Toyota was on top of the world in the early ’90s. The 1989 launch of Lexus had exceeded all expectations. The Camry and Corolla were selling like gangbusters. It didn’t matter that Toyota’s then-current bread-and-butter models were good sellers; Toyota had tasted success, and they wanted more.
Introduced to America in 1983, the Camry (from the Japanese word kanmuri, which means crown) was a large, boxy compact that blended nicely into the background. It was boring but extremely reliable, and quickly earned a reputation as a sensible choice.
The gen2 1988-91 Camry sold quite well, and Toyota intended to keep their successful medium-priced model competitive.
With the Camry’s reputation now established, Toyota decided it was time to have some fun. The Organic look was on the horizon, and Toyota wanted to be on the leading edge. Toyota spared no expense when it came to engineering the new gen3 1992 Camry, even using triple-sealed doors and asphalt body mounts to make the car incredibly quiet.
Power came from either a 2.2-liter, 130-hp four-cylinder or optional 3.0-liter, 185-hp V6 engine. Most Camrys came with an incredibly smooth-shifting four speed automatic transmission, but a five-speed manual was available with the 2.2-liter four.
This Camry generation marked the introduction of the incredibly luxurious XLE, a sedan as nice as any Lexus, as well as the sporty SE model. There was a basic Camry DX , but the vast majority of these cars were mid-range LE models.
Toyota’s tag line for the 1992 Camry was “We Just Couldn’t Leave Well Enough Alone.” My dad wanted one of these so bad. We test drove several of them, but at the time they went for roughly $21K (well over $30k adjusted)–just a bit outside my family’s budget.
This generation spanned 1992 to 1996, during which both Camry sedan and station wagon models were available. The wagons’ styling was unusual, with an oddly-shaped D-pillar and two windshield wipers on the backlight.
image: edmunds.com
The Camry wagon left the U.S. market after 1996. The rarest today? A 1995-96 V6 XLE with leather. I wonder if any are still around.
The biggest change came in 1994: The Camry family got a new two-door coupe body style and dual airbags throughout the lineup. The following year saw only minor changes to front and rear styling.
I’ve pegged today’s CC as a 1994 model: It sports dual airbags and is painted in Silver Taupe, a color that debuted on the Camry in 1994 (I had a 1995 Corolla this color, and I remember the dealer telling me it was new). This car has well over 200,000 miles on the clock and has held up rather well, considering it lives in the upper Midwest.
image: edmunds.com
1996 was your last chance for one of these Camrys–perhaps the best Camry ever. By 1997 the party was coming to an end. The Camry had lost much of its style and engineering excellence (and complexity) in the name of cost cutting. Although some of the 1997-2001 generation with V6 engines had issues involving engine sludge, it maintained its reputation as a smart choice, and continued to be a best-seller in the U.S. for several more years.
Today’s Camry is still considered a safe and sensible choice as a family car, but it can never quite compare to the 1992 edition, and that’s too bad. There aren’t all that many left, making them a fine choice for collectors of ’90s cars–but they were just so good that most owners simply drove them until they couldn’t be driven any more…and then went out and bought another Camry!
A brother in law bought a new 92 Camry V6. It gave good service for a long time, and only recently got retired after several years’ use by some of his nephews.
I remember going for a test drive and was very impressed with the car’s power. In 1992, that V6 was really strong.
There are still quite a few of these on the road in the midwest. These actually stood up quite well to this area’s road salt. Although it is hard to think of these as anything else but a boring Camry, you have hit it that this was an uncommonly good car and maybe the peak of that classic “Toyota” goodness.
agree with this 1000% percent . was in the car buisness 1983 to 2002,would run adds in papers to buy cars any condition, a toyota call was the one we all wanted. 1987 and up camary and 1988 and up corolla was what gm was in the 1960s sad but true. even in 2002 you could buy a damaged 1988 and up toyota fix it and still make money. hard to buy them even the guy pumping your gas asks if you want to sell.in contrast today i cant sell my dads 1 owner 2005 lincoln town car for $6000.00, a camary be gone first day.
I agree with you, my grandpa had a 1992-1994 camry that lasted to around 2010 before he got a new camry, it was really nice to ride in and I wish he still had it! There are still many 1992-1996 Camry around here, so they really do last!
These car are slow and outperformed by some modern 4 cylinder engines even early as 2002 , these Camry are nothing special. Even the slushbox of the V6 was nothing special slow lazy shifts( 3.0) V6. I guess a 3.5 V6 will have been nice in 1996 in this car than maybe it will amaze people back then.
Wow Chris, who knew that as time goes on, engines get more efficient?
The engines of the XV10 might be nothing special, but this particular generation of Camry is known to be the most overengineered one of any Camry. I mean how many other wagons do you know that had two wipers on the back window?
I just remembered…the 3VZ-FE engine in the V6s were incredibly overbuilt considering the cars they were used in. Without any modifications, the engine could easily do 400 HP (300 kW), that forged crankshaft isn’t playing around. People have pushed them to 600 horses…
I always thought the sedan Camry of this gen was as vanilla as they came. But the coupe and the wagon — NOW you’re talking.
Agree!
It could be interesting to know how many of these wagons and coupe are still around?
Eugene is crawling with Camrys of all ages, and there’s a few of these wagons and coupes around too. The wagons are very desirable; some friends tried for months to find a good used wagon a few years back, but just couldn’t find one. They ended up with an Accord wagon, which aren’t exactly all that common either.
SoCal also is loaded with older Camrys, some meticulously maintained, others true beaters, but all driven on a regular basis. Countless friends bought this generation and overall they were excellent cars. However, quite a few had to have automatic transmission replacements – surprised that is not being mentioned here. I recall that for at least a couple of my friends Toyota replaced the transmission free of charge well beyond the warranty period with no further problems following replacement.
I can only imagine what the typical mileage on the older ones is by now. The Camry was adopted as the safest choice for long-haul commuter in CA pretty early on.
Interesting. I’m not a super expert on these, but that’s the first I’ve heard about Toyota automatic tranny issues. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; few brands have managed to dodge any issues with automatics over the decades.
