Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

1violinist · April 2003

canoe2:

$1300 CAN. for these four options is a bargain! What is the total price of the car?

canoe2 · April 2003

1violinist,

The MSRP is $32000 CAN (~ $21800 US)with all options except VSC/TRAC/ABS brake assist/side airbags/interated garage door opener/Electrochromic mirror

xon · April 2003

I too have difficulty closing the trunk. You have too slam it, otherwise it will not catch and close. It has been doing that since brand new. My front driver's seat also wobbles when braking. I brought this up to the dealer, and they didn't believe me, as usual. I wasn't sure if anyone else had the same problems.

dcmike · April 2003

Trust me, you are not alone. It's really embarassing, especially living in DC. Because of the constant terror alert threat that we have, you often have to open your trunk to have it inspected before going into hotels, restaurants, military bases and the like. Imagine trying to close your trunk again and again with military rifles lurking in the background!

rutger3 · April 2003

Does anyone have an idea on what it should cost for the 120,000 mile service on a 1999 LE 4 cyl? My dealer quoted me $450 which seems high to me.

dougb10 · April 2003

See my post #5451.

Does closing the trunk this way make any difference?

If not, the dealer may have to adjust a latch.

camrythree · April 2003

I have a 2000 LE and a 2002 XLE. The 2000's trunk can be closed on the first try by pushing down anywhere on the trunk lid. On the 2002XLE, unless I push down from the front center of the lid, it won't shut even with a slam. dougb10 (#5451) has the right answer. Push down from the front center of the lid and it should close on the first try every time.

cliffy1 · April 2003

It should be about the same as a 60K and that price sounds about right, if not a bit low.

jtbruin · April 2003

I have an '03 LE and i find the keyless entry somewhat annoying.. It is fine that it locks when i shift, but when i stop the engine, all of the doors remain locked. I often put my bag in the backseat and i always have to unlock it manually. How come it doesnt unlock automatically??? is it supposed to, or is mine just annoying?

onlyimports · April 2003

You can actually disable the autolock features as stated in the owners manual. It can be programmed into 4 different ways or totally disabled. I don't have the manual with me right now so I can't tell you which page. I find it a nuisance too so I disables mine. Hope this info helps.

autonuts · April 2003

I need some advice on a problem that I've written about in Town Hall before but just a little different situation, now. I want to know from any financially knowledgeable readers out there about the best financial move. I have a 2000 Camary CE that I'm leasing for 5 years - big mistake! The lease will be up in Aug., 2005. I would like to get out of the lease and I know that I'll bight a big piece of the difference in the amount I owe and it's worth. What I'm considering is trading it in with the purchase of a new '04 Sienna and pay the difference with them. They are giving me $10,900.00 for the Camary and paying sticker for the Sienna - they won't budge. If I get out of the lease now, I'll save $8,680.00 - the remainder of payments for the 28 months left on the lease. I have $5,500.00 dollars that I can pay the difference that I owe on the Camary when I trade it in. Or, I can keep the Camary and pay on a $6,600.00 loan that has an interest rate of 7.8%. I would then try to pay the loan in full on a monthly basis. If I keep the Camary along with the purchase of the Sienna, and pay off the loan, I'm talking only an amount of about $46.00 more a month than what's going out per month now with my bills. By the way, if I do go with trading the Camary, I would purchase a car in the neighborhood of $1,500. just to get me back and forth to work. Also, the payment on my Camary is $310.00/month and my loan payment is $280.00/month. Please give me your opinions, advice, etc!! Thanks and sorry for the long message.

cliffy1 · April 2003

My head is spinning. Let me make sure I have this right:

1. You are going to buy a Sienna.
2. You are three years into a 5 year lease and are not in danger of killing the miles on it.
3. You have the ability to make the payments on both the Sienna and the Camry if you had to.
4. If you keep both the Camry and the Sienna, you will use your cash to pay off a $6600 loan which is costing you 7.8% (this is not an auto loan).
5. If you trade the Camry, you will still be paying on the $6600 loan and you will come out of pocket with an additional $1200 to buy a "hooptie".

Do I have it right? If so, I'd keep the Camry and pay off the other loan you have. Yes, you're going to be out of pocket $310 every month on a car you will not own in a couple of years, but you will not be paying to maintain a $1200 car. I have yet to meet a $1200 car that didn't cost $1000 a year worth of repairs.

