Like David, we bought a used Camry. It has turned out to be just an incredibly reliable and competent vehicle! We bought a '90 Camry LE back in 1995. IT HAD 127K MILES ON IT AT THAT TIME. I only paid $4,700 at that time, low by Blue Book because of it's high mileage. IT NOW HAS 181K MILES ON THE ODOMETER. We just took it in for its third timing belt change (recommended every 60K). I know this because we had the maintenance records from the previous owner, a professional salesman who put about 30K/year on it, almost all of it freeway miles. He took very good care of it and it was in immaculate condition. It is still in great condition and people are in disbelief when they discover how many miles are on the vehicle. Since we have had it, the only service needed has been the regular wear items, brakes, plugs, auto transmission fluid change, wiper blade changes, coolant change, etc. Our trust of the vehicle remains so high we had no second thoughts about investing $375 for the timing belt change. We believe it will run well over 200K without any major repair work of any kind!
The previous owner changed the oil regularly at 3.5K and I continue to do the same. The oil filter is right out in front and easy to reach. The engine oil drain plug is easy to reach from under the car from the front. Changing oil is a snap and not messy at all if you remember to allow the vehicle to sit for about 5 minutes to allow all the oil to drain out of the filter back into the engine before changing the filter. The air filter is easily accessible and can be removed for inspection and change without tools.
The 4 cylinder 16 valve engine runs great. It doesn't have tremendous power from a standing start but acceleration at normal street and freeway speeds is adequate. One feature I am always impressed with, for a 4 cylinder, it is geared super high for really low RPMs (2.5K) at 70 mph. This results in low engine wear and good gas mileage (we get about 34 mpg on long trips to Oregon from California at speeds of 70+ mph) without sacrificing decent acceleration for passing on good 2-lane roads and merging onto freeways from on-ramps.
The heater and A/C works fine. The seats are comfortable and driving position is easy to adjust. Handling for a family sedan is fine. It will complain if pushed into hard maneuvers with lots of understeering. Anti-lock ABS brakes are easy to modulate and control for good stopping power.
One nice feature is the key entry feature. When you use the key to open the passenger side door, the power doorlocks unlock ALL 4 doors. When you turn the key ONCE in the driver's side door, only that door unlocks. If you turn the key twice, it unlocks all the doors. This is a nice feature that allows you complete control of this operation.
Now, mind you, it's not the perfect car. The seats are comfortable enough, but the silly automatic, passive seat belts are a pain in the neck. It's possible to get tangled up in it during entry. Also, the back windows do not go all the way down to the door sills.
And, I get irritated at having to reset the cruise control speed as it will dump the set speed from memory anytime you slow down 15 miles or more from the set speed. Toyota thinks we are too stupid and may re-engage the cruise control in slow or congested traffic, so in their minds, it is a safety feature to erase the set speed. There is no canceling button for the cruise control. You must use the brakes or temporarily turn the cruise control off.
The standard AM/FM Cassette Radio sounds OK and has a fairly sensitive tuner. But, the buttons are small and when you turn the engine off with a cassette still in play, it simply stops - there is no auto eject feature. This is not good since the transport mechanism is still engaged and if left for a long period of time this way, will develop flat spots on the capstan drive roller.
Yet, the designers were thoughtful enough to put a delay in the electric antenna motor so when you turn the key on with the radio still turned on from the previous use, the antenna does not start up and, immediately, go back down when you advance the key to the start position. It waits a couple of seconds for you to complete the engine start operation before the antenna electric drive motor initiates the "up" operation. Without this feature (most cars) the rapid start up upon initial key turn and start down at engine start, wears a short section of the nylon drive track of the antenna to a premature failure. To avoid this premature failure in other non-Toyota vehicles, simply turn the radio off each time BEFORE you turn the engine off and turn it on AFTER your engine start. Worse, some makes won't sell you just the replacement antenna mast and make you buy the whole motorized assembly.
And, one last criticism - the LE in '90 was the top of the line. For a top-of-the-line, it is shy on sound insulation that allows a fair amount of road noise, especially on grooved or rough pavement, to reach the passenger compartment. Also, I realize it is a family sedan but I wish it handled a little bit more nimbly.
But, all in all, it's a great car. If you change the engine oil every 3K to 4K miles and pay attention to the other regular maintenance items, I am convinced all Toyota products will last you over 200K miles without serious difficulty.
Our other vehicle is an Acura Legend. It's a great sport sedan and will also last 200K but I highly recommend the Camry as a great all around family vehicle. The large, useable trunk and the split fold-down rear seats make it really useful and it is a regular workhorse for the whole family.
Jim Q
Addenda, 2/21/00: We just returned from L.A., today. I filled the tank in L.A. and drove about 35 miles around town in one of their worst winter storms, then climbed the Grapevine grade out of the L.A. basin over the summit and down the other side in terrible weather - snow, sleet, heavy downpour. Once we reached the valley floor, the weather cleared and we cruised at 80 mph (mostly in the slow lane - except to pass trucks). I filled the tank after 349 miles and 5 hrs. later. We got 31.44 mpg. I think that's outstanding for averaging 70 mph over 350 miles in a strong crosswind. The vehicle now has 185K and had a major tune & timing belt change + new water pump and belts @ 181K. The only service other than brakes, tires, tune ups, timing belts has been a broken wire in the driver's side door controlling the passenger's power window and the replacement of a resistor in the A/C/heater blower control.
Addenda, 5/11/00: The vehicle now has 193K and is still in such good shape we went ahead and had a security alarm system installed, at a cost of $218. We would not have done that if we didn't feel it would go another 50K or more without any difficulty or major repairs.
Addenda, 10/15/00: Smog certification was required to renew the registration. It passed with no difficulty and tested out as well within the factory specs. We just passed 200K miles this month, as well. It has never had any major work done to it - just the normal tires, brakes, timing belt, water pump, etc. It puffs a slight bit of blue smoke out the tailpipe at the initial startup each day but it does not burn any more oil than before - about 1/2 quart in 3,500 miles. The smoke is from oil leaking down the valve guides overnight - a normal thing for 200K miles. We still get about 35 mpg even cruising at 80+ mph on I-5 down to L.A. and back or up North to Portland/Seattle and back.
