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My New Car!!

T

todd2000

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 14, 2005
1,633
34
Danville, VA
So I went out last Tue the 27th with all intentions of gettin a Dodge Caliber, but the dealer was being a PIA, and they didn't have what I wanted anyway. So on the way home we stopped by the Toyota dealer, because I wanted to check out a Scion tC, but the only one they had was a manual (which I can't drive). The salesman recommened a Corolla, and I took it for a test drive, and was impressed enough that I drove it home that night. w00t w00t. So I have a brand new 2006 Toyota Corolla LE. I have to say that I always pictured Corollas as being kind of cheap, although to be fair I've never really seen one up close. To me at least it seems like a car that cost more the $16,500, the ineterior is refined, and even the fake wood trim looks rather realistic. The seats are comfortable, and they have a nice soft feel, kinda like velour. My last seats were kinda rough. I just got back from a road trip from VA, to NJ and back 500 miles each way, and the car road great and was very comfortable. Overall I think it has a lot of "bang for your buck" as they say. Power everything, Air Conditioning, 6-Disc In Dash CD Changer, etc, and it's a toyota so it should last me a long time. The Caliber didn't have power, or Air standard on their comparably priced model. Anyway enough ranting onto the pics, since I just had time to photograph it today.

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Vroom...Vroom :)
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I installed a AUX adapter, so I coudl hook up my iPod and Sirius, I installed my Sirius adapter in the cubby hole under the radio, hard wired it to my fuse box, and ran the aux cable from the adapter into the cubby so you don't see any wires.

sirius.jpg


I also ran an aux cable into my center console for my iPod since there is a cig lighter in there

ipod.jpg


So there it is Yay! Just wanted to share and get opinions, anyone else have a Corolla?
 
Money better spent on the Toyota than the Dodge, especially if you planned on getting an automatic.

Should still be running 10 years from now with little if any problems.

While the Hyundai motor in the Dodge may be more reliable than the Dodge Neon motor it replaces. I cannot think too highly of any Dodge automatic. So the Caliber is a coin flip on reliability.
 
No I don't, but my friend has a model from around 2002-2003, and it is a nice car.

What some people don't seem to understand is that there are many non-expensive cars that offer way more bang for your buck than expensive or mid-range cars. That's good for consumers. :)

Congratulations, and good luck with the Corolla. :) However, why didn't you just have a Scion TC ordered if they didn't have one in stock? Or why not just go to another Toyota dealer with one in stock?
 
Congrats on the new car...my fiancée and I have a '99 Corolla and it's been a great car so far. We haven't put a lot of miles on it (just over 50,000), but it's only had a couple of repairs, most of which were normal maintenance repairs...brakes and fan belt are the only things I can think of off the top of my head.
 
Abstract said:
However, why didn't you just have a Scion TC ordered if they didn't have one in stock? Or why not just go to another Toyota dealer with one in stock?
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Well I actually liked the interior of the Corolla better then the tC, and we live in the middle of nowhere, so the next nearest toyota dealer is like an hour away :). It was kind of an inpulse purchase, which I wouldn't have normally done, but I trust Toyota so I went for it.
 
Sun Baked said:
I cannot think too highly of any Dodge automatic. So the Caliber is a coin flip on reliability.
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Well the Automatic on the caliber is actually a CVT designed by Jaco, not Dodge, so it migh be better then other Dodge automatics. Either way Im happy with my Corolla.
 
wrc fan said:
Uh... you have a brand new car that already has license plates? I guess they have the prisoners working overtime in Virgina... in California it usually takes a couple months to get the plates.
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LOL, I was actually shocked they ripped the plates off of my old car and put them on the Corolla the night I bought it. Which means if I would have gotten pulled over that night (not that I would) and they ran my plates that my Corolla, would have come up as a VW Jetta :). I moved here from NJ in Nov, and up there it took a week or so to get new plates. You guys are slow out there, a couple of months is really long. :)
 
America likes Automatic.

Seems to be a bigger thing in America having an automatic car than in the UK, do any other members drive only automatic?

