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Buying first car soon. [Pic + Link included]

C

Cawchy87

Diamond Member
First, A pic and short discription of the car.

It is the color I wanted, around the year I wanted and it is a really good guy selling it. We live about five minutes away from them and have met before at various events.

Only problem is the miles! (192,000 km's = 119,308 miles)

He has recently replaced the struts and the TIMING BELT (thanks TechnoKid) and those are the two most costly repairs for a high mileage Camry.

I took it for a test drive and really liked it. My dad has a 2001 Camry and it rides just like his, but this one has better winter tires so stopping distance is reduced greatly. ABS works like a charm as does Cruise control. Only downside I noticed while driving it was I would have to buy a CD player for it. But the speakers were really good.

I want this car to last 4-5 years, and based on your car knowledge, will it have a resonable chance of doing so?

I will be offering in between 7000-7200cnd based on VRM Canada and The Canadian black book as well as various other resources.

Take a look at the other Camry's around me and how much they cost at

Cliff notes:

1. Found the car I am looking for but high milage.

2. Based on new struts and drive chain wondering if this car will last 4-5 years somewhat problem free.

3. Wondering what resonable offers would be.

4. Drove it in the city and highway and everything works great (ie. cruise) and car is a quiet ride. Fairly new tires as well.

Thanks ATOT!

UPDATE:

I called him after a last bit of re-assurance from ATOT :thumbsup: and he said that the dealership would give him between 8000-9000 for the car.

He bought it from a dodge dealer and I used the calculator that Dodge uses (Canadian Black Book) and the MAX he could get would be 7300. But with a few touch ups that needed to be done ( I figure ~ 200-250) there is no way the dealership would give him that.

I really hope he budges on his price, but if not then oh well.AutoTrader
 
First Camry engines generally are rock solid if the previous owner did regular maintenance. Next I would try to offer (if after you drive and and like it, etc...) try $5500 and go from there.
 
yeah it'll last, just do regular oil changes (I'd reccomend Esso oil since you are in canada, its a really great oil for the money), and do regular transmission fluid changes since its an auto, and coolant, fuel filter, etc.

Toyotas are pretty reliable. I'm not sure if the i4 has a timing belt or chain, but that may become a maintence item as well.
 
FWIW, I have a 1997 Camry with 174,000miles on it and I've had zero problems. It still gets 30-32mpg, everything on the car still works (I.e. sunroof, AC, pdl/w, the funky 3disc cd changer, intermittent wipers, cruise) and about the only things I've replaced are the battery@140K, struts@150K, timing belt@around 120K.

It's a boring as hell car, but it gets me from point A to B.
 
Originally posted by: BullyCanadian
First Camry engines generally are rock solid if the previous owner did regular maintenance. Next I would try to offer (if after you drive and and like it, etc...) try $5500 and go from there.
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I test drove it and it drove just like my Dad's 01 Camry and he does oil changes at every 4000km's cause he loves his car 🙂 .

Originally posted by: MadCowDisease
Do you have the maintenance history?
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Yep, full maintenance history. The struts cost him like $1170. And he has had it fully safetyed (not sure how to spell)

Originally posted by: TechnoKid
yeah it'll last, just do regular oil changes (I'd reccomend Esso oil since you are in canada, its a really great oil for the money), and do regular transmission fluid changes since its an auto, and coolant, fuel filter, etc.

Toyotas are pretty reliable. I'm not sure if the i4 has a timing belt or chain, but that may become a maintence item as well.
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My dad uses nothing but castrol I belive and we do our own oil changes. The filters are orange if that helps.

YES! thats what it is called. A timing belt! Thats the thing he replaced (400-500 bucks)

Originally posted by: Daaavo
FWIW, I have a 1997 Camry with 174,000miles on it and I've had zero problems. It still gets 30-32mpg, everything on the car still works (I.e. sunroof, AC, pdl/w, the funky 3disc cd changer, intermittent wipers, cruise) and about the only things I've replaced are the battery@140K, struts@150K, timing belt@around 120K.

It's a boring as hell car, but it gets me from point A to B.
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It seems like he had done 2/3 of those and if I need a new battery they don't cost too much and motomaster offers a 9 year warrantee on theirs.

I don't need a flashy car for sitting in traffic for 45 minutes to and from university so thats why I am looking at this one 😉

Thanks for the replies!
 
Originally posted by: James3shin
Congrats on your first car purchase! :beer:
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From the last call it looks like I am going to have to choke up more money or find another car 🙁 . Thanks for the congrats tho!
 
Originally posted by: Cawchy87
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
fram? They are of poor build quality in my opinion. Even the OEM toyota filters are better than fram. Fram uses carboard endcaps inside the filter. motorcraft(purolator) versus pennzoil(fram)


This is a good read for whats inside various filters from various makes.
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lol, he swares by those orange fram filters with the black grip coating on them. I'll have to show him that.

Thanks!
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They're fine if you change them often. I won't touch 'em myself😉
 
don't jump into something like that...if he isnt willing to go to what you are willing to pay(within reason, fair market value) move on...theres plenty more cars out there exactly like what you are looking for...
 
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
don't jump into something like that...if he isnt willing to go to what you are willing to pay(within reason, fair market value) move on...theres plenty more cars out there exactly like what you are looking for...
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I guess I'll have to find another one. Because "market value" is used for all of Canada. However the market value for a Camry (or any import for that matter) is really a sellers market. Since we aren't a large city there isn't much choice so I might have to go with an older camry like a 1992 or something like that. I would love a 95-98 but they are grossly overpriced here.

I'll keep you updated.

When I told my dad about the fram filters his response was "but that's all I buy". We have a shelf full of them in our garage from when they go on sale so looks like we will be using them for a bit longer too.
 
Originally posted by: Cawchy87

When I told my dad about the fram filters his response was "but that's all I buy". We have a shelf full of them in our garage from when they go on sale so looks like we will be using them for a bit longer too.
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Fram filters are ok for short use (less than 5000 miles), i suppose, but the point being is that there are better filters out there. I havent heard of too many fram filter failures. Somtimes fram comes out on tip as far as filter media area, it is just that I don't like the way they are contructed with carboard endcaps and generally uneven pleat spacing etc.
 
Originally posted by: TechnoKid
Originally posted by: Cawchy87

When I told my dad about the fram filters his response was "but that's all I buy". We have a shelf full of them in our garage from when they go on sale so looks like we will be using them for a bit longer too.
Click to expand...

Fram filters are ok for short use (less than 5000 miles), i suppose, but the point being is that there are better filters out there. I havent heard of too many fram filter failures. Somtimes fram comes out on tip as far as filter media area, it is just that I don't like the way they are contructed with carboard endcaps and generally uneven pleat spacing etc.
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heh, I'm not sure I would use Fram on a lawn mower.

 
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