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Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

8465 messages,  Last post on Apr 07, 2013 at 9:10 AM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry, Oil, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 479 of 847

#4776 of 8465 Build quality by Canc

Nov 30, 2002 (10:21 pm)

Thanks for the recent posts. I read many good points, and it's true that back in 1992 we didn't have access to services like Edmunds.com, and so we only heard the neighbour's complaint about his squeaking Accord.
 
Lutz commented on how beautifully the Camry is built, no matter how ugly it is (and that's subjective, I find it nice). His point was that GM could make an attractive, stylish car with Toyota's build quality.
 
After logging off here, I had to drive into the city and looked around at the other cars on the road. It's funny to see how many old Corollas and Camrys are still going strong. I even saw an early 80s Celica yesterday driving around in the slush!

#4777 of 8465 Toyota by nippononly

Dec 01, 2002 (12:04 am)

never built a better car than the '83-'85 celicas - they just wouldn't die, although they were the last of the early breed of Japanese cars that would rust away into nothing before the powertrains would quit.
 
The first camrys from '84 on were much better for rust, although there were a few kinks in the engines on the very first camrys, which was all fixed by the time the 2nd gen '87 was introduced.

#4778 of 8465 A positive aspect of Toyota's decontenting cars by rubicon52

Dec 01, 2002 (9:19 am)

When we talk about Toyota decontenting their cars it can have the negative connotation of Toyota taking away something that buyers have come to expect from Toyota. But there is also a very positive effect on value.
 
I have a 95 Camry V-6 and a 01 Solara V-6. I calculated that in terms of 1995 dollars (allowing 3% for inflation) both cars cost the same amount of money when new. Yet, my Solara has thousands of dollars worth of features that my Camry doesn't such as leather seats, ABS, power drivers seat, alloy wheels, JBL sound system, auto climate control, auto dimming mirror, fog lights. The trade off is that a couple of trim pieces in the 01 Solara (glove box, coin tray)don't fit as well. The Solara also has a squeak in the seat. No doubt in my mind that the vast majority of buyers would be willing to sacrifice the few build quality glitches to gain all the extra features.

#4779 of 8465 rubicon by nippononly

Dec 01, 2002 (1:42 pm)

actually, I am not willing to make that sacrifice, but I am a perfectionist!
 
Plus, I don't mind winding up my own windows, hate leather seats and auto-everything.
 
The only trend in new car contenting that I whole-heartedly approve of is much better stereo systems. For the amount of time I spend in my car, I need a great sound system, and it has been such a hassle over the years to buy a new car and then head straight to the stereo store.
 
New car stereos are finally reaching the point where I don't have to immediately replace them.
 
And, I really like to have A/C. Beyond that, I feel there is a lot of overkill going on in cars today, the latest for camry being power seats on every model, even at the price of a $1000+ option package.

#4780 of 8465 re: 83-85 Celicas by jpryba

Dec 01, 2002 (7:49 pm)

"(Toyota) never built a better car than the '83-'85 celicas - they just wouldn't die, although they were the last of the early breed of Japanese cars that would rust away into nothing before the powertrains would quit."
 
nippononly, my dad bought me a used 85 Celica that died on me twice, but at least it didn't rust away on me. I guess the lack of rust was the first reason why we fixed the engine after it blew a rod at 72K miles (back in 95), but we just scrapped the car after the transmission went out at 114K in the fall of 97. I guess that with these old Toyotas, you have to have some rust to let all the mechanical goblins escape. Otherwise, they stay put and blow head gaskets and stuff

#4781 of 8465 Camry transmission by Canc

Dec 02, 2002 (10:57 am)

I was reading a car guide book over the weekend, and happened to fall on a car review verdict about used Camrys. They said that it was a fabulous, comfortable car, but to watch out for the transmission after 75,000 miles. Is there any reason why they said this? I never heard of a transmission going out on a Toyota before, and was told that they were one of the best transmissions around.
 
The 85 Celica I saw plowing through the snow last week looked in pretty good shape. Very little rust, and it seemed to run well. I also saw this very early 80s Civic on the highway. I think it had been repainted, but was still running!

#4782 of 8465 Canc by cliffy1

Dec 02, 2002 (1:22 pm)

That sounds to me like a publication that was looking for something to say and figured referencing a mystery transmission issue would make them sound credible. I've never heard so much as a whiff of rumor related to Toyota transmissions (other than the new 5 speed in the Lexus)

#4783 of 8465 Camry transmission, etc. by jander111

Dec 02, 2002 (2:12 pm)

Most of my friends and I bought used Toyota or Honda cars back in college. Here is what I know from our experience with these old cars:
One 88 camry V6, AT gone at around 125k miles.
One 91 civic (100k) and one 89 Legend (130k), timing belt snapped. For whatever reason, both engines are not damaged, even though they are interference engines.
One 89 camry I4, engine seized at 180K, AT is original. And I know the car is not babied at all and driven hard.

#4784 of 8465 Canc by rubicon52

Dec 02, 2002 (2:13 pm)

My impression was that Toyota transmissions are even stronger than their engines. Don't remember ever seeing a reference to Toyota transmission problems. I believe the problem in the new Lexus 5-speed is a software problem.

#4785 of 8465 nipponly by rubicon52

Dec 02, 2002 (2:18 pm)

Know what you mean. The features I named come standard on the Solara SLE. However, I still think the majority of the buying public wants the features. Nice to play with when the car is new. Maybe not so nice to repair a few years down the road. BMW is one of the few manufacturers to offer a quality product without all the options. But, I understand that if you buy a stripped BMW it is very difficult to find a buyer at resale time.

Messages Page 479 of 847

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