April 2013 we were really empty nesters — our son had been married for two years — our daughter was working in Cleveland. One marker of success as a parent is knowing your children got full time jobs with benefits — otherwise they can be on your family health insurance until age 26, per the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).
So no need for a family cruiser for vacations. How about another Avalon? I have not had repeat automobile models since the two consecutive Moparbishis in the early 1980s, and the two Avalons I had already owned had done well for me. So, time to go Avalon shopping again.
In 2013 you could find cars pretty easily on the internet, and sorting for make, model, price, mileage, location, features worked pretty well. And if the dealers offer a Carfax for free online, that was icing on the cake.
Went to my nearby local independent car dealer where we bought the 2001 Camry. Sat in a nice Avalon, but it was already sold. (This dealer unlocked all of the cars every day, so you could get a feel for the cars without asking for the key.)
There was a 2008 Toyota Avalon XL available at a dealer I had bought from before, but hadn’t bought there since 1998, when I had purchased the 1994 Corolla wagon from them.
According to Carfax this particular model had spent some time in North Carolina and Oklahoma as a lease vehicle and was sold in Ohio to the second owner. (Bonus points for spending some time in the Southern states with less exposure to the tin worm, possibly.)
And according to Carfax it had 78,440 miles and had been sitting on the dealer’s sales lot for three months. The price was reduced by $1900 from their original asking fee, and the 2000 Avalon XL trade-in covered tax, title, the $250 “documentary fees,” and a little bit of a down payment.
The third generation was sold in the USA during the 2005-2012 model years. According to theautochannel.com and Wikipedia, 42,790 2008 model Avalons were sold.
Compared to the second generation Avalon, this series of Avalon got better gas mileage, had a more powerful V-6 engine, had a trip computer, but didn’t have the optional passenger power seat and it was black. Always wanted to have a black car, and everything they say about black cars is true: looks good clean for about one day and then you see every speck of pollen, dust, road salt, paint overspray, etc.
And it still had headroom. In 2013, the fourth generation Avalon was introduced, and it looked to me like a bigger Camry. Whenever I was at the Toyota dealer for service I would sit in various Avalon models that were on the showroom floor, and I got the distinct impression that the newer Avalons were getting lower.
As a test of bing.com’s Copilot I found this analysis:
The 2019 Toyota Avalon has slightly less front headroom than the 2009 model but offers similar rear headroom, depending on trim. The difference is small, but taller drivers may notice the reduced front‑row space in the 2019 model.
Headroom Comparison: 2009 vs 2019 Toyota Avalon
Front Headroom
- 2009 Avalon: Up to 38.9 in
- 2019 Avalon: Ranges 37.4–38.5 in depending on trim (XLE trims have the most)
Takeaway: The 2009 model offers more front‑row headroom, especially compared to most 2019 trims.
Rear Headroom
- 2009 Avalon: Up to 37.9 in
- 2019 Avalon: 37.1–37.9 in depending on trim
Takeaway: Rear headroom is nearly identical between the two years, with some 2019 trims matching the 2009 exactly.
Summary
- Best for tall drivers: 2009 Avalon (more consistent front headroom).
- 2019 variation: Some trims (like XLE) come close, but others lose over an inch of front headroom.
What This Means for You
- If you’re tall (6’2″+), the non‑sunroof 2009 Avalon will feel noticeably roomier in the driver’s seat.
- The sunroof version is still comfortable but slightly tighter in vertical space.
The first year I had this car, the rear brakes needed work, but other than oil changes and damage from a parking lot accident, I got good service from this vehicle and worked well for our family needs. But another vehicle is in store for us; it’s time for my wife to get another car.
These “Toyota Buicks” are very nice cars. But we’ve become used to higher ride heights and wouldn’t go back to any car for that reason. Not sure why cars keep getting lower, but it’s one reason we’re confirmed suv/truck buyers now. If we did buy a car it’d probably be one of these.
As Toyota fans ourselves, we’ve considered trading our low mile RAV for a new hybrid Land Cruiser, Highlander or maybe the upcoming new xTerra (we still have 2 of those and love them) but we just can’t see having to pay $4k in sales tax plus all the fees and charges associated with a new car, not to mention the stratospheric prices and lack of basic versions that actually come in colors, it’s getting crazy and just not worth it. The 48k mile RAV (the simple 2.5L 4 cyl NA gas version) that we bought used may well end up being our last car at this rate.
