I just recently turned 18 and I've been looking for my first car. I have been pre-qualified at the bank and am able to get insurance as soon as I find the car.

A few questions though...

Is there any changes in the various years of the tC's; Say 2005-2008?

Whats a great price for one?

Is there anyone near my age here and if so, how much do you pay for full coverage on your tC per month for insurance?

Thanks in advance,
Nathan

 

Let me see if I can help answer your questions.

The 08 now has standard Side Air bags in the vehicle. The headlight and tail lights are new. So is the front grille and the vehicle now has a subwoofer in the trunk with ipod connectivity standard. There also some new colors for the 08's that werent around on previous models.

Great price - Well if you are looking for new they are priced the same. Used you can negotiate on.

Give me a call if you have any other questions be glad to help you get into a new Scion tC. We even have flint mica same as your default.

 

Thanks for the response.

Used would probably be fine... it's my first car. I'm not sure what a used 08' could be had for. Flint mica or the blue would probably be the ideal colors for me. I was qualified for $14,000 at my bank.

 

I am 18 and I have a 06 tc and my insurance is about 140 a month but I have a minor accident on my record and I am on my parents insurance policy so that brings the cost down a lottt.

If I were you I would go used because there are a lot of used ones around that are in your price range it looks like. As for new pricing..scion uses a set price at the dealers. None of the prices are really negocible so if you go build the car on the scion website then thats what itll cost you new.

 

Wow thats crazy the lowest I've been quoted to be on my Dad's Geico plan was a Nissan Sentra at $550 a month... Maybe its just because its Geico . He has high coverages though as well... $250 deductible, etc.

I'm going to be going on my mom's insurance though so it should be better hopefully.

 

well we have USAA so they have pretty low payments. Plus i have a 1200 dollar deductable so that lowered it a lot too haha

tc is considered a family coupe too so I cant imagine it would be that high. I got quoted less then 500 a month for a 08' subaru sti when i was looking into them haha so thats crazy about the sentra.

 

The '05 tC's don't have radio controls on the steering wheel or ipod connection so if those are important to you I would get an '06 or up. Those are the two big differences between '05 and '06/'07. Chad already laid out the differences in the '08s.

 

Yeah those are nice pluses. Plus I was reading countless reviews on edmunds and nearly everyone for the 05' people list a dash and hatch rattle. Also, I saw people mentioning that H20 causes spotting on the seat material, has anyone had that issue?


That's good to know. Thanks.

 

You guys forgot that the 07 got extended sun visors.

 

05 was the first model year,

06 gets steering wheel audio controls and a radio with a rotary **** instead of just buttons

07: slightly redesigned engine (means you have to get 07 and up specific intakes and turbo/super charger kits, different PnP harnesses for tuning. and i think they started coming from the factory with a different finish on the brake calipers. TPMS system starts using valve stem sensors instead of the ABS wheel speed sensors (this means that when you change your wheels, you have to change the sensors over to the new wheels or the warning light will come on, 05-06 just have to reset the system and it works)

08: new headlights and taillights (low beam is an H11 bulb for HID kits) new upper and lower grills. and the LED's that light up the instruments and HVAC were upgraded to a what people call a "better" orange color. then the radio is different, something to do with being compatible with the new scion navigation system. curtin side airbags become standard.

i think that is just about all the major changes...

 

What type of different parts are available? Are they necessarily "better" then the ones available on the 06'?

Is the valve stem TPMS more accurate then the ABS TPMS or is there another reason for the change?

Can't I just buy an aftermarket or OEM HID kit for the 06'?


07': Can I have the LED color changed on the 06' instrument panel, if so would something like that be very costly? I've heard orange is easier on the eyes, so If needed it would be nice if I had the option to have that changed...

 

the thing is that with the 07-08 models, the MAF sensor is different, so the intakes have to be specific to the 07-08 models.

also, the superchager kit for the 05-06 is only $1900 brand new in box, but for the 07-08, it is about $2900. turbokits aren't that big of a difference, but they do have to be specific because of the different maf sensors, and different PnP harnesses needed.

don't know why they changed the TMPS sensor system, but i suppose technically the valve sensor system is better in the sense that it actually detects tire psi, while the older system used the abs wheel speed sensor to guess tire psi by reading one wheel turning slower than the other. but it is expensive to transfer the sensors to new tires.

as for the LED's, all tc's use orange leds for the gauges and hvac and radio controls, but they changed them in 08. they are still orange, and they are noticibly different form the 05-07 scions, but they are still orange, just a sort of darker orange i suppose.

yes you can change your LED's, don't know how much it costs, ask enginfineer or garage1217.

there are no OEM HID kits...but for 05-07, the low beam is a 9006 bulb, so you need a kit for that bulb. for the 08 headlights, the low beam is an h11 bulb, so you need an HID kit for that type of bulb.

as for the redesigned engine, there are lots of internal changes, pistons, oil squiters, revised water jackets, slightly more aggressive cams, slightly higher compression, slightly more bhp than the 05-06 engine.

 

see but if you think about it..your saving a lot of money from the 08 to the 06.

You can get all things that have been changed with the money you save. If you like the projector lights with HIDS the you can get a sick set of projector lights and get a HID conversion for like $350. Also, with the ipod connection, with the money you save you can buy yourself a nice deck that will have ipod connectivity. Garage1217 can hook you up with any color led you want behind the dash for about 150.

for a 08 your talking upwards of about 18000 with some options on the car. Now lets say you get a 2006 for 15000 instead

06 tC: 15000
HID conversion: $170-350
New deck with iPod hookup: $200-whatever you want to spend
LED gauge swap: $150

Even with all the upgrades you could do aftermarket to make it just as cool..if not cooler then a 08..you will still have more then 2000 bucks left over to do whatever you want. You can get your self some wheels or do whatever you feel like

 

i think they are $18,400 otd at camelback for a new one. or at least thats what it was when i was originally looking at them, that was bone stock except the airbags it think.

 

oh, and btw...can anybody local to this guy in AZ go and teach him how to drive manual???

 

08 tC's are 17620 for manual and 18420 for autos. Nathan Check your Pm I might have a car that will fit your budget for you

 

I got a tC back in 05, then another in 08, and all the small changes they made make a huge difference. Plus they fixed almost all the little issues the 05 had (rattles, sunroof, etc). Get the 08.

 

08's dont have rattles!!! ah man i need to trade in my 06 for 08!!!!