Doing the SUV exercise here helped clarify in my mind what to buy to meet our needs.

Found a lease return 2021 with under 10k miles on it. Very nice unit. Close to new but not new. A few tiny buggers here and there. I mean tiny. So no issue. Saved close to $15k from new.
The new Highlander has a 4 banger so it was out. But the others like Explorer, pilot were well over $50k. The Passport was pushing that and I liked the highlander better.

Dealership was great. Gave us a great trade in on the 06' Lexus after I made it clear I was not going to be lowballed.
Had a pretty long trip home. Highlander seemed great on the road. A few thoughts on it.

Great visibility from inside or it.
Weight seemed substantial.
Power seemed more than adequate.
Transmission shifted very smothly.
Feels roomy to me.
Four bucket seats is new for me.
Third row seat seems pretty usable for kids or smaller adults.
Infotainment systems and controls seems pretty intuitive.
Steering tracks very well.
Lane assist works well.
Seems like it will tow my boat just fine.
Seats seem very comfortable
Has more than enough features.
AC blew nice and cold.
Don't about mileage yet. But guessing on the freeway it will do 25mpg at 70+ mph
oozes Toyota quality.

Rides a bit lower than I thought it might.

Seems like a winner.


It is a certified Toyota.
I did buy a partial extended warranty, which I am totally against philosophically. But for $1900 I got a coverage that covers everything that the certified 7 year or 100k miles does not. that is pretty good as any electronic or electrical issue that might pop up would be covered. We will not put a !00k on it in the 7 years. So that is a 7 year warranty along with the power train warranty.

Thanks for the help guys.

Congrats. You'll enjoy it. They're absolute quality for sure.

Congrats! Good choice.

You’ll love it. I put 1,460 miles on my ‘21 Platinum over the past 2 days. Easy, easy car to drive. I’ll buy another in the future.

So one really interesting thing on this rig I forgot to mention and would like some thoughts are.

At the dealership I got underneath to look around. Weird, but almost the entire undercarriage including the wheel wheels has some kind of a liner. Looks and feels somewhat like felt or the cardboard liners that some boxes come that hold its contents as best as I can explain it. Is that factory? Is that for sound dampening or to protect the underside from corrosion???

I'd guess factory...I don't have a Toyota, but the Fender Liners/Inner Fenders on an Audi are made of that stuff. It won't rust, is flexible/won't crack, does provide some sound deadening, and reduces road spray while driving in the rain.

Congrats, you're going to love it. If you can cancel and refund your extended warranty I can point you to the exact same Toyota platinum warranty for 6 or 800 less. Legit and from Toyota. I just got mine for my Tundra a couple weeks ago from a salesman I've used in the past.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Congrats, you're going to love it. If you can cancel and refund your extended warranty I can point you to the exact same Toyota platinum warranty for 6 or 800 less. Legit and from Toyota. I just got mine for my Tundra a couple weeks ago from a salesman I've used in the past.

Thanks guys, sure Mark60 on that warranty. Remember mine is used 2021 and Toyota certified. The gal doing the warranty and final paperwork seemed to know her stuff. But if there is a different version offered by Toyota for less I can probably still talk with them.

So far really like the car. Rock solid.

I have a dealer commission question. The younger fella (salesmen) was a really good guy. Married one young child. Wife was a stay home mom with a 3year old toddler.
What would he have earned on a commission for a sale like this roughly? I am guessing maybe $600-800? Any idea.

I chose the passport over the highlander because of the size and two row seating but you can never go wrong with toyota or highlander.

Well done! What color?

orc, I sent you an email. Even being used you're under the 3 year/36k factory warranty and you can buy the extended warranty anytime as long as you're still covered under the factory.

What dealership did you end up using?

Metallic gray with dark gray or black interior.
Sweet rig. Lots of room. More than I expected. I had not been in one.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
orc, I sent you an email. Even being used you're under the 3 year/36k factory warranty and you can buy the extended warranty anytime as long as you're still covered under the factory.

It's a Toyota CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) vehicle, so it already has/comes with a 7 Yr/100K mile warranty! The extended warranty he purchased was to cover the exclusions to that existing coverage, essentially the electronics/technology items.

quote:

It's a Toyota CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) vehicle, so it already has/comes with a 7 Yr/100K mile warranty! The extended warranty he purchased was to cover the exclusions to that existing coverage, essentially the electronics/technology items.

That is correct.

The 7/100k is powertrain, the Platinum is bumper to bumper the same as the original 3/36.

Ok, thanks Mark. Got your email I will talk to the dealership. I appreciate you reaching out an providing that info.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
The 7/100k is powertrain, the Platinum is bumper to bumper the same as the original 3/36.

Wow, CPO Warranties aren't what they used to be...At least Toyota's isn't! Beyond the Powertrain warranty, it looks like the CPO warranty for everything else that's covered is 12 mo/12K miles! You would definitely want (need?) to extend that, I know I would!

My last CPO, a Volvo, had a 7Yr/100K Mile, bumper to bumper warranty, which covered on every component of the car! Further, the CPO Inspection requirements usually meant they were replacing all four tires and at least the front brakes as a result of the Volvo Certification. I say at least the fronts, as on that last vehicle, I noted that the rear discs/pads were wearing a little uneven and they replaced the rear brakes as well. That Volvo S60 had 19K miles on it and was approx. one year old at the time...It now has over 230K miles on it!

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