Accessories on New Car: Trim/Moulding

On 8/7/2013 10:36 AM, SMH wrote:

> Normally I would have bought something better, but I just returned to the
> United States, and there is a lot of uncertainty about personal financial
> security right now. In fact, I was thinking if getting a low-mileage used
> car, but the prices in many cases were higher on those car types than buying
> the new Toyota: apparently Toyota was willing to take a bath [?] and
> unloading unsold 2013 inventory at cheaper prices than for certified pre-
> owned cars, same model, color and features! I looked at 2013 Corolla L with
> 900 miles that was certified pre-owned, and it was about $500 more expensive
> than the new 2013 Corolla L. And that was true at two dealerships in the
> city.

LOL, it's because Toyota itself makes no money if someone buys a used
Toyota (unless the seller goes and buys another Toyota). The high resale
value of used Toyotas very often make buying a new one a much better option.

BTW, it's often not just for the same model year that you're better off
buying new versus used (for Toyotas), but also for one model year older.
Besides the lower price on the new car, you're also getting more
warranty (unless it's a Toyota Certified Used Car).

My theory is that there are a sufficient number of buyers that believe
that they must pay MSRP for a new Toyota so they opt for buying a used
one. These people never even look at a newspaper, or look online, to see
how low a non-negotiated street price can be. It's not the dealer's
obligation to say, "oh, didn't you see our "All Corolla L Automatic in
Stock for $15.5K" ad in the newspaper?" On the flip side, there are the
more savvy buyers that are getting much lower prices for new vehicles.

I recall, many years ago, answering an ad for a one year old Camry and
the seller simply would not believe me as to what a new Camry cost. He
expected to get $1000 more for the one year old model than we ended up
paying for a new one because he paid way too much for a new one.

Toyota is not taking a bath when they cut prices, they are just taking
less profit per vehicle in order to keep production levels high (and
sometimes they want bragging rights as to the "best selling car)."

Toyota keeps saying that they want to get out of the endless incentives
and discounting cycle, but IMVAIO they will be as successful as JC
Penney was in this regard. The dealers are pressured to sell more volume
and do it by cutting their own margins, hoping that they'll be able to
sell more extremely high margin stuff like paint guard, fabric guard,
extended warranties, maintenance agreements, and my new favorite "dent
and ding insurance."

On Wed, 7 Aug 2013 09:52:05 -0700, "Jeff Strickland"
> wrote:

>
>"Brian Gordon" > wrote in message
...
>> In article >,
>> SMH > wrote:
>>>
>>>It's been a while since I bought a new car in the United States (late
>>>1980s,
>>>I am guessing), so perhaps things have changed.
>>>
>>>I just got a 2013 Toyota Corolla L and know that I need certain things:
>>> [...]
>>>* Security against auto theft
>>> I was asking someone what they did for protecting the car against theft
>>> in Miami, and they said "insurance." In other words, they said there
>>> is nothing that can be done to stop a thief. "Once they get your
>>> car, it will be dismantled for parts before you can report the
>>> theft after directly witnessing it." Opinions?
>>
>> Many people opt for a car alarm. Before you do, ask yourself what YOU do
>> when
>> you hear a car alarm going off. Run towards the sound yelling "stop
>> thief" or
>> feel annoyed and ignore it?
>>
>> If you ignore it, consider that most others do, too. What do you get for
>> your
>> money besides a way to annoy people with false alarms?
>>
>> --
>
>
>Good point Brian. But an advantage of a good car alarm is that it will
>disable the ignition and starter circuits, and with any luck at all the
>people that are breaking in will not take the car if they can't get it
>started.
>
>And if the bad guys trip the alarm at the OP's house, which is in Florida,
>he can simply walk outside with his 9 and go all Zimmerman on the guys
>taking his stuff.
>
>


most new cars, even if they don't have an "alarm" already disable
starting the car if you don't have the proper chipped key. So you
pretty much get the benefit of an "alarm" just without the noise.