You already have discovered one of the many reasons I hate 5 year leases. I wont beat you up on that. Just don't do it again.

badgerfan · April 2003

My head is spinning also.

Let me get this straight. You have a 5 year lease on a Camry that you are paying $310 a month on( $8680/28months=$310)? Five years=60months x $310/month is $18,600 and you will have nothing left after the lease. I hope you didn't also have any upfront payment for this Camry! A lot of money is going out of your hands for 5 years of transportation.

Why do you need an '04 Sienna, just to put yourself into even more debt on another depreciating asset?

I would not buy a beater for $1500, it is likely to be a money pit for repairs.

Pay off your other oustanding loans first. At 7.8% interest, you should get rid of that debt ASAP. If you also have credit card debt, pay that off as well as interest rates on credit card debt is enormous.

Sounds like you need to concentrate on getting your current financial house in order before even thinking about another new vehicle. If you must have a minivan soon, look into a 2-3 year old van to save some of that initial depreciation. An '04 Sienna is going to be one expensive vehicle, not discounted until inventories rise and demand falls for a new model.

1violinist · April 2003

Why don't you negotiate a good deal and BUY the Camry you're currently leasing and save yourself some money? At least in the end you'll have a vehicle!

cliffy1 · April 2003

That can't be done. You can't negotiate lease buy-outs with Toyota.

pat · April 2003

autonuts - in addition to the assistance you are getting here, you might want to check out our Finance, Warranty & Insurance board. One very popular discussion there is Lease Questions - Ask Here.

Good luck - keep us posted.

filod · April 2003

I have $5,500.00 dollars that I can pay the difference that I owe on the Camry when I trade it in

Can you clarify?

They are giving you $10,900 for the Camry
You have 28 months remaining or $8,680

Then why do you need $5,500 to pay for the Camry?

I will try to make a comparison just for the financial side, although I agree with the previous posts that if you can pay your credit card first.

Buying a Sienna, it looks like you are really planning to buy a second vehicle and you can afford the monthly?

Or maybe my head is also spinning I did not get the total picture..

autonuts · April 2003

a little further. I know trying to explain one's financial situation is never easy but I'll try to make mine more clear. My family really "wants" a minivan. We have 2 young children. I'd say "needs" but then someone would say "You don't need anything" or something like that. Anyway, we had a full size van which we didn't like for a number of reasons which I will not get into. We cleared $5,500 on it. Since we are trying to watch our money, I don't really "need" two new vehicles. Since we "want" a minivan, we were tossing around the idea to trade the Camary in, on the new Sienna, through the Toyota dealership which is giving us $10,900 and we're making up the difference owed on it with the $5,500. We owe $15,800 on the Camary. This would get us out of a very bad lease situation because if we do hang on to the Camary, the residual is $8555.00, so it would seem forever that we would be paying on this car, if we kept it. I know that you can negotiate with the residual at the end of the lease but I don't think the Bank (we don't have any other connection with this Bank) will come down that much. By the way, this is not leased through Toyota and when we did lease the car, our out of pocket expense was $500. The loan that I'm referring to pay off is through my credit union and they take out $280/month, which if I figure correctly, will be paid off in about 23 months. This loan works like a line of credit. So, if I'm correct I would be out of this payment in less time than I would be this lease. As for the $1500 car I'm not so sure it is a bad idea because there are a lot of "good" vehicles just for cheap transportation to get me back and forth IMHO. Let me know what all of you think with the added information. Thanks.

cliffy1 · April 2003

I still think I'd keep the Camry and pay off the 7.8% loan. OTOH, the $10800 is pretty decent money for that car. I just had a customer with a 2000 CE and only 20K and absolutely immaculate that was only worth $9500. The used car market is just soft.

nippononly · April 2003

'03 Siennas gone already? There are plenty left where I am, and they are being discounted heavily now. You could get what was a very good minivan for a lot less than what the '04 is going to cost you. There were also Toyota incentives on '03 vans recently - are they all gone now?

matt00 · April 2003

Just purchased a 4cy LE and love everything about the car, ride, build quality, and service. However, I noticed 2 things on the way home. 1)poor radio reception 2) took a little long for my heater to warm the up car. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to improve the reception?
Thanks,

alpha01 · April 2003

I have noticed neither of those issues on our 02 LE 4. (Then again, I play a lot CDs- burned and store bought alike) But congrats on your new purchase!! I'm sure you will enjoy it!

