Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

210delray

The '97 won't be affected by the engine problem. The price sounds right, but you may want to have the car thoroughly checked by a mechanic before you buy. Good luck.

210delray

Airbag maintenance is listed in the maintenance manual under 120 months (120K or 150K miles?). It involves mostly a visual check of the airbag cover for deterioration or color changes. Also, I think the inflator is supposed to inspected for corrosion (the airbag would have to removed from the steering wheel). I don't know if the passenger bag has to removed as well.

As to price, it should be relatively cheap. But do you think you'll still own your '98 in 2008?

rdavid222

Thanks for the response and info on airbag maintenance.

You asked if I expect to own a 98 in 2008 ...... Answer = Yes (hopefully).

For Laughs here is my recent ownership history : 98 Camry = New
85 Camry = 16 years old and used daily .... 185K mi.
83 Camry = Sold at 14 years & 186K
67 Ford Station Wagon = 17 years & 180K ..... to Junk Yard!
73 Ford Station Wagon = 16 years & 164K .... Gave (For $10) to a CA Poly Student who painted it green(House Paint)for a Homecoming parade!

I use em to the bitter end!

Thanks for your research ..... RDavid ....

210delray

Glad to be of assistance.

My '80 Volvo 240, purchased used 18 years ago, just passed 230K miles, still going strong.

I would expect a Camry to last also; it just seems that so many posters here trade in their cars after only a few years.

wenyue

the culture in this country is one based on lavish spending. People quickly get tired of old cars and want to buy new stuff. That's why the U.S has one of the lowest saving rating in the world (if not the lowest). The spending/borrowing is what keeps the economy going. It's truely a consumer market. Those of us who keep a car for 10, 15 years are rare.

I think most people buy a new car, sell it several years down the road. It still looks pretty new then. Then someone else buys it, drive it until it looks dated. Then that person sells it, and some poor guy/studient buys that oldie up and drive it until the bitter end. Camry last a long time, and usually the new car buyer gets tired of the looks before the car wears out. It's this tendency for people to sell their old car and buy a new car that gives us a used car market that's 3 times larger than the new car market.

210delray

For more on this, have you noticed topic #987 in the News and Views conference: "Are we spending too much on cars?"

jfrez

I just bought a 97 Camry LE V6 with
42000 mi for 13900! You seem to have a better deal. Its a good and powerful engine..(quiet too)
Had it inspected at a Toyota service center (at my expense) as part of my road test before buying it. Only problems were the alarm and it didn't come with a CD player.. Good luck!

wedw

Recently as we were negotiating the price of a Camry LE with our local dealer, we were surprised at the end with several "last minute add-ons". We were concerned with a $400 "dealer prep charge" which was supposed to cover mechanical, cleaning, etc. I thought we were buying a new car! Why do we need cleaning or mechanical work!
In addition we have seen numerous TV ads offering a $750 rebate. Does that still apply in my area New York City for a Camry Le. My dealer says he has not heard of it. They say ignorance is essential to survival in certain situations. Any help in the above questions will be appreciated.
Thanks,
WED

george5

The dealer prep charge sounds bogus to me. What do others think?

We recently bought a 2000 Camry, and we only had to pay tax and license fees in addition to the price we negotiated it down to (in CA). I asked ahead if there were any advertising fees or other fees, and they said no. Maybe the fee you are talking about is the Destination charge? It's listed as "Delivery, Processing, and Handling Fee" on the window sticker, and is included in the price on the window sticker. This you do have to pay. It's about $455.

rickc5

While the Destination Charge appears to be an accepted charge and is listed on most window stickers (and here on Edmunds), IMHO, the "Dealer Prep Charge" is nothing more than yet another "additional profit add-on". It sucks as much as Scotchguarding and paint treatments. Tell dealers you won't pay it, but be prepared for their argument/sales pitch.

