how long does the battery generally last on these cars/ not to worried about mpg. but its either this camry or a golf gti. help me decide please

 

I bought a 97 GTI/VR6 new in 1997. I actually sold a brand new at the time 1996 Corvette to buy the GTI. The Vette was a piece of crap. Chevy's customer service stunk. Horrible experience for their top line car! The Vette had so many problems that it had to go back to Bowling Green KY to get the issues sorted out. I never saw it again, filed the Lemon ordeal and almost a year later bought the GTI.

I had the GTI from 97 to 02 and put 196,000 miles on it. Never had one problem with that car! Just regular maintenance. Now, I don't know if the same can be said for the new ones. BUT, out of all the cars I have owned in recent memory, it was the best.

After the GTI, I had 2 Passat TDI's. Owning those cars ruined VW for me. Too much crap to list. Needless to say I will NEVER own a VW again!

After the TDI's, I went to a new Mercedes e320 CDI. At that point in time, the Mercedes was the only car I had owned that was better than the GTI (many cars before, too many to list). Cost of ownership with Diesels is high in regards to maintenance, and then the cost of fuel now. The stellar economy is still not enough to compensate for the costs of VERY expensive oil changes with hard to find filters, frequent and expensive fuel filter changes and expensive fuel. Then god forbid a problem with the engine! Fixing Diesel when things go wrong is $$$.

Then there's the TCH. What a great "all around car"! I have had my share of piddly problems like the water pump, trunk switch rubber, etc... But, over all the car is just tough as nails. We almost have 250,000 miles on ours and I have no intention on selling it anytime soon. Both the batteries are original, it still has the original pads and rotors, etc... It has just been a workhorse for our family! The only real downside to the car is the trunk. Now ours is an older one. I think the newer ones have a little larger trunk. BUT, every time we get in the car, we use the trunk and we are constantly trying to find new and creative ways to cram stuff in there! LOL! Time for a HIHY! Touch'e...

 

don't get a VW, I got 72k on my 2014, only two years old, I have not had a battery issue, the battery's do have a separate warranty.

 

Snookwhaler here is well over 200 000 miles and battery running strong.
Just make sure it's J VIN car. They'll run.

 

I have 222,000 on my TCH, runs like a dream. Still getting great MPGs.

 

I haul 10 ft lumber in my HiHy easy.

 

best car I've owned

I bought my 07 TCH (J-VIN) new 10 years ago and now have 140k miles on it. Still has both original batteries and still gets great gas mileage. Just needs normal maintenance, and since the brakes don't seem to wear out you'll still need to clean and re-grease the caliper slide pins maybe every 5 years or so. Yes, the trunk is a bit limited but we got used to it. One big advantage of owning a Toyota is the wealth of information available in this forum!

 

OP, just re-read your original post. If you don't care about mpg, then don't buy hybrid. It's not a car for you. Maybe buy a V6 conventional Camry to have some whoomp. I'd personally caution against ANY newer German car. Their reliability is somewhere below the sewer system.

 

I sold my BMW 530i and would never ever buy another German car again. The best German cart was the original VW bug. maybe old BMW's. if you are rich and can burn through money and don't care about losing $$ and crap breaking, you can enjoy the performance. But, but us regular Peons, it's a waste of money to buy German.. The Germans could care less if you pay a fortune and the crap breaks. Me having 1/2 German blood and living there 3 years, I can say without a doubt, if you are over there you get a lot more for your money and the junk is cheaper there, here they jack up the price 100x and the quality is garbage, where in the old days it was much, much better. They don't care any more, a s long as they get enough suckers to keep paying crazy prices for crap.


