Buying a Camry

[lsalminen]

Hi Everyone-

First time here...Let me know if I posted in the wrong section.

Some background info - totaled my 98 Avenger... Insurance is giving me $3800 after deductible. The person that crashed my car (I lent it to a friend...will NEVER happena again) is giving me $3000 because he feels bad.

The post - A friend of a friend is selling me a Gen 4 '98 Camry CE 4-Cyl. He's selling it to me for $4000. So, that leaves me with $3000 to do some upgrades. I know it needs new shocks, and it has a sticky accelerator. Does anyone know how much it would cost in parts and labor to do those 2 things? The car's a little dirty, so I'm gonna get one of those $200 detail jobs (does anyone know a good detail job in Westchester County, NY?) After that's all done, I'm gonna get the aftermarket stereo (sub and head unit) installed that I salvaged from my Avenger...probably around $100 to do that. After that... I was wondering if anyone knows any good upgrades that could fit into my remaining budget?

Sorry for all the questions...I've never had any work done on my Avenger except for a stereo.

Thanks in Advance,

Lee

[Unco]

i like dodges... shame they haven't made anything interesting in the last 30 years... then again, i'm ford biased :P ... but they too haven't made anything interesting in the last 30 years...

will you be doing the shocks yourself? otherwise, double the price of the shocks to cover labour.

as for the sticky accelerator... try and find out the problem yourself, it will be a lot cheaper.

[Curry]

I would take that cash and make sure everything on the car is fit to run.

Timing belt, Water Pump, Plugs and other general maintainence items.

If all is well I guess you could invest in some suspension upgrades... Sway bar... bushings...

[Creeps228]

Atfer detail and you buying the shocks while you at it you and give it a drop and rear sway bar and strut bar if you want better handling. Also what curry said make sure everything including timing belt, water pump, etc are changed...you may never know what the previous owner did to the car. And as for detailing i know one of a good one over here in the bronx if you want to come down that far

[Maim Menu]

How much mileage on the Camry?

Sticky throttle is easy to fix by the way, do a search on throttle body cleaning

[lsalminen]

It only has 46000 miles.

If you could give me the address for the shop in the Bronx, I'll come down! Thanks!

Also, how much does a HID kit cost? I've always liked that white-light look?

Thanks, Lee

[Curry]

I would get projectors and do a retro-fit if you're getting HID's. I believe theres a great tutorial for doing it on the Gen4 lights.

Throwing an HID kit into regular headlights will give you uneven lighting and blind other drivers...

When you do get a retrofit done you can get the HIDS from Mod-Express. Great kits and great prices.

[papariccardo]

Originally Posted by lsalminen

A friend of a friend is selling me a Gen 4 '98 Camry CE 4-Cyl. He's selling it to me for $4000. So, that leaves me with $3000 to do some upgrades.

Gday Lee, are you sure an i4 is the right car for you? What about the V6? If you spent more of the $7k you are planning on throwing at it, you could get many clean, modded rides. Heck, you could own a sweet NA Z for that! (The Z whore that I am couldn't resist )

The i4 gen4 tho at that mileage will be an exceptionally reliable DD for many years, will cost nothing to own, and perhaps that makes more sense. Also the mods will be fresh & personal.

[Creeps228]

When you say detailing you mean the inside right well theres a great detrailing center and they'll clean the enigne fro around $100+ its on 184th Street and Jermone Ave.

[Robbski]

Originally Posted by Curry

I would take that cash and make sure everything on the car is fit to run.

Timing belt, Water Pump, Plugs and other general maintainence items.

If all is well I guess you could invest in some suspension upgrades... Sway bar... bushings...

This advice is right on target. $4K for a 46,000 mile car is a good deal. Make sure it is mechanically sound and you should be driving for short money for a long time.

You could do a few nice appearance mods if you were so inclined but it would be crazy to spend good $$ on performance mods on the I4 it just doesn't have the engine potential to provide the thrills.

I'd getting it running good clean it up and pocket the $$$ myself.

[bigbird]

i agree, get teh car runnin first then worry bout modding. sounds liek a good deal.

[lsalminen]

Thanks everyone! Yeah, I figured it was a good deal. My mechanic is looking at it right now and is gonna give me the go or no go verdict.

Geico wants me to release the car today. The Camry has some old tires on it, and my Avenger has brand new ones. Does anyone know if I can swap the tires/wheels out??

Thanks a lot,

Lee