I am really liking that black XLE wagon. I frequently see a black Camry wagon of this vintage at my local library, though it is an LE with the plastic wheel covers. Those XLE alloys really dress these cars up!
Funny you should mention the wheel covers, I’ve noticed that it is very common for the Camrys of this era to loose one or all of them. They obviously have a less than robust retention system.
Ive a 1992 camry with 398,000 miles i drive it everyday
After 21 years 560000 miles of reliable service my 1996 cambry’s little 2.2 died this week
It was the original motor and transmission and everything still works, including the moon roof
I am thinking about rebuilding the enjine and going again,
The only non routine repair to the motor in 560000 miles was I had the harmonic balancer swapped out 6 months ago
The car still looks and drove good
My sister’s ’92 Camry LE had transmission failure at 120k. She actually had several major components fail on that car once it hit 100k. (A/C and head gasket) Although she loved that car she was very disappointed that such major issues had to be addressed with only 100k miles on it. After putting several thousands into it she traded it in at 140k for a new Mitsubishi Galant (another story) because she loved the body style compared to the 2002 Camry.
My transmission is original and the only problem I have noticed is in the winter it won’t shift into overdrive till the engine is up to temperature. I have 304,150 on mine and I just put in the second timing belt and water pump. She still runs strong as heck and starts with a quick turn of the key. As far as Camry’s still on the road, I see almost as many 92-96 Camry’s here in the Hartford CT area as I do new ones. The clear-coat paint is about gone on the hood and trunk but there is only a little surface rusty starting on the back edge of the trunk.
The auto holding ³rd gear when cold, is designed to be like that in order to aid quick warm-up of the engine. My Camry 1996 200Si auto (same shape as yours) does the same. My Dad’s 1988 Toyota Cressida Gli-6 auto also did the same. It is completely normal – nothing to worry about.
True on the SoCal Camrys…I own a 95 (leather, which above is noted as rare, though mine is mostly foam now!) and a 96, at 288K on the one I use to commute in. Sturdy, reliable, powerful, I haven’t found a car I like better.
i have a two door coupe Black in Wisconsin best car ever 158,000 miles on it
I have a 96 camry wagon. Bought it with only 81000 on it in almost mint condition one owner. Paid 2500 for it. I love this car.
I still have a wagon. 271000 some miles on her and aside from a few issues (oil leaks) she runs pretty well. My folks bought it brand new in 1994. And my dad handed her down to me about 11 years ago. I see a few other wagons around where I live. Not many. But it makes me really happy when I do.
the people here are probably not going to see this, but here I am, 2021 and I managed to find a rust free 93 3.0 wagon with 120k.. its glorious!!!
In my opinion – Camry and the same age Corolla made a lot of great press for Toyota and this “image” is held up to this day.
Even lots of trouble in US and Europe with it’s very unreliable D-4D Diesel engine generation in Rav4, Avensis and Corolla/Auris didn’t change that in any big way.
That’s how proper attention to detail and sensible pricing can make a brand out of “the boring stuff”…
I think Volkswagen is doing exactly the same today, slipping into the sweet-spot Toyota left years ago when they decided to cut cost and add stupid toys instead of concentrate on really important things – perceived quality and decent styling.
Look at present Camry – or even more – at Avalon that is so weirdly designed compared to European cars… And then smell the plastics inside… There’s nothing wrong about it, but nothing great as well. The dull, grey, plasticky daily driver.
That’s why I will spend my company car budget next spring on a new VW CC and not the Camry…
Concur re the plastic; there is no other brand that has the level of ‘plasticicy’ that a Toyoda does. Even back in the 80s…
VW will never have a US dealer network that will offer the customer service to become a new-age 90s Toyoda.
Except if you pay any attention to Consumer Reports you’ll find that the VW will be very unreliable and the Camry will continue to need no repairs at all.
I guess I’m biased, having driven many of these gen3’s I thought they were OK… but having owned an ’87, an ’88 and recently just found a ’91 with under 100K on the clock, my vote will lean toward the Gen 2 models. Lighter, more nimble in city traffic, better visibility and almost obscenely reliable. The gen2’s marked Toyota’s golden age.
The nicest looking ones (inside and out) were the 97-99’s in my opinion. Wouldn’t mind finding one with low miles.
I find your comments interesting – I’ve never heard someone express enthusiasm about the fourth-gen Camry!
Truth be known, I do rather like the exterior styling of the 1997-2001 models, particular the Alfa 164-esque tail light treatment… but the interior was a significant disappointment compared to the prior years. Just my opinion, too.
I agree that the Gen 2 was the best Camry all around and it only went down hill from there. Gen 2 was what got me started telling customers that you couldn’t go wrong with a Camry and Gen 3 was what got me started saying Toyotas aren’t bad but they aren’t really worth the premium they then commanded.
Gen 2 seems to have been the start of the GMifaction of Toyota where they felt they could do no wrong and they didn’t need to try so hard. The later V6 Camry from this generation is a perfect example with it’s “sludge” issues which was just Toyota’s cover up for the fact that they didn’t do proper durability testing to find out that they cut off too much of the oil flow to the cam shafts. It also wasn’t a particularly efficient combination, the larger at least in the interior, GM V6 midsizers actually got better real world MPG.
The gen2 cars may have been even more robust than the gen3 cars, but as far as a vehicle that is perfect for a time/place (suburban America, the reasonably prosperous Clinton years), it’s hard to beat a gen3 Camry. Like a lot of CC readers, I’ve owned a bunch of cars, but a gen3 Camry was the only one where I felt like an entire multi-billion-dollar company was trying to make MY CAR as perfect as possible.
Here in the Midwest, the gen2 Camrys rusted a lot faster than the gen3. Still quite a few of both running around, though.
Helped mom buy a 92 Camry XLE new. At the time they were so new, they were flying off the dealers lot. I worked for the car rental department of the local Toyota dealer at the time. All they had was an off rental silver V6 LE and a 4 cyl XLE with leather and sunroof. After test driving both, mom liked the 4cyl XLE the most. I remember thinking how large that car was for such a small engine. Mom passed away in 2000 and my brother in law purchased the car from her estate. He drove that car to just shy of 300,000 miles and was rear ended in an accident. The unibody was bent and the insurance totalled the car. He tried very hard to keep the car but could not. My mom and my brother in law loved that car.
