New Avalon Owner!

[TurboMike83]

Hello All! I just purchased a 1997 Toyota Avalon, I am very excited about my new purchase. I have never owned a Toyota...I'm a Honda fan, but I've heard similar reliability stories from Toyota owners so I decided to take the plunge. My new car has 122,000 miles, two owners (same family), exterior/interior are in immaculate condition.

Previous owner took good care of the vehicle keeping up with regular maintenance (although he denies replacing the timing belt). The valve cover gaskets are leaking and will need to be replaced, which I plan on doing myself (looks like both front and rear gaskets are going) but I might just drop the ~$400 and have the dealership do it. How long will it take to lose a quart of oil if I drive the care lightly? I just read that this is a non-interference engine so I plan on running the T-Belt for another 10K miles before getting it replaced. Anything else I should look for?

[Avalon97]

At the angle of the first picture, it looks great...You just bought it 2 years ago?

[cexsiman]

fyi, its a huge headache to do the valve cover gaskets yourself. most find it easier to remove the intake plenum to get to it because its so close to the firewall. i payed a little over 300 to get mine done and it was worth saving me all that trouble. and yes the avalon is a 'non-interface' engine. aka it doest have vvt or vvit (variable valve timing). enjoy the 'new' car because it wont die for a long time. :-)

[TurboMike83]

I just bought the car in June '08, my friends camera doesn't have the right date on it....

[sseaman]

Looks like a nice car. I just bought mine and looks like i will be doing the valve cover gaskets also.