Is A Certified Used (Toyota) Car Worth It?

[iheartscience]

And an update on my car situation: I found a great used 2007 Camry at a friend's BMW dealership of all places. I'm going to see it today and if I like it I'll be getting it for an awesome price.

I'm sick of looking at cars so I hope this is the one!

It's not certified but according to the CarFax it's a one owner vehicle with no accidents or major issues. I just couldn't justify paying the extra $ for the certified.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Great T2!!! Don''t forget your extended warranty! These have come in handy with every used car I''ve ever owned! Worth every penny in my book!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 2/1/2010 9:20:37 AM
Author: RockHugger
They are assembled in the US, the parts are not made here (most of them).

Not necessarily.

 

[RockHugger]

Last I checked..Ford didnt need a bail out.

And HH, check where the parts are made. My mother is quality control for a company that makes gas tanks for cars (US and foreign) and she she is fighting with the execs of a mentioned foreign car maker over quality. The company wants her company to use cheaper, and thinner materials and my mother is fighting it because because it is a fire hazard.

I hate to say it but the foreign company is winning the battle because of the amount of money over the contract. If her company doesnt do it, someone in china will, and they cant afford to loose the money. So look out for a recall in the next few years due to gas tanks and fire hazard as well.

The reason the foreign comapnies are doing so well is the price of their cars. But the price cut comes from somewhere, and its usually quality. Any american built/sourced car I have owned has been a tank, and cost a pretty penny, but I dont have to worry about bursting into flames or my car loosing control.

 

[RockHugger]

Make sure that petal is fixed. They have not fixed cars at dealerships yet. They only fixed the ones comming out of the factory...so it may prolly has not been repaired yet!

 

[princesss]

Date: 2/1/2010 10:51:57 AM
Author: thing2of2
And an update on my car situation: I found a great used 2007 Camry at a friend''s BMW dealership of all places. I''m going to see it today and if I like it I''ll be getting it for an awesome price.

I''m sick of looking at cars so I hope this is the one!

It''s not certified but according to the CarFax it''s a one owner vehicle with no accidents or major issues. I just couldn''t justify paying the extra $ for the certified.

Awesome!

I''m not going to lie, I love my Ford Focus, but my next car is definitely going to be either a Honda or a Toyota. BF''s 99 Corolla is still going strong, and I know he''s going to drive that thing until it dies (in, you know, 20 years

).

 

[annadragon]

Congrats Thing2 on getting a new ride

I just wanted to point out that those gas pedals implicated in the recall by recent media accounts were indeed made right here in the good ol' US of A:

link

Since Elkhart, Indiana has been in the news more than a few times in terms of the economy it does make me wonder...

 

[onvacation]

Date: 2/1/2010 11:39:43 AM
Author: RockHugger
Last I checked..Ford didnt need a bail out.


And HH, check where the parts are made. My mother is quality control for a company that makes gas tanks for cars (US and foreign) and she she is fighting with the execs of a mentioned foreign car maker over quality. The company wants her company to use cheaper, and thinner materials and my mother is fighting it because because it is a fire hazard.


I hate to say it but the foreign company is winning the battle because of the amount of money over the contract. If her company doesnt do it, someone in china will, and they cant afford to loose the money. So look out for a recall in the next few years due to gas tanks and fire hazard as well.


The reason the foreign comapnies are doing so well is the price of their cars. But the price cut comes from somewhere, and its usually quality. Any american built/sourced car I have owned has been a tank, and cost a pretty penny, but I dont have to worry about bursting into flames or my car loosing control.

Are you serious?

That''s the funniest(read: scariest) thing I''ve heard all day. You wouldn''t happen to be thinking of the Tata Nano, would you?

 

[onvacation]

Thing, sounds like you found a winner! I second HH on the extended warranty. Cars are like diamonds in that sense for me - they both need to be mind-clean!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

My problem with American-made cars stems from a horrifying experience I had as a child. I almost died because of a faulty seat belt in my mother''s Ford Taurus. I''ve also owned American-made cars (chevy and Jeep) and had chronic issues with them as opposed to my Honda and Toyota which were problem free. In fact, my husband just had to have his entire drive train replaced on the jeep because of a design flaw that essentially kills the DT within 100,000 miles.

Anyway, on to the story. I was in kindergarten and we were driving home one night in the late fall. The road we were on followed a small river. My mom, my older brother and I were in the car that night. She hit a patch of black ice and sent the car up onto an embankment and cartwheeling over several times. The latch on my seat belt let go and I was catapulted out the rear view window of our station wagon. I was knocked unconscious and had various scrapes and bruises. Luckily my mom had her sewing machine in the trunk which went through the window first. If that hadn''t I would have been more seriously injured or not here today.

Needless to say, I''m not impressed with Chevy or Jeep and I will never buy a Ford, EVER!

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 2/1/2010 1:00:21 PM
Author: onvacation

Date: 2/1/2010 11:39:43 AM
Author: RockHugger
Last I checked..Ford didnt need a bail out.


And HH, check where the parts are made. My mother is quality control for a company that makes gas tanks for cars (US and foreign) and she she is fighting with the execs of a mentioned foreign car maker over quality. The company wants her company to use cheaper, and thinner materials and my mother is fighting it because because it is a fire hazard.


I hate to say it but the foreign company is winning the battle because of the amount of money over the contract. If her company doesnt do it, someone in china will, and they cant afford to loose the money. So look out for a recall in the next few years due to gas tanks and fire hazard as well.


The reason the foreign comapnies are doing so well is the price of their cars. But the price cut comes from somewhere, and its usually quality. Any american built/sourced car I have owned has been a tank, and cost a pretty penny, but I dont have to worry about bursting into flames or my car loosing control.

Are you serious?

That''s the funniest(read: scariest) thing I''ve heard all day. You wouldn''t happen to be thinking of the Tata Nano, would you?

I am speaking my point of view from my experiance and what I know about the costs that go into making these cars. My husband as another example worked for a company that made washers (nuts and bolts washers, not laundry ). His company made VERY high quality washers with high quality steel (US made only). They had toyota as a buyer, and toyota wanted the washers for cheaper. Well his company couldnt go as low as toyota wanted to go, and refused to use lower quality steel to lower the price because they didnt want to lower standards. They also sourced ford...and ford was willing to pay the higher prices for the quality goods.

Well, toyota contracted with someone else. Dave knows who that someone else is, and they will use lower quality steel (made in china). That is what made me say no way to toyota from the begining. I KNOW what are building these cars with.

I also stopped buying GM, because they hopped on the cheap material bandwaggon. Not all steel and material is created equal.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

RH, there''s a difference between buying something for quality and buying something based on a blanket statement "Made in the USA!!!"

This thread is no longer on topic. I''m happy to continue the discussion, but out of respect for T2, who at this point probably is feeling judged because of her decision to buy a Toyota, if it''s going to continue a new thread should be started.

 

[FrekeChild]

Fingers crossed for you Thing2!

(But I still lurve my Honda!)

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/1/2010 7:47:51 AM
Author: RockHugger
Yet another reason to buy american!!!

we own four Japanese cars

a Toyota truck,a Lexus IS and 2 Honda Civic. 2 made in Japan and 2 made in the U.S.

lunch time!!

 

[HVVS]

Date: 2/1/2010 10:48:22 AM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/1/2010 7:47:51 AM

Author: RockHugger

Yet another reason to buy american!!!

Ha! Yes, American cars are known for their reliability and quality. That''s why they needed a government bailout to stay in business! God bless American cars!

And Camry is known in car circles as "The Girl''s Car," hehe. Actually, if you''d evaluate vehicles, you might find that quality and reliability are strong presences in the American product slates, once you get out of the econobox and small SUV/van/crossover lineup. Toyota is going to need one H of a bailout after this debacle if someone manages to prove that RF interference with the electronics causes WOT runaways in addition to no-starts. American car makers build great large vehicles. I drive large vehicles, for the durability, the towing capacity, and the safety factor.

