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It's also possible to spray paint this type of plastic quite easily, if the color is wrong.
Couldn't find out much about Durablend other than it is synthetic/mineral oil mixture. Saw a post somewhere on Edmunds that claimed it is only 15% synthetic. I don't really care as long as it meets the manfacturer's requirements which I assume it does since the dealer is using it.
as for durablend, valvoline is good oil. it's in the 15% range of synthetic oil. I like my accord manual - change the oil every 10K and filter 20K under "normal" conditions. Under severe - 5/10K. Geez, that's crazy. as for a "blend", I can't see how that is all that much better than 100% dino as how can the synthetic prevent the dino part from not breaking down (it can't). I can see all dino or all synthetic. I wouldn't worry if I were you. Valvoline is great oil. I usually switch around but with my two new cars, I've only gone castrol since they're 4 bangers.
With today's technology, I don't think the 3000 mile interval is necessary unless one is in the severe service category. I'm trying to do my part to preserve the limited natural resources
Strict new tests developed by the industry's top engineering group are prompting the carmakers to roll back horsepower estimates on several key vehicles, including the Toyota Camry, America's best-selling car, and Honda's luxurious Acura RL.
For the 2006 model year, Toyota says its Camry equipped with a 3-liter V-6 engine generates 190 horsepower. In 2005, Toyota said the same car with the same engine had 210 horsepower.
The revised ratings comply with new Society of Automotive Engineers standards designed to eliminate subjective interpretation in establishing horsepower claims.
As someone responded, Toyota decided to rerate all of their engines, even though they didn't have to. As I understand it, GM and Ford used the new procedures only on new, redesigned, or otherwise modified engines for 2006. Their carryover engines are still rated the old way.
Not a big deal in my opinion; the cars will still have the same 0-60 times.
~alpha
I'll stick with the 4-cylinder - better gas mileage and enough oomph for me.
Its hp rating is down by 6 - from 160 to 154; don't think I'll be lying awake at night fretting about it!
What year for the Camry would you recommend I look at in terms of bang for the buck? I'm looking to find something with less than 80,000 miles that's been well cared for. Because of budget, I'm limiting my search to years 1997 thru 2001. I'd like an 02' or 03'', but don't think I can swing the bucks.
Thanks!
bradesp
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Some of the info I have been reading mentions the handling of a camry isn't great. We have lots of snow and I need a car that will go in the snow. My accords were always fine with snow tires. What do you think about a camry in snow?
Thanks for your comments.
I would expect you to be able to get a very good deal on the purchase, as the new model (2007) is likely to include some new features not available on the "out going model"
These are only my opinion, but I have owned MANY cars in my almost 40 years of driving.
Good luck, and let us know wat you decide. The Camry is a very nice car indeed.
SE seems to be a good choice (only $600-700 more, with sunroof as standard). I want to add upgraded JBL stereo, alloy, and side/curtain airbag (GY) option.
I did not drive XLE, but it also attracts me (same disc brake, and a lot of upgrades). What I am not sure are engine noise and suspension (handling). I was told that there is extra insulation to make the vehicle quieter. I don't know if this is correct. Also, I am wondering if I can hear less engine noise (like SE) than LE. I don't think that suspension is different between LE and XLE. Then, do I have to expect the same loose
handling and lean at corner in XLE? Other than suspension, XLE might be a great choise (about $1000 more, I got automatic climate control, nice wood trim, rear A/C, a lot of convenience upgrades, including power mirror and sunshade). If there is any mechanical advantage (like better insulation above), please let me know.
Given the preference, I am not sure which trim I should go. Also, 06 is a short year model. New 07 will have newer feature that 06 doesn't have. As long as 07 had stability control in SE or XLE 4 cylinder as standard, I want to go with 06. I don't think the resale value of the last model year car(06) is different from other years (05, 04, ..) when I resell it after 2-3 years. Am I correct?
I would appreciate if you give valuable information for my new car selection. Thank you for your help in advance.
If you are really planning to sell in 2-3 years, you ought to consider leasing unless you drive more the 15k miles per year.
Regarding the other questions, you really need to drive the XLE to make the comparison yourself. You can't rely on others to have the same impressions you do about ride, handling, etc. I can confirm that the SE-V6 gas mileage is not that great. We're only getting about 26 on the highway. I was hoping for 28-29. Around town is 18-21.
Who told you about the extra insulation? A salesperson? It's not mentioned in any Toyota literature, so I wouldn't believe it.
Don't forget that the "wood" is fake. The SE should handle slightly better, overall, but there shouldn't be any difference regarding engine noise among all 3 trim lines (4, if you include the Standard).
Do I have to pay sales tax for lease? If not, it could be a significant saving. How about acqusition fee (I heard it depends on the state I am currently living). I also heard that all maintenance will be done at dealer (so it could be a saving). How about insurance (same as purchasing car)? Even if all things above turns favorable, I need to consider if monthly leasing fee (I don't know if it is $259 or $299, or else... there should be a special, though) still make sense, as an alternative to buying a car.