wenyue

Is just away to extract pure profit. Just like the Documentation fee, it's just a part of the dealer's job to prep the car for you the drive home in or write up the document to sell you the car. It's their JOB, they suppose to do it. Toyota didn't expect to sell you a car that's still wrapped in plastic, or one that without title or deeds. Don't fall for it.

cliffy1

When negotiating a deal, just be sure to get these fees itemized up front. Yes, the prep fee is additional profit but that is not a dirty word. If they try to stick you with it after negotiating the deal, then scream and refuse to pay. If they told you about it from the beginning, be glad you found a dealership that is up front about asking for it.

garp15

I'm looking at a '97 Camry LE listed for $15,995, that is not a V6. (This is at a local Toyota dealer where I've been taking my '89 Corolla for most of it's life.) It's fairly loaded. About 40K miles. Where did you buy one for $13,700? What was the list price at the dealer?
I'm dragging my feet on buying something primarily cause I just hate spending the damn money on a car. I'm also at a quandary on where to start the negotiations. I know what Edmunds says the trade-in price is (about $11,500) and what the retail price is (about $14,400). Since I keep cars a long time, I'm a little uncertain where to start. Any suggestions?

sunshine60105

My Mom already did that.... She's been working on this nite and day, I feel bad for her cause she's trying so hard ,and I'm trying to find white XLE 4 cylinders... I'll update you guys later when I know something! Chow!

edwardh1

My 94 Camry 4 cyl has a balance shaft and runs smoothly.

Do the new 4 cylinders have them? I read a report somewhere which described the new 4 cyl as "rough".

canc

Has anyone seen spy shots of the next Camry? I heard it would be redesigned for the 2002 lineup.

Thanks!

pradeepw

I bought My Camry LE 2000 for 17,700 $ last month. It was real deal that was achived after half an hour telephone discussion. I even didnt went to the dealer ship But I knew every details about car buying from Edmunds site and from Cars Direct prices. I can give my advise to anyone who is going to buy a car.
Thanks all the good people whop share the information in these sites.
"Share Information for a better world "

-Prad-

george5

Hi all.

I recently purchased a new 2000 Camry LE V6 a couple of weeks ago. I now have about 200 miles on it. So far I've noticed that while driving, the steering wheel seems to be slightly off centered. 99% of the time the steering wheel is turned slightly to the right while driving on a straight level road. The car also feels that it drifts to the left the few times I've taken it onto the freeway going up to 55mph. Do I have an alignment problem? Is everyone else's steering wheel horizontal when they are going straight. This is somewhat annoying. Is it maybe the awful General tires that are on the car?

Secondly, does your rearview mirror vibrate when you have the radio on or a CD playing? Whenever I look in the rearview mirror and the radio is playing, everything in the mirror is a blur due to the vibration. But I must say, the radio sounds awsome. If this is a sacrifice I have to make for a good sounding radio, then I am happy.

Other than the alignment issue, this is a nice car!

George

boxxer

I'm really surprised that the Camry V6 came with General tires...Toyota should be ashamed of them selves on trying to cut corners on tires.

canc

About your tires, it does sound to me like it's an alignment problem, but I'm not a mechanic. I think the best thing you could do is to talk to your service manager, and ask what he thinks about that. You might have a slight misalignment, or something worse, like a defective tire. Have it checked; it's still under warranty anyway.

As for the mirror, I haven't seen that happen in a Camry, but if you have it really loud and the bass cranked, it's very possible to get this problem. Maybe the mirror isn't glued to the windshield as it could be. Have that checked too .

Hope that helps!

210delray

The new (2001) Camry almost certainly still uses a balance shaft in its 4-cylinder engine.

maneesh1

Recently, the a/c stopped blowing cold air. I had it recharged and it worked fine for a while (2 months) and then stopped blowing cold air.

I took it back to the guy and he said there's a leak somewhere and he can't do anything about it.

Has anyone experienced a/c problems? If so, what type and how was it rectified?