As the owner of a Toyota Corolla that lost its engine to cracked piston rings at 47k for no good reason (was maintained, driven normally, oil changed every 3K), tore up it''s 5-speed transmission due to a grease leak that the dealer would not fix under warranty, electrical problems *too numerous* to list here, and frame corroding out from under it, I had no problem dumping that overrated Japanese-made POS on the first use car lot that would buy it from me. Consumer Reports had rated that model a best buy, too.

I owned a Mitsubishi coupe (great car, ahead of its time, except it rusted too fast), have owned Fords and Mercurys since 1986, and now still have some Fords plus two full size Chevy 4x4 ton trucks. For durability, those trucks are, as we say, "The Shizznit."

 

[luckystar112]

FWIW, my husband has a degree in Automotive Technology, is a Master L1 Certified Mechanic, is a certified State Inspector for the state of Texas, and has spent the last 15 years in the automotive industry. He drives a Toyota and will ONLY consider Toyota, Hondas or Nissans. There is no way he would ever own a Ford or any other American-made automobile.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thing, when my daugher was hit by another car back in April and had to find a new car, we found that the new ones with incentives were only slightly more than the certified used. So it didn''t make a bit of sense to get certified used. So I think you''re going in the right direction to get a regular used. Toyotas have superior reliability overall even with this current recall. I think they''re handling the recall as well as can be expected, and hopefully my daughter can get her car fixed quickly! And you make an appointment to get your new one fixed ASAP, too!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/2/2010 11:15:08 AM
Author: HVVS

Date: 2/1/2010 10:48:22 AM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/1/2010 7:47:51 AM

Author: RockHugger

Yet another reason to buy american!!!

Ha! Yes, American cars are known for their reliability and quality. That''s why they needed a government bailout to stay in business! God bless American cars!

And Camry is known in car circles as ''The Girl''s Car,'' hehe. Actually, if you''d evaluate vehicles, you might find that quality and reliability are strong presences in the American product slates, once you get out of the econobox and small SUV/van/crossover lineup. Toyota is going to need one H of a bailout after this debacle if someone manages to prove that RF interference with the electronics causes WOT runaways in addition to no-starts. American car makers build great large vehicles. I drive large vehicles, for the durability, the towing capacity, and the safety factor.

As the owner of a Toyota Corolla that lost its engine to cracked piston rings at 47k for no good reason (was maintained, driven normally, oil changed every 3K), tore up it''s 5-speed transmission due to a grease leak that the dealer would not fix under warranty, electrical problems *too numerous* to list here, and frame corroding out from under it, I had no problem dumping that overrated Japanese-made POS on the first use car lot that would buy it from me. Consumer Reports had rated that model a best buy, too.

I owned a Mitsubishi coupe (great car, ahead of its time, except it rusted too fast), have owned Fords and Mercurys since 1986, and now still have some Fords plus two full size Chevy 4x4 ton trucks. For durability, those trucks are, as we say, ''The Shizznit.''

Well I do have a vagina so I''m perfectly fine with owning a "Girl Car." Although my 6''2" hunting/fishing/woodworking/everything manly you can imagine dad is also buying a Camry in December so your classification is probably not super spot on. And I wouldn''t call a Camry an econobox, either.

My dad used to buy American (his favorite were Chevys) until they started sucking in what, the 70s or 80s? He switched to Japanese cars, primarily Toyota, and never went back. My dad''s last 2 pick ups have been Toyotas, too. He had Ford pick ups previously and wasn''t happy with them so he started buying Toyota pick ups. (My husband is actually currently driving my dad''s old 1990 Toyota pick up. He bought it from my dad 6 years ago and is too cheap to get a new car before that one dies so he''ll probably be driving it for a few more years.)

My dad always gets American made cars for company cars (they''re cheaper for his company to lease than Japanese cars) and they''re never as nice as their Japanese equivalent. Plus they''re unreliable! Many years ago he had a Chevy Astro van for a company car and the brakes completely failed when my mother was driving me and my twin sister to school one morning. She had to use the emergency brake on a windy country road and we could have easily flipped had the car gone into the ditch.

