Toyota Camry Hybrid 2008 AIMS
October 9, 2008 by Matt Brogan
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive has grown a size this morning with the Camry model receiving the environmental treatment.
Having been available in the US for some time now, Camry will soon be available in RHD (right hand drive) and will be the first Australian produced hybrid vehicle.
Toyota will begin building hybrid Camry sedans at its Altona plant from the beginning of 2010.
The hybrid Camry benefits from a four-cylinder petrol engine and a high-voltage motor offering more performance while using less fuel than a conventional petrol Camry – and it will also emit less carbon dioxide.
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology compliments the efficient nature of the electric motor, allowing the hybrid Camry to operate solely on electric power for short distances.
It also provides automatic stop/start for the engine at traffic lights, reclaims energy while braking and uses energy stored in the hybrid battery to boost acceleration performance.
Toyota Australia plans to produce 10,000 hybrid Camry sedans a year in addition to the existing four-cylinder Camry and V6 Aurion sedans produced at the Altona plant in Melbourne’s west.
Print it: 
Sorry bout the typing above fat fingure this morning :-)
Well said FRONTMAN couldn’t have put it better…
It’s not your looks that get you judged it’s your actions and words… god i hate customers that swear.. esp. in front of their wifes.. happens all the time.
Oh and customers who ’shop the 8rse of their local country dealer, for some reason that really burns me.
frontman,
none of those consumer lines you spat out are lies if in fact the person was just looking, or still had to sort finances, or was even offered a better deal down the road.
just because those lines are thrown out to stop the salesman jumping on them, doesnt mean they arent in fact true. they may wel be true.
just because those lines stop the salesman in his/her tracks, is isnt what they want to hear, doesnt make them lies
danman,
what do you mean “shop the 8rse”???
try for a fair deal??
Andrew, those lines are sometimes true, but (just for the record, I’ve been involved in the industry and dealing with customers for over 20 years) more often than not, they are just an excuse. How do I know this? Simple, you do your job, no pressure on the customer, give them a cll later in the day and offer to take a car out to them to show theri partner, but NOOOOO they’ve already done a deal half an hour after they left you, without even knowing your final price. That’s fact.
In reference to DanMan’s comment about shopping the local dealer, here’s a little bit of advice for all those wanting to get the best deal and then aftersales service. Decide what you want to buy, go around and do your shopping, get the lowest price you can and then go to your local dealer. If the prices are real, he will better (or at least match) the lowest figure. You will also get the aftersales service as you are one of their customers. Most people go to their local guy first and end up selling him out for a set of headlight guards (again fact). Then they complain bitterly and carry on when they don’t get prioritised service and they can’t call on their friendly salesperson to look after them.
Andrew M,
Call me crazy but the lines Frontman put forward are the same old lines that have been around forever, I am sure customers go to car buying school before walking into dealerships.
My personal favorite example.
Customer walks in and says
“I have a price on this new car of X”.
Salesman says
“X can’t be done, thanks for stopping by”.
Customer says
“If you cant do X what can you do?”
I say
“Why is that relevant if you have already been offered X?”
You must think we are stupid?
Andrew, why would a customer walk into a dealership if they were “Just Looking?”
I don’t walk into Woolworths to just look. They are thinking about buying something and it is the salesman’s job to sell them a car. If you walk into a car yard a salesman will approach you, that’s their job.
We are trained to overcome objections and sell our product.
No surprises there.
I don’t know how many times i have sat with customers filling out a contract and they say
“You know, we weren’t going to buy a car today”
Then i know i have done my job well.
No not a fair deal.. Thats fine.. but i mean driving 200 klm’s from their country town to save themselves $100.. I hate that mentality… If you cant afford to pay retail minus say…. 12% you cant afford it…
I mean being under the influence of greed, pure and simple. Not a logical state of mind. No wonder everything is made is China these days.. Only way to try and restore some kind of margin to their products..
Oh yeah one of the few golden, absolute rules in car sales is the lower the price a customer pays the unhappier they are with the car… seen that about 100 times… interesting physcology there.
frontman,
well its the silly dealers fault for not putting their best foot forward to start with.
i just purchased a new vehicle and took delivery of it on monday.
here is how the deal went.
i went to one dealer where i arrived at a figure in which i told them i would do the deal.
he went to the manager and came back and said this is the best they could do.
that figure was 4K short of what i told them i would sign for. (and yep, i even gave the salesman my card to swipe a deposit there and then)
still not comfortable with the offer i went to the next dealer where i told them i wanted the exact same figure as what i had told the other dealer.
they couldnt get there either but they were within $2800 of my price. i told them i would think about it (no lies because i was going to) and then the manager came running at me and slashed $1800 off it as i was walking out the door. therefore they were within 1K of what i proposed. I then sat back down and signed up.
i dont have all day to run back and forth to play games, and the attitude of the first dealer indicated they wouldnt better anything to get a sale.
