New to us Toyota Camry

[Giaka]

So this past weekend my wife inherited a 1993 Camry from a great aunt. This car has 30k miles on it and its almost 20 years old.   Last week the cam belt, accessory drive belts and other age related rubber items were replaced (except tires), oil was changed, brakes flushed, etc. The car was owned by a 92 year old woman who didn't drive it at all in the last five years. Its in pretty amazing shape. I think the glass is in better shape than that on my 2011 Fiesta. Not a chip or scratch in the paint except a small scratch in the left mirror cover. The lights are not yellowed or faded and everything works. I have to tell you it feels kinda weird driving a "new" 19+ year old car.    

The lease on our Routan is up, it was a great van and for the 1.5 years we needed 7 seats it did a fantastic job but I am happy to see the expense go away. The cost of the Routan was roughly $600 a month, the cost of the Camry will be gas plus any related maintenance.  

I know its only a Camry and not that exciting but for us as this cost savings comes at a prefect time which is pretty darn exciting.  

I know, pic or it didn't happen.    Here is a crappy cell pic I just took.

[NWTrtle]

That's awesome!  

We got lucky a number of years ago when an old family friend gave us his 2000 Chrysler Voyager.  He was living in an assisted living home and realized he really couldn't drive anymore and wanted us to have it since we have kids.  He wouldn't sell it, just wanted it to go to a family he knew, and he knew would be able to put it to use.  I think it has been 5 years since he gave it to us, and we drive it daily.  Nothing fancy, but price was right, gas mileage isn't bad, drives well and has been perfectly dependable.

Congrats on your gift and its incredible timing.

[M.Brane]

 That's cool just promise us you won't be driving like most Camry drivers: for example the one in front of me this morning who cruised right on through the red light like it wasn't even there.

[Justin]

$600 savings a month ain't nothing to laugh at   - And your Camry is way nicer than my 93 Subaru with 220k on it  

[stew71]

Are you kiddin' me? Inheriting a bulletproof commuter car in this day and age??

 

[Johnny Monsoon]

That body style, up to the pre-white gauges were probably the most reliable cars ever created.  They last FOR-FRIGGIN'-EVAR!!!  They also ride better than the newer ones (don't know about the newest one, but I'd suspect so) and are super fuel efficient.  My old '97 auto 4 banger would get very close to 50 on long  highway drives.

I loved that car.  Sexy?  Maybe not visually, but I don't think it is unattractive.  What is sexy about it is when you turn the key it starts no matter what.  Cheap insurance too.

Awesome cars.  Congrats!

[steve.ski]

Congrats! Awesome car. 4 cylinder or 6? I know the 4s last forever.

We brought a 1993 Civic into our family not long ago, same deal as it was owned by a 90+ year old woman who drove it rarely. 38K when we bought it. We had to pay for it though...

Paid for is good.

[TuffguyF4i]

Having a car that is paid off is money in your pocket.  

You can do A LOT with and extra 600/month.  

[Rogue]

Are you kiddin' me? Inheriting a bulletproof commuter car in this day and age??

 

Congratulations.

I agree with Stew.  That is a priceless gift.

You gonna lower it, put some aluminum wheels, HID headlamp upgrade, and an intake/exhaust?  

[Baz]

A quote sort of from a recent MSN cars article about cars rich people drive.

Contrary to what you think, most wealthy people polled drive older pretty mundane everyday cars. It appears rich people discovered early on that you don't get rich making car payments.

That really is one bullet proof sedan you have there. My mother drives a 1989 Corolla which we bought for her new. She is now 81 years old and thinking about packing in her driving days. She is waiting for her car to die as an excuse to not renew her license, but the way things are going, we joked that her car might just out live her. Since new, that car has cost almost nothing in maintenance.

[stew71]

I'm with Frenchie on this.

I had a 1981 SR5 Toyota pickup as my first college car. Lasted for 225K miles before a buddy dumped a used engine in it. He got another 100K before it finally quit running. Well, actually, he put it into a ditch and it gave up the ghost.

[rgbeard]

Our commuter car is an XJ6 that came from a 90yo lady.  1993 model with 40k miles.

Now it has 120k and counting.

$600/mo?  Damn.  I have not had a car payment for so long I can't imagine that kind of check to write every month.

[Rogue]

The average price of a car in the USA is $30k.

That is for an average car, which is to say it's a Camry-type and size.  So yeah.  $600/mo for 60 mos is a normal price nowadays with 10% down.  

A Camry can be had new for $20k and that is the bargain of the century if you ask me.  Why even bother with a compact car when you can get a full size car for nearly the same price?  However, many people want all kinds of comfort and convenience packages and options, which pushes that price to close to or over $30k.  I looked at the Honda Accord Coupe V6 and loaded up it cost a whopping $35k!  For an Accord Coupe!  If I slummed it and got the 4-cylinder I could get it for $28k.  