And I''ve got plenty more stories where that came from about how crappy American-made cars are! I doubt I''ll ever own an American car, actually. They''re clunky, ugly and just seem to lag behind Japanese cars as far as design and technology. So we''ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/2/2010 3:02:11 PM
Author: thing2of2

Well I do have a vagina so I''m perfectly fine with owning a ''Girl Car.'' Although my 6''2'' hunting/fishing/woodworking/everything manly you can imagine dad is also buying a Camry in December so your classification is probably not super spot on. And I wouldn''t call a Camry an econobox, either.

i''d agree Camry is a "Sissy" car and so are Honda Civics. one day i was driving my daughter''s Civic and people kept staring at me everytime when i stop at the signal light.

so,yes Camrys and Civics are "GIRLY" cars.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/2/2010 12:00:29 PM
Author: luckystar112
FWIW, my husband has a degree in Automotive Technology, is a Master L1 Certified Mechanic, is a certified State Inspector for the state of Texas, and has spent the last 15 years in the automotive industry. He drives a Toyota and will ONLY consider Toyota, Hondas or Nissans. There is no way he would ever own a Ford or any other American-made automobile.

Even more evidence that Toyotas are the best!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/2/2010 2:06:37 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Thing, when my daugher was hit by another car back in April and had to find a new car, we found that the new ones with incentives were only slightly more than the certified used. So it didn''t make a bit of sense to get certified used. So I think you''re going in the right direction to get a regular used. Toyotas have superior reliability overall even with this current recall. I think they''re handling the recall as well as can be expected, and hopefully my daughter can get her car fixed quickly! And you make an appointment to get your new one fixed ASAP, too!

Thanks for the input, ds! And I hope your daughter wasn''t hurt! Luckily my car was parked when it got hit. I saved a bundle by going for the regular used Camry. It has less miles than some of the certified ones that were several thousand $ more than the one I got. And the BMW dealership is going to take care of getting it fixed for me. There''s a Toyota dealership right next door so they''re going to call in a favor. Yay! I can''t wait until it''s actually mine!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/2/2010 8:04:32 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/2/2010 2:06:37 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Thing, when my daugher was hit by another car back in April and had to find a new car, we found that the new ones with incentives were only slightly more than the certified used. So it didn''t make a bit of sense to get certified used. So I think you''re going in the right direction to get a regular used. Toyotas have superior reliability overall even with this current recall. I think they''re handling the recall as well as can be expected, and hopefully my daughter can get her car fixed quickly! And you make an appointment to get your new one fixed ASAP, too!

Thanks for the input, ds! And I hope your daughter wasn''t hurt! Luckily my car was parked when it got hit. I saved a bundle by going for the regular used Camry. It has less miles than some of the certified ones that were several thousand $ more than the one I got. And the BMW dealership is going to take care of getting it fixed for me. There''s a Toyota dealership right next door so they''re going to call in a favor. Yay! I can''t wait until it''s actually mine!

congrats thing!! Camrys are nice and very dependable car,just not a "man" kind of car.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/2/2010 8:18:35 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 2/2/2010 8:04:32 PM

Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/2/2010 2:06:37 PM

Author: diamondseeker2006

Thing, when my daugher was hit by another car back in April and had to find a new car, we found that the new ones with incentives were only slightly more than the certified used. So it didn''t make a bit of sense to get certified used. So I think you''re going in the right direction to get a regular used. Toyotas have superior reliability overall even with this current recall. I think they''re handling the recall as well as can be expected, and hopefully my daughter can get her car fixed quickly! And you make an appointment to get your new one fixed ASAP, too!

