Let's get this started! Just got used 2000 Camry V6 XLE!!!

[kingkhan]

What's up TN people?! I'm starting on my 2nd Camry and would appreciate some input.

My first was a 1992 4 cyl that I bought with about 150K miles and it died at 210K miles. If anyone's interested, I can describe what happened to that car...

So anyway, I just bought a 2000 Camry V6 XLE...and I'm actually excited about it. This is really just my winter car, but it's pretty damn nice, even better than some of the new Camrys I've driven (no offense to newer Camry owners ).

This being my winter car, I didn't wan't to spend too much on the purchase, so I set a $4000 buget, but ended up going to $5K for this car. This car has pretty high miles (167K), but it doesn't bother me because I'm familiar with the famous Camry reliability, and this one was a one owner, very clean car (no rust - yay). It's also purchased from a large dealership in the Minneapolis area, with some warranty.

All that being said, since this car has high milage, I want to make sure I can maintain it so it runs to at least 200K miles - hopefully 300K lol.

Here's what I'm planning on doing for maintance:

PCV Valve - will do this myself soon. Got it for $6 at NAPA
Fuel Cleaner - bought a cheap STP fuel system treatment - needed to fill up today so I threw that in the tank. Took in 17 gallons (believe the tank is 18.5) so I'll monitor the gas milage
Engine Flush??? - This is the big question for me. I hear a lot of good things about seafoam and auto-rx. My main concern is that this being such a high-milage car, if that stuff cleans the engine out too well, some of the sludge holding the seals and whatnot might loosen and create leaks....Other option is to run a light weight oil for a bit as a cleaner, then switch over to a good full synthetic (Mobile 1 likely, don't think I'll do Amsoil). This post Engine Oil Flush Treatements-Safe? has some good info on the engine flush, and people were happy with Seafoam - I'm just worried about the high-milage on my car that may cause probs....moving on
Smoke smell removal - pervious owner smoked and I don't, so I put a bowl of vinegar in there overnight, and just sprayed some ozium. I need to do a full cleaning inside, but it't too cold so I'll have to wait on that.
Replace gague & HVAC lights - should be straight forward - I read the posts on that...
Strut & Sway bar bushings check - I get rattles going over bumps. No squeeks, and the bounce test seems fine. Does feel a little softer than I would expext taking turns though....Probably just the bushings to change - hope this is not too difficult, I'll read more on that....
Timing belt & water pump - I'll have someone do this. I believe the interval is supposed to be 80K miles, and I'm double that now - unfortunately no record of when the last one was done so dont want to take any chances there
Tranny flush & fill - will get this done also. What do you guys recommend on such a high-milage car, not knowing when the last one was done? Any risk of the tranny seals starting to leak, or it not working as effectively with the new, clean fluid? What fluid should I use? The normal stuff, or Royal Purple or something? Would the synthetic (royal purple) put me more at risk of tranny failiure? Tranny shifts very smoothly now, but when I first start driving it and it's really cold, it takes a bit longer to shift. Do the V6 trannys hold up pretty well? I noticed the longer shifts on cold days in my 1992 4 cyl camry as well....
Coolant flush & fill - straightforward, will have someone do this
Rust proofing - I'm going to do this myself in the summer, just in the wheel wells. My 1992 camry started rusting in that same spot behind the back wheels that every jap car gets...I don't want that to happen to this car. Any tips on this?
Regular washing - polish, etc...

What else should I think about? Anything critical? Plugs? Wires? Sensors? I heard about a charcoal evaporator thing?

Breaks are fine, dealer did some work on this and they feel great. Battery and alternator seem fine (alternator looks like it may have been refurbished). Radiators is fine. No leaks anywhere. Exhaust is fine. Hoses are fine. Belt seems fine - just a slight squeek, but I didn't throughly test it...

Appreciate your input, and I'm excited to be on the forum with my 2nd Camry!

[kmx]

Congratulations on your new car purchase and welcome to the forum. Nice to hear your story and I'm happy for you, but can I please see a picture of your car. I'm excited to see you have all these plans for your car but it would help if we start with a before pic then months from now we will have an after pic. I have a big folder on my computer with pictures of my car as it goes through transformations and little additions.

Also how much did you buy the car for? Thanks.

[93cr250]

how do you like the v6 compared to the 4?

[SirThomas88]

Congrats on the purchase! Welcome to the Gen 4 club

[canucklehead2004]

IMHO, this type of mileage always means the rear shocks & front struts should be replaced. They don't bounce up and down like a horribly worn set, but the softness you describe when driving will stiffen up nicely with new parts.

I wouldn't worry about engine flush. i think it's all snake oil.

other maintenance you mentioned all sounds good.

at $5K with 167K, it sounds like you paid the dealer top price and they should have done some of the fluid changes, such as tranny. Some tranny mechanics have told me they look at color of fluid on stick, and smell it, and base whether a change is required on that read. I usually do mine sooner.

rad flush is a good idea.

if you pay for all this maintenance, i can see spending another $1,000. better to maintain than have an expensive repair tho.

[kingkhan]

Thanks TN people - I'll probably wait on the suspension items for a year or so. I plan to spend the money for the maintanace over a few months so it's not a big dent to my wallet. Some stuff I can do, some stuff I can't, and some stuff just isn't worth me trying to deal with . Dealer checked the fluids and found them all satisfactory, but I need to have my own comfort level with the maintanance since I need this thing to last...

Compared to the 4cyl, the v6 is great. I had the 92 4 cyl which i believe is a 1.8, and I test drove some of the 2.2 4cyls. The 2.2 4 cyl is pretty good as well, but the V6 is really nice. I debated about this a bit for the gas milage, but ill be happy with mid/upper 20's for milage, so it's worth it for me. It's deffinately smoother with the v6.

I'll take some pictures track progress, repairs, etc.

[canucklehead2004]

my friend has a '94 4 cyl. I have a 2000 V6. we have similar hole-shot power, but I have more top end. We both drive a lot and tend to try and make time instead of economy= lead foot. our mileage is close to the same, mine might be a bit better. Point is: i don't think you loose much fuel economy with the V6.