Danman,
We give free courtesy cars to our customers who bought a car and service with us.
I had a customer who only heard “free courtesy car”
They “saved” themselves $100.00 on a car buying it from a Brisbane dealer.
When I say “saved” they spent that money on fuel getting to Brisbane and buying Maccas for the kids on the way back to the coast.
Anyhow the first service was due and i get a call from our service manager asking if i offered a free courtesy car?
HA HA, the customer ended up hiring one of our cars for $25.00 a day over the next two days (waiting on parts)
So, Andrew, how much do you think these people actually “Saved”???????
salesman,
people do walk into a dealership to “Just look” especially when a new model arrives.
if you are a supporter of a particular vehicle/brand/make, one may actually be enthused about the improvements made on a new model.
i doubt you would see this working in a Korean dealership.
how many blokes do you get through that dont want to duck into woolies with the MRS so they kill time by strolling through the car dealership across the road???
once again maybe not in a korean dealership???
Car sales like any other business is entitled to make a profit. Put your best foot forward?
Imagine if you asked a builder to put his best foot forward, he would tell you to nick off. Car sales and real estate are the only two industries that are forced to negotiate their profit. Try going to the shops for your weekly food run and when you get to the checkout, ask the girl for a discount. They will just put the food back on the shelves and point you to the door.
salesman,
i know some consumers operate on a method of false economy.
i know someone whos grocery shop consists of 3 or so supermarkets to shop out what each of them has on sale.
the time wasted and fuel spent driving far out weighs the saving of 80cents on an item here and 80 cents there.
I agree with Andrew M. In 26 years, I’ve owned 8 cars. That’s one every 3.25 years. I have such a genuine interest in cars and the industry that I, too, pop my head in frequently to check out a new model, particularly aspirational ones.
You can’t buy all of them.
Salesman,
Im in business myself.
you dont need to tell me “Profit” aint a dirty word.
what you can negotiate is related to the profit there in the first place.
there isnt much profit to be had on grocery lines. sometimes when something is on a ripper special, the supermarket loses money on every item that walks out the door. I know, i used to manage a supermarket.
also your builder may be reluctant to reduce his price for your renovation because he may have to account for a possible cost blow out.
how would he feel if he cut his profit right to the line, and that unexpected hiccup happened and then all of the sudden his already low profit diminished to a point where he didnt make any money???
with motorvehicles you are selling a fixed cost item with a fixed profit. you know when you can cut 5 grand and still ensure you make money at the end of the day whereas a builder doesnt. a builder also has to allow for cost increases that occur from the quotation stage till the time a certain material is delivered on site. this is another unknown to cover for in a quotation.
if your renovation goes over the time on the contract, they have to pay you compensation.
if your vehicle takes longer to deliver than what the salesman told you, do you get compensation??
Andrew,
There is probably a lot missing from the experience you had.. and that sounds realistic i guess.. Not everyone i met i sell a car to. It depends on having a car in stock, time of month, inventory.. all sorts of things a customer doesn’t know about (two things you never want to see made, sausages and deals in the manager’s office).
youe experience sounds about right but some customers will travel all over SE QLD to get tht last 1k off. THAT burns me..
thanks Golfie,
this demonstrates that salespeople only “think” they totally understand the consumers like tha back of ones hand.
oh and salesman,
do you know how annoying it is to compile a quote for a renovation on ones house or for a new home construction, only for them not to go ahead with it??
do you know how much time that takes??
longer than a 10 min test drive coupled with a 20 min price evaluation.
Golfschwein,
Thank you for proving my point.
Every one who walks into a dealership is a prospective buyer. If not now then sometime in the future.
A salesman’s job is to make such an impression you make them your first port of call when you are back in the market.
Andrew says
if your vehicle takes longer to deliver than what the salesman told you, do you get compensation??
No, the dealer is not responsible for any delays.
You are only driving my point home, if you paid the price the dealer wants and their is a hiccup, we will go all out to see you are assisted as much as possible. You take the profit and their is a hiccup, there is nowhere to go.
