If it isn't one thing, it's another.

If there's one major downside to owning an old Japanese car, it's having to keep fixing it... and most of the time that ain't cheap. Before I go back to school (nice long winter break!) I have to dump a few hundred more dollars in repairs on the mighty Camry. First off, my rear brakes are f****d up... I need new wheel cylinders and shoes back there. Right now the brakes feel very weak (yes, the master cylinder is full) when out on the road and when holding the pedal light and steady at slower speeds (ie slowing down in a parking lot) the brakes grab with a vengeance. Aargh! I'm taking the car down to my friendly Toyota dealership this weekend to have that noise in my front end looked at. We can't determine whether it's a bad bearing (God no! I dont want to tear the front end apart!), a bad CV joint, or a control arm in need of replacement. (The right side control arm was replaced last fall. That little piece of iron is expensive!) At first I thought it was a flatspotted tire, but when I put the snow tires on last month the noise was still there. Lastly (wow this is a long diatribe!) the rear swaybar bushings are going to be replaced... these things make tons of noise on bumpy roads! AAAAHHHH!!!!! :evil: Honestly, I'm not sure how much longer I am going to hold onto this thing... I might be selling it in the spring. There's a few reasons why- 1) I'm bored and want a new toy to play with, 2) I know I can still get at least $1000 out of this car, and 3) parts are expensive! Oh... and knock me all you want for reason #4 but I'm a domestic car guy first and foremost . Lastly, I miss rear wheel drive . That was a lot of fun when I had it! (Before the Camry I had an '85 Cutlass and an '88 T-bird.)

When I find out what that noise up front is I'll report back.

Until next time
Steve

[Eye8Pussies]

hmmm....sounds like your car's starting to die on you...drove it like a madman muscle car, eh? :wink:

but just some advice....since your car's (bascially) old, and when you sell it, if y ousaid that the car was "dealer maintained", it would make not difference at all. So why bring it to the dealer garage anymore?

if you find some nice little garage somewhere that specializes in doing toyotas/imports, you can get basically all work done for a lot cheaper. the parts, when aftermarket is available, will be cheaper, and if not, the labor will always be cheaper.....just make sure they know imports tho...don't want any domestic shops messing with what they don't really know...
:roll:
good luck

[']['R][) camry]

man your car is 16 years old.. what do you expect?

Try driving a 16 year old ford and see how much it costs you

[']['R][) camry]

man your car is 16 years old.. what do you expect?

Try driving a 16 year old ford and see how much it costs you

Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2002 8:09 pm Post subject:

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if you find some nice little garage somewhere that specializes in doing toyotas/imports, you can get basically all work done for a lot cheaper. the parts, when aftermarket is available, will be cheaper, and if not, the labor will always be cheaper.....just make sure they know imports tho...don't want any domestic shops messing with what they don't really know...

What I forgot to mention- my ol' man is the parts manager at the toyota dealership, so I get hook-ups here and there. And as for 16-year old Fords... we've had four of them in the last few years and they will run forever if well (hell, even reasonably well) taken care of. (And parts are cheaper- and easier to find.) Particularly in the case of Mustangs, which I'm looking for... mechanically, they're fairly solid and unless the car has been seriously abused or neglected they will run a real long time with basic maintenance. I know firsthand that these cars cost little to run well. Perhaps']['R][) camry needs to engage the brain before responding :evil: . Way to single out Fords. GM's and Chryslers are far worse quality wise. Any car guy worth his nuts and bolts knows that. Additionally, I never expect a sixteen year old car from any company to perform like it did on day 1. I won't waste any time telling you that fundamentally the Camry is an excellent car. I'd recommend one to anybody. I'm just ready to move on, that's all.

[REN69]

Originally Posted by ']['R][) camry

man your car is 16 years old.. what do you expect?

Try driving a 16 year old ford and see how much it costs you

probably nothing man.. there's so many 16yr old fords at junkyards now that its so easy to get parts for them.. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!