Scion Tc...the best car value in the US?
 

I had been helping my girlfriend shop for a new car, and I kept hearing people rave about the new Scion Tc. I thought, a f*#%in' Scion?!!! No way, it's any good!

So we went down to the Scion dealer and tested out a base model Tc auto.

In person, the car actually looks decent, kinda pudgy, but it sits low with a wide stance.

The 2.4 liter Camry motor is underrated in that car, no way its only 160hp. (With the TRD supercharger, this thing could be fairly quick.)

I also could not believe how clean and refined the interior was; especially for a sub 20 k car.

Not too mention, the car comes standard with a CD player, moonroof, 17" wheels, ABS, power everything, and cruise control for about $17,500.

Needless to say, we were sold on the car, and my girlfriend drove home with it
that same day.

Since I'm going to need a new beater in a year or so, now I'm even considering getting one of these!

PS: Just found a good source of info for anyone interested:

http://www.clubsciontc.com/forums.html

dang, a tc as a beater? I looked at trading in my 8 for one of these a while back as the 8 was costing me too much a month, thankfully I've figured out other ways to save money and keep my 8 but I did like the tc, especially with the 19" wheel option. pretty far from a beater if you ask me

I like em, if I needed a beater -- it is a hell of one. I haven't seen actual performance numbers ones equipped with TRD numbers except for that they put out 200 or so HP. Sport Compact Car did say that the TRD equipped model provided noticable midrange punch.

I mean "beater" in the sense that it will not be my "toy," but I'll use the scion as my reliable car to get to work and school, so my baby doesn't get unecessary mileage put on her.

Yup.. the deal Scion is offering on the Tc is awesome. You get a whole lotta car for a whole lotta less dollars.. IMO, this car gives you the most bang for your buck sub 20K.

My friend has one, and I would have never guessed he paid under 18K for it.

The tC front looks very nice, ala BMW 7-Series. Its the rear that I find less than stellar. I would seriously consider the Hyundai Tiburon if I were in the market for the Scion tC. I really like the Ferrari 456GT styling. You can get a well equipped one for under $20k, possibly even with the V6.

If the Tc said BMW 1 Series on the back they would easily sell for $5,000-$10,000 more...

ahhh ok, When i picture beater I think of a sub 3,000 car with primer etc. I get it now :)

f- scion...you forget it is still a piece of shit Toyota...with that money get a Mazda 3...more features then the Toyota made Lexus RX300 and way less in price then the crap scion (oh and the manual tranny on the 3 is amazing)

2.3 Liter S model...190HP and more

oh yeah it is a Mazda too...made in the same place as our 8's (Hiroshima, Japan)

I am glad Toyota decided to support this car right off the bat with performance upgrades. You can get a TRD SC, and TRD exhaust. I think a big failing for the Celica GTS was the fact that they never really had any good FI solutions for it. I actaully really like the Celica GTS w/ Action package. It looked nice, but if I could have gotten a TRD SC & TRD cat back I definitely would have considered it.

It is definately the best car in its class. I owned a '03 Tiburon V6, and it blows that away. I didn't like the cheap feeling of it when we looked at it for my girlfriend; but it is a cheap car.

Troy J.

best new car value in the world? RX-8!

Truemagellen, have you ever owned a Toyota product? I don't know how you can call them pieces of shit. They are some of the best built, longest lasting cars on the road. It's sad how many on this forum like to put down Honda and Toyota. They make great cars at a great price. To some of you if it's not a Mazda it sucks. Too bad you are so narrow minded.

I have owned a Toyota. Also owned a Honda/Acura, Nissan, and Mazda.

While Toyotas are very quiet on the inside and the interior parts are of high grade, Toyota skimps on what you don't see. Low grade mufflers, cheap lug nuts that snap all the time when you go slightly over 80 lb/ft of torque. Noisy engines that are muted only by the several inch thick insulation. Why not design a smoother engine instead of covering it up that with thick insulation. Crappy design that makes doing wheel alignments a huge pain. Spark plugs are impossible to reach for the V6 engines. No metal brace for supporting a jack. Of the 4 brands, I find Toyotas the most expensive in initial cost and OEM parts.

Thats why I would never buy a Scion. If Toyota skimps so much on the mechanicals, just think what they had to do to build a Scion? I haven't owned a Lexus before so it may be different with more expensive cars.

Look, I've seen and owned Honda and Acura cars that have gone over 200,000 miles and still felt great. My friends have Toyotas that also ran for over 200,000 miles. One of our friends has an 1997 Rav4 with 280,000 miles. Tune ups, oil changes, and regular maintanance. No car is perfect, but to call Toyotas a piece of shit is going a bit too far. They last a long time and are quite reliable. Besides, fewer and fewer people are working on their own cars so the difficulty in changing plugs never enters their mind. From what I've been reading on this forum not too many people will be changing their own oil when that free maintanance runs out on the 8. It just bothers me to read all the Honda/Toyota put downs. I'm sure the Honda and Toyota forums may say similar things about Mazda and Nissan..........look, I don't know where I'm going with this, so can't we all just get along?
Except you Hundai owners. ;)

I agree. Usually comments like that come from the youngsters who have little knowledge about cars other then what they read on internet. Toyota is an excellent car company, and they are smoking mazda in sales and profit, just as they are smoking most car companies. You don't have to like Toyota, but to call them POS cars is utterly stupid and narrow minded.