Should I buy this 1998 Camry?
 

I have a good friend selling his 1998 Camry LE v6. 170k miles. Selling for $1100. He's told me he's kept up the maintenance on the car, and I believe he's trustworthy. He tells me the issues with the car are that the valve gasket cover leaks, but that he simply changes the oil every 3 mos and its fine. The only issue is the mess from the leak, which isn't something I care about. It's also coming up on a scheduled timing belt change (every 90k I believe).

So, given the issues above, is it worth it at that price? I only need the car to drive to/from work, only about 10 miles. Anything I'm missing? Is it crazy to think that I should be able to get to 250k miles without too much of a problem?

The price is right. This generation of Camry was solid, if the car had ongoing maintenance it should last 250K.

Inquire as to any parts that may have been changed. As the car ages some parts will wear out. Also when the trans fluid was last changed-clean/new fluid = long trans life.

Valve cover oil leaks are common.

If your having a shop do the belt change, shop around for prices. The price can range for reasonable to expensive.

Same problem in a '94 V-6. This had no effect on the running or reliability of the vehicle. It was a nuisance problem.

The dealer wanted $600 to replace the gaskets/seals and change the plugs. I've got a great friend who trained at Toyota and does shade-tree repairs on Japanese cars. He did the job for $225, including the parts.

He showed me the old gaskets and seals. They looked like they'd been tossed in a Cuisinart machine. Age and oil does that to rubber.

Thanks. The transmission fluid has been changed three times over the life of the car, last time in 2007. This is a longer time than I'm comfortable with, but it hasn't been driven that much since.

If there were trans pan only changes, if you get car change it all including torque converter. Very cheap insurance!

If going to a shop for this have them pump out the old and put in the new with NO chemicals additives to try to flush the trans out. You just want a complete fluid change nothing else!

If you believe your friend on maintenance, then it seems like a very good buy. My '96 camry Le v6 has over 247K miles and it runs very well. you have to change oil and the other fluids regularly, that's key. valve cover gasket leaks are common on camry's and I'd get it fixed.

Sounds like a great deal. I bought my '94 V6 XLE with 250k miles for $1000 a year ago, and it has treated me very well. The V6 is powerful and economic on fuel.

Hey friend have you buy this car or not.I think the deal is good.