Example, if you had a trade and you have to wait two months for the new car, the dealer can re value your trade, this nearly never happens, for the sake of good service.
Umm hey that Camry Hybrid looks good hey..
The one at the top of the page.. LOL
danman,
i travelled 20k’s??? to save 3K.
i didnt know if i was going to save anything before i drove to the next dealership, but i would be silly to purchase from the first offer put forward.
when i bought a new clothes dryer 6 months ago, i went around and found out a few prices.
i certainly wasnt going to settle on the first price for something worth 70 times more.
i actually told the first dealer that line too.
i told them they were a fool to think i wasnt going to get another price. (well in words a little more polite than that).
i have not only seen sausages made, but actually made them myself.
i dont care what happens in the managers office, or how they juggle their figures, as long as im happy with my deal.
i like things black and white. it is or it isnt. we can do that deal or we cant.
salespeople play games just as much if not more than the consumers.
why do you think the first line salespeople are told to spit out is what do you want??
it puts the dealer on the front foot and ensures they dont give anymore money off the deal than they have to.
its all about knowing each others cards first
salesman,
delays in construction arent always the fault of the builder, and delays in delivery can be the fault of a dealership
so you are saying you discriminate in choosing who you assist when you stuff up based on the $ value of their business to you??
whether some one finds a fault with their home brand baked beans or their heinz baked beans, they are still entitled to the same service
Believe it or not i nearly always go with one quote. I want a good job done and if i think the price is fair, i will pay it. Pushing for a cheaper price only cuts into the quality of the job done.
I have had two homes built, one swimming pool and various other things(Patio, driveway, landscaping, painting, solar etc)
I have been a consumer to.
salesman,
also a builder can reserve the right to re evaluate the quotation for your construction typically after 30 days, but it rarely (if ever) happens for the sake of good service
Please explane how a delivery delay could be the fault of the dealership?
Yes we will assist those we made a bigger profit from first.(we need money to operate)
No you wont get the same service.
i agree with you that the more expensive price for a reno can lead to the better workmanship, or the hassle free adventure,
but with cars, a Kia Cerato still is a Kia Cerato no matter which retail outlet you buy it from. and thats all dealerships are…….retail outlets.
you will get the same quality of vehicle whether or not you pay more or less for it down the road.
building is a different ball game. I know because once again its another field i am involved in
Danman,
Yes i think the Camry is going to be a big winner on the Australian market, i do think the other family car makers will struggle to achieve all that Toyota has within the next few years based on market acceptance and perceived value.
I only hope Korea follows the same trend for my benefit.
Andrew,
Yes the product is the same, but how much will you pay for good service?
Not just now but for the rest of your motoring life.
I am starting to feel like i am at work.
Oh look a customer just walked in, wonder if he is just looking?
if you dont offer the same service, its discrimination, SIMPLE.
its your choice to discriminate, and if you chose to, then good for you, end of story.
a delay in delivery can be the dealers fault if they make a mistake in submitting the order to the factory.
they make put the wrong colour down for eg.
i know someone who had their car made, and it arrived with leather seats when they were not requested. the dealer said they accidently ordered it with them and they would have to wait longer for them to take them out, or pay the extra for the leather.
when my vehicle arrived, i was told it was just sitting at the dealership. nobody told me and i had to wait a bit longer because the salesperson that sold it to me was on holidays. it was only once he returned from holidays to find it there that he wrang me to say it came in whilst i was away.
also the dealer may register your vehicle with ordinary plates after you told them you wanted to carry over your personalised plates.
you are silly to think that you or you fellow sales people/dealerships dont make mistakes.
its just plain ignorant/arrogant to think that.
Salesman,
do you think the service department knows how much profit you stole from the sales department??
do you think if you use “Lube Mobile” to service you car they will be rude because you got a beter deal than your neighbour??
salespeople pretty much just sell the car. once there is a problem you dont deal with them anyway
oh,
i also know someone who ordered a Triton with A/C, and got it delivered only to find that the vehicle was made with out it.
I cant remember whose fault that was though, possibly the dealers.
Andrew M
SALESPERSON
Andrew M
SALESPERSON
LOL look at the live comments.. totally dominated by this LOL
Danman,
dont forget “Cyril” popping up on the nissan post…..
Yes we have covered this, accidents happen, i did not say they didn’t.
The customer i just dealt with was filling in time while the wife was at the hairdressers next door.
Guess what, he said he was just looking.
