07 AM

The price may be about right for the car you are looking at I just wanted to make a note that you could get a newer car for not much more money The good news too all of this is that are cars do not go down in price after the first year much more than a 1000 dollars a year

DOHCammer · 12-22-2011, 07:56 PM

Proceed with caution and some sort of powertrain warranty. There is a problem with oil burning on some 07-09 2.4 engines. Of course you won't know you have the problem until you get a couple thousand miles under your belt.

HotRod53 · 12-23-2011, 09:40 AM

There is a short powertrain warranty and I think I still have 8K left on the factory warranty. I'll run the wheels off of it is short order, if its burnin' dino, I'll know it.

What is the cause of oil burning according to the history?

HotRod53 · 12-23-2011, 07:43 PM

Brought it home today, so far I'm impressed. I'm used to driving cars from 230hp to 620hp and I thought I would hate the I4, so far I like it.

The dealer replaced the rear tires and it is quiet as can be now, wasn't a wheel bearing after all. I am a little dissapointed that the dash shows 21.5 mpg, I would have expected more, I get that or better in my '05 XLE V6. We'll see how it shakes out when I get a few miles on it. Maybe because I flogged it when I test drove it .. LOL.

At 92K I'll be putting plugs in it soon and I already dumped a can of SeaFoam in it. It has a slight rough idle like my Tacoma gets, SeaFoam always smoothes it out.

1blualti · 12-23-2011, 11:46 PM

congrats on you pick up, still think the price was a lil high considering that i picked up my 2007 se v6 w/ 88k on the dash for 14k over a year ago...but good choice w/ the camry...post some pics soon...

leakyseals · 12-24-2011, 08:13 AM

Been through everything on my 02 I4, yet the rough idle persisted under certain conditions. Seems as if the DBW TB's are slow to react to load like a/c, fans, etc. Best long term results have been thin synthetics. Still appears, but the car idles up better than before.

HotRod53 · 12-24-2011, 09:00 AM

Much like my Tacoma, the SeaFoam seemed to smooth it out very quickly. At 92K I probably needs plugs real soon. I'll have to give it a once over, even if it stays as is, it's not a big deal. Again, never owning an I4, it may be normal and I wouldn't know.