Nice car by the way, Toyota so it should last till your next motor is a Hover Car.
 
combatcolin said:
Seems to be a bigger thing in America having a manual car than in the UK, do any other members drive only automatic?

Nice car by the way, Toyota so it should last till your next motor is a Hover Car.
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Thanks, I agree it seems people are big on Manuals. I just don't see the point. Sure manuals get an extra 1-2MPG, and might have slightly better performance, but I'de rather just put it in drive and go then have to worry about shifting. Especially with a lot of city driving. I have to say I don't know how to drive a manual, but it seems like too much effort to me. I want to drive, and concentrate on the road etc, and not shifting.

EDIT: Im confused, how did combatcolin's post change after I quoted it. It doesn't say that he edited it. Interesting
 
wrc fan said:
Uh... you have a brand new car that already has license plates? I guess they have the prisoners working overtime in Virgina... in California it usually takes a couple months to get the plates.
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Here in MO, when you trade in, they also take the plates off your old car and put them on the new car unless you tell them otherwise. I believe the DMV fees are a bit cheaper to transfer plates to a new car than to register new plates.


Which means if I would have gotten pulled over that night (not that I would) and they ran my plates that my Corolla, would have come up as a VW Jetta
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You'd be fine. Just show the cop the paperwork that shows you just bought the car. I'm sure they deal with situations like that all the time.
 
combatcolin said:
Seems to be a bigger thing in America having an automatic car than in the UK, do any other members drive only automatic?

Nice car by the way, Toyota so it should last till your next motor is a Hover Car.
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Manuals get better fuel economy. Automatic transmissions to us I guess are considered a convenience and the majority of cars are auto. Standard transmissions are occasionally found in cheap cars, more common in european cars, and common in sports cars. I can't think of any SUV made right now that offers a standard transmission aside from something like a jeep wrangler or FJ cruiser.


The Corolla is one of my favorite economy cars. Yours looks very nice. I am glad you picked this up rather than the caliper. Your toyota will probably last 2x longer than that dodge. If you bought the dodge your auto trans and AC would die after 80,000 miles, it would be worth literally nothing, and it will probably be known as a loser car in the future (like a buick station wagon).
 
Toyotas are great cars. You will not regret your purchase.

Also, I've found that always taking the car to a Toyota dealership for repairs and maintenance can be very beneficial.
 
combatcolin said:
Whoops,

Cock up there, i typed manual when i meant to type automatic.

:rolleyes:
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LOL well sorry to bash your choice of transmissions then :) Just don't see much of a point my-self.
 
CompUser said:
Manuals get better fuel economy. Automatic transmissions to us I guess are considered a convenience and the majority of cars are auto. Standard transmissions are occasionally found in cheap cars, more common in european cars, and common in sports cars. I can't think of any SUV made right now that offers a standard transmission aside from something like a jeep wrangler or FJ cruiser.
Click to expand...

A lot of the smaller ones do. The Hyundai Tuscon has a manual option. The Honda CRV also has one I believe. Even the god awful Hummer H3 has a manual option. The big ones don't have them, but the smaller ones do.

Besides better fuel economy, manuals give you more control over the car. They're also more fun (or so I hear, I've never driven a manual, but my next car will be a manual)
 
todd2000 said:
I want to drive, and concentrate on the road etc, and not shifting.
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In my experience if you want to drive and concentrate on the road a manual is actually better. When you have an automatic you tend to just zone out and simply accellerate and decellerate. A manual actually keeps you alert. And after you've driven with a manual long enough it becomes almost second nature so you don't really think about when to shift or what gear to be in, you just do it.

Another positive aspect of the manual, at least in my experience, is that as cars age, automatic transmissions tend to go wonky, while manuals keep working (assuming the clutch is in good shape).
 
I'm driving a 1990 Corolla, so it's almost 17 years old, with over 150k miles. It makes weird creaking sounds, the body paint is worn off in places, the dash is cracked and faded... but it's also a solid, reliable car that rarely has mechanical problems. It even just passed smog without needing any repairs. Pretty amazing, considering its age. I'm going to keep driving it until it just won't go, and I won't be surprised if it holds up for a few more years.

