Hi, New to the site, looking at getting a tC.

[telcobilly]

Just drove a new '08 tC 5spd while looking @ a Yaris. I will be buying a car cash in the next 2 weeks and have been driving a lot of different vehicles from Jeeps to Minis. It was looking like I was going to buy a new Yaris 3dr but I noticed the tC's and drove one. Forget the Yaris, I want a tC!!

With this new direction, I got on Craigslist for SD and LA and see a lot of tC's available. There seem to be two kinds; more expensive ones, or cheaper ones with salvage titles. Do I need to run away from those? why are there so many tC's with the salvage titles?

Also, does anyone know what rpms you see @ 70 in an auto? It looked like 3000ish in 5th on the 5spd. That seems high to me considering that the engine is a largish 2.4 (same size as my old Nissan truck). One last question, do all tC's have that cool panoramic sunroof or is it an option in earlier years?

Thanks, Bill

[Greg]

Welcome to the club! I bought my '08 tC in July 2007, and love it. I also bought the 5 speed. It seems they have really shortened the gears to make the car accelerate better, and feel like it has more power than it does. Probably why on paper, the tC doesn't do as well in the fuel economy area as some of it's competitors. I find that cruising around town at 45 MPH in 4th gets the RPMs up enough that I need to shift to 5th. On the highway at 70MPH, the engine is definitely wrapped up close to 3000, but I can tell you, with 75% of my driving done on the highway at 70MPH, I still get a consistent 28-28.5MPG; not too shabby.

Yes, I think the rear panoramic sunroof is standard on the '08.

Run away from salvage titles.

Greg

[burstaneurysm]

Keep in mind that the Toyota 4cyl engines are high revving, but I don't find it to be fatiguing. The sunroof is standard on all years except the elusive Spec tC which was only offered for 6mos or so.

Salvage titles are great if you're looking to do heavy body modification to the car, but if you want a reliable daily driver, avoid em.

[tonyscan]

I just bought a silver '08 regular tC, about 6 weeks ago, and they still offer Spec-B tC's here in the Long Island/New York area, that have no panoramic sunroof 's and darkwheels. Maybe dealers just have a lot left unsold. At a steady 60-65mph, (2500 rpm's), I get 32-33 mpg with an auto trans, and the car hasn't been broken in yet--only has 2000 miles on it!