A new French
 

Hi,

I'm French, I came in California four weeks ago.

I bought a 94 v6 (24v) Camry with 210kmiles, needed a cheap reliable (not american) family car.

I'm used to do all the mechanic work by myself. I've owned Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Classic Mini, Fiat, VW, Rover cars.

This is my first japanese experience. And I'm really impressed how well this car was designed. Every little detail was made to be easy to maintain and to stay reliable. A real pleasure to service it. Unfortunately Toyota used to be expensive in Europe, they've became cheaper in the last 10 years but are still expensive second hand.

As I bought the car from a Toyota mechanic I had to change all the fluids, filters (no I'm exaggereting, the air filter was ok), spark plugs, brakes including hoses and of course tires. Made change the timing belt, I can not do that on my parking place. There are still some little things to fix but nothing urgent. Despite all this work I still believe this car was a good choice, compared to other more expensive cars I saw.
So now it should be ok for a while.

Alexis

RE: A new French
 

welcome Alexis, enjoy your ride and enjoy your stay in California.

RE: A new French
 

I used to have a few mercedes and I have found the parts for my camry are not much, if at all cheaper.

RE: A new French
 

Thanks.
When I say cheap I mean these cars are cheap here. German cars are more expensive, while they are less reliable (at least in Europe), especially modern. Of course there is the "social" image people look for when they buy German cars. This is exactly what I hate and try to avoid.
Parts are expensive for all cars, except Classic Mini when bought in the UK.