"Jeff Strickland" > wrote in message
...
>
> "SMH" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Jeff Strickland" > wrote on Wed 07 Aug 2013
>> 12:48:52p
>>
>>>
>>> "SMH" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>>
>>>> It's been a while since I bought a new car in the United States (late
>>>> 1980s,
>>>> I am guessing), so perhaps things have changed.
>>>>
>>>> I just got a 2013 Toyota Corolla L and know that I need certain things:
>>>>
>>>> * Protection of floor carpet
>>>> After looking at the "digital fit" mats priced from $120 and up on
>>>> Ebay, I went with some $50 package (on Ebay) because it is carpeted
>>>> and not like stepping on a Rubbermaid surface, although I am not
>>>> entirely sure that the digital or custom fit Weather Tech or Husky
>>>> Liner products are merely neoprene or plastic looking. I would need
>>>> to see the product to know what I am missing. Note that $50 package
>>>> also threw in some seat covers.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You already selected a solution, but I was going to suggest the auto
>>> parts department at WalMart as a source for floor mats. An auto parts
>>> store is also an excellent place to shop for mats. If your online
>>> solution has shipping charges, the store might work out to be cheaper.
>>>
>>> If your Corolla L is the base car, that is often a poor choice because
>>> you are now looking for stuff that might be included in a car that has
>>> the features already included. For example, if your car has manual door
>>> locks and you want an alarm -- it looks like you do -- then the power
>>> locks from the factory wold work better and cost about the same as
>>> having the alarm installer put in lock actuators, and the package that
>>> has power locks has power windows too, and probably has a better radio.
>>> The cost-up for the higher trim package is cheaper, usually, than buying
>>> parts of the trim package later and adding them on. As a bonus, the
>>> parts fit and work better from the factory.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> * Trim/Moulding
>>>> This is the part I am concerned about. Naturally I would like to
>>>> stick something on the door to prevent door opening dings. I don't
>>>> think that should affect any dealership or manufacturer warranties
>>>>
>>>
>>> WalMart and Pep Boys, among others I am sure, have very good products
>>> that fit over the door edge. There is no warranty implication at all
>>> with these. You should visit the dealership parts department and
>>> casually stroll the display cases. They have some good ideas of stuff to
>>> buy. I'm not suggesting you buy it there, just look as what they have
>>> already figured out what many customers want and they have it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> * Security against auto theft
>>>> I was asking someone what they did for protecting the car against
>>>> theft in Miami, and they said "insurance." In other words, they said
>>>> there is nothing that can be done to stop a thief. "Once they get
>>>> your car, it will be dismantled for parts before you can report the
>>>> theft after directly witnessing it." Opinions?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Stop by your local car alarm store -- Best Buy's radio/electronics
>>> department might be a good place to stop. It is not a difficult task to
>>> install a car alarm that has Ignition Bypass. If your Corolla has power
>>> door locks, then it is very easy to install an alarm system that locks
>>> and unlock the doors with the press of a button. If your car does not
>>> have power door locks, the alarm installer can add actuators that
>>> perform this task. I forget, but I think they are about $25 each.
>>>
>>> If your car has an automatic transmission, you can easily install a
>>> system with Remote Start if that sort of thing is interesting to you.
>>>
>>> If you financed the car, you already have the insurance you need. Your
>>> insurance carrier would probably discount the premium if you have an
>>> alarm system installed.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> * Other accessories?
>>>> Is there an extra I should be planning on?
>>>
>>> If there is anything "missing" on your car, odds are excellent that you
>>> bought the wrong car.
>>>
>>> It's fine to buy a base model car, but if you turn around and start
>>> putting stuff on it that might be included as a factory option on a
>>> higher trim level car of the same model, a Corolla S instead of the
>>> Corolla L for example, it is easy that the stuff that you buy costs more
>>> and works worse than going up-market a little bit when you made the
>>> original purchase.
>>>
>>> You asked about an alarm, but you need power locks so you will know that
>>> the doors are locked when the alarm is armed. Without power locks, you
>>> might have an instance where a door is not locked and the alarm is
>>> pretty much useless at that point. For the cost of the higher trim
>>> level, you would get both power door locks and power windows, and power
>>> mirrors too. The power package installed at the factory probably costs
>>> about the same as the door lock actuators you need, and the factory
>>> installs this stuff before the door panels are put into place, the alarm
>>> installer has to take the door panels off. He'll know how to do this,
>>> but anytime somebody has to take something off there is a chance it will
>>> be damaged in some way that will just annoy you for the rest of your
>>> life.
>>
>> Thanks for a lot of the useful info.
>>
>> The 2013 "base model" L sold to me is an automatic transmission with the
>> smart key entry and power locks, mirrors, windows.
>>
>
> Then you're golden. You can have an alarm installer put in a system that
> locks the doors and disables the ignition until you come along and unlock
> the doors again. If the doors/windows are compromised to gain entry, the
> starter and ignitions systems will not operate. You might already have an
> ignition bypass that is part of the smart key. You can test for this by
> putting a window down and then locking the car. Reach inside with the key
> (without unlocking the car) and see if you can start the engine. If no,
> then you already have an ignition bypass, and the alarm is nothing more
> than a horn that you don't seem to care about.
>
> Since you have a smart key, then you may be able to get a Toyota alarm
> that is plug 'n play.
>
> You can hit Walmart for door edge guards and floor mats as you need them.
>
>