My next car will definitely be a Toyota or Honda (my first car was a 1986 Honda Accord that finally died about 8 months ago - also a great car).
 
therevolution said:
I'm driving a 1990 Corolla, so it's almost 17 years old, with over 150k miles. It makes weird creaking sounds, the body paint is worn off in places, the dash is cracked and faded... but it's also a solid, reliable car that rarely has mechanical problems. It even just passed smog without needing any repairs. Pretty amazing, considering its age. I'm going to keep driving it until it just won't go, and I won't be surprised if it holds up for a few more years.

My next car will definitely be a Toyota or Honda (my first car was a 1986 Honda Accord that finally died about 8 months ago - also a great car).
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Yeah, a guy at work has a Toyota pickup that he bought new in 1987, and it still runs fine, he says he's never had any major repairs, I hope this car lasts me 20 years :) Though I won't hold my breath :) I imagine like most things they "don't make em like they used to" if you know what I mean, which isn't to say it won't last, but 20 yrs might be pushing it :)
 
todd2000 said:
Thanks, I agree it seems people are big on Manuals. I just don't see the point. Sure manuals get an extra 1-2MPG, and might have slightly better performance, but I'de rather just put it in drive and go then have to worry about shifting. Especially with a lot of city driving. I have to say I don't know how to drive a manual, but it seems like too much effort to me. I want to drive, and concentrate on the road etc, and not shifting.
Click to expand...

First off I do drive a manual and enjoy it. Well I can answer the question on why people like manual over Autos.
It a simple matter that manauls are just more fun to drive and you are in more control over the car and much more intune with the car itself. It doesnt take any conentrationg off the road shifting once you learn how to drive one. Heck it 2nd nature to me now and I dont think about it. Driving Autos requires more concentration for me because I want to shift and i have to override that tendancy to want to shift. My left foot has stomp the break before.
It doesnt take much effort. Like I said it 2nd nature to me and I dont think about it, I just do it. WHen I want to focus in on it I do but that when I am flooring the car.
Also because I driving a manual for so long I grown to hate the lag time in automatic transmision for when they downshift for the extra power. I am used to instanct gratifacation and downshift exactly when I want to and not having to wait for the tranny to do it. (and dont tell me that you auto give it to you instantly. It can not match a manual car I just can not stand that lag time any more).

Biggest reason is it just more fun to drive.

Now in stop and go traffic I hate my manual at times. and some times they suck for dates but for the most part it personal choice on which one you want. For me, I stick with my 6speed manual tranny and love every minunited of it.

Gas mileage wise no really difference in a modern Auto they get the same gas mileage as a manual. Now in City they some times get better gas mileage because the computer shift points are better than human can do but for the most part it the same. Performance wise in a drag race and auto can out do a human because of the shift points are computer controled for the most part. Now on the launch a manual is better.
 
Now more of the OP post. You have a nice car and it sounds like it fits you better than the tC would have.

The tC would of had more engine power and much more of a sporty car than what you got. That extra power comes at a price of luxury on the instand and ride is not going to be a smooth (stiffer supsention for performances. You have to trade one for the other.) I think the tC would a lot more fun of a car to drive but the Coralla is more of a confort car to drive. How you describ it the Coralla fits you better.

I peronally would of taken the tC but iI am all about pushing the limits of performance and will trade creature conforts for it.. So it fits me. For you the coralla fits you and I will say is a great car and by the looks of it you are going to get many years of enjoyment out of it.

Enjoy you new car. It is a great car.
 
Wow Toyota really stepped up the quality of the 'rolla there. I have been in a 2001 'rolla and they are **** compared to that. The nice white lite guages is a huge step. My 2000 Celica plastic was a gray color that looked awful, same as in a 'rolla I think. Thank god it looks like they changed that.

And thank god you went with a Toyota over a Chevy. You'll be going 150,000 miles with little to no problems.
 
Nice job!
Now I have to ask because I always wondered, how come car dealers brand their cars in what seems to be every state except California? If I lived out of state, I'd be pissed if someone painted their stupid name on my car.
I know it seems silly, but not having it here, it makes a difference.
 
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