Funny, although the rental department was owned by the Toyota dealer our cars were 80% Chrysler products at the time. I was driving a Dodge Dynasty or maybe the very futuristic Intrepid at the time.
My parents, having had a great experience with a 1982 Celica and a lousy one (loved the car and the driving, but not the reliability) with a 1986 Audi 5000, replaced the Audi with a 1989 Camry LE V6. Dull looking and super soft, compared to the Audi, but good enough to replace it with a 1993 Camry LE V6. I thought it was like night and day between the ’89 and the ’93. Not only did the ’93 look better, but it seemed like a much more substantial car. The structure was very robust, the doors closed with a great thunk, and it was super quiet – and I now guess all of this was due to the triple sealed doors, which I didn’t know they had. The V6 was plenty strong, and the steering was at least better than the Gen 2 model. There was something about this generation, especially in the V6 trim with the 15 inch wheels, that reminded me of the Mercedes W124, or a mini Lexus – a solid, understated, complete but not frilly, machine. I thought it was a tremendous value for the money, and I thought that the Gen 4 and subsequent Camrys were a letdown after this generation. I think the styling has held up remarkably well.
I’m pretty certain you could also get the 5-speed with the V6 on SE models; I seem to recall a C&D test of a 5-speed V6 coupe.
Though I tend to prefer Hondas of similar vintage, these Camrys were simply sublime in execution and operation, in a way that to this day continues to elude the Detroit 2.5. Toyota has never done better than these cars.
Interesting about your Honda comments. My parents, as I mentioned above, had both 2nd gen and 3rd gen Camrys at the same time. In 2000 or so, my dad went to replace the ’89, and looked at the 3rd gen Camry and the Honda Accord – both 4 cyl versions, not feeling the need for the V6 any longer. He went with the Accord, which seemed superior to what we both thought was a dissapointing 3rd gen Camry. The Accord was fine, with better handling then then the Camrys, but with much more road noise, and they both preferred their ’93 Camry to the newer Accord (which was later replaced by an Avalon, which I think says a lot about what they wanted from a car!).
I prefer the 1990-1995 (or so) Hondas for the same reasons – they were more-involved, “driver-centered” cars than comparable Toyotas, while still offering impressive quality. The new-for-’93 Corolla (and Geo Prizm, which I was all-but certain the CC clue was) was also an impressive piece, but it too valued isolation and easy-riding over the louder, more tossable Civic.
Toyota took an interesting path with its cars around this time – it applied the engineering lessons learned from the nascent Lexus brand to its more pedestrian offerings, seemingly regardless of cost. This wasn’t the most profitable route, which is why the later generations feel cheaper… but it sure made for some impressive cars.
I just read what I wrote, and I realize that, other than mentioning that my dad had and liked the 2nd and 3rd gen Camrys, the other references to 3rd gen Camrys should have been “4th” gen Camrys. it was this one that he looked at in 2000 and didn’t like as much as the older ones or the contemporary Accord.
I was impressed with 1st-gen Camrys, but liked the 2nd-gen models. Hated the 3rd-gen above. Was not impressed in the slightest, although they became much larger and useful as a family car, but wasn’t about to trade or sell our beloved Acclaim for one…
The 4th-gen model? Toyota got that right in the design dept. I felt it was the nicest-looking, most American-looking Camry ever. Still like those, but when we checked one of those out in 1999, we saved ourselves over 6K and bought a 1999 Stratus instead. We weren’t disappointed, either.
I don’t hate Toyota, but their products just don’t appeal to me at all, no matter if they’re the most reliable thing or not. I felt that way 41 years ago, I feel that way now. However, I do respect them…
Full disclosure: I own a ’95 Camry XLE (215k, owned since new) and a 2001 Camry XLE (110k, same).
In my opinion, the 4th-gen cars were the worst in the design dept. Boring, plain, vanilla, dull…these are just a few choice adjectives. “Most American-looking Camry ever”…OK, we’re in agreement there.
I’m glad you weren’t disappointed with your Stratus experience, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Toyota price premium would have been worth every penny and then some. Regarding your Acclaim…well, I’m pretty much guaranteeing that a 3rd-gen Camry is, was, and always will be twice the car.
I respect Chrysler, but I don’t think I’d own anything they’ve manufactured since roughly the mid-70s. Maybe a Viper.
Very interesting analysis, Impalamino.
Admittedly, I was concentrating on visual design on this thread. It’s amazing who many differing opinions are possible! I felt the 4th-gen Camrys were well-balanced, well-designed cars and their predecessors – well, not so much – they turned me off. I did check them out at a dealership shortly after they came out and didn’t find a lot to like. With me, I respond to visual appeal first, then delve deeper.
Our Stratus experience was a good one. However, it was only a bridge from the 3.5L 1996 Intrepid we traded until we bought our 2002 CR-V, because wifey wanted a CUV and not much was available that appealed to us at the time and I was scared to death of possible Ultradrive issues that might have appeared in the future…
The Stratus, sold in 2002 when we bought the Honda, was the end of our Chrysler ownership experience since 1980.
We paid 14.4K for the Stratus and the Camry we looked at was 22K sticker. How much we could have gotten it for will forever be a mystery, as we didn’t deal.
As far as our Acclaim goes, you may be right, but that Plymouth served us well for 10.5 years, so I think we did OK…
Highly unlikely you could have got a better than sticker deal on that Camry, Toyota dealers were still often adding significant second stickers, so getting one for sticker was a “good deal”. Which brings up the point of Toyota’s “high resale value” the resale value numbers are always based on sticker price which significantly affects the numbers. I remember shortly after the original Camry came out Toyota having ads that 1 year old Camrys had retained near 100% of their value. They left out the fact that it was because due to the limited supply and high demand that dealers were adding a hefty second sticker so in reality you couldn’t sell your 1 year old Camry for what you paid for it and you certainly would be looking at a significant depreciation cost to drive one for a year and trade it in on the new model year.
That’s probably the reason we bought the Dodge! The 2.4L had a lot of pep in that car and got us 32 mpg on the highway, fully loaded. Not a single problem in the three years we owned it.
