Lately, the GK Tib has been giving me trouble as a daily driver. At first, I hit a deer which caused overheating issues and a fuxored bumper. Got a new rad and fan. Then the clutch gave out. Paid a friend to fix that. Needed all new brakes and tires. Got those done. Then, there were ALL the typical electrical gremlins that the POS GK's have. Sunroof, trunk release, A/C controls, radio...... Headers with CEL. Bad MPG's. Loud engine and wind noise. Still slow as balls!



But, while chasing down all those items, there was one major maintenance item that I kept putting off: Timing belt!





Snapped on me the other day. Checked compression on front 3 cylinders and got nothing. If it was just new heads, I may have thought about reviving it. But, it was a daily that I had no love for because of all the other issues. I needed something reliable, comfortable, got decent mileage, could carry kids, and didn't scream "we pay him too much". I just couldn't think of anything great that fit that profile in my opinion. So, I settled for a Toyota Avalon Touring XLE. Not great on looks, but overall I like it. The interior is huge and comfortable. Even the dash has stitched leather. Plenty of electrical goodies for convenience. And does 1/4 mile in about 14.1 so that'll keep most cars/trucks behind me.

















And this was where I left the Tib for the dealer to come pick up:

 

Those are nice. I may have looked at them when I thought my genesis was dead after the wreck.

 

I'm not a big fan of the new body avalons. My dad has a 2011 and I absolutely love that car inside and out.



The back seat area is bigger than my whole car and the rear seats recline. Very comfortable ride, good gas mileage and plenty of pick up. I always borrow it when the wife and I go on road trips.



Congrats on the new whip though. I'm sure it's night and day compared to the tib, and faster too lol.

 

Holy sh*t!

 

Nice. I considered a Hybrid Avalon but went with a Jetta TDI instead. That was a bad idea. I should have just bought the Maxima I ended up with right off the bat. Personally, if I was still in that market, I'd be looking into a Genesis V8.

 

So will any aftermarket goodies being going on the Avalon to get it to hit 13's? lol Probably could do it with just an intake and exhaust (nothing loud...something freeflowing like a magnaflow, flowtech, borla, or gibson). :biggrin:

 

Sad news about the GK, but a 14 second 4-door DD is always a fun toy.

 

No engine mods at this point. It has a nice warranty, so I plan to keep it. Also, when I move closer to work in the next year or two, I plan to trade it in for something I really want, like a another diesel 3/4 ton. I'm looking to tint and hid conversion for now.

 

HID conversion? The Avalon doesn't have HID's? Isn't that Toyota's flagship car?

 

it's projectors with halogen bulbs.



It's not a Lexus :biggrin: