Hi all.
Little background:
Current owner of a 2011 Toyota Sienna. Best vehicle my family has owned, short of the 2003 Honda Accord that I let die at 180K miles (I ignored a significant problem for too long).

That's really my wife's ride. Mine is a 2007 Chevy Malibu.
Maintenance is a booger on this thing. It has 170K+ miles.

My only real-life experience with Camry is the car my wife owned when we got married 15 years ago. She drove a 1990 Camry and, my word, I miss that car.

Oh, and my mom owns a 2014 Avalon which I had to borrow for 4 days... and yeah, it was Heaven.

So I am in the market, I think I may want to buy something in the next 6 months, I'd like to stay under $17,000. And while I know EVERYONE says "You can't go wrong with a Camry", that's what they used to say about every Honda.

Having had a LONG history with Hondas (I have owned 4) I can't help but think that the older ones were always the best ones. The only thing that killed them was the doors fell off, yet you could manage to get 400K miles on them.

The newer the model, the more plagued with problems they had. Our 2007 Odyssey is what killed my confidence with Honda. Transmission issues galore.

So I am wondering... nowdays, what is Camry's Achilles heel? Or do Camry's get significantly more improved each year? I can handle interior cheapness and flws, I can handle an uncomfortable seat, what I can't handle are frequent trips to the mechanic (My local mechanic knows me by my first name now, thanks to my Malibu. I HATE that.)

My 2003 Accord, at least for the first 8 years, went to the dealer for regular maintenance, and literally, that was the only time it ever was inside a repair shop.

THAT'S what I want in a Camry.

So, given my $17,000 price, what can I afford that is best? What years are the years to avoid with Camry?

Thanks in advance all!

 

In the 2000's Toyota wanted to be No 1 in car sales leading to a decline in quality. Toyota was able to live off its rep for a number of years but the quality issues caught up with them around 2008-9ish. The company made great attempts to correct the problem but had a number of recalls and the unintended acceleration issue (which in my opinion is more fiction then fact). All lead to a tarnished rep. Thus quality started to go backwards.

Apparently Honda is/was also cutting quality.

What is the range of Camry years your thinking about?

I am not up to speed on the latest generation of Camry. I suggest avoiding any year having the 4-cylinder 2AZ-FE engine (2002-2009) which had/has problems. If you want a car in this range of years get the V6 perhaps after 2007.

There have been complaints in newer Camry about lack luster fit, finish and trim, rattles, etc. most likely the result of cost cutting plus hard seats (yes!!) For $17K perhaps a 2013. Various models exist such as L, LE, XLE, SE. The SE is the sport addition, the XLE the deluxe, the LE one step up from the basic L car.

Suggest the Edmonds.com site which will list all options for each year your interested in. Plus has owner opinions which over all seem valid. If you want to know what can go wrong with the model you are interested in check the specific make/model/year posts at Toyotanation.com.

If your are planning to run the car until the wheels fall off do preventive maintenance. This would include auto trans fluid complete changes and if conventional steering changing the PS fluid.

If buying a Camry suggest if not able to do your own repairs to consider getting the official Toyota extended warranty. If shopping the internet might be had for around $700. Any Toyota dealer sells this but some charge a lot more then others. The extended warranty is something I have not been enthused about in the past, alas Toyota past issues still linger.

Avalon was originally based on the Camry but has various improvements for ride, handling and noise reduction.

Whatever Camry your looking at take a test ride over bumps, railroad tracks and potholes as some have complained about feeling every bump.