Boring it may be, but this is the car that put Camry (some might argue Toyota) on the map, at least in the US. Before this the Camry is just another Japanese midsize sedan in a sea of midsize sedans. You could say the same with Toyota, before this it’s just another Japanese nameplate. They should put it in a shrine in the Toyota museum.
It’s almost hard to believe these are over 20 years old now (but maybe I’m showing my age.) I do think most would agree that these Gen 3 Camrys hardly look dated today. The design “aged well”. The same could be said for the ’90-93 Accord. With the Camry, especially, you could almost trick a non-car enthusiast into thinking one was a new car if it was in really good shape now. Back in the mid-90s, I was VERY impressed with the comfort and quietness of a friend’s ’92 Camry LE in navy blue, and even more impressed with the Lexus-like qualities of an acquaintance’s ’94 or ’95 (probably XLE?) in silver with gray leather. Very elegant. Even the wonderful Accord had a more econo-car character about it.
As for those wagons, they’re super rare and I would love to get a good look at one sometime. Toyota Camry of the ’90s as collector car? Hmm, I think the day is coming and may already be here. Of course, this is coming from a reader who owns a ’79 Accord as a collector car. 🙂
In the side profile, these looked like a 7/8 scale Lexus LS400. In some ways, that’s what they were – as good a family car as Toyota ever made.
A little-known fact – there have only been three really “clean-sheet” redesigns of the Camry. The first two generations (it’s easy to see that the doors are very similar between the two and the “hard points” are the same), the 3rd gen and 4th gen (the similarities are hard to see because the sheetmetal changed so much, and the 4th gen was definitely “cheapened out”), and the 5th-6th-7th gen cars (again, looking around the doors and greenhouse, you can see that it’s the same basic guts since 2002).
The 3rd gen cars are still the best when compared to their contemporaries, but when you look at the prices adjusted for inflation, the 3rd gen Camry would sell at a 50% premium over the 2012 model. Truly a cheaper car for an (IMO, anyway) poorer country.
Quite right; have we reached a plateau? Is it really possible to improve on its basic hard points? It certainly has allowed Toyota to focus on driving out the costs in it.
Toyota started building Camrys in Kentucky starting with the ’89 model, adding engines in ’92. As they’ve ramped up their US factories and US supply chain, most of their production cost is now in dollars instead of expensive yen. All other things being equal, Camry’s US price has come down.
Today the TMMK site is over a mile long.
Can’t talk about the nineties Camrys without talking about the US sales battle among Ford Taurus, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, the top-selling cars of the decade. This Camry made Toyota a contender and set it up to dominate.
“The Organic look was on the horizon” because Ford’s Taurus was a big hit. This Camry was a direct response to Taurus: aero styling, 3.0L V6, four-speed automatic, same interior volume (97 cu. ft. up from 85, vs Taurus’ 100).
I pulled up figures from Best Selling Cars Blog and did a quick graph: what share each car had of the total of all three in US sales.
Before 1992 Camry was running third, well behind eighties’ leader Accord and new champ Ford Taurus. This ’92-’96 series put Camry up with the ’92-’96 2nd-gen Taurus, which led these five years, while Accord slipped down.
With the new ’97 Camry and new fish-faced ’97 Taurus, Camry captured the lead, which it has held ever since.
Thanks for that important addendum. Yes, the redesigned Taurus really tripped on its face.
Interesting the last few years of that graph where the Ford and Toyota portions are almost mirror images of each other while the Honda pretty much held flat. Really begs the question what if Ford hadn’t messed up the styling of the Taurus so bad?
Hard to think that the Taurus would be as reliable as a Toyota, though.
BTW “beg the question” means “ignore the question” — not “bring up the question.”
Actually you both have it wrong. The term is used correctly when Person A’s argument has specific points that are unaddressed.
Another way of putting it is; You use the phrase “begs the question” when people are hoping you won’t notice that their reasons for coming to a conclusion aren’t valid. They’ve made an argument based on a lame assumption. The question is What’s your support for that premise?
Strunk and White can now cease spinning.
This shape Camry arrived here in 1990 with a slightly different engine and axle ratio NZ was the only market outside Japan to recieve the new model the 92 was quite a step backwards as far as performance went as a taller axle ratio was installed in the Australian built cars we got then to improve fuelmileage. Good cars though a friend has one with nearly 400k kms on it and it still runs but it needs plug leads @ $350 a set so will probably go for scrap.
Those integrated 5.5mm wires and cap is one of the reasons I took Toyotas off of my highly recommended list. Not only are the easily twice a conventional set up they don’t last near as long as the offerings from others. So while the Toyota may have been more reliable vs some other cars that came with a high cost, from initial cost to repairs, maintenance and insurance.
The price differential compared to the US is also very interesting, here a set is in the $100-$150 range depending on number of cyls, quality, and retailer. On the other hand according to some Aussies I met in CA a few weeks ago other things are lower priced for example the combo fuel and vacuum pump for a Ford FE where he said he purchased one for his T-Bird for ~$60 locally yet his buddies just purchased Edsel came with a receipt for about twice that for an interchangable unit.
Eric a lot of guys are by-passing local retailers and buying parts online these days, as even with shipping costs there is a lot of saving to be had.
I’m not sure of your point my comments were on the difference of pricing between Austriallia and the US. Certainly you can get some parts for less or much less online even after factoring in shipping but shipping it half way around the world is a whole ‘nother story assuming you can find a US based internet retailer that is willing to ship. In the IH world I deal with this a lot with owners that are in Europe, parts for them are not common on the shelves over there and owners report paying exorbitant shipping costs from the few that are willing to ship overseas.
In the case of the aforementioned FE fuel pump I was comparing what he paid through his normal local channels to online US prices since it is almost impossible to get that pump through the normal parts store channels.
My point is that I have heard lots of examples where even shipping parts half way around the world, they were cheaper than from a retailer here.
I’ve always wanted to own one of the Camry wagons simply because of the dual wiper setup. It was a feature Toyota used on many of there JDM offerings. On the rare occasion that I find myself behind one in traffic in the rain, the driver never has them on.
Ditto.
My parents had a 1992 V6 LE wagon (7 passenger), which I later bought from them; it spent 9 years and 160k miles in our family (including an interlude with my teenage brother, who was very much a teenager at the time).
