Gen 3 V6 vs 4I engine

[f15Camry]

Hello every one,

How reliable are the Camry V6 vs the 4I Gen 3? I know that Camry's are good and reliable, but last weekend I was about to buy my cousin 93 Camry V6.

The car is in good shape and every thing seemed fine while test driving it, but my dad and I went by my dad's friend repair shop so he can take a look at the car, and while he said that it was good shape and the engine sound good; he advised me to not buy the car since it have a V6 engine.

He explained to me that this Camry V6's of generation had a lot of problems, repair was expensive since it use Lexus parts, and finally told me that I was going to have a hard time selling the car as people avoid the car since they prefer the 4cyl version over the V6 for the above reasons.

So he instead advised to better find a 4cl Camry since he said they are more reliable and parts are cheap and easier to find.

My cousin was selling me the car for $1,500. Stock with a 16 or17 Wheels and good audio system.

I noticed that a some of you guys want to or are advising others to upgrade their Gen 3 Camry's to V6, so I wanted to hear what you guys think.

At this moment I am not longer buying my cousin car, instead I am looking for 4cyl Gen 3 to Gen 4 Camry.


Thanks

[ASG14]

1st off, I think that mechanic is an idiot.

Now, with that being said, here is what it boils down to. The ONLY true issue with the 92/93 V6 (Engine code 3VZ-FE), is that they tend to have Head Gasket issues. Other then that, the engine is extreamly reliable. How many miles are on it anyway? As for using Lexus parts, Lexus IS Toyota. they ALL use the same parts. So that makes no sense. To be honest, I hear of more of the I4 Camry's (5SFE engine) that blow a hole in the block then 3VZ-FE V6's that blow a head gasket. It ALL boils down to how the car has been treated by the owner.

And $1500 in good condition???? I've seen 200k mile '93 Camry's that are in crappy condition sell for that!

[Zviator]

I'm driving a gen 3 I4 and I dont feel so bad since it's only less than 20hp away from gen 6 I4. Meanwhile the gen 3 v6 has less than 80HP compared to gen 6 v6, lol.

P.S: for the record, I got my 93 I4 with 192k for the same price, from my uncle, if the engine is in good shape, u got a damn good deal right there.

[uibalnme]

Originally Posted by Camricer

gen 6 v6 has less than 80HP compared to gen 6 v6, lol.

???

You may wanna check your gen's there.

[Zviator]

Originally Posted by uibalnme

???

You may wanna check your gen's there.

typo, thanks for pointing out

gen 3 v6 = 185 hp
gen 6 v6 = 268 hp

u do the math

[BMR]

No offense, but your dad's mechanic is full of hooey. He's probably mistakenly thinking of the oil sludge problems affecting the 97-02 V6 Camrys.

As for using "expensive" Lexus parts, the motors and most of the parts are the same as on Toyotas, so the cost is the same. They're the same company, exact same parts.

[the_professional]

Personally, day to day, I would prefer the i4, based on fuel consumption. The 5S-FE deals adequate power for the Camry. But, for driving experience, I would take the V6. IMO, the tranny works much better paired with the V6 in comparison to the i4. But, gas mileage is a con for the V6, i would think it could squeeze a little more HP for all of the gas it uses. For my city/highway driving ratio, the i4 suits me best. My engine has been reliable, but also the engine only has 55,000 miles on it. i have heard "stories" about the V6 being inferior, but you need to take in account your driving needs, and your driving wants.

[Albuynp Ryeno]

I'll take the V6. The gen 3 camrys have 2 V6s. The 3vz-fe and the 1mz-fe.

The car your friend is selling is a 3vz-fe V6. Thats actually more realible then the 1mz-fe engine. With that said the 1mz-fe will give you better gas milage.

Also i would take the v6 over the i4 for two reason.

The transmission. In the v6 the differental and the transmission fuild were connected together. In the i4 they are not. This means its possible the the i4 to have a transmission fluid change, have a red color dipstick and still blow the transmission. (if someone forgot the change the differental).

Also the i4 is VERY underpowered compared to the v6. And even the v6 isnt that powerfull. It feels almost dangerous merging lanes on the highway with a i4.

[cykaaro]

I've the 3VZ engine in mine, and am happy and have no complaints about it. Also I'd rather a wee bit more power than not.