The guys are saying here that you already have an ignition bypass.

You can test this for True or False by locking the car as if you were not in
it, but really are, and then trying to start it. You have to use the key to
lock the door while you are inside, you cannot use any button on the inside
to lock the door because that tells the car that it's okay to be started --
the car has to think you have walked away, not that you are inside. You
could lock the door from the outside then put your arm through the window
and turn the key...

If the car can be started while locked from the outside, then it does not
have ignition bypass. If the car cannot be started when locked from the
outside, then it has the ignition bypass, and all you need is the alarm
system. If it has an ignition bypass, then it might have an alarm module
from Toyota that is a plug-n-play unit that you can easily install at home
in less than an hour.

On 8/8/2013 12:46 AM, Ashton Crusher wrote:

> most new cars, even if they don't have an "alarm" already disable
> starting the car if you don't have the proper chipped key. So you
> pretty much get the benefit of an "alarm" just without the noise.

The thieves now just show up with a flatbed tow truck to tow it to the
chop shop.

On 8/7/2013 10:36 AM, SMH wrote:

<snip>

> The 2013 "base model" L sold to me is an automatic transmission with the
> smart key entry and power locks, mirrors, windows.

There are a bunch of extra options available on the Corolla LE versus
the L but the base standard equipment is very similar.

The only three real differences are the following:
1. Heated versus non heated outside mirrors
2. Variable Intermittent versus fixed intermittent wipers
3. 16 inch wheels versus 15 inch wheels (not necessarily an advantage to
have the larger wheels in terms of MPG, ride quality, and tire cost).

The 2014 Corolla is completely changed and I would not buy one of those
the first year because there's just too many unknowns. But at least it
is supposed to be higher MPG (it's strange that the 2013 Camry has a
higher highway MPG than the 2013 Corolla).

On the Camry L versus LE there are more significant differences. The LE
has automatic headlights, remote keyless entry, and an extra 12V outlet,
which the L lacks. Adding after-market RKE is a hassle. I was amazed at
just how nice they've made the Camry, even the base model. It's
basically a luxury car now. They've even put the large LCD screen in
models without the navigation system (presumably so they can easily add
it as an option). As Car and Driver wrote: "More luxury and more mpg for
America's most popular car."