So I’ll just add my praise to the pile: Strong, silent, quick, flexible, and the most dependable thing any of us ever owned.
When my mom, the original owner, passed it along, the new Camrys were a whole different beast. She “settled” (yes, really) for a Lexus.
But as fond of it as I am, I would never want to own one again. So perfect, so boring.
I really never understood the love for Toyota products of this era. I traveled throughout the era and I had an SC400 company car for part of the time, one of my least favorite cars ever. It handled about like a new Genesis. No finesse, and I didn’t really fit within the available range of driving positions, in spite of being only 6’2″. Wherever I went, I was issued Toyota rental cars. Some were RHD econoboxes, some LHD sedans. Man, did I hate driving those things. They didn’t break, unlike a couple Toyota rental cars I had one week in 1992, but they were flimsy, torque-less penalty boxes to a one. When people try to bash today’s Toyota by pointing to the past, I wonder what revisionist fantasy they occupy. While it is true that Toyota sold more coupes and GTs in the past, few of them were as much fun to drive as German cars of the day. Meanwhile, their ‘high content’ sedans had little real plushness beyond great secondary control movements.
As for this generation of Camry, I’ve had a fair amount of contact with them as not-quite-beaters. A friend had a loaded one almost ten years ago when a divorce caused a lifestyle downsize. I felt bad for him when I rode in it. Everything had a GM-like looseness. When I had a job in 2005-2006 that exposed me to lots of workaday cars, I never drove a Camry from this era that didn’t have front end rattles like a 100,000 mile Chrysler 300C. By far the best Toyotas I’ve encountered have all been built since 2007. The first one I liked was a then-new IS250. It was too small but fantastic in every other way. Then I had a rental Corolla that was a shock after the two Focus rentals I’d had a few weeks before. My next rental was a 2011 Camry, and it reminded me of the W124 300E I drove on my summer job rounds in college. It seems like there is a serious propaganda campaign to change perceptions of car makers today, and it is getting traction. As far as I’m concerned, Japanese cars were always more reliable but they were relatively joyless to drive compared to German cars of the ’80s and ’90s. Well, German cars have become numb isolation chambers, weighed down by gimmicky toys for spoiled children and heavy wheel and tire packages. Their steering is now as dead as anything ever foisted on the public by Toyota, and their styling is as awful as that of Datsun in the ’70s. Meanwhile, the Japanese have closed the tactile gap while remaining as reliable and durable as ever. That’s why I finally defected to them in the past 10 years.
In Aussie they even masqueraded as GM! (without much love from either camp) – here’s a late Holden Apollo wagon
Now that’s rare!
The dark days of Australian vehicle manufacturing. Government mandated badge engineering.
Ah yes, the Button plan cars.
I picked up the Apollo sales brochure recently (and the Lexcen and Nova brochures too). I suppose at least the Holden versions got the JDM Camry bonnet and lights to distinguish them from the Oz/NZ-spec Camry. We never got the Apollo/Nova/Lexcen new here in NZ, but there are the odd private-import ones floating about. Same with the Patrol/Maverick and Pintara/Corsair. I was only a kid when Senator Button implemented his grand plan, but reading about it in Wheels made it pretty clear he was as mad as a hatter. Possibly more.
My folks had an Gen 1 and a Gen 2, but skipped Gen 3. Why? Too expensive. Toyota dropped the embarrassingly stripped-out “Standard” Camry for ’92. Since my father’s idea of “well-equipped” at the time was body side moldings and floor mats, so the ~20% price jump had him looking at equally overpriced Corollas before defecting to Honda at trade-in time. The 5th generation Accord, in many ways the best of the breed, was $1500-$2k cheaper than a comparable Camry. At the time, the crappy DX he bought felt luxurious compared to our old Toyota, with features like full cloth upholstery and wheel covers.
Even the decontented ’97-’01 car was still about $1000 more than the all-around superior 6th generation Accord. It was the fifth generation 2002 Camry that finally matched the Accord on price. That coincided with Hondas becoming too ugly to purchase and my Dad switching back to Toyota.
Sorry guys, this debate feels to me like “What is the greatest toaster of all time? OF ALL TIME.”
Dude, you are just showing your blatant ignorance of the car and the automotive industry. The 1992-1996 camry is not an economy car, it isn’t even close. In its day, it was considered a luxury sedan and if you look at one in person, you will see how elegant and curved the sleek body is, especially from the side. It looks just as much like a luxury sedan as any BMW, Audi or Lexus. It has a very similar body to the 1989 Lexus LS400. In 1992 the camry SE sedan was competing in the same class as the BMW 3 series and these cars cost alot of money in 1992. Ugh… so much damn ignorance towards the automotive industry. The 1992 Camry is regarded by professionals in the industry as one of the most revolutionary sedans ever built and has single handedly set the standard for midsize sedan engineering and design. Even to this day, most sedans, even high end, can’t be built to the same standards of the 1992 camry.
I’ll toss in my two cents worth here. After a few impractical and/or unreliable older German vehicles, we bought a new ’93 Corolla wagon after our second child was born. My wife wanted the smallest vehicle we could all fit in, and we wanted a 5-speed … neither the Accord nor Camry wagons were available with 5 speeds in MY ’93, at least in California. My only Camry experiences were putting several hundred miles on my in-laws’ Gen1 in 1989, a surprisingly competent car; and just a few miles recently in a rental 2012, which I found very unpleasant. But I think a V6 5-speed Gen2 would be a great sleeper.
Yep, I have driven two rental Camrys, either 2011 or 2012, neither of them impressive. The hybrid was my first experience driving a hybrid car. I found it disconcerting that every time you accelerate from a stop, there is a very brief, but observable, pause while the Propulsion Committee decides how to respond to your demand for forward motion. As for the “conventional” Camry, the brakes were touchy, the ride busy and jiggly, and the over all impression was “cheap car.”
My Parents’ bought a ’93 Camry LE wagon to replace their ’86 Nissan Maxima wagon. The Camry has been a great car doing prime duty for years and became their secondary car when they purchased their ’07 Honda Odyssey.
