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Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier
8465 messages, Last post on Apr 07, 2013 at 9:10 AM
You are in the Toyota Camry Forum.What is this discussion about? Toyota Camry, Oil, Sedan
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#614 of 8465 Re: Need Advice About a 1990 Camry LE Wagon by tyguy
Apr 30, 2001 (8:52 am)
I have three pieces of advice concerning the car your looking at buying:First, the price is extremely high. According to Edmunds TMV, the dealer is asking a couple of thousand dollars more than the car is worth. I don't know all the features and condition of the particular Camry you're looking at, so I cannot give you an accurate price estimate. I recommend pricing the car through Edmunds used TMV and Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com) to get a more accurate price on the car.
Second, be very careful about the mechanical condition of the car and have it checked out by a professional mechanic that you know and trust. Generally, Toyota's are reliable cars, but no car is going to be reliable if it's been abused or neglected. I owned an 89' V6 Camry sedan in the past, and can tell you first hand these cars can have significant problems if previous owners haven't maintained them properly. The car had major engine troubles and burned through at least three automatic transmissions (fortunately I got a lifetime warranty on the first rebuild I had done). I tend to baby my cars, so I know it wasn't my driving that caused these problems.
The smell of burning oil should be a major red flag. These V6s are difficult to work on and the parts are expensive. The engine compartment is small for the size of engine in this car, which makes repairs difficult, time consuming, and costly. Like I said before, be sure to have a trusted mechanic look it over carefully before you decide to purchase it.
Third, having owned a V6 in this body style, and other 4-cylinder Camry's, I personally recommend a 4-cylinder. The 4-cylinder engine is what Toyota built its reputation on, and they're much easier to work on if you do run into troubles. The style of Camry you're looking at is Toyota's first attempt to stick a V6 into a Camry. They still had a few things to learn (And did! The newer Camry's have refined, powerful V6 engines mated to an incredibly smooth automatic transmission.)
#615 of 8465 Also early 90s Toyota V6 had some problems by sobers
Apr 30, 2001 (10:07 am)
don't eaxctly recall..something related to Head gaskets or such....Toyota did warranty work on them & extended warranty to 100K miles V6s. V6 range was abroad all the product. Toyota fans/knowledgeable please correct/add something if I am wrong. I don't know exactly (heard it from Wenyue)#616 of 8465 sober by wenyue
Apr 30, 2001 (11:32 am)
The problem was with some early 1990 V6's. Toyota extended the warranty and notified all owners of the free replacement. The affected engine was mostly for the trucks, I didn't think the Camry V6 used the same engine.But for anyone who is interested, this is a pretty detailed article about the early 90 V6 headgasket warranty experience, through the eyes of a Toyota truck owner.
http://home.off-road.com/~kemanuel/V6-HG.htm
#617 of 8465 Camry Gas Mileage by bjl5
Apr 30, 2001 (11:35 am)
Post #536, jdarcy indicated his 01, CE, with standard trans got a gas mileage of 32.5MPG.(low) to a 40.5MPG. (high)This is very possible. What many people miss is he has a manual transmission which increases the mileage considerably. My brother just bought the same car"01,CE with std. trans. It has only 472 miles on it. At least half of the mileage is on two lane secondary roads of which most was in fourth gear and some in third gear with very little in fifth gear. When the tank was filled at the above mileage it took only 14.13 gallons . That's 33.4 MPG! He double clicked the pump to be sure the tank was full. I would guess at least half the driving was in fourth gear! That is amazing mileage considering there was three people in the car! The car has none of the problems that I have seen on this post (ie) wind noise,tire vibrations,low gas mileage etc. It's perfect so far. We both have been advanced back yard mechanics for almost 50 years so I feel if there was a problem we would a least be aware of it. Many people on this post are praising the new 02 Camry,but the 4 cyl. engine has a new aluminum block which I would not own. I will take the old 01 model with a cast iron block any day(MO). It's a nice car!#618 of 8465 Re: Also early 90s Toyota V6 had some problems by tyguy
Apr 30, 2001 (4:06 pm)
The head gasket problems were/are mostly with the 3.0 litre V6 engines that were used in the '89 to '95 trucks (4-Runners,also). This model Camry came with a 2.5 litre V6, a very different engine. I haven't heard of widespread head gasket failures on the 2.5 litre V6 like I have for the 3.0 litre V6.#619 of 8465 by cholland1
Apr 30, 2001 (6:09 pm)
I bought a 99 Camry LE with 50K miles this weekend for $11,500 with tax. I'm very pleased so far. The car has plenty of power for my needs. Highway driving is smooth & quiet. I rode in the back seat while my wife drove, and I was very comfortable. The longer trips I took were almost too calm. I kept falling asleep. I plan on putting in a good after market DC player and key less entry/alarm. Driving the car makes me feel a little snooty. The shinny newish car doesn't look like only cost 11.5K. I don't feel embarrassed any more when parking with the Lexus and B-meer crowd. Not when mines shines just as good and keeps my wallet fat. I liked the Accord too. It was just out of my price range, unless I went with an older model with higher miles. No thanks.#620 of 8465 Wenyue by sobers
May 01, 2001 (9:53 am)
I really wouldnot want to believe that somebody got 99 Camry for 11,500!! Accords on the other hand are retaining their values ok. Fleet sales finally taking toll on Camry's resale. I hope not.#621 of 8465 sobers by sebring95
May 01, 2001 (7:59 pm)
I think he got a good deal, that's about what one would go through the auction for. It has high miles, so if it was a lease return they made their money on that car with the mileage surcharge. I talked to a guy last week with a 99 and his lease buy-out was $16,000. Bank will take a beating on that one, which is probably why the banks are getting out of the leasing business. He really liked the car and wants to keep it so I told him to offer them $14,000 on the buy-out. They should take it if they are smart because they'll not get that on the auction block.Market is flooded with lease return 4 bangers right now. Try to find a used V6 and you'll pay a premium.
#622 of 8465 LE 4 by s852
May 01, 2001 (8:43 pm)
Not only lease returns. Some car rental agencies use Camrys, so you will find a good selection of used 2000s.#623 of 8465 We need info?LE or CE for a 99 or 00 by truckdude1
May 02, 2001 (8:50 am)
Hi we want to know how well the 4 cyl is for driving hard or flooring it? would you consider a used on with 30 to 40k? how much would you pay? do you think these are good cars and reliable if we drive alot of local and hard miles? but we do service it alot..please send me all the info you can soon.thanksTo POST a message, please
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