I hope that for your $250 “documentary fee” you at least get your navigation system narration from Ken Burns. It might take you longer to get somewhere, but you’ll feel better when you do. 😉
Last week the comparison was made such that the 2000 Avalon was Toyota’s version of a Buick. Does that comparison still hold for this newer one? From the outside, it looks less Buick and perhaps more Mercedes? It certainly looks comfortable from the inside.
The local auto dealers have united to impose a $250 documents fee at every dealer. If you want to buy a car you have to pay the fee.
I like Avalons, and this one is no exception. Extra points in my book for that brushed-metal-look dashboard controls that look like they were lifted from a piece of 1970s home audio equipment. I don’t know how those controls aged, but when new(ish) they sure looked nice.
I agree with what you say about black cars – I had one once as well, and my goodness, all that dust, pollen, etc.! That was when I was younger, and I had time to wash my car a lot, but for now, my rule is No Black Cars.
Now that I think about it, I’ve never bought repeat car models, and I wonder if/when that will happen.
A BIL bought a new 05 and still has it, probably with still under 100k miles. He has had significant expense in the last 2-3 years, but that might be a combination of not driving it enough and having really tight specs for keeping his cars nice.
I see this generation around for sale and priced pretty reasonably. I have had the understanding that these lacked the older cars’ “cost no object” feel as they aged.
I like this generation of Avalon, wonder if anyone notices it has the shape of the same vintage of Mercedes S class. The interior design is good too, but widely used metal looking trims with silver paint looks a kind cheap especially when they are scratched and painted fell off, my 2011 Venza has the same problem. Other thing is the men made leather on some trim started looking old after few years. I am not sure if Toyota offered cloth or leather
Yes, I definitely noticed! That’s what I meant in my comment about it looking more Mercedes than Buick. From the side at least I think it’s rather attractive.
Actually back Avalon direct competitor, then Buick LeCross at the vintage had a very component Epilson II chassis design. In my opinion, it was a better vegetable overall than Avalon, Maxima, Ford 500(Taurus). Like other GM new products, we can’t blame them lack of trying but never able to deliver a good result.
Epilson II was used in the last generation Chevrolet Impala, a top rated full size sedan of Consumer Reports who is always critical to American automobiles. And the last Saab 9-5 also used this chassis.
I never drove LaCross and Impala, actually very time I booked a rental and hoped it might show up, but rental companies often offered a Malibu, Sonata or Camry.
The wheels in your infrared photo look familiar. I was able to purchase the same 16-inch alloys from the side tested 2006 Avalon XL used by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Photo below shows the tested Avalon and my former 2004 Camry after the wheels were transferred (undamaged in the test).
That’s funny, I recall you worked there – I own the glovebox from the yellow 2015 Jeep Wrangler that was used for the IIHS Driver side small overlap test. The orange 2015 Wrangler we bought around 8 years ago had a heavily scratched glove box for some reason and looking around I came across the junkyard that IIHS apparently uses on the east coast. They had the glovebox at a good price, the IIHS Jeep had something like 42 miles on it and the glove box is still looking good today…Only the left side of the donor car was heavily damaged 🙂
https://youtu.be/oS7Nw_pV0K0
Small world Jim! I’m glad you were able to score an almost new replacement part.
I would have been there in 2015. I don’t recall the Jeep being yellow (the video proves it though), and we did try to choose bright, distinctive colors whenever possible.
All of our high-speed crash test vehicles go to the same junkyard. They are only available for parts recycling, not for road use or rebuilding. We also supply the applicable VINS to NHTSA and our insurance company sponsors.
Looks nice .
It’s worth mentioning tat overall height is often in the upper body, I’m 6′ (was 6’1″ before the accident) and I have short 32″ legs. this means older vehicles tend to fit me well but I doubt a 2019 Avalon will .
With only 48,000 miles I see no need to replace it unless rusty or crashed .
-Nate
I can relate. My height is also in my upper body (6’2″ formerly 6’3″) and most cars are claustrophobic now and they never used to be.