[AVL92CAMRY]

I went to open the drivers door on my Camry yesterday and the plastic door handle broke. I guess due to the cold and age. I am afraid that this could be the start of lots of breakage. The car is 15 years old and has 203,000 miles on it. It has been a great car and its never let me down but its getting old and wearing out. SO.. my options are:

1. Spend $7,000 to $10,000 to build this car up the way i want. Engine rebuild with turbo, new paint, coilovers, new suspension bushings, wheels, tires, exhaust, and fixing all the little plastic stuff that will keep breaking over the years.

2. Spend $10,000 to $12,000 on a '02- '03 Subaru WRX with half as many miles as my car, good paint, no repairs necessary, all wheel drive and a huge aftermarket for performance mods.

What do you all think? Is building my Camry a waste when i could get a WRX for almost the same amount of money? Or is the sleeper and unique aspect of the Camry worth the work?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Heres my Camry @ the autocross last summer...

 

[woody]

honestly, part this one out (you will have a lot of buyers) and go with the wrx.
I went all out with my car, but a wrx is still faster.
You have to be very dedicated or too far gone into buidling the car to really highly mod the camry. Most guys here have started with a car that didn't need a lot to fix up to begin with.

 

[blackedcoupeLE]

wrx imho...sounds like my 94, i swear every knob/handle in that thing has broken off

 

[bigbird]

ha...thats funny, i had the exact same dillema. if u spend that 12K for a used WRX, keep in mind that ur getting a car with at least 50K miles, prolly more. so in another 50 to 70K ull have to start doin 100K repairs. i decided to stick with my camry. when the engine goes im gonna replace the motor with totally rebuilt one($2600 for 94-96 or $3200 for 97+). then ill put in the 5 speed. in total its gonna cost me about 6-7k to do it, including paint job and brake upgrade. with the 97+ motor i also have the option to supercharge it if one ever ends up in my hands. this way ill have a "brand new" car for under 8 grand. now i do have another car that is my play car for the most part and i LOVE my camry so even though id like to try somthing new and faster, money and insurance wise, this is a better deal for me. but ita really all depends on how much u wanna stick with ur car. keep in mind also that if ur lookin for raw power, u can always spend that 10K on a camaro or a mustang and as long as u take care of it it will last u a long time and they are loads of fun, not as practical though.

 

[blackedcoupeLE]

i second that camaro vote too

you could get a nice 4th gen Z28/SS LS1 for around that price range

 

[abew330]

wrx imho...sounds like my 94, i swear every knob/handle in that thing has broken off

me too!!
my handle is still broken

 

[abew330]

ha...thats funny, i had the exact same dillema. if u spend that 12K for a used WRX, keep in mind that ur getting a car with at least 50K miles, prolly more. so in another 50 to 70K ull have to start doin 100K repairs. i decided to stick with my camry. when the engine goes im gonna replace the motor with totally rebuilt one($2600 for 94-96 or $3200 for 97+). then ill put in the 5 speed. in total its gonna cost me about 6-7k to do it, including paint job and brake upgrade. with the 97+ motor i also have the option to supercharge it if one ever ends up in my hands. this way ill have a "brand new" car for under 8 grand. now i do have another car that is my play car for the most part and i LOVE my camry so even though id like to try somthing new and faster, money and insurance wise, this is a better deal for me. but ita really all depends on how much u wanna stick with ur car. keep in mind also that if ur lookin for raw power, u can always spend that 10K on a camaro or a mustang and as long as u take care of it it will last u a long time and they are loads of fun, not as practical though.

i completely agree

 

[bigbird]

haha...the only thing i never liked about my camrys. thoes damn handles!:lol: !

 

[94CoupeV6]

That's wierd because that just happend to me like 2 weeks ago haha.

 

[Tô¥ôĆåm_X|ê]

Ill Go With A New Car

 

[hooRAH]

I think you'll have a whole lot more fun with the WRX. Putting a turbo in is a waste on this car.

 

[ghettosled]

wrx (or camaro, no bias there). but everyone and their brother seems to use a wrx on autocross. the easy route would be get a wrx, but it wouldnt be unique if youre interested in that aspect. the camaro would take a fair amount of work to turn into an autocross competitor.

 

[Dave's]

I'm cheap. I just fixed the handle and keep on driving it.

 

[bigbird]

12 grand will buy u alot. the absolute best bang for buck for that amount however will be a early 90s gutted, 2000lb civic or crx hatch, a built b18, b20 or b22 and one of a million turbo kits. a friend of mine has a 93 hatch, b18 turbo pushing 302hp, he walks vetts and is a beast at autocross. he spent only 8 grand on that car and does 12s:disappoin . but its ugly as sin and sounds like a hornets nest. all the hp in the world cant make an ugly car butifull .

 

[abew330]

12 grand will buy u alot. the absolute best bang for buck for that amount however will be a early 90s gutted, 2000lb civic or crx hatch, a built b18, b20 or b22 and one of a million turbo kits. a friend of mine has a 93 hatch, b18 turbo pushing 302hp, he walks vetts and is a beast at autocross. he spent only 8 grand on that car and does 12s:disappoin . but its ugly as sin and sounds like a hornets nest. all the hp in the world cant make an ugly car butifull .

only 8 damn..
you know i wanna do the samething but to a bug.. i know sounds stupid but
the look you'll see on peoples faces as you pass them in this little thing
my unlce painted a bug once just the shell, no drive trian, no wires, nothing i was able to pick up the little thing.. of course not all at once but it was very lite

 

[Admiral]

a new handle is only a couple bucks. Repairs can be spread out over some time. WRX will cost 10-12 upfront plus insurance increase... monthly...forever. My friend is paying 400$ a month. he's stupid though, so his is higher then normal. but expect a higher amount then the camry. if thats not an issue, then you should do what you want. Lots of people like their new car but always miss their old one. i think in general the camry - even with the upgrades you want - is the cheaper way to go. Also more practical. more interior and trunk room. Our opinions don't (or shoulnd't) change your mind, just help to present all/most other factors.
btw, camaros are nice

 

[Tuner571]

I think I would fix up the camry, but thats just my opinion. I like the camry because it is unique so if you fix it up everyone will notice it. Also its a Toyota!!!!

 

[eyeball96]

Handles are cheap and you still have 3 more to break, not counting the interior LOL...I'd fix the camry! Insurance will be more expensive on the WRX!

 

[bigbird]

so true about the insurance. i have an...um... "friend" who has, by his actions, destroied 7 cars in 5 years and alomost killed me(hense "friend"). including other peoples cars and a fast camaro.:disappoin
R.I.P "jolly green-G"

 

[AVL92CAMRY]

Thanks for all the replies! I think im gonna keep running the Camry for now unless i find a screaming deal on the perfect WRX. The new door handle arrived so once thats fixed hopefully i'll be good to go for a while. Thanks!