Which Camry should I aim for?

J

jaredking733

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Since most other car enthusiasts sites are vastly inferior to T4R.org, it's difficult to research the ins and outs of other vehicles.

If I was going to buy a Camry, which year is best?

For example, the 3rd gen runner is proven to be largely reliable, and the 3.4L is proven to have a long life expectancy assuming it's maintained properly.

So, if one were going to purchase a Camry, which one is the most ideal one to purchase and why? Best year range, best trim, best motor, manual or automatic, etc.

I love all things Toyota, but really am most familiar with the 4runner and I'm looking to expand my horizons.

Thanks all!
 
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I have a 2001 Camry LE that has the good 3.0 (not the shitty one in the early runners had). I have leather, sunroof, power driver seat, auto lights, alloy wheels, premium jbl audio from 2001 and the best part a manual trans. I have almost 218k miles on it and I am the second owner. I bought it from my aunt who did well keeping it up. I love it and I get almost 27 mpg on the highway just about 425 miles per tank. I love the way the car looks. In 2001 they changed the rear end from the 96-2000 models a little bit (made the taillights larger). Other than that I love the way it drives and handles, it is comfy and has plenty of room in it.

Now I would not own 6th gen. They are ugly in my opinion and the 2.4 has oil consumption problems (Toyota is fixing that as we speak on the 2.4 engines) The 5th gen ones look okay but they are a little to bland looking in my eye. Can't go wrong with a 7th gen or 8th gen.

My wife has a 2012 SE camry with the 4 cylinder; it is the model Toyota is trying to sell the most of, It has alot of options and is not crazy priced.


As far as a specific trim model there is no better trim per say. in the older days I have seen a XLE that had cloth and another XLE that had leather. Toyota had a lot of upgrade packages back in the day. The V6 is great 3.0, 3.3, and the 3.5. The 4 cylinders are great as well 2.2 2.4 and 2.5 Only questionable 2.4's are from 2007-2011 because that is when toyota messed up the rings (issue I described earlier)
 
GHARP57 said:
I have a 2001 Camry LE that has the good 3.0 (not the shitty one in the early runners had). I have leather, sunroof, power driver seat, auto lights, alloy wheels, premium jbl audio from 2001 and the best part a manual trans. I have almost 218k miles on it and I am the second owner. I bought it from my aunt who did well keeping it up. I love it and I get almost 27 mpg on the highway just about 425 miles per tank. I love the way the car looks. In 2001 they changed the rear end from the 96-2000 models a little bit (made the taillights larger). Other than that I love the way it drives and handles, it is comfy and has plenty of room in it.

Now I would not own 6th gen. They are ugly in my opinion and the 2.4 has oil consumption problems (Toyota is fixing that as we speak on the 2.4 engines) The 5th gen ones look okay but they are a little to bland looking in my eye. Can't go wrong with a 7th gen or 8th gen.

My wife has a 2012 SE camry with the 4 cylinder; it is the model Toyota is trying to sell the most of, It has alot of options and is not crazy priced.


As far as a specific trim model there is no better trim per say. in the older days I have seen a XLE that had cloth and another XLE that had leather. Toyota had a lot of upgrade packages back in the day. The V6 is great 3.0, 3.3, and the 3.5. The 4 cylinders are great as well 2.2 2.4 and 2.5 Only questionable 2.4's are from 2007-2011 because that is when toyota messed up the rings (issue I described earlier)
Click to expand...

That's the exact kind of thing I'm looking for. Thank you.

Anyone else?
 
Also, are there any engines that are better maintenance wise? Meaning, X.X engine on the XX model has a timing belt while the others have a timing chain that doesn't need servicing.

Things like that.
 
I have an 01 LE with the 4 Cylinder. It has 170K miles on the clock and I drive this thing everywhere. It is a pretty basic, bare bones type of car but super reliable. With the 4 Cylinder on the highway I have been getting between 30-33mpg's, and when I was living in Los Angeles I was consistently getting 27 mpg(mixed stop and go traffic and city). My friend has an 02(New body style from 01) and he has over 200k on his 4 Cylinder. I believe they went with VVT-I in 02 so it makes a little bit more power than my Camry. I personally like my body style a little bit more.
 
jaredking733 said:
Also, are there any engines that are better maintenance wise? Meaning, X.X engine on the XX model has a timing belt while the others have a timing chain that doesn't need servicing.

Things like that.
Click to expand...

2.4 and 2.5 are chain motors, 3.5 is chain the others are belts.

They are all pretty rock solid and you have your basic maintenance on all of them. I would say they are all reasonable maintenance wise
 
Why not look at an Avalon? More room, typically better options in terms of comfort, you give up a little MPGs but you're not talking a big difference in cost.
 
bigshank does bring up a good point. I loved my grandparents 2004 Avalon. I wish the neighbor they sold it to wasnt a pain otherwise I would have bought it from them for sure!
 
My parents' Avalon is probably one of my favorite vehicles they've ever had. If I had to have a sedan, it'd be a toss up between that and an IS300 for me (because 2JZ, that's why :D), but in terms of ride comfort, reliability and all around driveability, I think the Avalon would win.

As for the Camry, one of my coworkers has a 95 with somewhere between 275-300k miles and it still runs strong, and she is just awful at taking care of her cars. I still see this body style on the road everywhere, and have had friends that got rid of them still running perfectly fine with over 300k on the clock. This isn't to discredit any of the newer, nicer models out now, but it's a testament to the name to see so many of these on the road 20+ years after they were manufactured. But then again, same goes for all Toyotas!



except Supras... :moping:
 
screw all that, get an old Cressida with the supra inline 6. those were a hoot to drive.

I loved my 84, 87 and 91 Cressida's. I jumped ship when they went to the avalons.

now back to your regularly scheduled program.....
 
I drove the new one. Really really did not like the steering. It felt loose, no resistance at all, steer with one finger.
 
Our other car is a 2001 Camry XLE V6 with all the bells and whistles. We bought it new. Now at 130,000 miles. Have had no problems with it. Have redone brakes twice, a couple batteries, spark plugs twice (the rear ones are a pain to change) and that's about it......

No experience with any other models or years.....
 
The early 90's Camrys are pretty much unkillable. Many mechanics I've spoken to will agree that it is easily one of the most bulletproof cars of all time.
 
My folks have an 05 and have had no issues. They've had it since new, and it's got 260K miles on it. Only thing other than regular maintenance was a rear strut developed a crack and would clunk a bit. So we fixed that. Just did the tie rods a little bit ago. But regularly getting 33mpg hwy. They just went out and got a 2015 to replace it, but still end up driving the 05 because they love it so much! FWIW it's the 2.4L auto LE. But it's got a sunroof!
 
My mom had a 91 with the 2.0 or the 2.2 in it. Bulletproof engine. Cold AC. Tough as nails car. Rather comfy for cloth. The only thing I hated about the car was that it had sliding automatic seat belts.

Greg is correct, stay clear, very clear of 2007-2011 I4 Camrys. Then again the 3.5V6 of those years develops leaks which can only be cured by pulling the engine to reseal.
 
Sorry for the delayed responses. Super busy weekend.

I hadn't considered an Avalon, but I definitely will now. I'll be reading through the rest of the thread. Didn't want everyone to think I had disappeared.

Thanks everyone so far!
 
LittleCaesar said:
Greg is correct, stay clear, very clear of 2007-2011 I4 Camrys.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My friend has one that drinks oil as quickly as it drinks fuel. The saddest part is that he got it to replace a 1998 Corolla that... drank oil as quickly as it drank fuel. And he thinks the Corolla feels better made. :redbrick:
 
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