Buying a Highlander

[army872008]

Well I have had my T4R for a year now, and have decided to trade the wife's Stratus in on an 07 Highlander V6. My brother is a Senior broker for a Toyota dealer and picked it up and will certify it, my purchase price is 14K. From looking on the internet I see them for 19-21K. He says the market for V6 has even tanked and can not get rid of them at the normal price, good time to sink some negative equity. What I find silly is consumers will pay the exta thousands for the same vehicle only in HYBRID form yet the savings in fuel does not out weigh the purchase price, when they could get a decent V6/vehicle at thousands less?
Has antone pruchased a Highlander?
thanks

 

[CJ3Flyr]

In looking for 4Runner forums I found this. It seems pretty active. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83

:cheers:

 

[afx604]

I would assume that saving money on gas is only a part of the reason as to why people buy hybrids. One must also account for the decrease in emissions that hybrids bring to our environment. I respect them either way.

 

[army872008]

Yes I could agree with the reduced emissions, well I will be taking delivery on Saturday guess the T4R will have a little brother sitting next to him. Now my daughter wants a 3rd gen T4R geez I hope I can swing a multi car deal.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

I would assume that saving money on gas is only a part of the reason as to why people buy hybrids. One must also account for the decrease in emissions that hybrids bring to our environment. I respect them either way.

Here in VA, hybrid cars - particularly the Toyota Prius - sell very well. Sure, they get better fuel mileage; but I know that a lot of people purchase them so they can drive in the H.O.V. carpool lanes during rush hour without having three people in the car.

Others think they're saving the planet, but the "carbon footprint" of a Prius ranks somewhere above a Chevrolet Tahoe and below a Hummer H3. This is because of the high percentage of plastics used in the Prius (made from petrochemicals) and the heavy metals contained within the car's huge batteries. Another thing to be dealt with is the eventual replacement and disposal of battery packs several years down the road.

One of the major automotive magazines had an article about this (Car and Driver?) last year, and it was extremely fascinating. It is surprising how gullible the American public can be on issues involving the environment.

I am glad that some people are buying hybrids, as this will make the technology more feasible and less expensive in the future, but there is still no such thing as "carbon free" and the "free lunch" still has yet to be found. Everything has a flip side. For the time being, the rest of us are "subsidizing" these hybrids.

 

[G.I.G.]

....guess the T4R will have a little brother sitting next to him....

Sounds like your garage is going to look a lot like my garage...

My fiancee drives a, '03 Highlander with the V6. I think its a great car and perfect for her. She bought her Highlander before I bought my 4R, and that was part of the reason that I went from Jeep to Toyota. It handles well, has just about as much interior room as my 4R, gets around great in the snow with the all-wheel drive, and gets pretty good gas mileage for the size car it is. The new ones are pretty sweet too. They got a lot of the Lexus trickle down features from the RX330.

As far as the hybrid thing goes, many estimate the ROI on a Highlander hybrid vs. the V6 is about 7-8 years. Meaning, you would have to own the hybrid at least that long before you would break even on the extra purchase price and mainanence costs vs. what you are saving at the pump. I agree that hybrid technology is great, but it needs to come farther and get cheaper before I would be interested.

 

[racedirt1]

A friend of mine just picked up an '08 Highlander. I just briefly checked it out but it has a "snow" button on the console. She asked me what it does and I am not real sure?

I though maybe a VSC disconnect but I don't think that is it because they have a seperate button for that. So not to hi-jack this thread too much, does anybody know what the snow button is?

 

[Boston_Runner]

A friend of mine just picked up an '08 Highlander. I just briefly checked it out but it has a "snow" button on the console. She asked me what it does and I am not real sure?

I though maybe a VSC disconnect but I don't think that is it because they have a seperate button for that. So not to hi-jack this thread too much, does anybody know what the snow button is?

The slow button starts the car in 2nd gear and slows down the response of the gas pedal.

 

[G.I.G.]

The slow button starts the car in 2nd gear and slows down the response of the gas pedal.

I also believe it lowers the shift points in all gears with the automatic transmission.

 

[army872008]

Thanks for the discussion.....and no you did not hijack the thread. We are heading out today to Richmond to pick it up. It was certified yesterday, guess it got new shoes, rotors and god knows what else aparently the shop bill was 1400....amaizing job this dealer does, it is the same one I purchased my T4R from (with my brothers help) and it looked brand new next to the 08's and it was an 05.

 

[chaz]

08

got an 08 (not hybrid) & like it. too bad you cant get a dual speed tc & off road package cause it pretty nice too drive.

 

[barc111]

I have a '06 4runner Sport. The girlfriend has a '07 Highlander Hybrid Limited.

Due to me working for Toyota we were able to get it at Net Net...and with the Federal tax credit and Oregon Tax Credit it came out to be a difference of roughly $2K.

Well worth it if you ask me. Love the CVT transmission, works wonders in the snow. We are averaging 27MPG.

Best of all.....it's a Toyota. They also have a recycling program for the Hybrid battery cells.....fyi.