Planning to get a 2007-2009 Camry SE - feedback

[mrXniick]

Nah..Nissan Altima. Best driving dynamics in this class.

If by best you mean near the bottom, with only the camry being worse. The accord has much better driving dynamics, and the mazda 6 absolutely slaughters anything in its class.

[Trottel]

If by best you mean near the bottom, with only the camry being worse. The accord has much better driving dynamics, and the mazda 6 absolutely slaughters anything in its class.

If a 3500 lb car with a 60/40 weight distribution "absolutely slaughters anything in its class," you are probably looking at the wrong class of automobile.

[mrXniick]

If a 3500 lb car with a 60/40 weight distribution "absolutely slaughters anything in its class," you are probably looking at the wrong class of automobile.

Compared to similar priced, similar sized cars... the camry, accord and altima-- the mazda 6 does slaughter them. Have you driven one?

[TuxDude]

I had initially been considering Mazda6 and Altima too....

I have never driven a Mazda6 and could not find much info about Mazdas regarding reliability especially - so decided to not go for it....

I liked everything about the Altima except for the roof's style - which at least I felt didnt quite go with the rest of the car with too much curvature.... I liked Maxima's look better than the Altima - but Maxima seemed quite out of my budget....

[Double 0]

I second the Malibu

I stay away from toyota.. you mite suddenly accelerate into a bus

[TuxDude]

I've driven a Malibu, it is one of the best American economy cars I've driven I must say - but somehow the dash and the interiors made me feel that too much plastic was used.... The resale for Malibu is not so high either...

[booboo12]

I've driven a Malibu, it is one of the best American economy cars I've driven I must say - but somehow the dash and the interiors made me feel that too much plastic was used.... The resale for Malibu is not so high either...

Really? I felt the opposite, the previous generation Camry has a much higher quality look and feel to it than the current Camry.

That said, if your looking at a Camry SE, you're probably leaning toward a more sporty handling midsize. The SE is a fairly competent handler sure, but there's other mid-sizers that are better to drive. Higher trim Altima's, the aformentioned Mazda6, Honda's Accord, and the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan are all very nicely trimmed cars (IMO better inside than Camry) that handle very well.

If you find the others to not ride as smootly as the Camry SE, look at something like the Hyundai Sonata SE or Kia Optima SX. They're tuned a bit closer to how the Camry is in terms of firmness

[TofuTurkey]

I considered:

1. Warranty: having this can avoid a lot of headaches. Is it still possible to purchase extended warranty on the Toyota? Is it a CPO?

2. Low APRs: around end-of-year (which is not now), the dealerships offer low APRs to clean out their inventories. If the APRs are low enough, the interest is negligible. So I can keep more money in the bank etc.


I think the Camry is a good daily driver, though I would consider a hybrid if low MPG is the goal. If I want to consider a sporty car that's fun to drive, I'll consider a roadster

[deucelee]

I concur with Turk. Do you need MPG for long distance driving? if yes, the subbie is out the window! awesome awd, but terrible for gas.

I'd def look for a 09 or higher and under 30K so you can still have a tad of warranty left in case you get a lemon. you should be able to walk out of the dealership with a SE for $16K easily. For a LE, $13K easily. If you buy certified, they're warrantied for up to 100K and 7 yrs...

for daily driving, the camry is a great purchase. the fusion is based on the mazda 6 frame if you didn't know. the newest accords has the ugliest @ss i've ever seen (08 on up)...only the 06-07's look good IMO.

consumer reports seems to like the altima quite a bit, never driven it but it also looks good....good luck...

[TuxDude]

I am going for a new Camry instead - should be either an LE or an SE...

The best quote I got for an LE w/alloys so far is $20k and for a fully loaded SE it is $22.5k

Having a hard time deciding between the both... Will drive both of them and see