Newbie - Opinions needed Urgent

[sundarpn]

Hello All,

I am new to the Camry community and I am here because I am contemplating on replacing my aging 1996 Taurus GL (is still doing great. I mean great) with an 02 or 03 Camry XLE (4 Cyl)


I do most average mainteannce on my Taurus myself and parts are cheap too. So I first want to know how the Gen 5 (02 & 03) Camry compares on this aspect.

Some specific questions:

- Myself doing [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Oil [/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]change[/FONT][/FONT] on the Camry? Is the filter easy to reach and replace? Is the filter expensive at the [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]toyota [/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]dealer[/FONT][/FONT]? Any good aftermarket filter?

- Tranny Fluid - Is it special / expensive compared to the Dextron / Mercon III or even the Mercon V? Does the camry have a stock [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]tranny [/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]cooler[/FONT][/FONT] tube upfront. So that one can disonnect the return line and do an almost complete tranny flush at home? Is the tranny filter a metal mesh?

- Any other fluids that are special and pricy? or difficult to change at home?

- Brake stuff. [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Rotors[/FONT][/FONT] and pads. Are they expensive?

- Sparkplugs. Are they easy to replace? Are they again pricy and aer we forced to go with OEM plugs only?

- The 02 and higer Camry come with a timing chain right? So no issues with chagining that I would guess.

- Overall anythings I should look out or watch out for before buying an 02 or 03 Camry (mostly XLE... may be SE but only the 4 cylinder)

thanks!