Hey guys hope this topic is good to go for the GD area. Looking for a few thoughts/experiences with used cars. Now I have bought plenty in my day but have turned into a Lease guy so been out of the loop for awhile. Here is my dilemma, I have 2 cars I have been looking at both Toyota’s,one is a 2002 Avalon and the other is a 2003 Camry. Both have a outward appearance of very nice clean cars,I have put both up on the rack and the Camry looks like ya could eat off the undercarriage, it came out of Connecticut and is very clean. The Avalon came out of Georgia but has been up in NY for the last 4years and although its not bad by any means there is more surface rust (underneath) and paint missing underneath. No rust of any kind on body panels or door jams etc. I have driven the Camry and its rock solid & drives very nice, nothing noticeable on it. Have not driven the Avalon,will do that on Thursday. So with that said I’m just looking for some thoughts and experiences with either car, I will provide details below. I have a ideal on which car I would like but just wondering what the general consensus would be, Thanks guys for any input !
2002 Toyota Avalon 92000 miles ($3900.00) Looks very nice, loaded vehicle. Ran Carfax and shows 4 Owners, it shows only registration renewals and one service at 30000 miles, no documentation of oil changes or much of anything else, its pretty lacking I feel, doesn’t mean it didn’t get done but makes ya wonder, plus its been in 2 accidents. One was a rear end and it shows “Total Loss” but guess the owner decided to get it fixed, it also shows a frontend accident but not many other details.
The Toyota Camry is a XLE model ($3000.00) so its pretty loaded also. Bad part (maybe) is it has 184000 miles on it ! Now with that said I ran the Carfax on this one and its a one owner car bought and sold in CT and the car fax has 53 service entries ! It shows every oil change tire rotation transmission service front end alignments,I mean everything right up to the day it was brought back to the dealer and then sold at Auction and bought by the dealer that has it now. I have heard from multiple people that these things run forever and considering it has been maintained very will I would say that should help for sure. This car has the 4 cylinder 2.4 engine in it which I guess has a timing “chain” not a belt so that’s supposed to be a better deal and that does make sense to me. So with that said if anyone has any thoughts ideals or solid info on either one of these two cars I would appreciate it. Thanks guys.
My family has been driving nothing but used Toyotas for the past 20 some years and up until 2010 my dad has been driving Avalon’s. Neither of those cars have any inherent issues. My previous Toyota I sold at 300k miles with nothing but some preventive maintenance here and there. Current one has 120k, bought with 29k.
Not sure what to tell you about the records. No one I know keeps those and neither do I. When I get an oil change I just toss the receipt
I can only comment on the Camry since I have experience there. I’ve bought 2 used Camrys (still own both), and while no vehicle will ever be without issue or in need of repair at some point, I have been very happy with both. The oldest one is still going at almost 250,000 miles and I’ve had it for about 20 years. It’s a solid vehicle with a great track record.
I was a Toyota certified and also ASE certified line tech for Toyota up until 2011.
Right out of the gate, I would pass on the Avalon as it was a total loss with multiple accidents. While it may look good, it’s only going to be as good as who patched it back together. That’s how I am with cars in accidents. May work out but I’m not chancing it. Timing belt, drive belts, plugs, all items at 90k on that car. Including the trans drain and fill along with the coolant. Strut tops go out on those things all the time and PS pumps leak. Nothing that can’t be handled. Valve cover gaskets on those tend to leak by age, regardless of mileage. Tightening the 10mm bolts all around fix it for about another 30-50k miles before it needs to be addressed. Overall excellent vehicles but the accidents scare me.
As far as the Camry goes, this is what you want to see in a vehicle. Service records. They took care of it. Having it being a auction car means one of 2 things. Either it needed more repairs then what the dealer wanted to spend, and or, the mileage was high for the dealer to take space up on their lot. If it’s the timing chain motor as you indicated, there are a few things to look for. The timing chain tensioner on the back of the passenger side head has an o-ring that leaks. Couple hundered bucks. Not an immediate critical repair. The valve seals sometimes leak. If you consume oil and no visible leaks, let the vehicle sit overnight, and start it up having someone watch the exhaust. It will only smoke on startup on those, unless it’s really bad, and that would be a concern. Most likely it is not an issue, but something to keep in mind. Show up first thing in morning unannounced and watch them start it. Auction cars will be sent out without brakes or other critical minimum measurements accounted for. So I would ask for brake and tire measurements. Just so you don’t have brakes with 2/32 and within 5k miles your metal to metal and need rotors also. Otherthen that they don’t have too many issues. Transmissions seem to hold up fine with regular drain and fills. I would not flush the trans every after you purchase. Just a few qt drain and fill every 15k. Plugs, and filters and fluids are the main maintenance items along with the serpentine belt every 90k give or take pending the climate.
