New guy, new car question

[1967c10]

Hello all, I always hate being the new guy on a new forum, but always glad to see so many others in to their cars. Well here goes the qestion, my fiancee and I are looking to purchace a 2005 camry le 2.4 with 49,000 miles.

I am a bit old school when it comes to cars even for a young guy (25), never owned a FWD car in my life. So after doing alot of reading about these cars it seems like you either get a good one or a bad one, and for some reason I see alot of trouble with the transmissions on the '05s in particular, (or maybe I am just reading the wrong info).

So I guess what I am asking of you all is to give me the low down on these cars, and are they as good as most people say they are, and what in particular should I look for. I am no stranger to cars and working on them, so I will do my best to check the usual. Any help with some info would be very much appreciated, thanks again and look forward to hearing back from you!

[1967c10]

I am sure that I will get the usual "search and you shall find" type of responses as most newbies get. Trust me I have been searching and reading lots of awesome info, but if there is anything else that anyone would like to share, I would love to hear it, thanks again.

[Mike Gerber]

Most of the transmission problems you have probably heard about were with the new 6 speed automatic mated to the V6 engine that came out in 2007. That was the first year of the generation 6 Camry (2007-2010). The 2005 Camry you are looking at is a generation 5 (2002-2006). It should have the 5 speed automatic mated to the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder 2AZ engine. I am not aware of any major problems for that year but if you are uncomfortable, make sure you get some kind a warranty on the car. Have you checked Consumer Reports annual auto issue (April) for the frequency of repair record for this car? It should be available at your local library. Is this car being purchased from a dealer? If so, is it a certified used Toyota vehicle? Are you able to get a Carfax report on this vehicle? Are you purchasing this vehicle form a private party? If private party, do you know the party and are able to get the car's history? Just some things to consider when purcahsign a used vehicle. Incidently, 49,000 miles is pretty low mileage for this year vehicle.

Good luck.

Mike

[LE05]

^ +1. 1967c10, you are reading the wrong info... its the 07's that had transmission problems.

The Gen 5.5 (05-06) are rock solid cars. the only problems you may encounter is a leaking water pump or an intermediate shaft clunk... both of which I do not consider major problems and are easily fixed either by yourself or your local dealer.