Question re: 1993 Camryt

[katy_cole]

Hello all...I have a question please...my in-laws have offered to give us their 1993 Camry XLE...I don't know very much about the car other than it has leather interior, a sunroof and has been garaged for most of it's life...I also know that it has 140k original miles on it...

We are obviously going to take them up on their generous offer...but my question is, with proper maintenance, how much more life can we expect to get out of this vehicle...we have never owned a toyota but have always heard that toyota's and honda's will run forever...

so again, with proper care, would it be reasonable to get another 100k out of the vehicle, or more like 50k - 75k...

thank you in advance for your time...

[Mike Gerber]

It really depends on how the vehicle was maintained up to this point. Being garage kept is good, but doesn't tell us much about the maintenance history of the vehicle. That is, oil changes, coolant and transmission flushes, brake flushes, etc. I can say we have many Camrys on this forum with well over 200,000 miles.

Mike

[timebuilder]

Not to get too philosophical here, but it depends on the age of your in-laws. People from my parent's generation (grew up during the Great Depression) were fanatical about vehicle maintenance, but after retiring many place less emphasis on the care of the vehicle, because they are on a fixed income. If your in-laws are only 40-50, it may not have seen as much maintenance, because out generation grew up with many "disposable" items, and we don't think about maintenance as much. Then, we complain when things break. Still, a toyota is more able to deal with less manintenance than many other cars.

Look to see if there is a sticker that can be read from the passenger side fender that gives an odomoeter reading for the last time the "timing belt" was changed. The recommended interval for timing belts is from 60k to 90k, depending on the manufacturer. You can ask the in-laws for the repair reciepts so you can tell what you will have to do to "keep it as nice as they kept it." If they have a stack of receipts that say things like "coolant changed" and "transmission fluid change," chances are good that the car was well cared for.

I would expect to be able to drive the car for almost 100k more miles, all other things being equal.

[marc780]

A compression check of the engine will tell you a lot about how much more life you can expect to get out of the engine. Or better yet a leak down check. Other than that it depends alot on how it was driven - a lot of city driving with lots of stopping, is much harder on the car than highway miles, as im sure you're aware.

It will last a long time for you, probably at least 100,000 more, based on the assumption it wasn't beat on. Expect to change a water pump or two, alternator at least once, a couple of timing belts and maybe a starter. Maybe also the whole moving parts on the front end, ball joints and tie rods and all that.
But change the fluids and it will be reliable for a long long time - it's a toyota -