~alpha

jtbruin · April 2003

thanks for the info onlyimports. i just changed it.

vs4 · April 2003

Any information if Toyota will make the instrument cluster of Camry in 2004 as Honda Accord's (LED type)?

Any changes coming for 2004 Toyota camry?

Thanks.

drmp · April 2003

Please post your experience about this new engine. How's the throttle response? Any hesitations similar to that of es300? Does the engine feels stronger compared to the older v6 at low speed and high speed accelerations? Thanks.

lapnorm1 · April 2003

Would owning a manual SE hurt the resale value? The reason I ask is that most Camrys made are automatic.

badgerfan · April 2003

I think you will have to make the decision on what to do on your own. Only you know, or should know your financial situation and what you can afford to do vs what you "want" to do.

However, no matter what, be aware that you will be paying top dollar right now for an 04 Sienna as it is a brand new model, likely in short supply, so dealers are not going to negotiate much.

Think the whole thing through thoroughly so you don't make a big mistake and get yourself into a financial bind.

1violinist · April 2003

Probably yes, because there isn't much demand of stick-shift used Camries in the US market. Whenever I browse the ads for used Camries and find one at a low price it's almost always a stick shift! The only cars with manual transmission that hold their resale value are sports performance cars.

Tony

autonuts · April 2003

Thanks for your honest inputs. I've made the decision to go ahead and get out of the lease and trade it in on a '04 Sienna. This van will be bought out-right - no more leasing for Me! I'm getting $10,900 and will make up the difference with the available $5,500. I just really want out of the whole leasing situation. We were given a price of $24,900 for an LE. I don't think that is too bad. That's for everything and tax included. Thanks again! This is a nice source for information from a lotta good people!

dudleyr · April 2003

Speaking as someone who may purchase a used Camry (or Accord), and also as someone who would never buy a car with an automatic - you may get fewer bites when you are trying to sell the car with a stick, but the people who do look are more likely to buy since they know they do not have many choices for a used Camry with a stick. I would probably jump on whatever I could find with a stick, however if I was looking at an automatic I would probably be pickier about things like color and options.

nippononly · April 2003

is exactly right: you may wait longer for a buyer, but you won't have 20 bozos coming and going, wasting your time. It is highly likely the first one will buy your car, since the manuals are rare. (especially Camry)

vs4 · April 2003

Anybody knows of any changes for 2004 Camry?

rutger3 · April 2003

What exactly do I get for my $450 on the 120k service for my 99 LE? Would it be better to pay ala carte for a tune-up, air filter,oil change,tire rotation, and coolant change? The service advisor told me it would take about 2 hours. Figuring $140 for the labor that leaves $310 for parts, seems high to me. Any thoughts?

jbollt · April 2003

Hi all. Looking at 2003 4 cly. Camrys and Accords. We prefer the Camry's quiet and smoother/refined ride and seats (The Accord's seats seem really hard to our aging rears!), but also prefer a touch firmer suspension then the Camry LE. The SE seems to offer that, but the two dealers in my town don't have any to test drive. One dealer says the SE susp is the same as Solara. I have owned a 2000 Solara V6, and really liked the ride and handling of that, but couldn't deal with only 2 doors. Can anyone with an SE compare the suspensions of the 3 cars for me...Camry LE, Camry SE and Solara?

Thanks!

canoe2 · April 2003

Just checked and drove SE V6 VTTi few days ago:

- Under the hood, a beautiful engine with plastic cover which was much better the old 2002/2003 engine
- The engine was so quiet at idle speed but there was strange click, click noise (I would not hear it until I lifted up the hood). When started the engine, it was so smooth and quieter compared to old V6 engine.
- The acceleration was quick but I did not have the reference to compare to the V6 4sp (could not complain about it)
- The handling and ride were OK, was little stiff for SE the suspension on rough road. I will try the LE V6 with normal suspension tomorrow.

edmund2460 · April 2003

In configuring an XLEV6 to an Accord V6EXL, I see I have to add about 4 packages to get the same features as the Accord.I add the premium package, VSC+air bags and heated seats to the XLEV6. Can anyone out there tell me if I could buy this car close to the price of the Accord V6EXL. Or what sort of markup from invoice can I expect to pay for the XLEV6 Cam. I'm in Charlotte NC. Thanks

vs4 · April 2003

Anyone have any knowledge of any changes to the 2004 Camry, whether it be interior, exterior, tires, rims, guages, etc...?

somakandan · April 2003

Lately I have started to notice a slight stiffness in the power steering of my 92 camry.

