Car dealers are desperate, so I got a new toy

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  • Carlos
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2004
    • 1893
    • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

    Car dealers are desperate, so I got a new toy

    I got an unsolicited offer to trade in our Jeep, from the place we bought it from. I had already been wanting one of these, to me it's the ultimate combo of off-road ability with a bed and towing capacity. I loved our Wrangler four-door, but missed having a bed, and our travel trailer is exactly at the limits of its capacity. Towing was not fun in it. I leveraged the virus to say "give me written, final, out the door offers" to three dealers. I told them I would pick one, no further discussion or negotiation, and I expected to sign and drive, no screwing around inside the dealership. One was for a special Launch Edition with every option, so I went for that. $10k off MSRP, and high book on my trade. They didn't add anything for all the mods on the trade-in, but also didn't subtract for all the body damage I had done.

    I'm absolutely in love with the adaptive cruise. I already feel like I'll be really annoyed when I have to drive a car without it. I've only towed about 15 miles, but loved it. Headed out for a shooting weekend for my brother's 50th birthday in a few hours. We'll stay safe, everyone is bringing their own RV, no sharing spaces.

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  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    #2
    Looks Great! Congratulations.

    LOML's RAV4 has adaptive cruise and I really like it too. Then I drive my old Camry with ordinary cruise and it is aggravating. The RAV4 has the lane change 'nudge" if you don't use the signal. (its purpose is to prevent lane drift) When we bought it, the salesman and a technician went over those aspects with us twice and we understood it from the beginning. They are real safety features too. I read on RAV4 forums people who have a disdain for the cruise system and the lane drift nudge and they think it is dangerous. Evidently they didn't listen or the salesman/technicians didn't explain it well. We love the technology in the newer vehicles. And we got the ultra bright LED lights. Love those, can see well and they focus just below oncoming drivers.
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

    Comment

    • Carlos
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 1893
      • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

      #3
      Yeah, there's nothing obtrusive about the lane change warnings and the drift warnings. It has radar facing to each side and warns if there's a vehicle in the way. How can that be bad???

      Comment

      • Jim Frye
        Veteran Member
        • Dec 2002
        • 1051
        • Maumee, OH, USA.
        • Ryobi BT3000 & BT3100

        #4
        Thank you for supporting the Toledo Jeep workers here. Did you see the 419 (our area code and of the Jeep plant) molded into side panel of the bed liner by the tailgate?
        Jim Frye
        The Nut in the Cellar.
        ”Sawdust Is Man Glitter”

        Comment

        • leehljp
          Just me
          • Dec 2002
          • 8429
          • Tunica, MS
          • BT3000/3100

          #5
          I forgot to mention that when we bought our RAV4 Hybrid Limited, with the safety features of "Lane Drift Nudge, adaptive Cruise" and what every other safety features, our car insurance went down 10% over her Prius. It was the safety features. I was surprised when our insurance copy came in as I was expecting an increase in insurance premiums but it went down and the RAV4 had much higher value than the 5 year old Prius. I was wondering why but didn't want to bring it to the insurance agent's attention for fear he might raise the premium, and then I read about the safety features and it was mentioned that those with those safety features were having less accidents, and it was a noticeable decrease in accidents for those vehicles, hence the decrease in insurance premiums.
          Hank Lee

          Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

          Comment

          • Black walnut
            Administrator
            • Aug 2015
            • 5438
            • BT3K

            #6
            Congrats Carlos. Sounds like you got a great deal.
            just another brick in the wall...

            Boycott McAfee. They placed an unresponsive popup on my pc.

            Comment

            • durango dude
              Senior Member
              • Mar 2011
              • 934
              • a thousand or so feet above insanity
              • 50s vintage Craftsman Contractor Saw

              #7
              yeah - well let me know when Toyota dealers are lowering prices by that much ----(shaking my head).

              I love Toyotas - but dang ----- hate paying for them.

              Comment

              • Carlos
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2004
                • 1893
                • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                #8
                All brands are seeing huge discounts, particularly on flagship editions. Remember this is a special Launch Edition, so MSRP was $62k and they came down to $52k. This isn't going to happen on a base Camry.

