Hey everyone. This is my first post here. Here it goes:
I'll start with a little background. I live in New York and I currently own a 2010 Toyota Prius which I'm itching to get out of. It's a great car, but I have a few gripes (which I won't get into now unless someone responds that they are curious) that have made me regret the purchase pretty much since I bought it back in March of 2010.
I have always liked the Camry and have been waiting a while for the 2012 to be released. Now that it has I'd really like to trade in my Prius and get a 2012 Camry. Because my Prius is fully loaded (leather, heated seats, navigation, backup camera, push button start, etc.) I'm really only interested in a Camry XLE with all the options. Here's where my decision gets a bit difficult.
Originally I was only interested in the Camry XLE 4-cylinder model, as I feel the V6 is both unnecessary and a bit more of a gas guzzler (I am coming out of a hybrid after all). However, when I went to the dealer a few days ago I sat in the XLE V6 (they had no 4-cylinder models on the lot at the time) and I was in awe of the Premium HDD Navigation System. It was at a much much much higher resolution than my 2010 Prius' nav screen and it looked absolutely gorgeous, and its speed and responsiveness, due to it being hard drive-based rather than DVD-based, was unbelievable. My enthusiasm was short-lived as the sales person then told me that only the XLE V6 model comes with the option for the premium HDD unit.
This may sound like a stupid question but does it make sense to consider paying more and getting the XLE V6 model (having no real interest in the increased horsepower) just so that I can get the Premium HDD unit? I've been scouring the internet and I'm finding a surprising lack of information concerning the differences between the two navigation setups that are offered. If someone could break down the differences between the 6.1" low end nav unit and the 7" premium HDD unit I'd really appreciate it. The sales person was of no help as she didn't seem very knowledgable and the dealership had no Camry's equipped with the 6.1" units for me to see in person. I have a pretty poor sense of direction and I take a lot of road trips; this is why I consider the navigation system so important, and the prospect of getting one with a larger screen, sharper resolution, and more responsiveness is very appealing to me. I truly do use it all the time.
Also on a side note, I was pretty surprised at how flexible the dealership was with the pricing of the 2012 Camry. With very little negotiation on my part they came down $3,000 on both the XLE and XLE V6. I'm able to get the XLE V6 with the Premium HDD package (MSRP: $33,300) for $30,000. I've bought and sold 6 cars in the last 10 years and I find this a little odd, though I'm certainly not complaining. It's just strange that they would be so negotiable on such a new model. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had similar experience with purchasing the 2012 Camry.
Thanks!
I'll start with a little background. I live in New York and I currently own a 2010 Toyota Prius which I'm itching to get out of. It's a great car, but I have a few gripes (which I won't get into now unless someone responds that they are curious) that have made me regret the purchase pretty much since I bought it back in March of 2010.
I have always liked the Camry and have been waiting a while for the 2012 to be released. Now that it has I'd really like to trade in my Prius and get a 2012 Camry. Because my Prius is fully loaded (leather, heated seats, navigation, backup camera, push button start, etc.) I'm really only interested in a Camry XLE with all the options. Here's where my decision gets a bit difficult.
Originally I was only interested in the Camry XLE 4-cylinder model, as I feel the V6 is both unnecessary and a bit more of a gas guzzler (I am coming out of a hybrid after all). However, when I went to the dealer a few days ago I sat in the XLE V6 (they had no 4-cylinder models on the lot at the time) and I was in awe of the Premium HDD Navigation System. It was at a much much much higher resolution than my 2010 Prius' nav screen and it looked absolutely gorgeous, and its speed and responsiveness, due to it being hard drive-based rather than DVD-based, was unbelievable. My enthusiasm was short-lived as the sales person then told me that only the XLE V6 model comes with the option for the premium HDD unit.
This may sound like a stupid question but does it make sense to consider paying more and getting the XLE V6 model (having no real interest in the increased horsepower) just so that I can get the Premium HDD unit? I've been scouring the internet and I'm finding a surprising lack of information concerning the differences between the two navigation setups that are offered. If someone could break down the differences between the 6.1" low end nav unit and the 7" premium HDD unit I'd really appreciate it. The sales person was of no help as she didn't seem very knowledgable and the dealership had no Camry's equipped with the 6.1" units for me to see in person. I have a pretty poor sense of direction and I take a lot of road trips; this is why I consider the navigation system so important, and the prospect of getting one with a larger screen, sharper resolution, and more responsiveness is very appealing to me. I truly do use it all the time.
Also on a side note, I was pretty surprised at how flexible the dealership was with the pricing of the 2012 Camry. With very little negotiation on my part they came down $3,000 on both the XLE and XLE V6. I'm able to get the XLE V6 with the Premium HDD package (MSRP: $33,300) for $30,000. I've bought and sold 6 cars in the last 10 years and I find this a little odd, though I'm certainly not complaining. It's just strange that they would be so negotiable on such a new model. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had similar experience with purchasing the 2012 Camry.
Thanks!
