I drove one for 500miles on SA motorways.
It was very quiet,very civilised and wafted along far better than the Mercedes 260E I had.
But the suspension was quite soft and it wallowed slightly.
An acquired taste.
If you like driving quickly on country roads, it's a no go.
If you like driving smoothly, lovely.
The guy whose car it was drove if for another 100k miles and had no issues at all with it except the normal consumables.
Don't know about fuel consumption - I suspect poor around town...
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Even Toyota's had brakes then you know!
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There are a few issues with choosing this car. There were not many sold, so finding one at the price and condition you want is hard, and when it does go wrong parts will be hard to find and expensive.
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AE, I know there arent many around, its one thing which wont have me rushing out to buy one as currently there isnt one on Ebay or AT.
Im open to other suggestions in a similar vein. As I said, I do like the Volvos too but Im not sure if they are as reliable although all things are relative.
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>>There were not many sold, so finding one at the price and condition you want is hard . . .
That could be a bit of an understatement. There is only one Camry estate for sale on Autotrader, and it dates to 1989. In fact there is only one Camry of any description on Autotrader that dates to this century. I suppose you could always have a go at importing one.
Edited by tyro on 16/02/2010 at 20:33
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Lovely car, but Toyota UK have thrown in the towel in their market segment so spares/repairs will be a pain. Shame. Most of the taxis in Dubai are Camrys and they seem to put up with the conditions there with no worries at all.
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Superb car totally reliable and lovely to drive, it's really Lexus quality without the badge...no coincidence that Camry gradually disappeared when smaller Lexus models came on stream.
Toyota didn't offer an estate version of the best model...96ish to 03ish, at least not in this country they didn't...i wonder if like the Skyline estate there was a Camry estate available elsewhere.
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Im still wanting someone to say something nasty about them!
Any alternatives?? Hatch or estate.
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Any alternatives?? Hatch or estate.
I would suggest W124 MB, but finding an affordable one that hasn't been to the moon and back is nigh on impossible especially in Diesel form and all petrol versions guzzle juice.
E34 or 39 5 series BMW diesel estate, E36 3 series with Diesel engine, need good history especially oil changes to preserve that turbo.
Primera (pre Renault) Avensis or even a low mileage Carina if you can find a late one that hasn't been a mini cab.
Koreans didn't really offer larger estates save for Daewoo/Chevy models which is a damn shame, Sonata/Magentis estates would have been a jolly useful motor, Chevy's Lacetta estate seems pretty large and reasonable, might find a Nubira lurking too.
Edited by gordonbennet on 16/02/2010 at 21:21
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I thought your view was that nobody needed anything bigger than a Panda and anything more was a lifestyle choice?
Since you're looking for something nasty about it, it's a beige car. It does nothing you wouldn't expect and everything you do expect. It will likely as not run reliably (it's a Toyota after all), cost little in maintenance/purchase (it won't be less than 6 years old so won't be going main dealer) but use significantly more fuel than the Charade, therefore in about 6-8 months I'd expect to see a post offering up that's it's using too much fuel, you want something cheaper to run and are looking for a small Japanese hatch maybe a Daihatsu or something.
Alternatives? Hire a bigger car when you need one, after all you seem really impressed with your Charade and while it's not what I'd pick, if it serves you well, doesn't cost you a lot and is reliable, why change it? Otherwise I'd probably buy an early Skoda Octavia or a Mondeo TDCi
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Well, I did say I was mulling it over rather than rushing out to buy something. Id rather walk than have a Mondeo diesel though, no offense :-)
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I suppose you could always have a go at importing one.
I think that would be a non-starter. 20 for sale in the whole of Europe. Newest car listed is Dec. 2001 in Holland, 115,000kms advertised at 12,950? !!!
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I went to view a 3.0 Camry some years ago, I guess 12 + years and I may have posted it here before. It was at a dealership and I took it for a very brief test drive. Prior to that test I sat in it on their forecourt whilst it apparently warmed up and the chap got the trade plates. Despite the fact that they said it was running I had to ask them if it was. Totally silent from within the cabin. Fully loaded to coin an awful phrase and could turn a heel if required. 0-60 8.5 iirc.
And it had brakes!
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Don't think there's been an estate version of the Toyota Camry since the mid 90s, only saloons and, I think, a Coupe.
As well as the US, the later versions were sold in Japan so you could presumably import a RHD one to the UK.
Actually, you can, as I stumbled on this:
www.tradecarview.com/used_car/japan%20car/toyota/c.../
The best one was the mid 90s to early noughties version with the V6 engine, Toyota seemed to wilfully make the later ones very dull to look at and drive. The petrol versions I've driven in the US are also heavy on petrol. The hybrid version is more interesting and better on fuel.
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stuart - what sort of price are you looking at and what DON'T you want i.e. you can get some nice Lexus LS400 for a few quid but they are 4L V8's and are they just too big for you?
Nissan QX? Mazda Xedos? Mitsubishi Gallant?
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tinyurl.com/y9mqaej
looks nice.
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That's some vehicle, madf! A 1992 car with one owner from new? Amazing.
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Cracking motor that, a real no expense spared machine, as evidenced by a matching set of Michelins for a kickoff.
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Proof that a few good cars are out there still for sure, its barely run in! Shame most of the surviving ones are V6, but then the market is quiet atm so AT is looking a bit thin all over. Prob why prices are high.
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I've been running a 97 Camry 2.2 manual saloon for the last 2 years. The only thing required apart from consumables so far has been a CV joint gaitor. I've put 50K on the thing taking it from 100 to 150K.
It really has been a delight to drive, quiet, refined, quick enough, seriously comfy with great room in the back for 3 adults (I'm 6'2).
My biggest problem in my search for a newer car to replace it has been jumping back into the Camry after a test drive and realising that ther car I've just driven is not any better in any meaningful way than the Camry. I'd buy one of the 02-05 models in a flash if I could find a 2.4 manual but sadly they are even harder to find!
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>>stuart - what sort of price are you looking at and what DON'T you want <<
Well, something similar to the Camry really. Estate or hatch, simple mechanics, reliability. The Camry is pretty much the ideal in that respect. The Galant is not a bad idea though.
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