When it came time to buy my first car, I did a lot of research. After seeing my brother sink lots of money into car repairs, my prime qualification in a new car was reliability and low maintenance costs. That’s why I chose a Camry and have stayed with the brand. In 1990, my parents were in the market for a new car, and seeing how wonderful my Camry was behaving, they purchased a 1990 Toyota Camry LE. Since our family often trades or borrows each other’s car, I had the opportunity to drive their car a lot.


Description & Features

At the time of purchase, this LE was the top-of-the-line model. This is a six-cylinder four-door sedan with interior navy blue velour cloth upholstery and an Ice Blue exterior. It is an automatic with a center console gearshift. The shape of the car is not stylish; it is box-like. Compared to today’s Camry cars, this vehicle definitely looks old-fashioned.

Here is a list of features:

* 2.5L, 156 hp, V6 Engine
* Cruise Control
* Tilt Steering Wheel
* Air Conditioning
* Rear Window Defroster
* AM/FM Stereo Cassette
* Driver seat / lumbar support & vertical height adjustment
* Center Arm Rest / Console storage area
* Carpeted Floor Mats
* Full Wheel Covers
* Mud Guards


Driving & Fuel

This car was primarily driven on town and city roads for short trips. Once or twice a year, it would take a longer 250 mile trip through highways weaving in and out of mountains. The six-cylinder engine did a fantastic job at handling all the roads we traveled. The ride is smooth, and there is an overdrive option for an additional burst of speed. The windows are great, too, offering good visibility. Note: this car does not have air bags.

Gas mileage is good. Driving 250 miles (a combination of town/city driving and highway travel), we still had a quarter tank of gas left.

The car never broke down on the side of the road. It truly offered a dependable ride. The car did have an occasional flat tire, but a blessing is that the trunk holds a full-size spare. It’s also been easy on repairs. Just the usual oil change, new brakes and tires when needed ... regular maintenance. The antenna was replaced once when it stopped retracting into the body of the car.

Passengers never complained about leg or head room. The ride in both the front and the back seat is comfortable. We loaned the car to the neighbor a few times, and she always complimented the vehicle.

The seatbelt surprises people not used to it. The lap belt is manually buckled. However, as soon as one turns on the ignition, the shoulder harness automatically slides into position across the body for both driver and front seat passenger. It’s a comfortable fit for average or tall people. Those of shorter stature find that the shoulder harness cuts uncomfortably across the body. Two people fit in the front seat. The backseat can comfortably hold three people, though it can be a tight fit for three adults. The backseat is most comfortable for a mix of adults and children.

My parents loved this car. They held onto it so long because they couldn’t imagine driving anything else. While I found the car easy to drive, I felt claustrophobic sitting in the navy blue interior with a blue exterior. It felt like a cave to me. But that’s just me. No one else minded the blue/blue combination.

A downside to this car was the fuel it took. This car hated regular unleaded grade gasoline. Whenever the car was filled with it, the engine would knock. To prevent an unhappy vehicle, the car was always filled with premium gasoline. As you can imagine, this became more expensive than we liked.


The Trunk – Water Anyone?

We don’t know how it happened, but the trunk started to leak. It’s been leaking for several years and no one has been able to determine how to fix it. Since we couldn’t stop the water coming in during a rain storm, we decided to leave towels in the trunk to absorb moisture. This worked well. When the towels were wet, we would replace them. Occasionally, during warm sunny days, we would open the trunk to thoroughly air it.

The trunk did not rust through. It was regularly used to transport groceries and other supplies. This is a roomy trunk ... plenty of space. A great benefit is that the back seat has a 40/60 split. So the back seat can be folded down when more trunk room is needed. For instance, I had to transport long metal stakes for the garden. They would not fit horizontally in the trunk, but folding down the backseat created the length needed to accommodate the long stakes.


Rust Issue

Body rust. It’s something we’ve tried to curtail. A year ago, when I took the car to a reputable body shop, they suggested that if I wanted the rust repaired, that perhaps a place like Maaco would be the way to go. The body shop said the amount of money they would have to charge versus the age of the car would not be worth the investment.

The majority of the rust was around the wheel wells. When I spoke with a Toyota dealership, the salesman said that the older Toyota cars (around the year 1990) were prone to rust around the wheel wells but that the problem had since been corrected.

As my mother had started making comments about perhaps buying a new car, I never had the rust repaired. I had also considered a new paint job since the shine had long wore off the original paint on the car, but decided to wait to see if a new car was indeed in my parent’s future.


Purchasing

In 1990, the sticker price of this car was $17, 971.00. We paid $15,531.32. We sold the car a few months ago.

My neighbor needed to purchase a used car for her daughter, so with 91,475 miles on the car ... she bought it for $1,500. I spoke with a Toyota dealership (when negotiating for a new car to replace this one), and mentioned the condition of the car and the price I was asking. The dealership said the asking price was fair. My neighbor was delighted. We disclosed everything regarding the condition of the car, and she and her husband told us, “We are so pleased. We know you and know the history of this car. And you take excellent care of your vehicles.”

The first thing my neighbor did after purchasing the car was to have a CD player installed as a gift for her daughter.


Summary

It’s sad to see the 1990 Toyota Camry LE leave our driveway. This has been a great car. However, my mother had been dreaming of owning a new vehicle. She wanted another Camry. However, she and my father had a limited budget. This was a job for Dawn “the negotiator”. They asked me to go into battle for them. They are now the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota Camry.

If they long for a glimpse of their old car, all they have to do is look across the street. The old Camry is parked in the driveway, and the teenager driving it is pleased as can be. And so are her parents!

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn


Please read my other car review:

2002 Toyota Camry XLE


Copyright 2007 Dawn L. Stewart
Amount Paid (US$): 15,531.32
Condition: New
Model Year: 1990
Model and Options: LE, V6 Sedan, 4-door