After about 10min of chatting (we talked about this site as well) about the car his wife turned up.
They bought a new Kia Rio in stock, delivery tomorrow.
Interesting that happened not long after some of our topics here.
Lucky i ignored the “I am just looking” statement?
No, just doing my job.
Sales, service, parts, F+I, aftermarket are all separate departments with different targets and budgets. Just saying
i know they are separate departments.
you just proved my point.
why would the service department care that the sales department didnt quite get the max profit from the vehicle they are servicing??
please send my apologies to the new Kia customers…..
maybe you didnt directly say accidents dont happen, but you had no idea of how a delay could be the fault of a dealership, and that is what i enlightened you on.
Remember what i said about service loan cars etc. Or if you have warranty work, who gets priority?
Being that i am a coastal dealer we are very attentive to our local buyers, city dealers might be different.
If you are a good customer we will look after you.
Sales, service, parts or otherwise.
If you are a jerk, well, lets just say you wont be on the top of the list.
Damn work gets in the way of all the fun :-(
Andrew, from a customers side, a lot of what you say is true. However, from a dealership side (talking solely new cars here) if you really new how much rpofit a dealership actually made on a new car you would actually question their viability.
As for not getting the discount upfront, when you were a retail manager, if you found your employees were pricing everything at cost straight up without any attempt to make a profit you would sack them. (yeah, you would)
But the thing is, if the salesperson is any good then the customer will leave there feeling compelled to comeback and give them the last bite of the cherry. I survived like that for a long time and still get customers calling me now that I sold VN Commodores to.
By reading your posts, you seem to be of the opinion that as soon as you have bought your car the sales department don’t want anything to do with you. Well for the fly by night group, that may be true. But they are the ones that are there for 6 month and have moved on. The groups I train are all taught that they haven’t sold a car to someone till that person comes back and buys their second car of them. So that means keeping in contact with that person for the next 4 years. Dropping them to work when in for a service etc. That is a lot of work for someone who only earnt the base commission (between $50 & $75 /car)
well from my experiences it is the service manager that organises loan cars etc, not the salesperson.
the car before last that i bought,
i had a query about whether or not the correct tow bar had been fitted prior to delivery.
you know who i was palmed to??
the service manager. and that bloke wouldnt have had any idea what i paid for the thing let alone what profit the sales department made.
if you pay full price for your sliced ham in the Deli,
when you go to buy your steak from the butchers department, are you treated depending on whether you purchaced Devon or ham off the bone, or whether or not it was on special??
Yes they do, the system is called ERA or Reynolds and Reynolds.
I can look up any car sale, any time and so can service.
Notes can be made to.
I don’t sell ham or steak so i wont pretend to know how they operate their business.
I am in regular contact with the service department, its a good source for seeking new sales.
Often ignored.
Also i catch up with my old owners. Friendly chat and a coffee goes a long way.
sure the service manager could find out what you paid for your car, but my point is why would he and why would he care??
he is interested in making his books good.
if you are good to the service staff they will be good to you.
i totally fail to see your point in that your good deal when you purchase, reflects in bad service from a totally different department.
you certainly must catch up with “old” owners if they have time to call in for a coffee all the time.
one minute you dont want people in your dealership that arent ready to sign that instant, then you say you welcome those that prob wont re-purchase for at least another 5 years….
Andrew M Says
one minute you dont want people in your dealership that arent ready to sign that instant, then you say you welcome those that prob wont re-purchase for at least another 5 years….
When did i say i did not want people in the dealership?
I treat everyone like a buyer.
If you develop a relationship with your dealer (salesman) they will look after you more than the bloke who srewed us for every last cent. Its a fact.
And it reflects through the whole dealership, as i said the service department is in constant contact with sales staff. It makes a difference, trust me.
Aah Salesman – about my earlier gripe, nothing personal I add. Its a longer story really but I was fresh off the banana boat from the UK. New land, new life lack of local knowledge. Good job I could afford it but others may not be in my position.
The Prius cannot tow anything.
Will the Camry Hybrid be able to tow a trailer?
Okay, maybe you should have shopped for a good salesman, before you shopped for a car?
My company pays me to o the shopping for you.
a good shopper wont look for a good salesman.
if they look for a good salesman, they will be sold something they dont really want.
i shop for the car, not someone to tell me what i want
Andrew, i was talking to Cupid Stunt aka No Name. Not everything as about you, you know.
We already know your opinions, thanks for sharing…..
See you all on the 20/10/2008
ok so that means you got nothing…