2000 Camry -- Fair Deal? Issues?

[cbr]

Hello all. I'm going to look at a 2000 Camry LE auto tomorrow but know nothing about Toyotas and even less about Camrys.

The car I'm looking at has 130k miles, is a one owner car owned my middle aged couple who say they had car service regularly at dealer where bought and that they have records to prove it. Car has leather interior and moon roof. Car appears in excellent condition in and out and has never been hit. I haven't seen carfax yet but will do so soon.

Asking price is $4,500 -- is that fair price? Seems OK relative to KBB.

What special potential problems should I be aware of especially regarding powertrain? Engine sludge? Auto tranny problems (I'm avoiding Accords because of this)? Anything else in suspension or other high cost areas?

Assuming car has been regularly maintained and not abused, how much additional life should I expect out of engine and tranny? Are these expensive to replace with used if necessary down the road? I don't expect to put much mileage on this car but other than one cross country trip will use it locally during winters especially (to prolong life of my Miata Turbo).

I really wanted a manual tranny but these seem hard to find. Also the mileage on this one is higher than I'd like but there are a lot of multi-owner dogs out there with less. May be better to get higher mileage, highway driven, one owner vehicle with maintenace records like this one?



One last question, would a Corolla be a better choice from reliability standpoint assuming I don't need extra room or comfort of Camry?



Thanks for all help.

ps I did try the search function but came up a little dry.

[carsrus]

The camrys relatively problem free, some strut and suspension issues but they dont affect reliability at all and arent expensive to fix.

If the service records show a timing belt job and regular oil and atf changes then your good to go. 200k miles isnt to uncommon on camrys.

Is it a 4 or 6 cyl?

4500 is way steep to me, 3500 or so would be a fair price, especially in this economy. If they dont want to budge to at least 4000 I would say walk, there's tons of nice used cars pretty cheap now.

[skuttduck]

I've had my 2000 since July of 2000 when I bought it new. Only regular maintenance needed to be done, aside from the warranty work where they replaced the water pump. The dealer caught that when I brought it in for the oil change.

I have 78,000 miles on it. Still feels pretty much new. Even though I'm getting a 2010 Camaro, there is no way I can bring myself to get rid of the Camry. Been a great wonderful car.

Since it is a 2000 Camry, you can get either the black halo, or chrome halo headlights and give your car a facelift.

[DxElite]

+1 for all the previous posts.

I have a 2000 Camry, bought used in 2004 with 34K miles. No problems since then with regular maintenance and I drive it pretty hard.

As for your Corolla reliability over Camry, I think they're pretty much the same for reliability. But if you really don't need the extra room and want to save some money, you might find a Corolla for cheaper.

I like the one owner and service records on the Camry, even if the mileage is a bit high, it's easier to know how it's been driven with just one owner. It's hard to find other used cars around here with that kind of record with proof, so I lean towards anything with one owner at the least.

[cbr]

Turns out that driver of this car backed into another car in driveway so bumper was replaced but when pressed owner told me some qtr panel repair/refinish also done -- somewhat hard to believe must of been a hell of a driveway accident. Trust is gone so car is out of consideration.

After further thought and research I'm going to look only for a 5 speed Corolla with no more than 100k on clock and single owner vehicle only. I don't need the room or comfort of Camry and I'd feel more comfortable with a manual tranny in old car plus it will get better mileage and be more fun to drive I think.

[bigbird]

if ya dont need the space id take the rolla as well. same reliability, better millage, and prolly faster.

[JMSinMaryland]

Originally Posted by cbr

Turns out that driver of this car backed into another car in driveway so bumper was replaced but when pressed owner told me some qtr panel repair/refinish also done -- somewhat hard to believe must of been a hell of a driveway accident. Trust is gone so car is out of consideration.

After further thought and research I'm going to look only for a 5 speed Corolla with no more than 100k on clock and single owner vehicle only. I don't need the room or comfort of Camry and I'd feel more comfortable with a manual tranny in old car plus it will get better mileage and be more fun to drive I think.

How about a VERY well maintained 5-speed V6 Supercharged Camry for $8k. A $6k car with $5k in modifications

[JMSinMD]

Originally Posted by JMSinMaryland

How about a VERY well maintained 5-speed V6 Supercharged Camry for $8k. A $6k car with $5k in modifications

Sorry, wrong log in. See signature

[JohnGD]

I guess they would have sold you a bill of goods had you not CarFaxed it yourself. Yeah, I wouldn't place trust with these folks. Just walk.

Corollas are more reliable, but feel kinda inexpensive and bounce around and downshift frequently like the small cars they are. Generally the less torque and horsepower the Toyotas are, the more reliable they are in terms of powertrain engineering.

At 130K you have to check the valve cover gaskets as well. They tend to start leaking like a sieve at the back of the engine where you can't see. Suspension mounts are a problem spot. Struts are probably gone by then. By 90K miles they should have gotten a complete timing job, including the timing belt, water pump, and oil seals. Also be prepared for valve stem seals. There may be a cloud of bluish tinted smoke on first start ups. I'd like to see the ATF condition. They probably never dropped the pan to clean up the metal sludge on the bottom or change out the strainer (~$15 kit).

Originally Posted by cbr

Turns out that driver of this car backed into another car in driveway so bumper was replaced but when pressed owner told me some qtr panel repair/refinish also done -- somewhat hard to believe must of been a hell of a driveway accident. Trust is gone so car is out of consideration.

After further thought and research I'm going to look only for a 5 speed Corolla with no more than 100k on clock and single owner vehicle only. I don't need the room or comfort of Camry and I'd feel more comfortable with a manual tranny in old car plus it will get better mileage and be more fun to drive I think.