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Would you buy a current generation Camry?

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Comments

  • beantownbeantown Member Posts: 228
    In addition, I think that some of the operational issues, that you read about on these boards, are driver induced. Remember, this vehicle is a "drive by wire" operation. You cannot drive this vehicle like a "cable controlled throttle" vehicle! The throttel response is different!

    The problem with that statement is other manufacturers have been using "drive by wire" for some time now and many of the posters here have driven them and reported that they do not exhibit the same "throttle response" issues as the Camrys.
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    The drive by wire issues for the 4 cylinder Camry can be resolved with a simple TSB - mine was fixed after a simple reprogram which took the dealer 35 minutes.
  • booch55booch55 Member Posts: 5
    No, I would not recommend the 4 cylinder Camry. The TSB did not fix the problem on my car. Toyota customer service (I use the term loosely) was poor, at best. They have all been trained well to use the phrase..."performs as designed", even though there have been 2 TSB's to fix the poor design.

    If the problems were fixed, there would be no more discussions on this forum. My vehicle was an 07 XLE 4. The problem apparently still exists with the 08's.

    Do not purchase this vehicle
  • caazcaaz Member Posts: 209
    I just purchased an 03 camry LE..with 39,000 miles on it...4cyl..runs awesome...go to real world MPG.and read the last 20 posts or so... my last MPG @ 65 mph for 410 miles was 40.058. Im not sure if i would buy...or wait till 2010...or 2011.for all new...but i will def buy a camry again...great cars...great mpg...i love the new style better than my 03... and i think the next one will have the bugs worked out... and an even better style. My prob is i drive 60k miles a year...and i know my 03 will easily last 18 more months....which would give me a new 2011...and id have about 130 k on my 03. Just not sure about my resale value then.... If i kept it for 1 yr.. id have in the 90k range...possibly sell it for what i just paid for it...which was 11,000.00.If i waited till it had 130k...im not quite sure of the value... might cost me another 2500.00 or value of 8500.00 which isnt worth the extra 30,000 miles id put on it. So i just hope Toyota gets thier act together..I want something as good as my newly purchased 03 but with a new body style... and great mpg like im getting now.
    LAter
    Caaz
  • gooddeal2gooddeal2 Member Posts: 750
    If i kept it for 1 yr.. id have in the 90k range...possibly sell it for what i just paid for it...which was 11,000.00.If i waited till it had 130k...im not quite sure of the value... might cost me another 2500.00 or value of 8500.00 which isnt worth the extra 30,000 miles id put on it.

    I highly doubt that anyone would pay 11K next year for a '03 Camry LE w/ 90K+ miles. My .02
  • sunilvsunilv Member Posts: 26
    I have a 07 Camry LE 4 Cy from April 06. Even after doing all the TSBs the camry is not shifting smoothly. It jerks while shifting in lower gears and it When I explain this to the dealers they test drived and said it is driving as it is. Without any fix issued they won't accept the problem. I am planning to trade this one for the new Accord 2008. I lost all the respect to Toyota.
  • caazcaaz Member Posts: 209
    You may be right...but i wouldnt bet on it... i just ran an inquiry using a 500 mile range... in So cal. right now... and im looking at only 2002's so it will be the same as looikng at an 03 next yr... one with 4k more than mine now... 43kmles = 15,999.00...next... heres an 02 with 95,481mi...12.988 80,012mi...12583... 92.123..10995.00... 130,255mi 9995.00......62,062..15,999.00 58,988..14995.00
    80803....13,999.00.. 89,927...13,120... ummmm you sure goodeal2 ?...theres another 162 cars the same i didnt list...then i changed the criteria, cars only OVER 100k miles.... 132k 99,995.00 126 k 10,995 160,116 8999.00 and therre were 37 cars just like it. I dont think im too far off thinking i can get 11,000 for my 03...Remember..these are all 02's

    later
    Caaz
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    Wow, that is surprising, because at other sites around the net and many people here at Edmunds have had the TSB done and it has solved the problems of almost all who had problems. From what I read, there are only a very very few that still have problems after the TSB reprogram.

    Consumer's Reports is not showing any major problems with the 4 cylinder, but they are with the 6 cylinder.

    Sorry to hear about your bad luck, have you ever gone to a different dealer?
  • gooddeal2gooddeal2 Member Posts: 750
    Caaz, I believe those are retail asking prices from dealers (probably most of them) and the selling prices might be a lot lower than those asking prices. If you go private party route, you MIGHT be able to see 11K but I doubt that you can get 11K as a trade in...again, just IMO.
  • tnrtnr Member Posts: 10
    Honestly, after reading all the negative reviews....I don't know. I haven't experienced any of the transmission issues (I'm still going to ask for the TSB to be on the safe side from my dealership)....but there is definately a lot of interior noise from the dash that I would not have expected..and that is disappointing...especially given all the glowing reviews that the Toyota Camry has received from places like Consumer Reports.
  • hause7hause7 Member Posts: 153
    I wasn't posting because i was going to buy a Camry, i was just curious who would still recommend a Toyota. My step-dad owns a 1997 Camry LE 4 cyl(187,000 trouble free miles), my mom bought her 07 camry LE 4cyl in January of 2007 and already has 38,000 miles on it(trouble free with no hesitation) we also own a 2004 Toyota Sienna Limited AWD(72,000 trouble free miles), and my uncle just traded his 03 Altima 3.5SE in for a 07 Dark Blue Tundra Limited double cab last night(he put 100 miles on it already). Also i have an aunt with a 2006 Lexus GX470(45,000 trouble free miles). =]