TIA.

alan72

I own a 94 Camry LE WITH 78K. I don't tow or drive the car hard, and I had the fluid changed at regular intervals, so I was surprised when my transmission failed. The dealer charged $3450 for the new transmission. As Toyota sell reliability and charge for it, I called Toyota of America to see if they could help with the cost. There answer was "sorry it's too far out of warranty". I like the car, but I'm very disappointed with having to spend this kind of money to keep this car on the road. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

kennywayne

Can anyone tell me if the 2001 Camry six cylinder come with a manual transmission? Thanks.

wenyue

When is the redesigned RAV-4 comming in? Is it going to be using the same engine as the 2002 Camry?

I know it has a 2.0 liter engine. so I'm not expecting it to be used on the Camry, but I just want to see if you have any insider information.

george5

Thanks boxxer and canc for your input. I will take the car into the dealer to have it checked.

canc

Wenyue,

I've already seen the RAV4 at my local dealership, plus I've also seen an ad about it in this month's Car and Driver.

buttercuppower

Hello to All,

I bought my 2000 Camry about a month ago and I live in the "Water State" of Florida. During the recent floods, my car sustained interior water damage and the Air Bag light came on after I had driven through many puddles of water. Has anyone experienced this type of damage to their car, if so what can I expect when I get the car back from the dealer?? All of your comments are appreciated.
Dee

jenvw

Is anyone familiar with what kind of dealing they're doing on '00 or '01 Camrys? Are dealers willing to get close to invoice? I just finished negotiating a deal for myself on a new Suburban and there was a wealth of info out there on what to expect. I'm now trying to do some research for my mother, who is looking for a Camry, and I'm finding little or no information. Incidentally, we are in the Minneapolis area. If anyone has any specific dealer knowledge, that would be helpful too.

She would like to move quickly on this. Anyone able to help me out would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

cliffy1

The 2001 RAV has been out for a week now. It is an awesome upgrade but the engine is smaller than the 2002 Camry will be.

We have a manager that just came back from the dealer meeting in las Vegas and he saw the new Camry. He said the changes are as radical as the differences between the '99 and '00 Avalons. He is not technically minded enough to really probe on the differences but he thought it looked great.

cliffy1

Pricing really depends on the region. In the Central Atlantic region, we are just about out of LEs, the XLE is long gone but we have more CE models than we know what to do with. We are taking any deal on a CE that does not loose us money. The V6s are totally gone.

As for the 2001s, we don't have enough yet to discount much below $700 over invoice. That will change in a month or two.

ccam206

My Toyota is a 1996 Camry LE, 4-cyl, 42,500 miles. Have been feeling a vibration right under my foot at the gas pedal & it is making a humming sound when taking corners & at stops & starts. Any ideas?

fredvh

Thanks for the update on the new Camry. Did he really see the car or just pictures of it? I did not realize that the car was actually done. I will be buying a new vehicle in 2002 and it will be a Camry or a Lexus ES300. So you can see why I am anxious to see the new styles of both.

sybele

Can anyone tell me, on average, how frequently should the tires be changed? My car has 25K.

sybele

I forgot, any suggestions as far as tires? I am considering Michelins.

bobc3

Sybele, Hello I have recently bought Michelin X One's for my 99 Camry And love them! i replaced my Dunlop's around 32 grand. there was some uneven tread wear due to being out od alignment I should have got around 38-40 grand from them. This is my 3 rd set of Michelin's i have bought over the past 10 years and i haven't had any problems. They have a nice even tread thickness across the tire and wear extremely well I highly recommend them
Happy motoring Bob

wenyue

Hey, thanks for th info. And thanks on the little peep of the 2002 Camry. Too bad your friend didn't give you much information on it.

We will be getting a new car next year (my wife's graduating), and we'll get middle class car to replace my wife's 1996 Mazda Protege DX (still got that hand cranked window, manual door lock, so un-2000-ish).

