I think most people who buy the Camry probably already know that it's not the most featured nor is it the safest car out there. For whatever reasons they do it for, its still a good reason because its their money anyways. Different people got different priorities.

You can't beat the word of mouth advertising it has. Your aunty probably talks about it, your uncle probably talks about it, heck even your parents and neighbors talk about Toyota. They've been around for awhile and have established a presence that's not easily removed. Open up the newspaper, read a magazine, turn on the TV or even surf the web, you'd see their advertisements everywhere.

Go look at our neighboring countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan etc) and the no.1 best selling foreign marque is still Toyota by a wide margin. Even in Singapore, they are still one of top selling marques despite losing the no.1 position to the Germans (largely due to the obscene COE prices). I talk to 2 different taxi drivers from Indonesia and Thailand and they both pretty much say the same thing like:

1. Good resale value, once they sell their current ride, they can get about 60% to 70% of the value for their next ride. The only other marque that can compare is Honda, everything else can forget it.
2. Spare part easy to come by, maintenance cheap. Lots of service centers around
3. Reliable, never service for xxx miles and still running.
4. Brand image is still better than the Koreans

Hardly any mention of safety anywhere in our conversation, doubt they really care too much about it anyway.

Now look a our country at it's the same situation. Lots of service centers, even the run of the mill workshop also can service these cars without much problems, spare parts easy to come by and resale value is still better by 20% if u compare to a 2010 Hyundai Sonata on Mudah. And again, the only other marque that can compare is Honda and maybe Nissan.

The Koreans are fairly late to the party, and right now, the only way they can compete is by offering better specs and warranty to entice the new generation. VW hasn't really got much of a presence here until the last 3 years or so and of course there are other marques like Peugeot, Mazda etc but again same story - have a lot of work to do in order to catch up with the market leader.

I hate to say it but in Malaysia for all practical intents and purposes (joyriding out of the equation here), if you're looking for a car that has the best resale value when its time to let go, runs reliable because of old tech, spacious and damn easy to get servicing done - it's still a Toyota Camry. For other reasons, this is not the car to look at and the people who buy their cars for these other reasons are also not part of UMW Toyota's target market group anyways LOL

But overall, the amount of money u get back is still higher than the other marques. I checked on Mudah between the 2010 Camry and a 2010 Hyundai Sonata, the depreciation difference is still about 20% higher for the Korean make. The older Sonata (2007 version) is pretty much no eye see with over 50% depreciation. So its still an important factor.

Some argue that this depreciation is easily offset by the value for money features you get when you purchase the other car marques. That may be true but from my personal point of view - I really don't care that much when its time for me to sell the car, I only want as much money back as possible. Nothing speaks to me louder than having more money in my pocket at the end of the day

Again, different people have different priority on what matters to them.

As far as hassle free is concerned, this is probably it. The car is safe looking (aka boring) and the tech is old (hence proven reliability). But it's pretty much peace of mind when you drive it from A to B and from B to A and there's no worries when it comes to servicing. And when its time to let go, also nothing to worry about because its a popular marque so its a sure bet that selling it off will never be an issue. Mundanely practical but for a lot of people, this is what they want.

You'd be surprised, having a DVD-AVN as an option is probably more important to a lot of people over those technical VSC, ABS, EBD jargon etc. LOL

This post has been edited by zweimmk: Jun 15 2012, 01:44 PM

If I ever buy the Camry - it will only be because this is a car that is as peace of mind as it gets and because I would only require taking a 2 to 3 year loan to finish paying off this car and use it as a stepping stone for something better.

For me, it's a tool for getting things done and as far as passion is concerned - pretty much nonexistent for this car.

That works too, so long as you happy can already.

Personally? Nope, I might have fond memories of it never giving me any problem and no fuss and that's it. That's also the reason why I never ever take a loan longer than 5 years. By the 4th year, its time to let the car go. At this point in time, I find the idea of a 5 year loan also too long for my liking :/

That's why a car like this is good for all my requirements and purposes. Short 3 year loan, car is comfortable and hassle free and 3 years later when warranty ends - sell off also easy and still get a decent amount of money back for a better upgrade.

But I'm still having a tough time deciding if I want to go with Luxury entry level German marque (longer loan) now or just buy this instead as a short term fix and move on later.

