Hi guys,

I am new to this forum but not really new to Toyotas. Dad used to have a 1998 Toyota Camy that we sold back in 2019 with 185k miles on it. Mom currently drives a 2011 Toyota Sienna with 75k miles on it. I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a 1999 Toyota Camry LE V4 with 130k miles on the clock. Going to be using the car during the winter since I do not want to drive my other car in the snow and whatnot. Might keep the car and use it to run errands or let my sister and brother drive it during the summer

The guy is asking $3,000. I got him down o $2,250. But, the rear drives side brake line is cracked. He said he patched the brake line from the ABS block. How do you even do that? I am not sure how hard it is to replace that or how much it would cost. He lives in Wisconsin and I am in Chicago. He's about an hour and 40 min away from my house. The cars got a new timing belt, water pump, and oil pump. Wondering if the thermostat has been replaced also. Tires are good and brakes are almost new per the seller. Surprisingly, there's no rust on the body from what I can tell from the pictures.

Anyways, what other things should I look out for before driving there? I am hoping I can get him down to $2,000. KBB private party value is about $1300-$2800

 

V4? Inline 4 or V-6.

Did you check the car for rust?

 

Its a inline 4. I haven't seen the car in person but from pictures the cars not rusted. I doubt the undercarriage looks the same.

But, I am not sure how much it'll cost to do the brake lines. I assume they're metal brake lines.

 

Below are a few thoughts on Camry for the years you are looking out this being a 95-02 Camry 4 cylinder.

In my opinion the 1999 was one of the best Camry produced for stoutness and reliability.

The upper and lower radiator tanks are plastic. The upper tank with age tends to crack resulting in small to large coolant leaks. If the radiator is cracked and leaking replace it as it may get worse fast so replace it. Look for coolant on the upper side of the lower plastic air shield between the radiator and engine.

Check all coolant hoses including heater, oil cooler, etc. If one goes bad, other may soon follow.

The plastic radiator overflow tank can start break down and leak. .

Find out when the timing belt was replaced. As stated before the belt manufacturers recommended change interval was 60K until 98, then 90K. I think 6 years is the time period between changes if not meeting the mileage mark.. Toyota has not listed recommended mileage or time interval.

Many owners opt to change the water pump at the second belt change along with the idler pulleys, etc. To get to at the belt requires taking off most of the items required to get these other parts off.

Most people change out the water pump at 120K or 180K.

With age, the engine can have oil leaks at the cam, crank, oil pump and distributor seals (both housing and shaft). Thus look for oil seeping out of the bottom of the timing belt cover.

Check CV boots for damage. A split or damaged boot even if replaced will allow dirt in and the grease to escape. Many times even if the boot is replaced the joint will fail sooner then later. CV joints can also wear out. The outer boot is the one that split.

Take the car for a test drive and make a few 90-degree turns to side streets and a 180’s at low normal city turning speeds. Listen for any clicking or popping during the turns or when accelerating. This a sign of a failed CV joint. The bad joint is typically on the opposite side of the direction of turn.

When turning the steering wheel listen for any popping noises; this may be due to a problem with the upper strut mount bearings, stabilizer bar link, upper strut bearing, etc.

Turn the power steering from lock to lock it should be smooth. No PS fluid should be leaking from the boots on each side of the steering housing. The PS pump should be quiet with no fluid seeping or dripping from the drive shaft input seal..

Check all power window and lock controls. The wires going between the driver’s door and body sometimes break due to all the opening and closing of the door.

Determine what ignition keys the car comes with. The might be a valet key that is only can be used on the ign not glove box or trunk. You want keys the can unlock all the doors and trunk. Make sure the power antenna and moon roof work (if it has these).

Determine if the cars suspension makes a rattle or squeak when going over bumps. The front and rear stabilizer bar bushings tend to wear out. A cheap fix.

The upper strut mounts can wear out causing a knocking noise when going over bumps.