It’s now got about 180,000mi on it and the only thing that has failed is the radio, which was not very important to my Dad. Brake jobs, tune-ups and a new exhaust system were about the only maintenance and repair items the car needed. It got a new windshield last year when I was transporting a load of Trex lumber from Home Depot which went through the windshield when I stopped short for a traffic light.
When the car was newer I remember that for a tune-up, the dealer charged almost $25 each for the spark-plugs. I checked with the auto-parts stores and they were getting $20 each at the time. I just check again and they seem to range from $5 to $8, I wonder what brought the price down. It now has a problemwith the rear valve cover leaking oil on the exhaust manifold. We’ve been told that the whole intake manifold has to be removed to get to the valve cover so it’s been left alone, even though it tends to stink at a traffic light.
Toyota was a early pioneer of platinum spark plugs, starting with the Toyota Van that you needed to be a contorsionist to change, and they did charge quite the premium since the aftermarket brands didn’t commonly offer them yet. Now virtually every car is equipped with platinum plugs so every mfg offers them. The one thing that is interesting is that Toyota recommended replacing them at 60K instead of the 100K that everyone else recommended from the start.
The entire intake does not have to be removed to replace the valve cover gasket just the upper half needs to be removed which only takes a few minutes to remove and a few minutes to install.
To really understand how revolutionary the ’92 Camry was, you have to compare it to its competition. Everything else from Japan was boxy and either dull or still Japanese-quirky. Hondas of the time were competent but noisier and REALLY dull. GM was still a mess (think Achieva), and the Taurus was already starting to give off that aura of rental-fleet bait. Compared to a ’91 Accord, Taurus or Achieva, the Camry was downright sexy. They were also the first Japanese-make cars with really effective rustproofing.
My wife bought a ’92 Camry because our ’88 Celebrity wagon was putting us on far too familiar terms with the Chevy service manager. The wagon was introduced several months after the sedans. I wanted to wait till wagons were available but Mrs. MadHungarian was not willing to tolerate the Celebrity From Hell for another week (and there was real fear about what its next expensive way to break would be). So we ended up with a nice middle of the road LE sedan.
That Camry is still the car I have driven fastest — 110 MPH on a stretch of very deserted Tennessee interstate. The car was almost as quiet as it was at 80, and absolutely steady.
We did not have a problem with the transmission on that Camry. At about 93K miles, in the fall of ’96, an engine mount failed. We were told that the engine mount was a Japanese part, i.e. not a Kentucky part, and there were none available in all of the Northeast, and it would take three weeks to get one, during which time the car was not safe to drive. Mrs. MH’s solution to that problem was to trade it in as-is on a new ’97. To me, that was like saying “please, please rob me blind,” but the dealer’s offer was tolerable.
The Gen4 Camry was the beginning of the decontenting trend. The ’97 was like a ’92 with a personality-ectomy, and weird nickel-dime changes like no mist function on the wipers. That one did blow its transmission at about 110K. We replaced it with a salvage yard unit, which took the car to 192K, at which point we threw in the towel on that one.
Most of the Gen3 Camrys I still see on the road seem to have broken outside door handles. It’s an odd lapse in Toyota’s durability testing. For heaven’s sake, you can go into any old salvage yard and find 70’s GM cars that are dissolving into piles of rust but the door handles still look and work fine.
I meant to say “compared to a ’92 Accord, Taurus or Achieva. . . “
I created a new door handle on my ’94. Pix on request.
It’s worth noting that this model was when they expanded the Camry past the Japanese market 1700mm width mark, the car was promoted as the wide-body Camry at launch in Australia. I’d expect the NZ-market model Bryce refers to was the narrow version sold in the Japanese market.
The widebody Camry was in NZ in 1990 Oz was still getting the old model. We have the JDM model too its smaller
Ok, I thought they would have done the JDM first then the widebody later for the 1991/92 debut – underestimated Toyota’s resources I suppose
I’d have to say that the rarest model by far would be the DX V6 model. I’ve only seen one, with crank windows and a v6 under the hood. The second rarest would probably be a 5-speed SE,
I don’t know if it was an option in Canada that we didn’t get here, but a friend of my parents was on a trip from Manitoba back to the States, I cant remember why he moved up there, but he had a 1992 Camry V6 DX, and it was unusual because it also had power windows and locks. That wasn’t an option in the US for 1992 as far as I knew. We got the power packages on the DX starting in 1995. 92-94 are manual windows and locks. Otherwise, it was a ’92 DX with a V6 and the same 6 spoke wheel covers that went on the V6 LE.
Eh…I never liked these all that much. Mainly because when we went into the dealer to buy one in ’95, the incredibly shysty salesman said the only way we could get a 5-speed was in the base 4-cyl model, with no leather, no power anything. What a load. We bought a Passat instead.
Very interesting article Richard, and I enjoyed reading all the comments too. I’m not sure if NZ ever got the gen1 Camry new (we got them as ex-JDM used imports though). I remember the gen2, as Dad was quite interested in the wagons – they were nice looking at the time. Being a Ford family (at the time), we stuck with the Sierra wagon (I love Sierras, so I was good with that!). The gen2 Camry sold ok here, but was pretty similar in size to the Corona sedan/wagon, which was the mainstay of Toyota’s sales (after the Corolla) and outsold the gen2 Camry by a country mile.
Toyota made a big thing about the gen3 at launch, mainly because of its V6. They used the V6 to position the Camry away from the family-size Corona, and more towards the large-size Falcon/Commodore/V3000(aka Diamante) market. The Corona continued to fill the family-size market, so I don’t think we initially (or ever?) got the 4 cylinder gen3 new. As with gen1/2 (and 4-6), we’ve since received plenty of gen3 ex-JDM used import versions though – petrols, diesels, wide body, narrow body etc etc. Many of the narrow body ones were badged Camry Vista. The noticeable parts shared between the narrow and wide body models were the doors. Under the skin was largely the same, but guards/lights etc were changed. Toyota still does this narrow/wide body trick today with the Previa and Hiace.