Your point is of course valid if you can be happy driving with an old Saga. Heck, it's a known fact if you take taxi your entire life, it's still cheaper and more economical than owning a car. But is it practical to do so or not in the first place? I will surely not do that

For me, I don't just look at the car specs, the decision is heavily swayed also by the ease of maintenance, service hassle (if any) and cost of ownership (tire replacement, servicing cost etc)

The Camry is a very safe decision. Having been with the marque for the past 7 years, I already know what to expect from Toyota. As for the Passat, it's a better choice but since I've never been with VW, I have no idea what to expect from them and my research so far is giving me very mixed signals. So there's a little bit of taking a leap of faith.

I had a chance to look at the car up close today in Pavilion...

I like the interior cabin space but I absolutely hate the faux wood they use to dress the interior. And on the whole, the interior doesn't look that different from the previous model Camry. Also had a chance to play with the DVD-navi that was hooked on display, the maps look like they come from Garmin and the reverse camera is a nice touch but otherwise, nothing really much to shout about.

I drive my relative's previous gen Camry quite extensively before he sold it off for a X3 so I have a very good idea of what the previous model felt and drives like. First impressions so far is extremely underwhelming - no hidden surprises and everything looks and feels pretty much like the previous model but I guess that's to be expected :/

Not necessarily true, I can't speak for everyone but personally I've been actively considering contis myself. Also planning to head to Cergaz later today to take a closer look at the Passat.

Btw, I wouldn't consider a Citroen C6 regardless of how good or how comfortable it is. How many of these cars have you actually seen these cars on the road? They're even more scarce than the new Volvo S60! Too many cons if something goes wrong and selling may become a huge issue when the time comes, I'd rather spare myself the trouble and headache.

Nonsense! These cars are everyday commuter cars and whether I buy a Passat, Mondeo or even the new F10 5 series or the E class etc, I would still be concerned with warranty, spare part availability and somewhat concerned with the car's FC.

Who wants a car that needs to stay in the workshop for days, weeks or even months just because the spare part has to be ordered in when something goes wrong? Or the FC is so bad you literally need to refuel every 300km? Why would I want to make my life difficult that way? The car should be working for me and not the other way round.

As a personal rule:

Japanese makes
3 to 4+ years before selling off

Continental makes
5 to 6+ years before selling off

I can accept the price of spare parts being expensive but I would also totally expect all major components to at least function (with proper maintenance) without any faults during its period of warranty and at least 1 year after the warranty expires.

I looked at the prices sometime during late April and again sometime in early May over at Mudah and I also scoped out the prices listed on On the road and motor trader magazine. They are pretty similar but realistically 2nd hand car dealers are likely to give u less than what's listed at those sources so it's not 100% indicative, but the loss per year for the Camry ranges between RM11000 ~ RM13000 while the Hyundai hovers around RM15500 ~ RM17000 per year.

The retail prices of these cars can be obtained from the official manufacturer's website although the price of the previous gen Camry is no longer available so you will have to check with other sources such as autoworld or motortrader.

Fuel prices per litre as per 18/6/2012 around the APAC region

Singapore

95UL - 2SGD (RM5.00)
98UL - 2.1SGD (RM5.25)

Malaysia

95UL - RM1.90
97UL - RM2.80

Thailand

91UL - 34.78Baht (RM3.47)
95UL - 36.53Baht (RM3.65)

Indonesia

"Premium subsidized" 88 - 4500Rupiah (RM1.50) <- Bulk of the Indonesia population uses this grade from Pertamina
92UL - 8950Rupiah (RM3.00)
95UL - 9500Rupiah (RM3.20)

Philippines
95UL -55.00 Peso (RM12)

Taking Ron95 as the fuel standard, our fuels are still cheaper than the rest of the region.

Even if you don't convert, fuel prices here are still cheaper than what it cost in Singapore or Thailand, based on today's rate.

I have to pay 2 dollars for a liter of RON95 fuel in Singapore vs 1.90 here. Still 10 cents cheaper. For a salaried worker that makes 1200 a month for both countries, he still pays less here.

As for Thailand, I don't know how you're going to compare without conversion. For the sake of simplicity, 100 baht = 10 ringgit and a liter of fuel cost 3.65 ringgit is the closest thing I can come up with. The average wage of an educated worker falls in the range of 25k ~ 30k Thai Baht, which is about RM3000. Key word being: educated worker, office and white collar. In reality, a large part of the population make do with about 7k to 23k Thai baht per month depending on the line they're in. Fuel prices still carves a significant portion of salary for the lower income group.

Long story short - this is damn off topic and I'm done commenting on this particular topic. We can talk about politics and government policies for days to end and there'll be no end to it.