She is graduating in May of 2001. The new RAV4 (she like s a little SUV over a sedan) and 2002 Camry (my pick) would definitly on the top of the list.

If you could get any more info on the 2002 Camry, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

cliffy1

The guy who was in Las Vegas and saw the prototype is a manager who does not have an eye for detail. He is more of a big picture type. Whenever he get a demo on a car he hasn't had before, I end up telling him some of the features even after he has been driving it for weeks.

I hope to get some pictures from this show soon and I'll post anything I see.

In the mean time, we do have a limited edition 2001 coming out soon with a two tone paint job and a few other trick features that should spruce things up a bit.

sybele

Thanks for the info. For some reason, I feel that my 1998 XLE V6, doesn't handle as well as my prior four cilinder, on rain or snow. This concerns me since this car is primarily driven my wife. Even though the dunlop's may last 10K more, I think I'll change them, for the peace of mind. Any thoughts?

elgriton

I would suggest you try Michelin's MXV4's. I have the 2000 XLE with Bridgestone, but they emit alot of noise. I made the mistake of not having them changed to Michelins when I bought the car!

kd_eli

I own a 91 Camry 4 Cyl. Has anyone experienced a constant exhaust smell inside the car? The muffler and Cat converter look fine. What else could cause this? The dealer said everything looked fine. (Not that they are always the experts) Thanks in advance!

boodrow

Update on banging rear suspension in post #38.
Just got back from dealer after they put new v-6 rear springs on my 4 cylinder Camry that had very weak springs. The heavier springs fixed the trouble and were done under warranty. It took a little arm twisting but this must be a common problem as I've heard it mentioned on a couple of other boards. If anyone out there has the same problem talk to your service manager insist on a fix.

wenyue

There may be a leak along the exhaust. Maybe corrosion of a joint of a spot of the exhaust pipe. Don't know for sure.

winterparkwill

I want to buy a '99 LE Camry. Any advice on where to get the best deal? Are rental cars better than lease car returns? Thanks for the help.

Willie

slavar

Hi,
Very recently I started noticing how transmission of my Camry-Y2K w/7K miles is shifting from 1st to 2nd gears. It only happens if I drive slowly. It was very smooth before. The smooth drive was one of the main reasons I’ve bought this car. Is it normal? Thanks.

heckel2

Hi I own a 99 camry LE 4 cylinder. The service department recommended at 15,000 miles that the charge would be 149.00. He said you needed to change air filter and check all brakes and have the trans drained and filled and the differential fluid. I have never had a car that required you to change your trans fluid at 15K. I live in KS. and they said the weather here is extreme. I just laughed at them and shook my head. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks

canc

If you look in your owner's manual supplement, you'll see the recommended Toyota service schedule. I also went for my Mom's regular oil change and the service guy told me that the next time I would come in with the car (at 32 000 kms), it would be more expensive because they would check the car more thoroughly, such as the brakes and all the work you talked about in your post. My Mom's car is a Corolla, however, but I don't think the schedule is very different from both cars. $149 sounds really expensive though; our dealership charges $95 CDN to do that. Maybe if you have a V6 it'll be more expensive? I do agree with you though that this maintenance sounds unnecessary. In another way though, it's more like a yearly maintenance check.

heckel2

Thanks for your response. I would appreciate anymore I get. Thanks again.

asha3

Hi Gurus out there!

Could you please suggest what is the best possible price I can pay for Camry LE 2001 Model? My dealer has agreed for $18400 for the Base version without Options. I need to close the deal in the next 2 days. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks many.

Asha.

wenyue

Make sure you get the VP3!!!! It's only $369 some
odd dollar package. But it offers a ton of extra:
Keyless entry, power seat, JBL sound system, CD
player, floor matts, and the most important -- ABS. At $369, it's a steal. Be sure to get it. It will at at least that much to your resale value
down the road.

I think just about every Camry LE gets it. It wouldn't
be too wise to miss out on it. Good luck.