I too think the mechanic doesn't know about them as much as he professes. From all the reading I've done it is a very reliable engine. As for expensive? not really, and depends what needs to be done. Only thing is getting to the rear bank you need to take off the plenum. I trust my mechanic as he's always tells me the bottom line of what I need, and what can wait, and doesn't try to screw me to make a buck. That being said, when I got the car he told me to REPLACE the engine costs more if it were ever had to be done, but the V6 is the better of the two to get and properly maintained will last a long time. It's extremely reliable and well built. From what I've read here a lot of people have the same opinion.

As for the lexus comment, wasn't the lexus version based off of the camry? and there's no difference between the two engines except the badge they put on it.

The price is about what I paid for mine [which is about dealers' cost] and if it's in good shape, and well maintained, it's well worth picking up. Having the extra power when needed is always good, and reading threads on mileage, it seems the V6 isn't that much different on gas than the I4. Hell, even with the couple small things I needed to do, I don't ever regret getting it. [plus knowing the owner can be a definite plus too so you know of the cars history]

[rty]

I personally think that the V6 is more reliable than the I4.

The Lexus ES is based on the Camry V6. It is essentially the same car, but with Lexus badges. If anything it's the Lexus that uses Toyota parts.

[f15Camry]

Originally Posted by ASG14

1st off, I think that mechanic is an idiot.

I think the same, I personally don't trust him and some time question his know ledge/experience. My sister bought a 01 VW Jetta back in January and it needed to get some of the censors replaced, and even though he used the computer to get the code- he told my dad to buy some of the censor or the computer and at the end it just needed one of the censor and the computer needed to be programed by the dealer.

I don't exactly how many miles the car have at this moment, but I think it was between 150,000 - 200,000.


I already knew some of the stuff that you guys are saying like Lexus-Toyota parts are the same, but some how at the moment I took his advice since I did not know too much about the Camry gen 3 V6 engines.


At this moment my dad is looking at 95 Camry 4I that is for sale nearby my house. This cars is cosmetically in better shape than my cousin's Camry, but it have the CEL on and the car misfire(it acts like it is going to turn off) when it is in idle, but it feels good while it is running. The car have 150,XXX they were asking $2000, but we got it down to 1,700 since it have that problem in the engine. Before buying it my dad will take it to his mechanic so he can take a look at the car and find out how bad/expensive is the problem.

Know that I listen to the experience you guys have with this cars, If this deal doesn't go through, might talk again to my cousin about buying his car; since told him that I did the money complete as an excuse to get out of the deal after my dad's mechanic told me not to buy it.


The reason I am looking at a car with this price range is because, I am graduating next May from College, and my financial status only allows me to get a car at this price range at the moment. If I buy a car in this price range I at least want to get 2-3 years out of the car until I can buy a better or new car.

My other option was to get a loan and buy a car in the 4,000-5,000 price range that I will provably use for at least 5 years. But I think in the long run buying a good/cheap car like the Camry will be better in the long run since I might be able to buy a new car in 2-3 years.

[ASG14]

Originally Posted by f15Camry

At this moment my dad is looking at 95 Camry 4I that is for sale nearby my house. This cars is cosmetically in better shape than my cousin's Camry, but it have the CEL on and the car misfire(it acts like it is going to turn off) when it is in idle, but it feels good while it is running. The car have 150,XXX they were asking $2000, but we got it down to 1,700 since it have that problem in the engine. Before buying it my dad will take it to his mechanic so he can take a look at the car and find out how bad/expensive is the problem.

$1700 for a car that misfires and has a CEL? Thats way too much. I'd rtaher have a good running car that I can rely on then one that is perfect cosmetically.

Whichever way you go, we're here to help though.

[2wickedtoyz]

i have a v6 camry and i've owned a i4 then got tired and swapped in a v6. the gas milage is about the same it's your foot that can be a problem.....

[aznstylez]

The 92-93 Lexus ES300 uses the 3VZ-FE engine. Lexus owners that has the ES can actually go to Toyota dealerships and get parts for cheaper than going to Lexus dealers and purchase the same parts for a more expansive price.

[Knailgun]

your mechanic is on meth.......I've said my 2 cents