Thanks for the input, ds! And I hope your daughter wasn''t hurt! Luckily my car was parked when it got hit. I saved a bundle by going for the regular used Camry. It has less miles than some of the certified ones that were several thousand $ more than the one I got. And the BMW dealership is going to take care of getting it fixed for me. There''s a Toyota dealership right next door so they''re going to call in a favor. Yay! I can''t wait until it''s actually mine!

congrats thing!! Camrys are nice and very dependable car,just not a ''man'' kind of car.

Thanks DF! I''m super excited about my girl car!

Speaking of which, here''s a pic! (My dad loves to take me and my siblings'' pictures when we buy new cars and we always take him with us because he knows all about cars!)

 

[onvacation]

Oooh, congrats! Love the color. It''s hard to find nice colors when buying used! Is that the manual in your hand there?

 

[Dancing Fire]

thing...i love the color.we bought four silver cars,cuz they never need a bath.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 2/2/2010 8:18:35 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 2/2/2010 8:04:32 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 2/2/2010 2:06:37 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Thing, when my daugher was hit by another car back in April and had to find a new car, we found that the new ones with incentives were only slightly more than the certified used. So it didn''t make a bit of sense to get certified used. So I think you''re going in the right direction to get a regular used. Toyotas have superior reliability overall even with this current recall. I think they''re handling the recall as well as can be expected, and hopefully my daughter can get her car fixed quickly! And you make an appointment to get your new one fixed ASAP, too!

Thanks for the input, ds! And I hope your daughter wasn''t hurt! Luckily my car was parked when it got hit. I saved a bundle by going for the regular used Camry. It has less miles than some of the certified ones that were several thousand $ more than the one I got. And the BMW dealership is going to take care of getting it fixed for me. There''s a Toyota dealership right next door so they''re going to call in a favor. Yay! I can''t wait until it''s actually mine!

congrats thing!! Camrys are nice and very dependable car,just not a ''man'' kind of car.

Yeah, leave it to a guy to assign gender to everything, and to feel his machismo is either enhanced or not, from externals.

Around here my husband sneeringly refers to certain vehicles - generally trucks of a certain type, but certainly including Hummers and anything big and bloated that has Cadillac on it - as "PE vehicles"...as in "penile enhancement".

My hubs has several "man" vehicles - 2 MGs and a 1984 Ford F150 rusting beater - but you know what? When it''s time to take a trip, or it''s hotter''n hell, or you want a car that you don''t have to talk to, put on a charger, doesn''t mark its territory, and that you don''t have to sacrifice knuckle blood to, he drives the one car that starts every time. MINE. ''Nuff said.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/3/2010 12:25:29 AM
Author: onvacation
Oooh, congrats! Love the color. It''s hard to find nice colors when buying used! Is that the manual in your hand there?

Thanks! I''m so glad I found the silver-I''m pretty picky about car colors and the silver is so nice! And that is indeed the manual-good eye! I already used it to figure out where the MP3 jack to plug my iPhone in was!

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/3/2010 12:53:26 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
thing...i love the color.we bought four silver cars,cuz they never need a bath.

Exactly!

 

[iheartscience]

ksinger-in DF''s defense (did I just say that?!

) HVVS is the one who started in with that. S/he''s just jealous because s/he is stuck driving American cars.

But I know I''ll be fighting my husband off my Camry with a stick! Once it gets warm and I start driving my scooter to work I''ll never see my poor Camry again!

And yeah-for some reason we''ve never taken his manly pick up truck on a road trip!

 

[ksinger]

Date: 2/3/2010 8:14:56 AM
Author: thing2of2
ksinger-in DF''s defense (did I just say that?!

) HVVS is the one who started in with that. S/he''s just jealous because s/he is stuck driving American cars.

But I know I''ll be fighting my husband off my Camry with a stick! Once it gets warm and I start driving my scooter to work I''ll never see my poor Camry again!

And yeah-for some reason we''ve never taken his manly pick up truck on a road trip!

LOL! Probably because his "manly" pickup guzzles gas at a staggering rate and rides like a....truck?? Camry is a sipper, for a car that size. Keep the tires a bit higher on pressure and watch it get about 32 on the highway.

OK, off to work now in my "girrrrrrrrly" car!