What to watch for?

[anneis]

I am looking at getting a 92-93 Camry for a winter beater and only putting on 2000 to 3000 km per year, about 1/3 in cold weather. These are fairly cheap.

175,000 to 225,000 goes for less than $4000

What should I be watching out for?

[bigbird]

find out when teh timing belt, water pump and tensioner were replaced, hopefully within 20K. oil changes, filters, flushes, things of that normal sort.

[anneis]

Did the Camry ever switch back to a timing chain? When?

[Venom_5]

the Gen 3 runs on a timing belt, and so does the Gen 4 to the best of my knowledge

[Curry]

Check for the usual... See how the motor sounds, check the fluids, check the body for any major rust spots. Check the trunk area for any leaks... theres tons of things to check lol.

[anneis]

I know about the usual checks, thanks anyway. I am looking for the sneaky ones the owners may not know themselves like the timing belt and tensioner.

Any major drivetrain problems? Chronic corrosion problems with cooling system? Short life parts due to bad design?

[Dave's]

My '92 has over 245K miles so I'd have to say no other than the original electric windows were weak and tend to need the mechanisms replaced at some point. BTW lost my wife's '92 at 156K from a semi changing lanes and a '93 (with 78k) for the same reason. (Did I mention I hate big rig drivers?)

[Novice_cardude]

Aside from checking with regular maint. schedules, look from sludge problems. Pull out the dipstick, take off the oil cap. The 5S-FE started having some sludge issues in '97 I think... Could be wrong.

Also, listen for any suspension noises, that seems to be the Camry's weak spot. Other than that, just the usual checks, excessive rust (I know you're getting it as a winter beater, but still), doors closing straight, all the accessories work, etc, etc, etc.