The pwr steering fluid level is within range, though.
Do you think a power steering flush and fill might help?

Also I don't hear any noise while making a turn, though.

Any ideas?

edmund2460 · April 2003

Would 24,600 + ttl be an achievable price for the xlev6 with premium package and VSC/side/curtains pkg? I'm discounting the toyo protection group and the mats. ??

alpha01 · April 2003

Check out carsdirect.com. This site typically gives a very good representation of sale price in your area.
~alpha

maxhonda99 · April 2003

ANyone know if the 2004 Camry is getting the 3.3L V-6 engine that is now in the Sienna, RX330?

filod · April 2003

I hope they do on the 2004 models that will come out fall...

talon95 · April 2003

With Toyota just having phased in the new VVT-i V6 into the Camry, I wouldn't hold my breath about the 3.3L V6 making it to the Camry anytime soon.

jbollt · April 2003

Interesting... I just shopped this weekend for Camrys, and found that Toyota has quietly made a mid year change to the auto-Transmissions on the Camry V6. It is now a 5 speed automatic. This would seem to imply that they are trying to keep the playing field even with the Accord...perhaps using the 3.3 isn't so far away?

vs4 · April 2003

I do not think they will use 3.3 soon in the camry because they will be using 3.3 in 2004 Lexus ES.

alpha01 · April 2003

It is my understanding that the 3.3L V6 will not make it into this generation of Camry, certainly not before the mid-cycle freshening expected Fall 04 for Model year 2005.

For models on sale beginning in late January, Toyota made a running change, and the Camry V6 was upgraded to the VVTi unit (producing 210hp and 220lb ft.) and the automatic became the 5sp unit.

~alpha

armtdm · April 2003

What exactly do I get for my $450 on the 120k service for my 99 LE? Would it be better to pay ala carte for a tune-up, air filter,oil change,tire rotation, and coolant change? The service advisor told me it would take about 2 hours. Figuring $140 for the labor that leaves $310 for parts, seems high to me. Any thoughts?

Well, if this is a V6 it is a major difference. timing belt alone is $200 if this is included, tranny fluid change also. Maybe even a water pump at 120k so if that is included then $450 is good. I paid about $200 in parts for the 120k on my 92 V6 plus a lot of labor for belts, water pump, fuel filter, platinum plugs, installation etc.
You need to provide more specifics on the actual services to be provided. Also suggest an independent mechanic quote.

coolguyky7 · April 2003

Toyota is currently planning the use of a 3.5L V6, which is likely to be used in the Avalon. Cliffy, can you confirm?

maxhonda99 · April 2003

I doubt the Camry gets a bigger 3.5L V6 engine when the ES330 will be getting the 3.3L V6 for 2004.

On another note, anyone seen any tests of the Camry with the new 3.0L VVti engine and 5-speed auto box? Basically looking for 0-60 times.

nippononly · April 2003

there is no way the timing belt replacement is included in that price. However one thing was mentioned that you left out - the auto trans fluid change. Some dealers just dump and refill (which only changes about half or a little more) while others routinely do a power flush, and charge more accordingly. You can find out which your dealer does if it makes a difference to you, but basically this service is a whole ton of inspections, and very little actually done unless there is a problem, so you are helping the dealership out with meeting their profit targets for the month. The items that are actually performed can be obtained a la carte for half the price. Remember this car uses platinum sparks that Toyota charges about $40 a set for retail (for a 4-cyl). They need to be changed at 120K. OTOH, at this car's mileage, the front end inspection that would be included might be a very good idea.

They are going to use the new 3.3L in the new RX and the new ES, not to mention the next Highlander, so I think it is a safe assumption they will not be putting it in the Camry any time soon. Besides, they would not have gone to the trouble of putting in the VVT-i engine if they were going to go to a new engine in eight months. As far as the 5-spd auto, doesn't Honda have a 5-spd in all Accords? So Camry is still behind in that game, since it only has it in the 6-cyl cars.

Toyota Camry 2006 and earlier

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