Look into the spare tire wheel well for the condition of the spare plus jack, etc and to see if there is any standing water or signs off. A few owners have posted they had a good deal of water because of leaks.

The valve clearance on either engine model seldom (as in almost never) needs adjusting. Listen for any loud clicking from the valve covers.

Check the A/C to make sure it works and blows cold air and that the green light in the push button switch is not flashing (if this setup has one, not sure if the auto climate has a button).

If the auto climate system make sure has readout for the outside air temperature is working reading correctly and changing with the outside air temp.

Look for any blue or white smoke on cold engine startup or when accelerating. The valve stem seals can harden with age or if the car sits for a couple of months (white smoke). Or if the rings, it should be blue smoke.

There was some engines having a sludge issue. Toyota made millions of these engines, only a relatively few have a sludge problem. The cause seems to be the engine design combined with long intervals between changing oil (might also be water vapor building up in the oil due to taking only short drives). If the car has had proper oil changes, it should be OK. One way to check for sludge is to pull a valve cover and look at the valve train for sludge build up.

Engine mounts. You can inspect the upper passengers side dog bone mount for major cracking. The other mounts give an indication of wear by the engine moving and things making clunking noise when shifting from P to D or R.

The cars computer conducts it checks when the ign key is turned on. The various systems dash light will come with the ign key and once engine is started turn off.

The cruise control light will flash if there is a problem. If the car has ABS, make sure the ABS light is off when driving.

Make sure the Airbag like comes on with the ign key then turns off. People have purchased cars with the airbag light on and later had to resolve the condition, some cars had the bags removed..

If the airbag light continued to be one all airbags are off and will not work.

As with most cars, all the indicators lights should illuminate when the car is first started up. Make sure they all go off.

People have blown head gasket IF driven too hard, but this is not normal for this engine.

Of course check for body and frame rust. Not a problem unless the car was driven in areas where a lot of road salt was used and never washed down. I have seen a few well-rusted Toyota frames. This makes working on them difficult.

Check the radio to determine if it has a theft prevention system (should state this on the front). If so ask the owner if they set the code and if so obtain this. Otherwise if the battery is disconnected the radio will not work.

 

The timing belt was recently done. Along with the water pump and oil pump. No leaks per owner.

Only major thing that is worrying me is the brake line is leaking, Not sure if the cars worth even $2k. Seems dangerous driving it from Wisconson to Chicago.

 

Can you see where the brake line is leaking? They can rust out.

The brake system is set up with some redundancy. The master cylinder is two cylinders in one unit. One engages thought one front brake and the opposite rear brake and other the opposite side.

One can buy brake lines.

Prices for a 1999 range up to $7K. Try searching on CarFax and Craiglist for cars for sale.

 

This is the picture he sent me. I'm not paying $7k for a winter beater

 

Appears to be some kind of tape on the brake line. Tape is not going to work as too much brake line pressure against it. The line will need to be replaced.

Stated up to $7K. Prices range from $2K and with $5K seeming to be typically. Due to demand, used car prices are very high!!!!!!!!

You didn't ask but in looking at the car I would personally pass it by as way too much rust. I realize the area uses a lot of road salt but this rust issue will just get worse with time. Working on rusted cars can be very time consuming as every thing is rusted out or rusted tight. Fix one thing and other problem. If possible check the body panels above the wheels for rust on the back side and the lower section of the doors. In more extreme rust cases one can tap on the outside metal and listen for a change in sound as the metal becomes thinner.

 

I agree with Joey, the rust looks pretty rugged.

 

I can't tell by the pictures. But, I think I am going to pass. Seems too risky to drive back to Chicago. If I get it towed, that's $500~ roughly right there. I'd rather not be driving back from Wisconsin and end up dead because the brakes failed

Here's the link to the car if anyone is interested in seeing it:
He dropped the price from $3,000 to $2,800 in 3 days. Interesting