Helping nephew
#1
06-29-2011, 02:32 AM
Helping nephew
Well my nephew just got back after serving over a year in Afghanistan and has asked for help in picking out a reliable used car. Of course I immediately thought of a Toyota Camry. He doesn't drive a stick, so I need to know what is the best year and model of the Toyota Camry that has an atx. 4 or 6 cyl doesn't matter. Thanks!
#2
06-29-2011, 07:05 PM
Might also ask at the Toyotanation website, more members, more opinions.
Edmonds has reviews for new and older Camry.
Consumer Reports tends to gloss every thing over including ongoing problems with cars.
Wikipedia has info on the various Generations of Camry.
How much does your nephew want to spend?
Camry lost some of its luster over the years as Toyota sought price/cost reductions and ramped up production in order to be No 1 in car manufacturing.
The 5S-FE 4 cylinder used from around 93-01 was an excellent engine. Toyota did have the famed sludge lawsuit but this effected a limited number of cars. One can remove the valve cover to check for sludge.
The replacement 2AZ-FE used between 02 and 08 is now experiencing a few issues with high oil consumption and head bolts pulling out on early years models. Toyota made improvements to the engine thus if buying a car with this engine suggest getting a later year, guessing 06+.
The replacement for this engine is a 2AR-FE.
The 1MZ-FE engine was used from around 93-06. Another very good engine. Some some early models were also effected by the sludge issue.
The 2GR-FE V6 engine replaced this and had a few issues that were fixed by service bulletins. Seems to be an pretty good engine.
One can debate when Camry started dropping quality, sometime in mid/late 2000.
I had been looking for a newer used car (05-09) for a family member. Decided to pass all together on Camry. The Scion gets high ratings but even used ones are in high demand.
Honda still make good cars but used ones are much too expensive.
Personally think the best Camry years were 93-01.
Edmonds has reviews for new and older Camry.
Consumer Reports tends to gloss every thing over including ongoing problems with cars.
Wikipedia has info on the various Generations of Camry.
How much does your nephew want to spend?
Camry lost some of its luster over the years as Toyota sought price/cost reductions and ramped up production in order to be No 1 in car manufacturing.
The 5S-FE 4 cylinder used from around 93-01 was an excellent engine. Toyota did have the famed sludge lawsuit but this effected a limited number of cars. One can remove the valve cover to check for sludge.
The replacement 2AZ-FE used between 02 and 08 is now experiencing a few issues with high oil consumption and head bolts pulling out on early years models. Toyota made improvements to the engine thus if buying a car with this engine suggest getting a later year, guessing 06+.
The replacement for this engine is a 2AR-FE.
The 1MZ-FE engine was used from around 93-06. Another very good engine. Some some early models were also effected by the sludge issue.
The 2GR-FE V6 engine replaced this and had a few issues that were fixed by service bulletins. Seems to be an pretty good engine.
One can debate when Camry started dropping quality, sometime in mid/late 2000.
I had been looking for a newer used car (05-09) for a family member. Decided to pass all together on Camry. The Scion gets high ratings but even used ones are in high demand.
Honda still make good cars but used ones are much too expensive.
Personally think the best Camry years were 93-01.
