@jamar0303: THIS! I have had 3 of them and all of them went over 200k. One of them went to 450k. The 4-ac is indestructable! (yes AE86, not AE88)

Also inb4 InitialD fake drifto-wannabe. Owned the cars before I knew/cared what the show even was.

She doesn't have any taste anyway, she hangs out with me.

Anyways, been looking at the FJ for a while, and Friday the paper had an offer for 0% or $5K of MSRP on all FJ Cruisers in stock at a local dealer. As I only financed six grand, I took the $5K off and still got 4.6% financing.

I drove my dodge to the toyota dealership to look at the camry with my girlfriend this spring. The salesman tried really hard to get me to trade the it on a Tundra, and didn't try at all to sell us the camry that we were there to look at. We ended up not buying the Camry, but I did pull out a tow strap and offer to hook hitch to hitch with the tundra, even telling the salesman that I would buy it on the spot if it won. He balked, we left.

But the kicker is, in Japan the system insurance/safety is specifically designed such that owning a used car is cost prohibitive. Basically what happens is that after about 3 years you need to go through a yearly inspection. This doesn't sound bad except for the fact that this 'safety inspection' costs THOUSANDS of dollars, and is virtually impossible to pass even if you bought a new car 3 years ago and put it in a garage for the entire time. Then you have to pay for all the insane things they make you fix. Of course new cars are exempt from these 'safety inspections' for the first 3 years. So you basically reach a point where buying a new car is either cheaper, or at least in the same ball park as maintaining your old car.

So considering that most people are just going to buy new cars after 3-4 years why do they even bother to make them last so long? They should just put in the built in warranty time bombs that Volvo's have so that everything falls apart 1 day after the warranty expires. It's ironic that Japanese cars have such a high reliability reputation, when in fact no one in the home country would even benefit from this.

@samurailynn:

I'll slap Honda for the same thing. Bastards said my Accord would get 31 and I'm stuck with 34 on the highway.

Tundra is still a piece of crap.

Defamer was my gateway drug to this and Lifehacker.

Otherwise, in the future, save up cash and buy a cheap used car outright.

Also, always negotiate for a lower interest rate. They just start that high and then see if you'll bite.

Good timing. We're looking for a truck, and we have to take the Prius in for an oil change anyways, so we're going to sniff around for more information.

@TakingItSeriously: 19.65% thru Wells Fargo. 3 years of paying, haven't even got it 1/2 paid off yet.

Welcome to the high interest market, brave soldier.

@AdvocatesDevil: I would also like to add that Toyota didn't steal any of my sales last month. It looks like the Chevy Malibu actually stole from Toyota.

@papahoth:

Honda is doing really well. I really like the new Accord. I wish I would have waited to buy the 2008 instead of jumping the gun on the 07. Still a great car. Their design language could use some work though. They are not very attractive.

@AdvocatesDevil:

Damn those foreigners. i hate them.... wish they would all go away. I want to load them into the back of my Honda Accord (which I traded my lemon camry for) and drive them all back to Japan.

Way to put the ASS in assume.

Just bought a leftover '08 VW GTI for 72 months/0% financing.

(Was gonna buy with cash, but hell - I'll take their money free for 6 years!)

The deep discounting hasn't moved that many of the Toyota trucks/SUVs, so I doubt that extending the 0% is going to help them out any bit. It may move some more Camrys and Corollas, but only for those who were willing to overlook the dull driving experience.

(None of this really matters to me anyways, as I'm not in the market for a new vehicle. My Chevy with just under 200k miles is doing just fine.)

On the other hand, barring any total-loss accidents in the near future, the next vehicle I plan to purchase would either be a 100% plug-in electric (new Tesla) or a super-high MPG vehicle, like the Aptera.

[blog.wired.com]

America has gone finance crazy, see the sub prime mortgage crisis for reference. (yes I'm American)

just wow ... I didn't know banks would do car loans at that high an interest rate :(. Credit Cards yes ... Car Loans ... jeze

The 335i sedan, 550i sedan, M6 coupe, M6 convertible, M3 sedan, and M3 convertible can all be had for 0.9% (M3 coupe for 1.9%).

-if you're still (very) early in the loan, pay extra each month. This will go towards the principal and you won't wind up paying interest on it.

-refinance through your credit union or bank for what you still owe on the loan. If you're already well into your loan, though, the damage has been done - they've already collected most of the interest from you.

Good luck!

Will this also apply to the Hybrid Camry? The Hybrid is one great performing car, and does not cost that much more. If I could get one at a price near invoice and zero percent financing, then it is tempting. We just bought a new Yoda this spring making everything in my driveway a Yoda.

Maybe I'll just hold out. The next gen synergy drive system is out next year and deals may be even better. Of course if we slip into major recession, the dollar will plummet even farther and companies like Toyota may just decide to focus energies on places where currency is worth something. They avoid some of this by producing a large majority in this country with local content but would still rather earn something more substantial than the unmighty dollar. Any other thoughts?

Can you post a picture of you being 'pissed off' ? I'm guessing that could be entertaining. Toyota should have known better than to run a promotion that wasn't retroactive.

@Corporate_guy:

Where do I begin... Oil sludge is normal would be the first one they told me regarding my brand new 2007 Toyota Camry. Both the dealer and Toyota customer service told me this.

Sweeping safety related concerns under the rug in japan.

Horse Power numbers are grossly inflated as were MPG numbers for the Prius until the EPA finally made them change it in 2008.

My cousins Tundra was not experiencing tailgate issues so said Toyota and the Dealer. This is an issue they have yet to fix for him... The list goes on.

I sell Saturns now and I'm not exactly happy about it. But so far the service from GM has been improved upon. I might buy one of these cars that i sell because my customers love them.

I've asked them for a break in the rate but they always say no.

Any ideas on how I can get it lowered?

I pay so much on f'ing interest, it's insane!

/me wishes he could refinance his Tacoma he bought last fall.

I'd still have to get approved for the loan, right?? I have a car loan right now, and I'd love to get a newer car w/o the high interest rate on it.

@InfiniTrent: Same here.

Seriously, it's Friday. Stop it with all the bad news already!

I like all my Consumerist peoples. :(

Ahhhh... Welcome to the real automotive industry Toyota. GM sold almost 100,000 more cars than you did in September. This is what happens when you lie to your customers.

Seriously, I need to STOP. RIGHT. NOW. I've almost paid off my current car and I DO NOT need a new car right now.

Will they do the 0% on the purchase plus balance from my Nissan loan?

@JohnDeere: I'd believe it if the banks had money. I guess they are buying from the $700 bil we're loaning them.

One of the comments made by the publisher was:

Sites such as Consumerist, whose success has been measured more in traffic and recognition than in revenue, now need to cover their costs.

Honestly, I would have never found the other Gawker blogs without finding Consumerist first. Consumerist was my Gawker gateway drug.

The only Toyota vehicles missing from that list are the Land Cruiser, Avalon, Solara (might be rolled under Camry), Prius (duh) and Yaris (double-duh).

@chiieddy: conspiracy. the banks are paying to close down consumerist.

I want a TC at 0%!!!