I'm not sure this is the right place to post, but I am so happy to find a Camry Hybrid community that I wanted to jump right in.

My current car is a 99 Corolla. I love my Corolla, but I have an almost 2 year old son and he can put his foot on my shoulder while I am driving (he is, of course, riding in a car seat-- center rear, the only place a Britax car seat will fit in a Corolla of that year with the driver seat all the way back for a tall Mama) . It's just not a family car.

The most important criteria I have for my next car were: 1) Has to have more rear seat leg room than my Corolla and 2) Has to get the same or better fuel economy as my Corolla. And, I really, really, really wanted to stick with Toyota, because my Toyota experience has been so positive. Plus my father and both sisters have Toyotas... all positive experiences. (My husband has a 99 VW Jetta TDI--- pretty car, fabulous fuel economy, expensive service, AND horrible and expensive repair issues.)

SO, sorry I am long-winded, today we went to a nearby dealership and arrived for our test drive appointment minutes after they rolled a Camry Hybrid off the truck! The salesperson told me when I called for the appointment that they usually don't get a TCH on the lot unless it's already matched with a buyer. She told me they had one in their inventory, but it was still at the port in another state, and she wasn't sure when or if they would actually get it in, or if it would be matched to someone by the time it got there. She was excited to tell us this morning that it was, in fact, NOT matched up yet, so we could test drive it!

I know that you all know how wonderful it is. But, I have to gush a little bit. It drives like a dream. It is so quiet. It handles so nicely, it breaks so nicely... the base model is so well equipped you can hardly call it a base model (remember I drive an older Corolla and it's a base model, enough said).

I have to say, the ONLY thing I did not love about it was the color. It was white. I don't think there's anything wrong with white per se, but it's not the color I really want. I want Jasper Pearl. You see, I did not get to pick the color of my Corolla (even longer story involving my 1986 Chevy Nova with over 190,000 miles dying while on a trip out of state to visit my family while I was in grad school). In addition to wanting fabulous fuel economy and good rear passenger space, I want to pick the color of my car. So, what I am wondering is... does it really take SIX MONTHS to get the color of your choice?

Our salesperson said she would be more than happy to be "on the lookout" for the color of our choice, but that she can't promise that we will get it any time soon and the dealership tells the salespeople that they must tell the customer that it could take 6 months to get a specific color of the Camry Hybrid. I have plenty of time to wait, but (shhhh don't tell my husband) I don't really want to wait for SIX MONTHS.

Well, in the meantime I will be happy with just reading your posts, learning more about my future car, and seeing all the great photos!

Jasper Pearl does not seem to be a very common color. You may have to settle for another color, and even then you may have a bit of a wait ahead of you. But I too hate white cars and you should be able to find something better.

By the way, the rear windows of the new Camry are quite high up; they might annoy your kid(s) later on. I think it's a bizarre flaw considering it's supposed to be the quintessential family sedan.

Lilarienne, your post was a lot of fun to read. My strategy for finding my color and options was to call the FLEET manager of every dealer within 100 miles. Most offered to take deposits, but that would have meant a lot of money on the table. So, I told each dealer that I had already placed an order elsewhere (true), but would like them to call me if their new allocation sheets showed a car that matched my interests, or if someone's car deal fell through at the last minute. I was also clear with them that I would only pay MSRP, and without dealer add-ons. It didn't take more than two weeks to get my car, and I had five more dealers call me that same week to tell me they had cars for me, as well. The moral? Although many dealers are trying to create hysteria for this car, my strategy WORKS, as evidenced by the many dealers that called me quickly with cars that matched my exact needs. The moral of the moral? Wait for what you really want. It'll be worth the extra time.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

By the way, I still like white cars and can't wait for them to make a comeback.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

A comeback? I see ridiculous amounts of white cars on the road, and especially white SUVs and pickups. Refrigerators on wheels, bleh.

My favorite car ever was white and refered to as such. Gosh I sure miss my little white car....

My Chevy Nova was white, and I liked that car very much. It was white with blue interior, which I thought was a nice combination-- and I thought it and the hatchback Corollas of the same time period were very cute. It was quite old when I got it, already 11 years old with over 150,000 miles on it, and I spent some time sanding down little rust spots and touching up its paint *ah memories*. I don't have anything against white, and if it comes down to a white TCH or NO TCH, I'll take white and be happy.

Since the dealership we went to yesterday offers lifetime oil changes, free rentals when your car is being serviced, a year of AAA membership with every purchase, and a host of other "extras" that none of the other dealerships around here offer (they're smaller than the others I think they do this to compete with the bigger dealerships), we think we want to stick with them. Maybe I will tell our salesperson that after a certain point we would be willing to take a second or third color choice. The only color I really don't like (no offense to those of you who have it) is the "Blue Ribbon" blue. I'm just not a fan of cobalt blue on cars.

One dealer told me yesterday, that the lifetime oil changes was a bait/switch routine and that you find out in the small print you are paying for those oil changes.

Not at this dealership. A good friend of mine got her Toyota minivan there 3 years ago, and has yet to pay for an oil change on it. The only catch is you have do it by appointment. You can't just drop in and get a free oil change.

Every dealer should offer free oil changes. Imagine, on an average of 4X a year while changing your oil, they get to inspect your car for other billable service issues, such as brake pads, tires, etc.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”