I was in my mid teens when gen3 Camry arrived, and remember the Camry’s strong reputation in NZ really started forming with gen3. The gen4 built on that reputation, especially when the Corona was phased out and the 4 cylinder Camry became Toyota’s entrent into the family-size market. The lack of a station wagon variant did hurt gen5/6 though. Mind you, Toyota sorted that by importing the UK-built Avensis wagon (basically a Corona by any other name). Anyway, of them all, I reckon gen2 was the best looking, and gen3 the best package. I’d almost consider either, but gen4+ are so boring I’d rather walk.
I had a ’92 Wagon that went with the ex-wife when we split up. A grand machine; V6 version and I never hesitated taking up to the mountains [live in Colorado] fully loaded [the car, not me] and it never balked. After the divorce, bought a ’97 Gen 5 LE Sedan with a 4-cylinder and have clocked 225K trouble-free miles. Because of their splendid reputation, Toyota makes it difficult to change manufacturer affiliations and even in the case of considering buying one of their new models. I think the ’97 is the best car I’ve ever owned and it’s hard for me to contemplate parting company with it.
I have a 97 Camry XLE with V6 and leather and a 97 Taurus GL with the base engine. The difference from the reguler LE is noticeable (had one that got wrecked). Gas Mileage and comfort are subpar compared to a Taurus of the same vintage where you get a V6 in the base model. I really like the 97 Camry but it is much easier to find a vintage Taurus with lower miles for less money. BTW, the engine sludged out on the Camry at 140,000 miles matched by the tranny going out on the Taurus at 80,000 miles. Both are solid cars. The American product improved greatly in the 90’s.
My sister had a 1992 Camry LE that she purchased with 35,000 miles on it from the original elderly owners in 1995. She really loved that car – had it until about 140,000 miles when unfortunately it started to fall apart. The transmission had to be rebuilt, the A/C never again worked properly, all of the struts had to be replaced, hubcaps never seemed to stay on the car, it had oil leaks and issues with the CV joints, and the power moonroof leaked. I remember driving that car and at the time I owned a ’93 Accord EX. My Accord was so much more enjoyable to drive! It wasn’t as large as the Camry but it was such a great driver’s car whereas the Camry was dull and boring. Everyone that keeps saying that the Accord was boring never owned one, especially of that vintage. The steering on the Camry was very loose – you could twirl the steering wheel with one finger. I remember the day she drove my Accord for the first time – she said it felt like a sports car!! Even though they were marketed against each other as “mid-sized” I feel that they were very different cars, for different types of customers.
Principal Skinner from ‘The Simpsons’–“Hmmm..1995..A good year for Camrys…”.
I have a 1992 V6 LE Sedan. Owned by my grandmother since new, recently she gave it to me. 153k on the clock, won’t be getting rid of her anytime soon. Hands down the absolute epitome of what it means to be a Toyota Camry. Mine was manufactured 12/1991. The quality feel of everything still astounds me. I’ve owned three Ford Tauruses (’92, ’93, ’97) and this car has outlived them all! the big three still wish their cars were as good as 92-96 Camry. No one can hold a candle to this kind of build quality. Great article!
Ah, memories.
My family owned a ’94 Camry and I drove a ’96 Corolla for 12 years…from age 16 to 27.
These were just great cars. Solid, reliable, comfortable, and quiet. You have to buy very expensive cars now to get the same feel.
Bought a 96 xle with the v6 4 years ago with 228k for $1500 just turned 280k only thing replaced besides oil was a front cv (ripped boot) and the brakes. Although I think I will tackle the oil pan gasket tomorrow. I also have a 94 prism with the 1.6 manual. Paid $500 bucks for it needing the door handles and starter replaced and the funny thing is the door handles were much more difficult than the starter. It had 175k when I bought it just turned 200k. The clutch is going in the prism but found a local mechanic who will replace it for $200 if I supply the parts. Same guy replaced my driver axle for $50. I think 2nd and 3rd gen camry’s are the most reliable cars ever built. Actually I think any Japanes made toyota=pre 97 will run essentially forever.
I picked up my Camry for $600, and it needed a lot of little things worked on. It only had 166,000 miles on it. And it has a V6 and a 5 speed. I absolutely love this car, and if anything happens to it, I’ll definitely buy another one.
Great article!
I have a bright red, ’94 Camry LE Coupe (with a tan interior) that’s almost identical to the above photo and I love it. It’s been in my family since 1995 and is still going strong in 2012 with 142k miles. My Camry is a 4-cylinder, automatic car, but has quite a few options, like power-windows, locks, mirrors, sun-roof, AM/FM/CD, ABS etc.
The power is just fine out of the 4-cylinder/automatic combo IMHO and in everyday driving, I get about 25-26mpg and on long trips, right around 29mpg. What I love most about the Camry is how smooth it is… It doesn’t seem to matter if your going 20mph or 90mph, it’s quiet and comfortable just the same. The ride/handling isn’t as sporty as some similar sedans from the same era, but you can still have fun with it in the twisties. 🙂
Besides normal preventative maintenance (timing belt, waterpump and misc. gaskets and seals at 120k) it’s been very reliable. The only problems I’ve had with it are very minor: The passenger-door window regulator went out (pretty easy fix) and one of the trunk-hinge torsion bar holders (that keeps the trunk lid open) failed (also easy fix) but other then those two minor inconveniences, I’ve got nothing to report.
One of my friends had a ’96 Camry SE/V6 coupe for awhile (also in the family since new) and it had 305k and was still running strong when he traded it in on a different car a year or so ago. I’m hoping for the same…
Also a note on the 5-speed/V6 SE models: They were available in ’92, I just looked at one in a wrecking yard. I’ve also seen a few 4-cylinder/5-speed coupes, but all in all, just as the article states, the manual-transmission versions are pretty uncommon in the USA.
I bought a 93 Camry wagon from Washington, DC in 2008 since most of the local Camry wagons here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada were showing signs of rusting, especially around the left rear wheelwell. Now I have about 210k miles on this car and hope to keep it forever. It is by far the best car I’ve ever owned and beats my wife’s Rav4 in both interior space and winter driving.
If this car ever rusts out I don’t know what I could replace it with. I get the oil spray rustproofing which is a big business here. I am so surprised that it’s not done anymore in Wisconsin where I visit often. So many cars there are badly rusted. But I guess this keeps new car dealers and body shops happy.
