Tempering with odometer?

[Cam96]

I bought a 96 V6 Camry a couple month ago as a winter beater. Odometer was at ~60000 miles. (97 000km)

I'm no mechanic and the car looked clean. Even got it inspected at the dealer before buying.

I guess the used car dealer was pretty good at masking the symptoms...

Except for the gas conduct (to fill the car) and the whole exhaust line badly rotten. The car has next to no rust. In fact it is extremely clean. I already had the gas line and the exhaust replaced. I also got the timing belt replaced. (Recommended at 100000km). Tires were done and got them replaced...

Now the power steering pump is leaking/going and the valve gasket cover is leaking too.
The A/C was weak when I got the car. Now it`s gone, no more cold air.

After 10 years, I’m not too surprised to see the exhaust rotten. But what about the valve gasket, power steering pump and A/C? Are these common problems on a 60 000mile 96 Camry?

So I kind of wonder if the used car dealer has tempered with the odometer. Is there any other ways to validate if the car has the mileage shown on the odometer?


Thanks guys

[Fever]

I don't know how to tell if the odo's been tampered with.

But, regardless of mileage an 11 year old car can have these things you described go bad. Sometimes more mileage is good. Mechanical things don't like to sit and do nothing, and low mileage can mean lots of short trips which is worse for a car than some highway mileage.

I wouldn't worry too much. Just think how much more your car will be worth when you fix it up

[dc_98_cam]

Now the power steering pump is leaking/going and the valve gasket cover is leaking too.
The A/C was weak when I got the car. Now it`s gone, no more cold air.

The Camry uses ATF fluid in its power steering, as well as transmission.
Suggest adding some trans. 'tune up' or trans stop leak to the power steering fluid reservoir .... might improve leak situation and shouldn't harm anything.

You might try just 'snugging up' the valve cover hold down bolts .... may or may not be effective.

No hope for the AC ..... you probably have a leak someplace. Will require major investment to diagnose or repair.

On older vehicles, you could sometimes determine the extent of service or use by looking at the wear on the brake pedal ... or other points .... Not absolutely sure how dependable that would be these days ..... with all the new materials being used.

I don't think I would rely on a used car dealer to evaluate a vehicle. .... would probably trust a licensed Toyota dealer. Although, I might not have the work done there.

I suggest that you drain the transmission fluid from the pan, remove the pan, clean out any sludge, and refill. ... Do the drain, refill, and drive a while cycle two or three times, and you should have mostly clean/new trans fluid .... and probably see an improvement in shifting/performance.

You should have had the water pump replaced when you did the timing belt .... they are usually replaced together ..... Suggested replacement period for a V6 is 90k miles, as I recall. .... 60k miles for the I4.

[rebel8ball]

do yall have access to carfax? if so it can tell you what mileage certain things happened and if the mileage is more then the current mileage you know something is up. i think its www.carfax.com

[Cam96]

Thanks guys.

I didn't rely on the used car dealer. The car was inspected by a licensed Toyota dealer.

I'm not a big fan of the AC anyway. It is just handy when too much humidity and the windows are fogging out of control. Which is frequent up north.

I will give this car a chance and invest little more in it.

Thanks again for the advices.