I went for a test drive at VW earlier for the new Passat.

Comparatively speaking, the Passat interior is nicer. I love how the brush aluminium look compared to the faux wood panels. NVH is quite good also. The downside is the semi-electric seats compared to the fully electric seats found in the camry.

Another downside is the rear seats as well, the huge bump in the middle vs the flat panel floor of the Camry. The middle passenger will suffer. Materials and finishing is very good. Definitely feels more premium compared to the Japanese.

Interior space is definitely 1up for the Camry, the Passat still feels smaller in comparison. Even my wife says the same thing, the overall spaciousness is better in the Camry compared to the Passat.

Likes:

- Brake assist feature
- Hill hold feature
- Airbags, lots of them
- Premium feel
- Power. The engine feels very lively
- NVH feels good, certainly sounds quiet while on the go.

Dislikes:

- The CKD unit feels a bit creaky, there was some sound coming from the dashboard. I don't know if its because the car is a demo unit or something else
- The rear passenger middle bump. Although common in RWD, I really wish it was a little lower
- Rear luggage space is good, but I wish it had more depth instead of being more lengthy.

Definitely will take the new Camry later this week for a test drive and then decide where I plan to go from then

This post has been edited by zweimmk: Jun 18 2012, 04:46 PM

Simple - brand familiarity and because I can pay it off quick in a 2 to 3 year loan thereby switching again 3 years from now. I've already said, as far as fuss free ownership is concerned, the Camry is the best choice.

No, unfortunately I have max monthly budget set that I don't intend to exceed and is completely comfortable without any lifestyle change. So it becomes just a matter of taking either a 3,4 or 5 year loan.

With the Camry, I need not take a loan longer than 3 years. With the passat, I can also do it in 3 but would have to fork out an additional sum of money on top of my trade in. Otherwise, I'd have to take a 4 or 5 year instead if I don't intend to top up my downpayment.

A shorter loan tenure and having more money in my pocket is always more desirable. Second hands are out of my consideration because I never like the idea of owning a pre-owned car, a matter of personal preference here.

No la, I was focused on the 2.0G spec version because the difference between that and the Passat about 20k. I decide on the car based on what I'm comfortable paying each month and the length of loan. For all intents and purposes, I consider the 2.0G version is great as a stop-gap measure because the loan is only 3 years and once the warranty is over, I can just move on to something better rather than take a lengthy 7 year loan if I were to buy say an Audi A4 or 3 series F10.

The 2.5V spec was never under my consideration because I simply do not think it's worth taking a 5 year loan for an overpriced under-specced car like that. And now I just realized, the 2.5V spec is only about 5k or so more expensive compared to the Passat.

In any case, I want to avoid taking a 5 year loan and instead keep it to 3 or 4. With the Passat or Camry 2.5V, I have to still stick to a 5 year loan if I don't want to top up my down payment.

My maximum is RM2200 per month. Not a penny more. I'm comfortable paying up to 4 years, ideally 3 and I don't want to go 5 if I can help it.

I went for a 2nd test drive with the Passat at Cergaz, my first drive was at FA Wagen. That dashboard creaking sound is still there ;(

Build quality issue or is it something else?

I won't ever consider the Peugeot. I don't care how good the specs is, the reliability is just bad and the after sales service at Nasim leaves much to be desired.
I've got 3 friends who bought Peugeots as well (308 & 407) back in 2008/2009. All of them have sold off their car since and told me the same thing... don't ever buy one.

http://forum.autoworld.com.my/index.php?showtopic=103477

Plenty of complains and stories to read.

This post has been edited by zweimmk: Jun 19 2012, 02:43 PM

I'm doing more research on the VW Passat as I'm almost made up my mind about placing my order for it tomorrow but right now and I'm really not liking what I read.

It seems like a lot of people have issues with the DSG 7S gearbox which is what the Passat is using. Looking at VAGSG is no help either, horrendous stories about the mechatronics failure is making me think twice about committing to the VW Passat.

The models most affected are Golf GTI owners, ROC owners, Jetta owners and even Polo owners are not spared. Owners of the Passat CC are also affected.... so this is definitely bothering me a lot.

Urgh...

You may be right. But looking at the Camry, I already feel ripped off. If I buy that, I may end up hating the car itself. And even worse, UMW Toyota is just going to continue offering lame specs at ridiculous prices because the demand is still there.

Damned if I do, and damned if I don't