[MIK1989]

Hey guys. So here it goes, sold I my 4 cyl. Camry LE 1993 few days ago and now looking for another car.
I need your advice. Don't know what car to buy.
1) Toyota Camry 1993 V6, fully loaded, 196km (120miles). Price is $3600 CAN ($2945 USA)
2) Nissan Maxima 1997 V6, 157km (96miles). Price is $4900 CAN ($4005 USA)
Have not checked them out yet, only on internet.
What are advantages/disadvantages of one car over another?
Which car would be cheaper to maintain?

Also there was another car: Toyota Camry 1999 V6, fully loaded, 185km (113miles). Price is $5900 CAN ($4825 USA). Price is kind of high for me, but I might consider that one too, if you'll advise me.

By the way, which car is more comfortable for tall person (I'm 6'4"). I know my 93 Camry was pretty good when I put seat all the way to the back, I was okay with that. Is Maxima or Gen 4 Camry have more room or no?

 

[toyotaholic]

why are you considering a gen 3 for your gen 3 replacement? im surprised you were comfortable in your gen 3, my gen 4 was killing me and i'm just as tall. i believe the maxima had more room

 

[MIK1989]

I'm considering gen 3, because I liked my previous car, I sold it mainly because I wanted a car with V6 and with possibilities to upgrade it in the future. Tony's car inspired me to do this. But now I found Maxima on the website and I thought may be it is a better idea.
So what do you guys think?

 

[JCamry94]

Maxima's are really nice, but so are camrys...

The punch of the v6 is nice, but the maxima's power delivery is a little bit stronger. To be honest the max is only a tiny bit more spacious. It is a large car and will fit you nicely, but only a small margin over the camry.

As far as looks go the camry has always been the clear winner IMO, ESPECIALLY the older versions.

As you know camry's are as reliable as it gets for a v6, and I have to speak from experience that I met an old gent once that had 243K miles on his 93ish maxima, while mine died at 180K, so they can last long dependant on a the level of care

If I were in your shoes I'd take the Camry, but I have grown to be very biased :thumbsup:

Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[islandboy57]

I wouldn't think too much about the cars until you actually go and see them. That makes all the difference in the world.

As far as a general Maxima vs. Camry comparison, I like that gen Maxima but clearly I'm biased like most people on here and would prefer the Camry. I went to look at a couple of Camrys with a friend and IMO, go for the 1MZ. The 3VZ is a good engine but the 1MZ is newer and I felt that it had more power.

Bottom line: go out and see as many cars as you can. Price and what it looks like in an ad mean nothing. Sometimes the cheapest/oldest car will be in pristine condition and the newest/most expensive car you're looking at will be trashed.

Since you're looking for a V6 (good choice) be sure to pull the oil dip stick and make sure there isn't a huge amount of varnish or sludge on it. Look at the oil fill hole too. Don't be turned off if it looks gross in there, the 1MZ just has a habit of doing that to the oil fill hole area for some reason.

Good luck! I hope you can find something good. The gen 4 should have standard ABS which is nice, but I still like the gen 3 Camry the best.

 

[MIK1989]

I am biased too, so I like Camrys, but I decided to go and take a look at the Maxima today. It is a pretty good car, but some may say that it has more room, it doesn't for me. It might have a little more room for body, but not for legs, I put seat farthest to the back and steering wheel at highest point, and it still felt less roomy than my previous Camry and less comfortable for legs.
So I probably will go with Camry. I will take another look to see if there are any other decent cars on the website.

That Camry is 1993, so I assume it has 3VZ engine. So should I look for another one with 1MZ or this one will do. Is there really big difference between those engines? For example will I be able to turbo 3VZ in the future?

 

[islandboy57]

Good, I think you should get a Camry

I'm not sure how many people have S/C'd or turbo'd their 3VZs but it seems like a fair amount of people have done it with the 1MZ. On top of that the 1MZ was around until at least 2006 so you'll probably have more support for it (well, as much as you'll get with a Camry) and an easier time finding parts. Just my $0.02.

Ideally you'd be able to find an gen 3.5 SE V6 but those are hard to come by. Good luck!

 

[MIK1989]

Hey, I found another Toyota Camry: 1997 XLE, V6 (I suppose 1MZ). Fully loaded except leather. Mileage 241 kms (147k miles).
Price is $4000 CAN (3270 USA). What do you think? Is it a good deal, should I go with this Camry?

 

[MIK1989]

I bought the car that's in the previous post. Managed to get price down to $3500 CAN.

 

[islandboy57]

I bought the car that's in the previous post. Managed to get price down to $3500 CAN.

Nice! Pics?

 

[MIK1989]

Here are the pictures, the car is a little dirty because of some kind of flowers that are falling from the tree near my house.