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Comments
~alpha
PS-I think if you get a set of decent Pirellis or Michelins, you can have fun with ANY car, even a vanilla Camry or Accord.... when you push them to the limits.
~alpha
I was just wondering.
I also agree with you about the 4 cylinder engine being a strong engine with plenty of power.
~alpha
First I tried sheepskin seatcovers; they helped a little but the seat was still much too hard and strangely shaped. Indeed, it felt like a metal bar was strung across the back where the seam in the fabric is located.
After a few weeks of increasing pain, I took the car to an auto upholsterer. I now learned that it felt like there was a metal bar in the seatback because there was a metal bar in the seatback! I had it removed, which naturally involved the removal of the hog rings which attached the fabric to the bar. That was an immediate improvement. There were two more metal wires down each side of the seatback, with more hog rings; I had all of them removed. Then I had small pieces of foam removed from the side bolsters where they compressed my shoulder blades. (To be complete, I should note that all of the above was not accomplished at one time or at one upholsterer, but that's what was done.)
I then noticed that the fabric was much too tight, like a drum; that was fixed by first sewing in inch-wide strips along the side seams and then spray-gluing the fabric onto the foam.
That's where my seat stands now: it is the right shape and, as it is a power seat, it can be put in the right position. But it's still much too hard. An earlier upholsterer tried to add more standard foam to the seat but that made it much, much worse. I am going to try to get or make cushions using what I believe is called memory foam - like Tempura-pedic mattress foam. I hope that will at last fix the seat, but isn't it amazing that Toyota can make such a fine car with such a lousy seat? If anyone has any suggestions for softening the seat without changing its shape or position, please let me know.
Without looking at a book, I'm guessing your car is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $12000 or maybe a bit less. This means that you are roughly $6400 upside down. There isn't a good way to deal with that. Even if you found a car for $5000, you would be financing $11400 plus your taxes. Most banks will not fund deals like that. The banks that might are called secondary lenders and the interest rate is confiscatory.
Now, you can get yourself out of this, but it will take cash. But if you had cash, you wouldn't be asking this question would you? I hate to say this, but you're stuck. Five year leases are the worst thing banks ever came up with. I hate them because in 8 years of being in this business, I have only seem one person who kept it until the end and was happy. Everybody else realized what a trap it really is and regretted their decision. I will only put somebody in a 5 year lease if they really insist after I explain the pitfalls.
I am a fan of leasing. I realize that this is not the right topic for a full discussion on leasing, but it actually makes more sense than most people realize. Five year leases don't convey any of the real lease benefits though.
There is only one reason to lease for 5 years and that is for the customer that is already upside down and absolutely must get out of it. The five year term prevents the payments from creeping too high for that customer if they don't have a big down payment. It buries them deeper in the new car, but it will get them out of the previous one.
If it's going to be next year Camry, it might be worthwile to wait.
~alpha
Good Luck!
~alpha
idle and on an incline. It will occur every 5 miles sometimes. The dealer service dept has no clue, says everything is A OK (naturally). Also brakes squeak (non ABS). Anybody having these problems with their 2002 Camry?
~alpha
I called the dealer(50 miles away, but still the closest) and asked if this would hurt my car and if they had T-IV fluid. The parts man didn't know anything about T-IV fluid and transferred me to the service department, and he also didn't know anything about T-IV fluid, but said he didn't think a 1/2 quart would hurt my car. He did say to play it safe I might change the fluid at 15,000 miles. I told them to check on it for me to be sure. In the mean time I called Toyota customer service to ask if this would hurt my car. The lady I talked to didn't know anything and said Toyota didn't answer that type question. I later called the dealer owner and he said he would check on it. He had his customer service man call me, and after he investigated (his language) he said they poured the T-IV out of big jugs(I checked and it comes in 4 liter containers which is a little over a gallon) into the Shell quart containers. He also said the service man I talked to was an assistant who had not been briefed on the T-IV. So they aren't going to admit that they they put the wrong AFT in my car. So if anyone on this board knows what effect if any this will have on my car or how to ask someone at Toyota, please let me know. I was told that Toyotas have a drain plug for the AFT, but this will only drain out about half the fluid. Is this correct? Thanks for any help.
In CA, the RFG formula that is mandatory here has pretty much eliminated the sulfur dioxide smell ['rotten eggs']. The problem is common in Canada, and some of your fuel may be sourced north of the border. In any case, try a different brand...
THere's no PCV valve on the 97-91 Camry 4 cylinder engine.
If you haven't done it yet, change the water pump at the next timing belt change.
stans40: Dexron IV supercedes DexronIII, but it shouldn't affect the performance of the transmission, nor its reliability. BUt if you want to, at 15,000 miles drop the pan and do a complete ATF change.
kirstie_h
Roving Host
Edmunds.com
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
Can anyone answer an insurance question in the following
scenario?
1. A car is damaged by hail.
2. After getting the insurance check the owner doesn't get
the car repaired.
3. 2 years later there's an accident in which apart from
other repairs, body work is also needed (e.g. hood and
fender need to be replaced).
4. Will the insurance company raise any objections about
paying up? What kind of objections or exclusions could
they come up with?
Thanks!
selling price: $24,385
2002 Camry XLE 4 Cyl, 4AT,
Options included:
Heated Seats,
VIP Security With Glass Breakage Sensor,
Package #8 (Leather Pkg., Dual Power Seat Adjusters, JBL AM/FM Stereo w/CD & Cassette, 6-Disc Compact Disc Changer, Aluminum Wheels & Power Glass Moon Roof. )
As per kirstie_h's $85.00 fancy-schmancy equipment hookup, that is what one dealer wants to do first before checking it.
Another dealer says it could have been the fuel cap but the engine light could stay in memory and they need to reset it. Is this normal???