'93 Camry 4-cyl 5-sp?

[balingwire]

I found a '93 Camry 4-cyl 5-speed with 240K miles for $1500. It appears to be clean, and the owner says that the car runs and drives well. Does this seem like a good buy? How many more miles could I expect from the engine? Any advice? Thanks. I'm new to the forum.

[Eye8Pussies]

well, the car's no baby, that's for sure.

but also though, $1500 is also pretty much dirt cheap.


if the engine runs well at this point and regular fluid changes have been had throughout it's life, you can still expect another 100K miles out of it though

[balingwire]

Are there any issues with the clutch and 5-speed?

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by balingwire

Are there any issues with the clutch and 5-speed?

i have a 93 4cyl 5 speed 270k miles,(bought at 190k miles), own it for 5+ years, no badge on the trunk, just say toyota
here are the problem i've experience so far

replaced
both axles boots,
timing belts, 2x already
cam seal,
crank shaft seal,
oil pump seal,
valve cover gasket,
spark plugs,
flex pipe,
brake pads,
ect sensor
o2 sensor

it is burning 1 qt of oil every 3000 miles, and leaking coolant, need to top off every 2 or 3 months.

so far, still get me from point a to pont b no problem, oil change every 3k miles, so far still very low cost on maintenance.

and to my suprise, i don't have any problem with the clutch yet, my brother and i used it to learn driving a stick too.

[wiccanferret]

Eh, I would shy away from paying over $1000 for a car with that many miles on it...but then again, I've never seen an exceptionally clean one with that many miles...so I dunno.

[balingwire]

bronzemaxell, would you give me a cost estimate of the repairs that you made to your Camry? I would guess that this car will have similar issues with 240K miles. I'm wanting this car as a daily driver, and I think that the 5-speed would make it fun to drive. Still, if I have to put another $1500 in it right away, my wife will not be happy, and if she's not happy... I have to pick my battles.

[wiccanferret]

I wouldn't buy any car with 200k+ miles on it if you can't do the work yourself...

[balingwire]

I can do the work myself. I was wondering what the price of parts would be.

[bronzemaxell]

Originally Posted by balingwire

bronzemaxell, would you give me a cost estimate of the repairs that you made to your Camry? I would guess that this car will have similar issues with 240K miles. I'm wanting this car as a daily driver, and I think that the 5-speed would make it fun to drive. Still, if I have to put another $1500 in it right away, my wife will not be happy, and if she's not happy... I have to pick my battles.

oh, parts are not too expensive,
i can't recall exact, but just a roughly recalled my memory
all parts are new OEM toyota parts, i bought them from toyotaoemparts.com, butler toyota dealer at Indiana.

both axles boots, $43
timing belts, 2x already $40 each, ps and alternative belt around $20
water pump $75
cam seal, $10
crank shaft seal, $10
oil pump seal, $20
valve cover gasket, $15
spark plugs, $6 each
flex pipe, $60
brake pads, $40, front only, rear is drum
ect sensor $60
o2 sensor $100

i forgot to add, i also replaced the radiator $200 part + labor at the shop, maybe parts only $100.

keep in mind, didn't change all item above at once, rather, changed over the course of last 5 years

here is my personal opinion

if you have the ability to do the maintence work yourself, it will be a good vehicle to buy at this price, 3000LB for $1500, that is like $0.50 per LB.

if you don't know the history of this vehicle, then just do a tune up, start with change timing belt, spark plug, alternative belt and ps belt, and keep driving, not that a broken belt will cause engine damage, but rather, void being stranded at the worst moment, imagine tow truck cost more than the part of timing belt change, then fix whatever breaks later, given it is a good shape, it will probably last another 100k easily. do a quick search, there are many camry 2.2L over 300k miles mark here.

i get 30mpg average 30% city, 70% highway on octane 87.

every vehicle might have different problems, but you might be luck end up getting a camry in good shape.

[ghettosled]

$1500 for a manual trans 4-cylinder car with 240k miles??? WAY too much money. that car should be about $500. for that much money, you should be able to find a car with 150-170k miles pretty easily.