Funny story.. Went to see a dealer today about a 96 Camry LE for sale

[Camry LE 94]

Well I first went a week ago, however, the car wasn't there due to a mishap where one of the employees test-driving the car apparently dented the door. They notified me a couple days ago that it was back, so I took a 90 mile drive (once again) to see the car. The car drove very well, and it appeared to be in excellent mechanical condition. However, the A/C wasn't working, the oil pan gasket was leaking, and the brakes were screeching. When I popped the hood after the test drive, I was surprised to see a rusted out junk yard engine in the engine bay. I then checked the oil and immediately identified old, dark, unchanged motor oil on the dipstick. This was a telltale sign of a junkyard engine they probably swapped in there when the old previous engine with 82,000 miles (according to the odometer) probably failed. They tried to cover the mechanical issue up by saying the body was damaged, ha ha. They were barely willing to work with me on the issues besides the oil change and maybe the A/C (which the salesman wasn't too sure about and said they may "split the difference" with me). He kept explaining how old the car was and that they weren't going to do much to fix it up (then how are they going to expect to get retail value for it). Needless to say, I didn't fall for it. They can keep their car with the swapped out engine, leaking oil pan gasket, no oil change, and no A/C. Don't get me wrong though, the paint looks very good and the transmission shifts very well. Here's the link if you want to check it out. It's the black 96 LE.

http://autos.yahoo.com/used-cars/toy...ta&distance=50

[LynchburgCSI]

Linky no work. But i'm glad you didnt fall for it.

[Camry LE 94]

fixed the link

[LynchburgCSI]

DANGGGGGGG it looks good. Leather interior too... in good shape! But man, that engine just ruins it. And for that price.... just no.

[71Corolla]

Nice looking car, interior looks very nice as well. Has the whole car been repainted? Someone will buy it because it looks nice, and end up with a mechanical nightmare. Why are so many dealers such scum?

A friend of mine a few years ago was looking to buy an older Corolla for a daily driver. Found one that looked decent, I went and test drove it. The cars handling was super funky, the front end felt super loose and rubbery. Popped the hood, the right strut was separated from the unibody and partially leaning on the engine. Car had obviously been in an accident and was not repaired correctly. When I showed the salesman, instead of apologizing and saying he'd take the car off the road, he tried to make a deal.

[PortugalFocus]

That's crazy money. There is a local (to me) dealer selling a white 4.5 for $500 less than that. Keep searching.

[fenixus]

geeeeez, some dealers have no mercy .... $5k for a piece of junk motor in nice body !!???

for $5.5k you can buy nicely maintained coupe (solara) or gen 4.5 off ebay (private seller usually). delaers around me sell those at $7-8k usually (see the price difference for same stuff?)

[projektvertx]

Dealers are such thieves when it comes to used cars... I was eyeing an '01 LS430 with 39k miles for my dad here in Detroit. It was sitting at a Toyota dealership in Ann Arbor, MI. Private Party value was ~8.5K, dealership wanted 12.5K (KBB retail value). I tried to talk him down, but he wouldn't go less than 11K, at which point I just said thank you and GLWS. Surprisingly, I think retail value for a '96 is about that much, but I still wouldn't pay 4.5K for a '96 with a junkyard motor...

[2wickedtoyz]

there should be a vin number on the engine check to see if it matches the cars vin.

[zythr]

Dealers are in it for the money, just like everyone else