[CLAY]

Nice catch.  Enjoy!  

[Hardware]

An older, basically new car like that is a great gift to receive.  Use it but please try to care for it...

About a year ago, my MiL decided she wanted a new smaller car.  She got a Yaris and decided to give her old Civic to my SiL.

The car was a 2000 and at the time, had 24,000 kms on it (< 15,000 miles).  It literally still had the new car smell.  Whenever we visited we made a point of driving the car, just to put some mileage on it.

Anyway, the day the SiL and her hubby took delivery of the car, they went to the nearest DMV office to transfer ownership.  SiL managed to back it into a light standard and inflict ~$1500 in damages.  They fixed that...

A few months later they were travelling to a wedding in a convoy and SiL's hubby managed to rearend the van in front of them (a rental driven by his own brother).    I forget the damages but it was in the range of 7-8K.

The insurance adjuster came to appraise the car and before even looking at it, told them he was going write it off.  It was after all, a base model Civic that was close to 11 years old.  The adjuster got in and switched the ignition on to check the kms...looked at the number in disbelief and started documenting the damage in detail.  He'd never seen a car with so few kms for the age and he said they'd repair it.  They did.

Poor car's still running now and looks good, but it's never been the same since that collision.

[Giaka]

Thanks everyone. Its a 2.2 liter 4 banger with an auto. I have driven it to work for the last two days and it seems to be in pretty much perfect operating condition. Based on it holding 18 gallons of gas it seems to be getting right around 24 mpg. I will know more when I actually fill it up. I Have driven several generations of Camrys and by far I have always found the body style used from 1993 to 1996 (I think) to be the best driving, best "feeling", and quietest riding of them all. I'm pretty stoked. This weekend I will wax her up and clean up one small stain on the interior and take some better pics.  

To be fare the $600ish payment on the Routan was the lease payment, plus full coverage insurance. The fact it gets pretty crappy mileage doesn't help much either. On a good day it would manage 18 mpg. Typically it was a little less than that. The MSRP of the Routan we have was $34,500. Its pretty much a fully loaded model with tons of gadgets. Great car but we really don't need it anymore.

Luckily my wife really doesn't care about cars (being new or old). When I met her she was driving a POS corolla and was happy as could be.    She wanted to drive the Camry to work tomorrow but I told her I should drive it one more day to make sure the reliability is there.  

[Giaka]

First tank of gas trough the car yielded 26 mpg. I am more than impressed.  

[cultureslayer]

If someone gave me that car I'd drive it too.    Hope it lasts you a while.

[rgbeard]

...........................

To be fare the $600ish payment on the Routan was the lease payment, plus full coverage insurance.

Damn.... At $600/mo you were only making LEASE payments?  (with insurance)

 

[Rogue]

For a $40k car, the lease payment for that is probably $300/mo.  With insurance and registration another $200/mo.

[Zixxerpilot]

We refuse to carry car payments at all. When I can drop $2000 on a used car and drive it for several years, why would I?

Camrys are about as bulletproof as you can get. Great cars!

Sent from my LG-P925 using Tapatalk

[Dan]

We refuse to carry car payments at all. When I can drop $2000 on a used car and drive it for several years, why would I?

Same here, we only buy what we can afford, for cars and bikes.  Interest + depreciation are 2 things I hate!  

[Giaka]

Ha reminds me, I took more pics.  

[Thundergod]

well thats a damn shame...you probably only have 250K left on the clock!  :face palm:

 

[Rogue]

Dude!  Tint those windows, lower it and put 19" wheels on it.  WTF?  

A Fart can is in order as well, and HID headlight conversion.  

[Dan]

Looks like a great car  

[Giaka]

Dude!  Tint those windows, lower it and put 19" wheels on it.  WTF?  

A Fart can is in order as well, and HID headlight conversion.  

Light tint maybe (lots oh sun and heat out here in the summer) but not sure about the wheels, fart can or lowering thing.  

[Galo]

Ha reminds me, I took more pics.  

Needs farkles!
 




Seriously now..... nice catch!

[cbolling]

Very nice.  I bought a 2001 Camry from the estate of an elderly couple that lived up the street for $5000. It had 41k on it.  I kept it for 16 months and put a little over 12k on it.  Sold it yesterday for $6800.

[Rogue]

Okay.

Lower it about an inch and put a very mild set of 16" wheels and good all season tires.  A nice DOT approved aftermarket stainless steel muffler with a bright tip would go a long way.  Then you're stylin'!  You don't need to go all the way bling!  



http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/MiniWheelSearchServlet?nonWinter=true&partNum=I0516756535SDCI&autoMake=Toyota&autoModel=Camry+LE&autoYear=1996&autoModClar=&wIndex=50&grid=true&sw=1440