                Comment

                • capncarl
                  Veteran Member
                  • Jan 2007
                  • 3564
                  • Leesburg Georgia USA
                  • SawStop CTS

                  #9
                  I realize this price is typical for 4 door pickup trucks....... but the price of $62.000.00 sends goosebumps up my spine! Who would ever believe the prices of a half ton truck would be that much, regardless to the bling they put on it! It’s sad that if you just want a plain Jane now pickup for a second vehicle, just something to go to the lumber yard and drive back to work it will cost 30k.

                  Are the top panels removable? Is that a cable coming out of the front bumper over the headlight or just an optical illusion?

                  Comment

                  • Carlos
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2004
                    • 1893
                    • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                    #10
                    You can buy base work trucks for just over $20k all day. A friend just did, for one of his workers. This has absolutely everything you can throw at it, and it's not bling. Real comfort and safety devices like adaptive cruise which automatically controls speed and will brake if you're about to hit something. It's hard to crash it, which is why although it costs much more than the Wrangler I traded in, the insurance is less than half. There are nice little features all over it, from those high-value safety things to just conveniences all over the place. I was only in the market for a Gladiator, and only one that was fully loaded or super close to it. And also a Rubicon, which has a huge number of off-road capabilities, from the upgraded axles and transfer case to silly things like screen-based computer control of it all including an off-road specific cruise control (crawl and traction control).

                    Oh yeah, towing with the 8-speed trans and adaptive cruise was SO much more calm and low-effort than towing with the Wrangler.

                    Comment

                    • Carlos
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jan 2004
                      • 1893
                      • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                      #11
                      Thought you guys might enjoy a little fab work. Building a mount/skid plate to put the compressor and tank underneath the vehicle, in an otherwise huge unused space. I'm building a circuit to power it via one of two different pressure switches, from a single switch in the vehicle. Push once for full pressure (200), push for off. Push for tire pressure (35), push for off.

                      Attached Files

                      Comment

                      • capncarl
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jan 2007
                        • 3564
                        • Leesburg Georgia USA
                        • SawStop CTS

                        #12
                        It’s nice to have compressed air on an off-road vehicle. What kind of filter does that compressor have? What about water? Some of my farmer friends have truck engine powered compressor pumps with electric clutches rather than the usual, larger compressor with tank rig in the truck bed. The compressor looks like an old square style Air conditioner compressor, the tank is built in the brush protection bumper.

                        Comment

                        • Carlos
                          Veteran Member
                          • Jan 2004
                          • 1893
                          • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                          #13
                          The filter will go under the hood, up high. It will be protected from the elements. The compressor is IP67, so it can be under water for at least 30 minutes. I did all the connections with the heat-shrink self-sealing crimps. They sell kits to do this on many vehicles. For this one, there is only one pre-made plate option and they want $500 for it. They also made it too small and won't fit these big full duty cycle 200 PSI compressors. I don't know that I *need* that much air, but I will never complain that I have it.

                          My primary use is the obvious tire fillup after airing down. I also use it for a blow gun, to clean the inside of the Jeep after a trail ride with the doors and top off. I have a four-tire hose system that I made so I can fill them all at once, and perfectly even.

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                          Comment

                          • atgcpaul
                            Veteran Member
                            • Aug 2003
                            • 4055
                            • Maryland
                            • Grizzly 1023SLX

                            #14
                            I really like the adaptive cruise control on my Highlander. I've never had it in another car. I thought lane assist was a little annoying so I turned it off, but since reading this thread, I decided to give it another shot.

                            I had to go into work today and the last 15 miles of my ride is a 3 lane road with some nice sweeping curves. Even during normal times, this road isn't heavily travelled (toll). So it works, but what was interesting is that I let the car bounce back and forth between lanes enough that the car thought I was tired. The sway warning popped up (I think it's got a 3hr timer) after 50 minutes of driving (and 10 minutes of ping pong). So I guess the sway warning works, too.

                            Do any cars have heads up displays? That's what I'm really looking forward to.

                            Comment

                            • Carlos
                              Veteran Member
                              • Jan 2004
                              • 1893
                              • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                              #15
                              I drove a Cadillac with a HUD and really didn't like it. Could be an adjustment factor.

                              Yesterday I programmed in an option to turn on the backup camera if you signal a lane change, we'll see if that's useful.

                              Comment

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