To answer a couple of questions, yes you pay sales tax but only on the 3 years worth of deprectiation you "use" not on the whole price of the car. No you don't have to have maintenance done by the dealer (but you do need proof that you have had the required maintenance done.) Insurance is the same as buying.
-I inform dealer who bought car from immediately after first tank (25 miles per gallon, pure freeway) - tech said to log a few thousand miles and then bring it in, he would do fuel consumption test.
-brought it in with all reciepts after 5 tankfuls, the tech let car sit all day in lot, did not do fuel consumption test, did not even appear to drive car. Nobody there when I picked it up, nobody called. Tech wasn't even on site that day - left for training. Just given keys, and reciept that says car had no error codes and spot readings on computer said I was getting 21 and 33, which I never did. Said mileage maybe would rise after I drove it more, after about a year.
-drove another 25 tankfuls, kept records. complained to customer service at toyota, referred to same dealership. Asked for a different tech. They referred me to the same one.
-Tech asks how I got mileage, I told him by odometer and reciepts, and he agreed to bring in a person from Toyota corporation to evaluate fuel economy; set up appointment ~month in advance.
-yesterday, dealer customer service representative calls up to "verify appointment" and when I wanted to "talk to representative". I explained I was dropping the car off to get it looked at (as well as rattles in dash fixed), not to talk to someone. I asked representative to verify with Toyota corporation person that this was for evaluation, not just talking to me.
-representative calls back, assures me that they were going to look at the car and analyze it. The words were "we had a 3-way conversation with the tech and corporate person, and we will look at your car".
-today, after no further conversation at all with anyone (dealer, tech, or toyota corporation) - tech (not customer service representative) calls and leaves message he is canceling my appointment because I had "some pretty strong words", and my business was "not welcome". I wonder what words those were, since I hadn't spoken to anyone at all, since getting the promise yesterday from the customer service representative that they were going to look at it.
-called toyota corporation, they just made me start over with a new dealer, and a new customer service representative. Toyota Corporation said that dealers are independent and they are not required to even determine if there is a warrantee issue (they are required to fix warrantee issues, but if they refuse to look then there is no warrantee issue, in their opinion).
I'll keep you all posted when, and if, anyone does anything. :mad:
I assume from the EPA ratings that this is a 4 cylinder. That does seem low as I get better city mileage on my 3.3L V6 and about that same highway mileage. In the end, I think what Toyota will tell you is the EPA ratings are only approximations and only useful for comparing one car to another. Individual driving habits will cause lots of variation.
Good luck.
My '04 Camry 4-cylinder in real life about equaled the city EPA ratings: 23 mpg, but I could do much better on the highway: 35-38 mpg, driving at the 65 mph speed limit common in our area. But my '05 Camry 4-cylinder, with the new 5-speed automatic (rated 24/34), gets worse mileage for me: 21 city and about 31 highway, at least so far. Go figure!
One thing I need to do is take the '05 on an identical trip as the '04, to NYC and back from central VA where I live, for example, to see my son. The route is relatively flat and the speed limit is mostly 65 mph, so I can do a direct comparison (as long as there are no horrendous traffic back-ups).
How many miles did you run on your 05 (just curious it did not break-in yet)? What trims do you have for 04 and 05? Even if you cannot directly compare the highway mileage, I think you can tell me city mileage if you drove both vehicles in the same city area.
Interesting. My '05 SE-V6 runs 2400 at 70 which is why I think I'm only getting about 26 mpg on the freeway. My Intrigue with a 3.5L engine ran exactly 2000 at 70 and I got 29-30. It's odd that they'd gear the larger engine lower.
Wow, are those averages? (seem awefully high).
Did you keep continuous odomotor/fillups on that 04 or are you guestimating? did you get 35-38 on any consecutive tankfuls? was that 23 pure city or mixed?
Thx,
PhD86
The '04 was an LE 4-cylinder, and the '05 is an XLE 4-cylinder. They are similar in that both have side airbags and the '04 had a sunroof, but not the '05. As noted before, the '04 had the 4-speed auto, while the '05 uses 5-speed auto. Horsepower is up very slightly on the '05. I think the weight of the '05 is within 100 pounds of the '04. The '04 had rear drum brakes and 15-inch wheels, the '05 has 4-wheel disks and 16-inch wheels.
The '04 had 19K miles when I gave it to my son, while the '05 has 5400 miles now. Break-in procedure for the 2 cars was quite a bit different: The '04 started out at 11 miles and accumulated its first 1000 miles very slowly (about 2 months), with no long trips.
The '05 when purchased had 236 miles and accumulated about 400 more miles around home in 2 weeks; then we took it on a long trip. We used 2-lane roads and non-interstate 4-lanes on the trip so we could greatly vary the speed, and took it through the mountains of West Virginia. (Returning home, we used the interstates, since the miles were over 1000 by then.)
The '04 got 35 mpg right away (our first long trip just after 1000 miles). The '05 has never done as well, ignoring one top-up of under 5 gallons. City driving for us includes short trips into the small town near us (about 10 miles max one way) plus driving out into the countryside on 2 laners or non-interstate 4-lane highways (typically about 20 miles one way, on weekends only). Our town has some congestion, but nothing compared to large cities.