IMHO

 

I bought an e45 recently and was really surprised how bad it is, luckily I bought one from a lady that spent a fortune maintaining it (I saw the receipts!) so the interior and exterior is in very good shape. I also checked some X5 and it's probably the most overrated suv (they're also cheap but the cost to bring it back to shape is to the roof) I chose the e45 because it's not loaded with electronics which the german sucks, even though it's a 2002 model (325xi) it drives better than my 2007 hybrid camry and mustang.

funny thing is after I signed the title and bill of sale the window regulator on the passenger side broke on my first day of ownership..lol Bring My Wallet...
actually repairs and parts for BMW is cheap if DIY, just like the hybrid it's the perception that makes the shops/dealership to charge more. I spent $65 for a window regulator in just 1 hr, dealership will charge $400-$700 for that. parts probably will fail 10x more compared to toyota IMO.

 

Invest in an OBDII scanner for diagnostics, the $35 dollar one will work.


Never unplug any wires with the battery power on. The computers will freak out and the idiot lights to say all kinds of things are bad.
Invest in a bunch of BMW sized tools at a place like Harbor Freight (lots of tools cheap)_, as most wrench sizes on BMW are bastard sizes.
do most of you parts shopping online, all autoparts stores will rape you before you can finish saying BM...W.


Don't bother looking for a BMW mechanic, only the dealer knows or how to fix anything.
Invest in a manual.
Join all of the BMW online forums. You will need all of the info others can pass on after everyone's misfortune.
Some years you have to replace the entire complete cooling system every few years or the engine overheats and blows. Hopefully, you didn't get one of those models and years.


Geeesh, I could go on and on.
oh yeah, everything is cheap plastic, don't touch poke, or prod anything plastic, as it disingrates after the warranty ends, like the tape in mission impossible, at the end of the message.


I forgot to add: extend your AAA towing distance...

 

I forgot another thing, we had several Toyotas. We had a 2003 Camry, and even after my daughter wrecked it, put a few new parts on and it was still running after we sold it. it was a nice car, in fact it was much more comfortable than our 2014.5 Camry. It had the 4 cyl, with auto trans but had lots of power. We had a 1989 Corolla and we finally junked it, although still running with 375,000 miles on it.
I miss our 1987 Toyota SR5 pickup. My niece (wife's side of family) wrecked that truck. it had auto trans and power steering. it was $12,000 new.

 

I drive taxi my le has 157000 (no problems) another guy i know le also has 327000 and just did brakes all way around no other issues beyond plug replacement at 200000 K

 

That sounds about right. My 2008 is about to pass 250,000 miles and the original pads look to have about 50% pad life left. I'm betting I will be replacing pads and rotors around 300,000 to 350,000 miles.

I'm hoping the batteries will make it that far, but I doubt it...

 

retiredat44 - did you have to add oil to the 2003 Camry? Our 2002 LE 4-cyl needs a quart every 1500 miles.

Other than a headliner that is starting to fall just a bit at the back window, and a cassette player that no longer works, it runs well for 265,000 miles.

 

I

have 2012 camry hybrid I just turned over 303000 miles only repairs normal maitiance and hybrid battery at 200k

 

My Avalon hybrid is going strong at 145k mi. Just regular maintenance and original battery.

 

Imagine me claiming my TCH as high mileage at 103K.

Only things done - sun visor broke and replaced DIY, outside door handle broken by kid and replaced DIY. On my second set of tires and should last till 120K. Spark plugs replaced at 100K just because. Mileage per tankful went up back past 600 miles. Oil change done at 10K interval. Will now shorten it to 7.5K, tire rotation and wheel balancing at every 5K interval.

The thrill of flooring the gas pedal in sports mode is no less than driving a BMW 328. Although there is a new bad boy in town - tesla. I once saw a TCH and 328 race on I-75 somewhere in Georgia. I am sure they both hit 120 mph and were neck to neck as far as I could make out. I was driving within my limits with my family.

Stats for timings -

0 -60 mph Camry ICE(4cyl) - 8.1s, TCH - 7.2s, BMW 328i - 5.5s
Quarter mile - Camry 4cyl - 16.2s, TCH - 15.5s, BMW 328i - 14.0s