buying 3 rare camrys? help! !

[jecht]

Hello, I am a new member. My name is Josh and I am from Cleveland Ohio. One day my friend and I went to look for a new car (my 93 civic is wearing out) in the Akron area. One lot had a few american cars like the contour and lumina but it had 3 camrys!
we looked into them and all 3 were manual trans. camrys! my friend told me to come here to ask about these cars. i thought camrys were automatic!

it had two 92=96 models and a 97-01 model. I am new to camrys so i don't know jack.
the beat up one had black window surrounds and a spoiler and it said SE V6 on the back. It had power windows, locks, etc. It was a 92-96 model apparently. That i do know. it also had body colored side moldings.
a nicer camry had chrome window surrounds, no spoiler, black side moldings but no V6 emblems. there was manual windows and locks, a manual tranny and i didn't even see a tape player. it did have air and a tachometer tho.
the third camry was a newer 97-01 model. it said it was a CE ? and it had the V6 badging on it like the SE, same script, but chrome, not black? the newer camry had a tape player unlike the 2nd one but it was still manual windows locks not like the se. it was weird to see all these camrys at once, and to have all three camrys in the same lot.
i grew up thinking camrys were all automatics. i was wrong. i have a civic auto, and i wanted a camry auto, but now with arab-opec and the gas crisis now i want the camry size but with civic fuel economy. i might have to go manual, even tho i'm not too good driving it right now...i can learn
do any of you like manual camrys or own one? my catholic girl ex-friend has a camry without badging, a 92-96 one but it has cloth seats, power windows locks, air, but it's not a V6-in fact there is no badging on it at all! it's like the manual one i mentioned but it has an automatic. .... bewildered.

well...
anyway...
thanks for reading my post

josh echt
jecht@kent.edu

[cam2Xrunner]

Get the 97 v6 5 speed. It's got potential.

[Eye8Pussies]

wait...so did you have a question then?

and camrys came in both auto and stick, with most of the v6s coming only in auto

if you plan to get a 4cyl cam, then its best to get the stick cuz its a heavy car

[ASG14]

Originally posted by trdcamry2003
Get the 97 v6 5 speed. It's got potential.

Same thought

[Phi]

MT V6's are rare for any year. If you're considering buying one, look into that later model they have on the lot. Although it is the lowest trim (CE), it has great potential. TRD offers a supercharger for it at around $2700 if you're into that. Then again, you said you wanted fuel economy. Regardless, without the SC, it's still a great car with ample pwr.

As a warning, that particular model generation has a few issues. Chronic front suspension knocking due to premature strut mount wear - corrected with revised mounts. The engines were also sensative to oil sludge if neglected by the owner.

[jecht]

Dear everyone,
thanks for your input. i prolly will get the one with the 4cyl manual, not the se. i need fuel econ. not power. i have heard about the oil sludge thing,

by the way how many manual camrys were made? i didn't even know that camrys came in stick until a few days ago when i went to that lot! God must've been smilin' on me!

What's with the black body moldings for? why black and not body color? is it a modded camry? cos the SE there is body colored and so is the CE v6.

what model trim is the one with the black moldings anyway? is it just known as a "camry" and not like a "se v6" or an le or a ce V6?
is it a one-off? it looks as if the previous owner didn't order any options or maybe wanted to turn it into a demo derby car like my friend's 84 LeSabre 350-4 bbl. (He gutted the interior of it) The camry is not gutted or anything but it looks very Spartan.!!! I saw another one like that on Kent State's campus iirc a few weeks before...so i guess these "black molding" camrys aren't as rare as i thought.!

[Phi]

the black molding is part of the cheaper trim.

CE=cheapest model
SE="sporty" asthetically ie. rims and spoiler with pwr grp
LE=usually all the pwr grp without sunroof or leather
XLE=all the goodies

Here's a list of how the line up looks currently to give you a better idea are the various trim levels.
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2005/camry/models.html

[jecht]

I covered this in an earlier post but what's with some camrys having black side moldings? is it a sports edition? cos i saw an SE V6 camry and it had no moldings but it did have a spoiler. the body moldigns on the SE were body-colored. (gray/silver)

after doing some quick research i did find out, and confirmed that one of the posters said they came in both manual and auto. How many manuals (I4/V6) either/or were made in proportion to auto camrys?

I even got a pic of an interior of a camry with a stick!

I want fuel economy now, not power. I used to lust for a mid-80s Crown Vic 351-2barrel variable venturi police car or a Caprice 350-4v Rochester or TBI LO5 as recently as 2002. Now I want my Civic to squeak out 401 miles on a tank! :p
It's just that I sense the gas crisis will rapidly get worse. I am almost 21, but my parents tell me about the '73 and '79 oil crises when Nixon and Carter were in office. Odd- and even-numbered licence plates. The failed rescue attempt in April '80 of the Iranian hostages. Watergate. The oil crises...

end rant!
josh echt

[Phi]

thread merged.

[jecht]

i forgot to check for responses to the original thread...they came quicker than expected ! hence, no need for the newer thread.
sorry.

josh echt

[es250nut]

Nice to see more people who enjoy a good stick!

[dna59]

I think I would go with the newer one. A v6 camry w/ a manual tranny, I wouldn't be able to pass it up.

[ToYoBear]

Hi there,
Toyota has many variations with there letters
There is also a Camry V6 called GLX
It comes including leather and is the EURO version
Most of the time that’s how the identify also where to ship the care to.

[Cello8619]

I drive a 1996 (3rd generation) Camry coupe stick i4. Now for the camry's that are on the lot, the SE v6 manual transmision has to either be a 1992 or 1993 since those are the only years that a v6 manual transmision was offered for the 3rd gereration (1992-1996) this car is one of the most rarest Camry's out there. The only downfall is that the car only has a drivers side airbag. The I4 camry is a DX model (which I have) and has to be a 1992-1994 since the body molding is not color keyed, which looks kinda cheap. The 1995-96 DX camry's have color keyed moldings and look the same on the outside as a LE except there is no Trim level marked on the trunk. And for the newer V6 Camry, it is not as rare compared to the older Camry's. Depending on the Milage of the V6 SE compared to the I4 I would go with either, the V6 and Manual is a great combo and a very rare Camry, but the I4 is great too. The Third generation Camry's are built great and have less problems then the 1997 V6 CE, since that was the first year for the 4th generation. The 3rd Gen. seem more solid, and I think they have cleaner lines. Good Luck and you can't go wrong with any Camry. By the way the I4 Manual has plenty of power and great Mileage, I 36 MPG on trips all the time.

[bronzemaxell]

myself have 3 in manual transmissions, 93dx i4, 99 solara SEv6 and 03 SE i4, ranking by highest mpg to lowest will be 03 SE i4(33mpg), 93 dx i4(30mpg), 99 SE v6(28mpg), ranking by speed will be: 99SE v6, 03 SE i4, 93dx i4.

my personal opinion, they are not a sport car type, doesn't go too fast, and good enough to get you from point a to point b reliably, and very low maintenance.