Wow, Praise God your son wasn’t hurt.
We love my wife’s 2006 Corolla 5-speed stick. Here in the Carolina hills though it can be a challenge to drive sometimes. Before the Toyota she had a used Escort wagon (4-speed stick) it was a great car too.
Before that she drove a 86 Honda Civic (stick) for 17 years. I had a 94 Nissan pick up for 15 years. Then bought a 2007 F-150. Couldn’t be happier with the vehicles we’ve had and own now.
Is there any reason you’re not considering a gently used, 2009-2010 Camry? Dave Ramsey would approve. The teaser of “lower” interest rates do not come close to offsetting the first year depreciation of any new car purchase.
Save yourself trouble.Get 2011 Hyundai Sonata.Great car.
I have a pre-Obama 05 Monte Carlo...Just replaced the water pump after 200,000 miles...I’ll stick with American vehicles...
Because we were crawling out of a debt-hole (and made it!) we bought a 1995 Toyota Camry with 238,000 miles on it. It purrs and runs fabulously. I have no plan to get rid of it and the mechanic we see said we can put another 100,000 on it with regular maintenance. Cost us $2800 and we paid cash for it in 2008.
After years of GM products this is a happy experience. It gets excellent gas mileage too.
If I had to replace it today I’d look for another used Toyota Camry.
Regular maintenance and oil change will keep a care on the road for more miles than most people care to own a car.
Ya’ done good...
Cept for buying Crapanese. /S LOL
But... to each his own.
Good job on doing what’s right to keep a car on the road.
My wife and I leased a 2011 Camry SE about 4 months ago. I love the way it handles, its sport good looks, and its comfort. This is the second Camry that we’ve owned/possessed and with the exception of a bad CD player in the first Camry we’ve had absolutely 0 problems. Right now we are seriously considering buying out the lease on our new vehicle because we like it that much. (Should have just bought it in the first place instead of leasing it). No need to get another car for the next millennium. This one will last for quite some time. By the way, Toyota has improved the engine on the Camry. Its slightly larger, 2.5L and is a lot more powerful than the older 2.4L models. The Camry in my opinion is a no brainer. Go for it!
Buy American!!!!!
Had a Toyota Tacoma Prerunner. Sold it to a friend at 264,000 miles. Changed oil every 10,000, changed the rear seal at 160,000 (did myself, make sure to use OEM seal so you only do it once). Friend has put 160,000 without maintenance. Now have a Toyota FJ Cruiser with 86,000. Love my Toys.
Never had to do a brake job on either, with both reaching over 100K before trading off. We just last year moved the last one in favor of a Honda CRV (just to have something different for a change). Can't say enough good about our long Camry experiences.
I put 300,000 miles on my old Supra Turbo with no major problems and when i sold it the engine still purred like the day i bought it.
My mom has a loaded 2000 Camry that hasn’t had a single issue in 10 years other than brake pads etc.
Toyotas last forever....or at least they used to.
I had a 91 Camry which I totaled a couple of years ago. Replaced it with a 2006 Honda Civic that was too good of a deal to pass up.
I know this doesn't apply as you're going new but for anybody who is looking for an older Camry, one of the most important things to check is for water intrusion in the trunk. My 91 had it and my sister's 96 also did.
My sister's replacement car had some issues. The steering wheel made a crying noise. I said that was because it was sad. The boot at the base of the steering column on the floorboard just needed some lube under it. The dashboard had a rattle which I fixed using weatherstripping under the climate control panel. Also the rear speaker covers were falling apart. Replaced them. Now it's a great car.
I hear the price of rice is going to go sky high. Might want to consider that when deciding to buy a rice burner or not ;’)
Seriously though, I used to buy Toyota’s and from what I hear the quality of the brand has really been lowered (materials, workmanship etc) in the same vein that Sony used to be the top electronics brand but has slipped to the middle of the pack.
When I travel and end up driving Toyota’s I am completely unimpressed.
The remaining one has 250,000 miles on it. Still runs like a champ
The other was in a head-on collusion basically completely destroyed the front end. The safety features saved the life of my wife and daughter. (Oh, she was hit head on by an illegal in Florida)
I went to the shop to see if it could be fixed and it was actually being driven around the lot to see if it was able to be fixed
The engine dropped down below the fire wall instead of being driven though the front seat, the radiator was on the windshield from the force of the crash, the hood was bent in half like a folded piece of paper. Both fenders were spread eagle at a 45'angle
The engine was designed to stay attached to the transmission after it broke away from the engine mounts and was still drivable for a few moments with out coolant
Needless to say. I will never own another vehicle unless the name plate says Toyota
Tell him to clear off the snow before he tries driving a car again.
Glad to hear your son wasn’t injured!
That’s my greatest fear—that someone will bash my V-6 ‘97 Camry and I’ll get peanuts for it. It’s still a new car to me :). Only has 89,000 miles because we use my husband’s 4 cylinder Camry for distance driving. But I often drove my Camry from Philly to Cleveland on 1 tank of gas, including in the summer with a/c. This is our 4th Camry and we wouldn’t buy anything else. Only sold my first one—over 120,000 miles—because my husband was tired of looking at it in the driveway!