    As you can see i have a family of Toyota owners, and to be honest everyone of my relatives will not switch brands. I asked the question to see if any of the troubled Camry owners would still buy a toyota. I like to know if it has been a wide spread problem to let my mom know about it. For now i will stick with Toyota, until(knock on wood) something changes my mind about them. I still think it was a small percentage of the early production models with the bugs(i estimate between 20-30% of all the 07s on the road). But that is just my opinion, and i have a family of Toyota's to back my statement up(Toyota's are still very reliable cars). :)

    I hope i don't get bashed for this but oh well.....
  • mcdawggmcdawgg Member Posts: 1,722
    Get the TSB done for the dash noises too.
  • perkypersianperkypersian Member Posts: 1
    My Camry LE 2005 (bought on February 15th) was written off as a result of an accident and I had 196000 KM on it all HW driven. The insurance company gave me $11000 canadian plus taxes.

    My 2005 Camry saved my life. I had no problem with my Camry and all I did was regular oil change every 8000 KM plus transmission oil change and tire rotation every 10000 KM. I will pick up my 2008 Camry LE on Tuesday.
    Also, I will let the forum know about my experince with my new car since I drive 200 KM per day 6 days a week !!!

    Best ...
  • djm2djm2 Member Posts: 712
    Hi All:
    I just returned from a 500 mile trip with my 2007 XLE V6 Camry. At the start of the trip, I fueled the vehicle with 87 octane "off-brand" fuel. I averaged 30mpg on the trip. At times, the "on-board-computer" registered 34.5 mpg at 65mpg. This is outstanding for a large comfortable vehicle!

    Upon returning from the trip, I noticed that one of the rear lights were burned out. I contacted my selling dealer and they replaced it free of charge! (There are benefits to having the vehicle serviced at the dealer on a regular basis.)

    My vehicle has almost 39,000 miles, and it is only 23 months old. At this time next year, I will easily have 66,000 miles. I will then explore the possibility of trading it for a 2009 /10 XLE V6 Camry, (if the trade-in value is good!) ---- If it is not a "good deal," I will put new tires on the vehicle along with a set of brakes, and run it for another year, at which time I will then have about 88,000 miles! This will leave me 10,000 miles on my extended warranty to find a replacement vehicle. My Camry is a quality vehicle and I love the comfort! (I will then trade it as close to 100,000 miles as possible!)

    I will look at 2009 / 2010 Camry as a replacement vehicle. If GM is still in business, I will look at a Chevrolet Impala,----- (if the dealer has a vehicle in stock with the LT2 trim level. ---- I WILL NOT ORDER A VEHICLE!). ----- I will also look at the 2009 / 2010 Honda Accord. (This could be a possibility, "IF" Honda decides to construct front seats that are comfortable for Americans!) ----- NISSAN is out of the picture, because the dealers in my area are "very high pressure operations," and their "service" is not "great"! ----- Chrysler and Ford are not even a "possibility!"------ Most likely, I will be driving a new 2009 / 2010 Camry! REASONS: 1.) A quality product, ---- 2.) Great dealer service, -----3.) A professional sales staff that deals with a customer in a professional manner.

    Have a great day! -------- Best regards! -------- Dwayne :shades: ;):)
  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    We've been very happy with ours. It is comfortable, roomy, rides like a big car, but handles like a smaller one. We get low 30's mpg going 70-75 and low 20's in town. The 4 has plenty of power except it downshifts hard on steep hills. I've had several Impala's as rentals. Its not a bad car except I find the seats (cloth or leather) become uncomfortable after an hour or two. It also really doesn't have much, if any more usable room than the Camry, but all that extra heft results in noticeably less mpg because it is too heavy to run on a 4 cyl engine. Same for the Buick Lacrosse I rented. I didn't test drive the new Malibu because I felt it cost too much for what you get and I haven't gotten one as a rental yet. However the previous year Malibu's I had as rentals didn't ride very well and you felt every tar strip on the Interstate. Reading posts, it sounds like the new one is much improved, but I'm not sure it will be worth as much as a Camry at trade and around here at least it costs more upfront.
  • jems1221jems1221 Member Posts: 1
    I have loved Toyota products, but my 2003 Camry V6 XLS has been a disappointment and I no longer think the value of Toyotas is worth the premium prices. The carpet wore out rather quickly where the side of my wife's shoe rests near the driver's side door. A rust spot developed near the rear license plate light. The electronic shifting is jerky and hesitant, which is annoying to say the least, and potentially dangerous. Speaking of dangerous, did you know that when the check engine light comes on, the VCS stability traction contol automatically goes off? Terrible for someone in snowy winter driving conditions. Also the latch for the console compartment broke and they want $325 for a new cover, because they can't just replace the latch. I haven't had engine sludge problems (knock on wood) but all of these nickel and dime repairs and quality issues remind me of the fords and chevys I used to drive (in fact, I joke that I bailed them out for years). I've heard they've gotten better, and frankly, if they are even close, the value may be greater because they cost quite a bit less.
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