It was interesting buying a Camry with my sister in law a few months
ago. We didn't see any L versions on the lot, but the price at the
dealer she bought the LE for was the same as what other dealers were
advertising the L for, $19.4K. Now, since it's closer to the end of the
model year, prices have fallen another $500. We could have also went
down to Southern California and saved about $500 more. I told her to
wait two months but she got it into her head to buy a new car to replace
her 21 year old Camry LE which would have needed some major engine work.
Oh, BTW, the Costco car buying service was significantly higher than
what the dealer was advertising and what we paid. The USAA car buying
service is good, if you're a USAA member. They basically had the same
price as the dealer's advertised price with the difference being that
the price was not limited to the "x in stock at this price" gimmick, but
was good for any of that model in stock. Often the "x in stock" vehicles
are a color that is unpopular.

And as you found out, buying a low-mileage used vehicle is not
necessarily cheaper than buying the same model as new, especially when
the manufacturer and dealer are heavily discounting and incentivizing
the new cars. As an article in Time explained: "Bizarrely, the situation
is also one in which, as Kelley Blue Book noted, new and used versions
of the same car model sometimes cost about the same, once dealership
incentives for new vehicles are factored in. “Buying a one-year-old used
Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic will only save consumers about $20 per
month,” the experts at KBB estimate."
<http://business.time.com/2013/02/27/the-smoking-hot-market-for-gently-used-cars/#ixzz2bPBcoYrd>.

A car dealer knows that the typical used car customer is less well-off
and less educated, doesn't research prices, and often will head straight
to the used car section of the dealership. A private party that's
selling a 1-2 year old vehicle that they bought new probably paid way
too much for the vehicle (unless there's some other very good reason for
selling a vehicle after such a short time). Since they paid too much for
the vehicle when new, they expect to sell the used vehicle for too much,
and it only takes one naive buyer for them to achieve their objective.

I have a relative that owns a repair shop in San Francisco and he'll
often get people coming in to have him check out a used car that they
intend to buy. He'll ask how much they are paying and he is often
astounded at the extremely high prices they are paying for used Hondas,
Toyotas, Acuras, and Lexuses.

On Thursday, August 8, 2013 12:59:05 PM UTC-7, sms wrote:
> On 8/7/2013 10:36 AM, SMH wrote:
>
>
>
> <snip>
>
>
>
> > The 2013 "base model" L sold to me is an automatic transmission with the
>
> > smart key entry and power locks, mirrors, windows.
>
>
>
> There are a bunch of extra options available on the Corolla LE versus
>
> the L but the base standard equipment is very similar.
>
>
>
> The only three real differences are the following:
>
> 1. Heated versus non heated outside mirrors
>
> 2. Variable Intermittent versus fixed intermittent wipers
>

<snip>

Really? I have never seen a "fixed intermittent wiper" in any car and I have driven a bunch of both old and new cheap cars, all had adjustable 'wipe time' if they had "intermittent wipe" at all.

Harry K

On 8/7/2013 1:10 PM, sms wrote:

<snip>

> My theory is that there are a sufficient number of buyers that believe
> that they must pay MSRP for a new Toyota so they opt for buying a used
> one. These people never even look at a newspaper, or look online, to see
> how low a non-negotiated street price can be. It's not the dealer's
> obligation to say, "oh, didn't you see our "All Corolla L Automatic in
> Stock for $15.5K" ad in the newspaper?" On the flip side, there are the
> more savvy buyers that are getting much lower prices for new vehicles.

It was amusing to see the auto section of today's paper. Hertz used car
sales advertising 2012 Corollas for a higher price than Toyota dealers
advertising 2013 Corollas. Yet Hertz will have no problem selling the
used, year-old vehicles, for more than a new, current year model would
cost. Reminds me of the old adage, "it's morally wrong to allow a sucker
to keep his money."

"SMH" > wrote in message
...
> Another would be the future (or present?) of personal notification
> that
> someone is tampering with a vehicle. Consider that WiMAX is
> supposed to
> connect our devices (laptop, whatever) to a network pretty much
> anywhere
> (the everywhere access point). Imagine a device with WiMax
> connection

Imagine. That's all you can do with Wimax, since it never really
caught on
and is now considered obsolete.