Good luck and send me a PM if you need to talk further.
Not sure about that. It may vary on area and size of dealership but I do a lot of vehicle transportation and 99% of off lease cars I take from dealership to auction are 2-3 years old and under 35k. There are exceptions of course. Just moved 9 2015 Camrys from Philadelphia to Grove City Manheim. All under 40k miles. All in fairly good, clean condition. One had a bunch of scuffs on the bumper. I probably move 20 Toyota/Lexus every vehicles from the Philadelphia area to Manheim every 4 days or so. Very few of those cars fit your two examples
Hey guys thanks for the info and input, much appreciated ! Still need to hash things out @ the Dealer. I was looking around the internet tonight @ work and found info about head bolts stripping out ! Lots of info about it,dam I was hoping this car would be a long time keeper ! Any experience or thoughts about this problem ? Seems likes its this motor in particular, the 2.4L 4 banger. Tons of info about it over @ ToyotaNation. Thanks guys for any info.
Yes, you are correct. I am just speaking in particular for the majority of what I see from the technician side at the Colorado dealers I had worked for. Most of what we sent to auction was higher mileage or didn’t fit the repair cost envolope we had. But yes, many cars hit the auction block as you mention with many less miles. I should not have made that broad of a statement, but just thinking of what our dealer would have done with those cars.
Oh yea for sure,I agree its always a gamble with used cars no matter what the age ! Ya just try and do your research and look for the best deal. Like I said this car is NOT from Upstate NY and has never seen salt laced winter roads like we have and its just super clean. With that said and it being a Toyota I was optimistic I guess. These head bolts stripping out really through me off,hell I can fix most everything else myself but not sure I want to deal with something like that. I’ll keep plugging along and let ya know what I end up doing. Thanks for the info guys !
what mileage are guys saying head bolts strip out?
If it made it to 180k miles(or whatever you said it had) chances are its good.
I had a 2007 Corvette Z06 which is infamous for valve heads breaking off and munching the entire motor… My car had 60k miles on it when I bought it, I figured if it was going to happen, it would have happened…
Again, you are in cash car territory at 2500-3000 bucks… If it makes it a year, you are money ahead vs. a car payment. I mean hell a CHEAP car payment on a brand new car is at least 200 bucks, and im talking like Ford Fiesta here… 200x12=2400… So again, if it lasts a year you are money ahead over a basic, no option, low level, new econo car. Whats a new loaded up accord sell for these days? 35-40k? Thats 500-600 dollar a month payment.
It varies on the miles, some as soon as 40K others its over 80K,it happens A LOT if you over heat it but does happen just on its own ! I saw it last night and its one of those things ya just can’t look away from,LOL ya just keep reading bad after bad like its every other 2003 Camry that was ever made with the 2.4 engine when its really not ! Yea I agree, its made it this far so hopefully its GTG & with that said I ended up buying the Camry. Avalon is a nice car, but 2 wrecks and it needed tires, cupping on the one so it needs an alignment at the minimum so threw the dice and Camry came up. Will keep ya posted guys and THANKS again for the input !
You don’t always get what you EXPECT , but you always get what you INSPECT.
In todays time, most dealers are extremely picky on what used cars they offer on the lot. Most of the trade-ins go straight to auction. I am a licensed used car dealer in Tx and a lot of the new car dealers dealers don’t buy pre owned inventory from the auction. The cars at the auction aren’t in rough shape or wrecked or even have high mileage, sometimes its just the color combination, sometimes it aftermarket wheels or the owner smoked in it.
Have you seen these - they seem to be an option for repair - http://www.huhnsolutions.com/ - apparently Cadillacs w/4.6 Northstar engines were having the same problems.
Very cool ! It has a specific set for the engine that is in mine ! Its been saved in my Favorites and lets hope I NEVER need it ! There is another one listed over at ToyotaNation but this one looks like the best ! Thanks. Pick the car up on Friday,will let ya know how she holds up !
