The invoice I was talking about is the price the distributor pays the manufacturer, that invoice never gets published. Dealer cost is averaged because there is no way a high volume dealer, like Longo, pays the same for a car as a small volume dealer. At the end of the day, the Avalon is a great deal because of market conditions (new Avalon, new Camry, added competition).
If you're happy with the Avalon, then it's a good choice. It is however misguided to believe a dealer is losing money on the car... dealers never lose (unless you were a GM dealer in 2009).
I hear you about Hyundai, I wouldn't have touched one with a 10ft pole 5 years ago. They've invested billions to elevate the brand and their products are a result of that. Their single goal is to beat Toyota. They will do everything in their power, from quality of product to pricing, to make sure that happens.
About the brand name thing... there are probably 4 tiers of cars most people in the OC will have:
Sports car Tier: Porsche/Ferrari
Luxury Tier: Benz/BMW/Lexus
SUV Tier: Escalade/Suburban
Everything Else Tier: Toyota/Honda/Hyundai
- For people in the same tier to make fun of your brand, well that's pretty weak and won't hold up. "Your Camry is better than my Sonata? Really? Because you overpaid due to the strength of the Yen?"
- SUV people, for the most part, should be in a minivan but are too cool to admit it. If you have 3 kids, go to soccer games on Saturdays, and sleep at 10.. will your SUV make you cool? They don't make fun of anything other than minivans.
- Luxury people will look down on you regardless of what you drive. They probably can't tell the difference between a Toyota and Hyundai anyway. They even bring drama to their own tier by ridiculing Lexus as Toyota.
- Sports car people won't acknowledge the everyday car driver unless they are flipping them the bird for driving slow.
From a brand perspective, by buying a Toyota you're only protecting yourself against drivers from the same tier. For Honda/Toyota drivers that have something to say... well, I point to history. The Korea business model is exactly what the Japanese business model used to be. You can live in the past and drive a Japanese car, listen to your Sony walkman, and watch your Sharp TV. Or you can stay with the times and get a Korean car, Samsung Galaxy tab, and LG OLED TV (and probably save enough money from your car purchase to buy those things).
In the everyday car tier, the value proposition should hold more weight than the symbol on the trunk - assuming everything else (safety, technology, warranty, residual value) is the same.
