corolla vs camry?- please help me pick

jegriff

Hi, I am an idiot about cars and have been trying to put off having to deal with car buying forever. I am still driving an ancient 2000 camry and am quite happy with it, but it is time to shop for a new car because one of our family's cars has been totaled (not the camry). I know this is probably the worst time for buying car used or new. I am looking at the toyota brand because that is all that I know.
My budget is about $30,000. I am not sure if it makes sense at this moment pricewise to buy used cars. I will probably drive about 60 miles a day primarily on highways. I am looking for something that is relatively "inexpensive" to maintain off warranty (like my current ride-easy to find cheap parts). I hope I can use the car for at least 10 years without major issues.
Right now I am considering corolla vs camry. My primary concern (that I know of, anyways) is the transmission. Corolla has CVT, newer camry has 8 speed and I heard there are issues with both, though I don't know if it affects the durability or just the driving experience. Couple years ago I heard nissan has major issues with their CVTs so I stay away from that brand (my old sentra is the one that got damaged).
I know it's always frustrating to explain to a noob so I do thank in advance of anyone who is willing to bear with me!

henryn

You're right about this being a really bad time to buy a car. If you can afford new, and if you can find a new one at MSRP (with no extra added dealer charges), then that would be the way to go. That does seem to be possible here in my part of the world (Houston, TX), but not in some other areas.

As to Corolla vs Camry, I would take the Camry over the Corolla every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But that's me, drive both if you can and then choose.

oldfarmer50

I wouldn’t buy used at this time because prices are crazy. You probably won’t get much off sticker on a new one.

As to Camry vs Corolla I guess it depends. The Corolla has grown since 2000 and is probably close in size to your Camry. The Camry is a much better car IMO and you could get a pretty well equipped one for $30k.

I wouldn’t worry about Toyota’s CVT. It’s made by a Toyota subsidiary Asian, a different company than the one that makes Nissan transmissions.

I would go to Toyota’s “build and price” site and plug in the options you want and see what the price will be.

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

I wouldn’t buy used at this time because prices are crazy. You probably won’t get much off sticker on a new one.

As to Camry vs Corolla I guess it depends. The Corolla has grown since 2000 and is probably close in size to your Camry. The Camry is a much better car IMO and you could get a pretty well equipped one for $30k.

I wouldn’t worry about Toyota’s CVT. It’s made by a Toyota subsidiary Asian, a different company than the one that makes Nissan transmissions.

I would go to Toyota’s “build and price” site and plug in the options you want and see what the price will be.

Aisin

jegriff

thank

jegriff

thank you so much for all of your help. Can anyone elaborate a little bit about the corolla- what is the con vs the camry? I mean if CVT is not an issue, (and maintenance wise it will be about the same?)- I certainly would want to consider the cheaper option and save some money for rainier days. I am coming from a very old camry so I guess I can deal with lesser driving experience. Thank you so much again!

benjaminh

The Camry has a better engine, transmission, and suspension than the Corolla—and plus the Camry has more room inside. But the Corolla is a great car for the money, and should have that legendary Toyota reliability. Given that you are coming from a 2000 Camry (congrats btw on keeping it that long), my guess is that you'll be happy with the new Corolla. For the same money as the Corolla, however, you could also get a Hyundai Sonata (which is Camry-sized) with a 10 years 100k warranty.

If you have a Costco Membership Costco has a car-buying service that might help you save money in this crazy time.

Michaell

jegriff said:

thank you so much for all of your help. Can anyone elaborate a little bit about the corolla- what is the con vs the camry? I mean if CVT is not an issue, (and maintenance wise it will be about the same?)- I certainly would want to consider the cheaper option and save some money for rainier days. I am coming from a very old camry so I guess I can deal with lesser driving experience. Thank you so much again!

1. Size - the Corolla may be as large as your current Camry, but the Camry is a size bigger, meaning more comfort, without a big penalty in fuel economy
2. The Corolla will be less expensive to acquire, but if you keep your cars for a long time, then I don't think that becomes a big issue

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I wouldn’t buy used at this time because prices are crazy. You probably won’t get much off sticker on a new one.

As to Camry vs Corolla I guess it depends. The Corolla has grown since 2000 and is probably close in size to your Camry. The Camry is a much better car IMO and you could get a pretty well equipped one for $30k.

I wouldn’t worry about Toyota’s CVT. It’s made by a Toyota subsidiary Asian, a different company than the one that makes Nissan transmissions.

I would go to Toyota’s “build and price” site and plug in the options you want and see what the price will be.

Aisin

Darn auto spell checker.

oldfarmer50

jegriff said:

thank you so much for all of your help. Can anyone elaborate a little bit about the corolla- what is the con vs the camry? I mean if CVT is not an issue, (and maintenance wise it will be about the same?)- I certainly would want to consider the cheaper option and save some money for rainier days. I am coming from a very old camry so I guess I can deal with lesser driving experience. Thank you so much again!

Corollas I’ve drive seem to be cheaply built, at least as far as the interiors. Small, more cramped and the ride isn’t as comfortable. On the other hand you could probably get a more upscale trim level on a Corolla than a Camry. You’ll have a hard time getting higher than a LE trim on a Camry for your $30k.

benjaminh

You might also consider the new 2022 Civic. The LX has an msrp of c. $22k, while the full loaded Touring below is c. $29k. In-between are the Sport (24k) and the EX (26k). They are now on dealer lots across the country and go on sale today, I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qP1Fi8FZYs&t=1s