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Comments
All the other cars have the old-style suspensions with the grease gun fittings, that need to be lubed regularly. I always hated doing that, so simply because of that, I usually take the old cars in to get an oil change.
A few weeks ago, one of the taillight bulbs on my buddy's 2006 Xterra needed to be replaced. It's actually not TOO hard...just take out two long screws and then pop the assembly out at just the right angle. However, it does look like it would be very easy to break it, if you tried to pull it out the wrong way.
I think my uncle changes his own oil on his 2003 Corolla, so I guess it can't be that hard.
Dealers do not work for Toyota.
oil/filters every 5000 mi
air filter ( cabin air filter? ) every 30,000 mi
plugs at 100,000 to 120,000 miles
alignments, rotations, brakes and tires as needed.
On my 2005 Prius with 120,000 miles as of today the total expense outside of 'rubber-related' service is $600.
Even back in the late 1970's, it seemed manufacturers were pushing for longer service intervals. I have a sales brochure for a 1979 Malibu and a 1979 Nova, and one of the selling points on the Malibu was a 100K mile interval on the transmission! The Nova called for 60K...the difference being that the Nova used the older THM350 transmission while the Malibu used the lightweight THM200 that was famous for early failure...and again, I wonder if it's partly because of those longer service intervals they were pushing?
What about the serpentine belts these days? My Intrepid calls for every 60,000 miles. I overlooked that part though, and it was more like 86,000 miles when I had them replaced. Have the intervals on those gone even longer in more recent years?
I guess the rubber they use in the hoses is better too, these days. I almost had to twist the mechanic's arm to get him to change my radiator hoses back around the 7.5 year mark. He kept insisting that they didn't need it, but I figured I'd rather pay a little extra for a bit of prevention, than have to foot the bill for a melted down 2.7.
Anyway, sure beats the hell out of the old days when they'd call for changing the belts/hoses/coolant every 3 years/36K miles...not to mention those tuneups every 12,000 miles. Although I did discover that a 1968 Dart actually can go about 40K miles on a set of points, and 50K or more on the same spark plugs.
We also have 3 others here who are planning to buy the new generation model, one is considering the HS250 if the availability and ADM don't deep six that one. :shades:
Serpentine belts should last well above 100K plus if not 200K. The new 2010 Prius has no belts at all. Electric motors replace the belt functions. The e-motors should last for the entire life of the vehicle.
All current vehicles have timing chains.
Although sometimes it's a real pain to do-it-yourself, at least I know the job is done right.
Except the last of the current 4Runners with the 4.7 V-8 and the Solara convertibles with the 3.3 V-6. ;-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Timing belt replacement? Pfffft.
My uncle's '03 Corolla lost its water pump back in the summer of 2007. I forget now how many miles it had on it, but I want to say around 150-155K. It cost $436.74 to have replaced. Not too hideous, in this day and age. Heck, my Intrepid cost more than that just to have a couple of buried sensors replaced, which caused the car to stall out at random, and occasionally refuse to start.
And the 4Runner V-8 is current until, what, October? It would be nice if Toyota would announce something official about it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
At one time, Toyota did have a bit of a "bridge" car in the Cressida, although it does pre-date Lexus. The Cressida did make sense back in the pre-Lexus days, but once Lexus came out, and the Camry grew and got more luxurious, the Cressida sort of got squeezed out. Kind of a shame, as it was RWD, which probably gave it some decent handling.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The Corolla serves the same purpose for the Camry on its rear flank.
The Cressida was the first Lexus, even though it was called a Toyota. It was the demand for this vehicle and others of its type that encouraged Toyota to develop the entire Lexus lineup. My opinion of course.
It's funny how things change...at one time, Toyota made interesting cars that could even be fun, and Honda was all about logic and sensibility. Now Honda appears more fun, and Toyota is for the most part painfully dull.
Great car, lousy paint job.
Been hoping to go hybrid route (got a Prius) but darn Toyota just doesn't want to bring a hybrid van into the US.
Worst scoring car was the Corvette, at 63...even the TR8 managed 66. Some scores are now questionable as the cars tested became known as problem children...Audi 4000 at 95 and Saab Turbo at 89 seem funny now.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Luckily, the economy as of yet gives us some choices.
The key difference is that there is much much more money to be made from the vanilla ice cream buyers. In the end this is the only metric that counts. It's the only metric because business is only about cold, heartless profits and cash.
As you say it's good that this is such a diverse market with diverse tastes and diverse options where there's room for all kinds of enthusiasts and huge numbers of appliance buyers.
Just make sure it's Breyer's or similar quality, with the little vanilla bean specs in it...and not that nasty vanilla "Ice milk" by Lucerne that my Grandmother used to buy in the 70's!
That's probably why Toyota does so well...they know how to do "vanilla". The domestics aren't so hot at it.
I guess if forced to choose between the three, my first choice would be a tossup between an Accord and Altima, with the Camry being a distant third. Not that I think the Camry is a bad car...it just does nothing for me. Whereas I guess the other two are more like "Cherry vanilla" versus "Plain vanillla" :P
My mother recently bought a nice used Camry, and it is as vanilla as can be - it is even white. The most exciting part about the car is the moonroof. But, it's a good Breyers vanilla I suppose. An Altima or Accord would be a nice vanilla bean flavor :P
They also had a Fusion AWD model and a V-6 Accord to compare. I liked the Fusion, but when I drove the Accord I was like DAMN...this is an ACCORD?! I know it's not a real performance car like a BMW or anything, but I was impressed!
This comparison test was sponsored by Ford, but I'm sad to note that of the three, I preferred the Accord, by a long shot. But, I did like the Fusion better than the Camry.
Don't they make a V-6 Sport model for the Camry? If so, maybe that would've been a better comparison?
I actually prefer the 2002-2006 style Camry to the current one. The current one looks slightly better from some angles, IMO, but the previous style makes much better use of interior space. The tapered, sculpted-off rump of the new Camry cost it about two cubic feet of trunk space.
A friend of mine's mother has a loaded 08 Accord that has everything but nav. It seems like a pretty posh car - my only complaint is that it seems just a little too big. But, it's a relatively sharp car for a mass market offering.
I think there might have been a Camry "SE" that was claimed to be a sportier model? I don't know if it still exists.
My mother bought an almost unmarked 40K mile 2003 LE - it is a 4cyl, but it is relatively well optioned, with CD changer and moonroof. I visited her a couple weeks ago and drove it...it is very solid, and quite smooth for a 4-banger...but there doesn't seem to be much room for fun. But, it has a huge trunk, gets good mileage, and is easy to live with - for a driver in her 60s who doesn't want to spend new car money or spend a fortune in repairs, it's a good choice.
IMO the current Camry IMO has the best styling of all the models. I owned 4 Camry's prior to the Prius. The one style that I didn't like was the 02-06 although it did have more room in the trunk. Now that was a very vanilla iteration IMO.
The Gen6 model is more striking, both positively and negatively.
I'll admit, there are some things I like about it. For instance, the headlights are smaller and give the car a slightly more aggressive look, compared to that bug-eyed/deer-in-the-headlights/Japanese-anime look that's been all the rage with oversized headlights. And the SE model isn't too bad looking. I like the chicken-wire grille better than the horizontal slats of the other models.
My favorite Camry, for some reason, has always been the 1987-91 style. Probably about as mundane and white-bread as it gets, but I always thought it had a pleasant, well-proportioned look about it. I remember one rag at the time called it a Rambler for the 1980's, but I liked it.