I record mileage and gallons to fill at each tankful, so the mpg values are not estimates. Because of the relatively large fuel tank (18.5 gallons) and the resulting long range, I've never gone more than two consecutive tankfuls on our long trips (about 700 miles round trip) on the '04. And yes, I did achieve 35 mpg on consecutive fills in the '04. We also did one round trip to Philly without filling the tank at all until we were back home, 544 miles total, 15 gallons to refill, 36+ mpg.
The '05 on the other hand, has never gone over 31 mpg when the tank has been filled with more than 10 or so gallons on trips. In town, we've gotten as low as 20.5 mpg, after filling with 9.8 gallons. I'm at a loss to explain the difference, but as I said, I really need to make a trip to NYC to directly compare it with the '04
I am considering to bring a PZEV vehicle from CA to IL. I don't think I will have any problem to drive this vehicle in Chicago. But, I just want to figure it out the possible cons/pros to bring the vehicle from CA.
Also, just off topic, though, have anyone use freight trailer to move the vehicle. If I order one in CA, I have to use a trailer to ship the vehicle to here. I don't know how fast (& how safe) I can do without any hassle/damage.
Does anyone besides me see the innate logic inconsistency in this Orwellian double-speak terminology? While the effort to clean up California's air (especially in the southland) with ever more stringent reductions in fuel and exhaust emmissions is laudible, only in California's Sacramento looney bin (aka, the State House) could the morons who govern this state come up with the concept of "partially zero" anything. On second thought, I guess it ranks no worse than the notions of "almost certainly" and Reno, NV describing itself as "the biggest little city in the world". (At what point will Reno graduate to "the littlest big city in the world" status?)
RANT MODE: OFF
I'd just about kill to get your worst mileage in the city. Mine just pulled 19.5 mpg on at least 25% freeway (and I mean interstate non-stop), with the rest in moderate traffic (mostly 40 mph and no lights, but some stops).
My last near pure freeway run (including continuous 350 miles from sacramento to redding and back), yielded 26 mpg. That is based on nearly running the tank dry (it took 18.2 gallons) from absolutely full to the top and very few stops. It ranged something like 470 miles. One recent tank took 18.2 gallons and ranged only 350 miles.
I'll run a separate post on my latest experience with Toyota about this.
This is based on miles driven and gas purchased; every receipt kept and odometer distance recorded in 37 tankfuls (15,000 miles) and keeping track of freeway driving trip distances as well. I have never, ever got consecutive tankfuls of 30 mpg (or for that matter, 29 or 28 mpg either). Two outliers - tankfuls of 30 and 33 mpg out of 37- had much lower mpg's in the next fillup, suggesting it was an incomplete refueling and atypical.
There are not different EPA ratings for PZEV's, or even a category for PZEV so whether there is an effect is a mystery. There is a note in the Toyota literature description that PZEV equipment results in a slight reduction in horsepower, but it doesn't look slight to me (its about 10).
There do appear to be some outliers, like delray210, from PA area, that make me suspect that PZEV has an effect.
My other theory, since I own both in the camry (but different years) is that a stickshift gets much better mileage than an equivalent automatic. Like 7 miles per gallon.
I probably will keep my car till mid 2006 when the 2007 come out. Gas should be up to about 8 bucks per gallon, and maybe they'll go back to smaller engines and build more stickshifts.
Ouch, that sucks. I get 26+ highway on my 3.3L SE and 18-20 around town. I averaged 23.2 for the first 4400 miles ( I saved every receipt) which I estimate was about 40% highway miles.
Have you checked the fluid level in your automatic transmission lately? I realize it's probably a longshot, but it only takes a few moments. Your owner's manual details the procedure. If it turns out your tranny needs topping up, only use the owner's manual designated Toyota ATF.
Then, I consider a special order, even if I heard a lot of bad experiences about it. So, I just want to hear if anyone have a vehicle ordered. Is there anyone who succeded in getting the vehicle right on time (6-8 weeks, estimated)?
Some other questions:
1. how to order a vehicle? The easiest way is to change the options of an uncoming vehicle allocated to a dealers. But, I was told from a dealer that GY is not changeable option. I don't know if this is true or not. Anyway, only after Toyota approve that change of the options, my vehicle can proceed to be built. On the other hand, another dealer told me that, since GY cannot be added to this region's vehicle order, a dealer has to insert (or put) my vehicle order into another reason dealer's order in which GY option is normally provided. They told me that would be the only option I can get the vehicle wihtou delay. Any thoughts/comments?
2. When I sign a initial contract (we already agreed the price except facotry rebate which will depend on the time of actual purchaes), do we have to specify the price? Someone advised me that I should include "a delivery date under penalty." I don't know what this exactly means. But, I guess set a deadline date and, if the vehicle is not available by then, I would not have no obligation to purchase. But, on the other hand, my initial deposit ($500) is refundable. I don't know if there is any restriction on the cancellation of this vehicle order. For example, in addition to delay mentioned above, if the vehicle is obviously different from the others (like engine noise, rattling, or else..), still do I have to purchase that vehicle? Or, it is just matter of how to include terms in the contract?
I really appreciate your valuable advice and help. Thanks.