Camry Forums - Toyota Camry Forum - Kentucky Build 3/07 V6 Camry LE

Purchased/brought home my 2007 V6 Camry LE last night (Vin# 4T1BK46K37U035066) and according to TSB #TC002-07 does not appear to have any of the problematic 3rd/4th gear flare issues. Being a first year model 6-speed for the Camry I decided to purchase the 7yr/100k/$0-deductable GENUINE Toyota Extended Warranty just to play it safe. This 6-speed is unserviceable using a "sealed for life" thought process...there isn't even a dip stick to check for fluid level by the mechanically inclined! Besides getting "peace of mind" on what might be a 1st generation design flaw on the 6-speed tranny I priced various preventative maintenance Camry parts and threw caution to the wind. Dealer wanted over $1000 for the extended warranty so I purchased the warranty from a out of state Toyota dealer. Paid $880 (best I could find) using Troy Dietrich from Greenfield Toyota...very nice guy, highly recommended from all the web sites (toyotanation.com, edmunds.com, etc). For those deciding if paying for the warranty is worth the price here are my thoughts....2007 model Camry comes with the tire pressure air monitoring which has the integral valve stems which will have to eventually be replaced when you replace tires in 4-years. Each sensor is excess of $100 and "if" the technician doesn't break the dam thing off during the course of purchasing new tires the stem would have to be replaced simply because 4 years of uv deterioriation would render it dangerous not to consider changing said item. What concerns me the most is this being a new vehicle the tranny will most likely be problem free until the standard 3yr/36k runs out in which case when the tranny acts up we are talking "mongo" types of money being spent just to diagnose. I figure $880 is not a whole lot consdering paying $22.7 to buy the car. BTW, I purchased this Camry LE with V6 and just alloys for $22.6 from Queensboro Toyota in NYC. Best I could do considering I needed a replacement ride rather quickly as my trusted '99 Ford Crown Vic died a horrible death. Because i reside in NYC it is never convenient for car reapirs so with this extended warranty I get a loaner and piece of mind. After 7 years I normally get ride of my rides and replace anyway. I'm not thrilled with the front style of the 2007 Camry and suspect it will take a beating parked in the streets of NYC along with the malls in Long Island but time will tell. I am pretty handy around vehicles and plan on doing my own fluid and oil changes, pad replacements, and normal tuneups. These I can do according to the service manuals but the tranny and electronics requires either specialized tools or a shelf full of cars to diagnose hence another reason for the extended warranty. Finally for those who perform their own oil changes do what I did and get a dozen or so oil filters (toyotapartspeople.com!) and you are good to go. Be prepared to get dirty as these oil filters use just the filtering element and two o-rings. This sucks as I first thought what was wrong with the old cannister oil filters?...Toyota, what the hell were you thinking? Also don't pay the $60 for the wheel locks...Troy provided me with the toyota p/n which I cross referenced at autobarn...why pay $60 when you can pay $20.84 for the same McGard wheel lock set to secure your alloy wheels? Folks, if you live in the city like I do make sure you get wheel locks to guard your alloy wheels. I travel around quite a bit in my profession going to some real ugly places and coming back from a hard day's work to find your ride on milk crates is NOT fun!