Buying 05-06 Camry. Price?

[s_ajanthan]

Hey everybody,

I'm looking at purchasing an 05/06 Camry 4cyl with the 5speed auto. I was wondering wut the going price now would be.

I've looked at sites like autotrader.ca and there's some really high mileage 05s for around $16,000CDN. Most of these have around 80k to 100k+ kms so the warranty limit is more or less over. Is that a reasonable rate. For about 3grand more i see some with 50k km.

I doubt I'd need the extra warranty protection since Camry's don't really have a chance of major issues until after 10+years. Also since 05 was the first year the 5speed auto was put into the 4cyl is there are reliability issues or bugs I should worry about in the transmission. I assumimg all other small problems have been worked after the first model year.

Also I'm planning on buying from a dealership since I can't seem to find any private sellers. Should I buy straight from Toyota (about 1grand more than other dealerships) or should i go to someone like Kia/GM/Honda dealerships? (is there any difference in there inspection of their vehicle?).

Also while I'm at it, how would you compare Gen4 to Gen5. We currently have a Gen4 but the Gen5 looks so much nicer and feature-rich. How's the Gen5 like for the average A->B driver?

Thx -AJ

[Goomph]

Hi,

I hope I can help by summarizing my experience ...

I purchased a 2004 Camry LE at 83K for 17,600 in June. I had been looking for quite sometime for a 2003 or 2004 Camry before I made the purchase. The best price I saw at Burlington Toyota for a 2003 L was 16,250 dollars (After negotiations) at 56,000 Km's. But the car was in rough shape and it was that dark blue color. I could probably get it for maybe 16K or very close but the color and the shape the car was in stopped me. I checked maybe 5 dealerships the day I decided purchase mine, From Whitby to Burlington, just drove to the lots of some dealerships which said they had a Camry in my price range. There were tons of SE's which were manual, LE's were all around 16K to 18K depending on the mileage. if I wanted one around 50K the price was between 19K to 20K for an LE. And let me tell you there weren't many of them at the lots. Their web sites or autotrader.ca was showing them but when I went to the dealerships they were gone ....

This is my third Toyota (First used), and would not buy one from a non toyota dealership. I found some at non toyota dealerships but one never knows the state of the car .... The dealership I went to (Whitby Toyota) Produced a report Carfax and somethign else which showed the history of the vehicle and guaranteed that it wasn't in a flood or accident or anything of the kind.

Their asking price was 19,600 which I told them was unrealistic and after 4 hours we were down to 17,6K with four brand new tires installed balanced and 4 wheel alignment, a brand new windshield and some rust spots touched up professionaly at the trunk lid. I could have probably do better but it was difficult (I found out, and maybe for me only) to get the titanium metallic colour I really wanted badly, so I signed and it drives like a dream. I also did not get the extended warranty.

My last Camry was a 1998 LE (Japanese) and the only time I paid money for it was for a change of the water pump at 145,000 km's and since it was already almost time to change the timing belt I did not mind it that much.

I am hoping that this one will last me for the next 15 years or so .....Unless I break and trade it in for a 2006 XLE ......I personally do not like how the 2007 model looks .... so that's why maybe a 2006

As for driving from A to B, it is a very nice ride .. quiet (I have the 4 cyl) peppy enough for me, and the internall stuff is quite adequate. I wish it had the fog lights (I purchased them on eBay and just received them) and ABS and that lid in the console which 2005 has. Other than that it has everything I wanted in it. I love whenever I use the remote to pop the trunk Lack of an alarm system is a minus but who really pays attention to car alarms anyways .... It is supposed have an immobilizer so that is good enough for me.


People should notice that the OP is in Canada, and so am I. We do pay through our nose for everything here The exchange rate is .95 and yet the markup is much much more higher .....

Good luck ....

[carlo$]

sell you mine for 16,000 usd. 36,000 miles w/ no probs at all. see my website for a video clip.

[IPDaily]

whatever you get, be sure you get a V6, you won't regret it...

[Marcos Santiago]

Prices for used cars vary greatly… what is your location? Are you in Toronto? I am in the GTA suburbs.

I was looking for a good deal in used cars too… Last week I found it, I saw a 2005 Camry in the Trader.ca, and I am happy to report that I became its new owner. I got the car on July 18 (day before yesterday). It was a private sale.

It is a ’05 LE with the V6 engine and 5-speed auto transmission. The transmission is top-notch, it is so smooth, and it anticipates very well what the car is doing (slowing down, accelerating). In my search for this car I drove others, including a 2004 model with the 4-speed auto. I can tell you that the newer 5-speed is way better than the previous one.

Note - I drove a 2003 SE with the manual transmission and I found it to be a very efficient gearbox, but not sporty at all.

After driving the ‘05 model, I focused my efforts into getting one car like that or newer, because of the transmission, and standard ABS.

Actually, let me mention some small things (beside the transmission and the ABS) that the 2005 car has, that are better than previous models: new, nicer head lights and tail lamps, redesigned front bumper and grille, new designs for wheels (the car I got has alloys), the rear seat has added headrest (for passenger in the middle), inside door handles are chromed, optitron speedometer cluster, center console box is larger, auto on/off headlights, etc.

As a side note, with the V6 you get the better alarm system, with the engine immobilizer.

IMO, the 2005 model has clear advantages over the older models. It is worth to pay more if you have to. Right now there are not too many 2005 cars available for private sales, so you may have to get one from a dealer.

I got my phantom grey 2005 LE V6 with 53,000 kms for $17,400, and I am a happy camper.

Good luck in your search!

[MrSo0h0o]

i got my 05 Camry SE I4 with 27k for $17,500. bought it from a used car stealership, worst thing i have ever done.. horrible salespeople.

[s_ajanthan]

We're all A->B drivers in our family so we're probably going to go for the 4cyl. Yeah I'm definately going to make my purchase an 05 or newer due to the standard ABS and 5speed Auto. Wikipedia says its the same model that the V6 uses (is this possible) so I'm assuming its already very reliable.

Does purchasing at a Toyota Dealership come with some kind of special Toyota Used warranty? Also generally how much lower from the advertised price can I get the car for at a Toyota Dealer? I see some for around $19500CDN. Could I talk that down to $17500.

That would be under $20K including the insane 14% taxation... damn gov't...

Also, what kind of fees will the dealer try to push and is there any websites you guys could suggest to go to on how to negotiate a lower price.