And yes I can park beside all the new $60,000 Audis and Mercedes and my car looks just as good. I would buy a new one if Toyota ever made them like that again.
I own the 1992 4-cyl XLE and i love it! It’s got 264,000 Miles and still running great! And don’t forget the HUGE sun-roof!
I’ve owned and driven American cars such as the Dodge Aries, Buick Regal, and Chevy Lumina from the 80s and 90s. The 1994 Toyota Camry that I own (with 200,000 miles) beats them all in terms of the workmanship and quality of design. The doors on my Camry close with a quiet muffled sound compared with the ‘hitting an empty trash can with a stick’ sound of the American cars I’ve driven. The 1994 Camry has an excellent Aisin transmission that does have the pings and clunks you hear on American cars when changing the shift lever. The doors on my Camry seal so tight that water vapor sometimes condenses on the inside of the windows overnight.
Ummm…if you’re getting condensation, something’s pooling in your carpet.
Wife bought a navy 93 Camry in 95 with about 35k. It has been remarkable. Now, April of 2013 it has 212k, starts every time, easily passes emissions tests and has required little maintenence. Still lots on the road, many are losing clearcoat and wheelcovers which makes them look like beaters. I take off the covers before trips to the tire store because the retention tabs are brittle. The interior plastic, Esp. the console is also brittle. Paint, if garage kept and waxed has held up very well.
Ext. door handles break as mentioned but replacements are plentiful and cheap on eBay.
Learn to replace window regulators if you own one….it really isn’t hard.
My goal is to go 250 k and give her to charity. I feel a real connection and appreciation to this car.
I just bought my second Toyota this time a 1992 Camry and although it is much older than i had wanted it is still amazing! I love my Toyota and take care of it like no other. When the time comes to get a new one it will be because i can afford one not because i have to get one. This car runs great and looks like new the first owner took amazingly good care of this car and so shall i. Seriously i highly recommend Toyota’s especially if the owner before you wasn’t an idiot and took care of the car. These cars can run forever if taken care of even half way right.
If not already, the 1995, 96 Camry LE additions are going to be collectors items. They will become more and more popular as time goes by. One of the very best sedans ever made, From the drive chain, style, and interior.
I am the original owner of a 1992 gen 3 Camry LE with 392,000 kms (245,000 miles).
The car is a light blue metallic and is in showroom condition and hardly a week goes by that I don’t receive positive praise or a purchase offer on the car. The car was built in Japan for the Canadian market and displays superior quality in many areas over American built Camrys. The car receives meticulous maintenance and performs like the day is was driven home from the dealer. Many of the people I know are on their third or fourth car since I have owned the Camry so I think this car has also saved me a lot of money over the years. The gen 3 Camry is destined to become one of the first truly collectible Japanese cars.
I bought a 91 Camry 5 months ago for $1500. it has almost 250,000 miles but so far no problems. It was in very good condition all the way around. everything original, and I get many compliments on the looks of it. I figured I would drive it until it falls apart, so we will see how long it goes. I came across this article by looking for an answer to my question – it’s an automatic and it seems to have a hard shift into first gear, but after that it’s smooth. It just started today, and it’s just noticeable, not to bad. I am trying to keep it on the road as long as possible with maintenance so I am trying to find the solution to this problem. If anyone has any advice – Thanks in advance!
Such a great car! The camry was the first car that I ever purchased. I have such a softspot for them. They tend to last forever and this 92-96 model was so popular. We still see them driving around all over town. Great pick!
I own 1993 camry V6 XLE. I feel the car interior very luxury. The material durability is very good and beat any recent modern toyota car’s interior material which are many environmental material, cheap plastic. Gen 3 is the best camry ever built by toyota undoubtedly.
+1000! Absolutely agree with you!!!!!!
I have lived Between Denver and Salt Lake City my whole life. I still see these everywhere and I still have one. A 1992 V6 LE Dark green on gray interior. 167k. I still drive it everyday and after 22 years in the family, I still don’t want anything else. Recently did a minor overhaul and replaced all of its belts including timing, its water pump, thermostat and power steering pump for good measure, I also did the shocks as well. It was worth every last penny. If you are savvy with buying parts online, these can still be a great used buy, albeit with lower mileage or an extensively documented service history. After all, these models are up there in years. the 1996 being the newest of the gen 3’s is 18 years old at this point. My ’92 was an early production model manufactured in 1991. So at least we know someone’s is still kicking.
1992/93 models are easily identified by their lack of a passenger airbag. 1994 is even easier to identify because its the only year with the pass airbag and the pre-facelift front and rear fascias. 1995 and ’96 had the softened front fascia and the removal of the tail lamp bar that ran across the back. ’92 and ’93 also had a different upholstery pattern (on LE models anyway). XLE’s always had that tad nicer fabric. I always liked the pre-facelift ’92-’94s a bit more. Something about that back end has always spoken to me.
I remember when my grandmother bought this thing new. My folks had always done the domestic thing. Plymouth Arrow, ’76 Grand Marquis, ’81 Seville (V6),’85 Eldorado, ’83 and ’88 Caprice Estate wagons, 1986 Mercury Sable LS wagon(a lemon but still somehow a tragic beauty), ’87 Grand Am coupe, and a lot of Ford Vans and trucks for Dad’s HVAC business. We weren’t too Mopar friendly. But I still remember at 7 years old being absolutely captivated by the Camry. Compared to a lot of our previous shitboxes (My grandmother had owned not one, but TWO Cimarrons at the SAME TIME! For some reason her and my Grandfather had much love for the J-body Cadillacs. The had a Black one and a White one. Later production V6 Models both.) This Camry was absolutely immaculate. I still remember my first almost tomb-like quiet ride in it. Its fit and finish blew my entire family away, but still it did not necessarily convert us to total import-only rigidness.
Personally, I can find the merits in any car if given time. Im 28 now but I have had a good share of cars before coming back to our old family backup. My driving career began in 2002 with a 1992 Taurus GL 3.8 Essex which I didn’t think was too bad at the time. It had punch (Waterpump did it in at 199k bought with 143k.). Followed with a 1993 Taurus GL wagon 3.0 vulcan that was totaled when rear ended. Too bad was actually a 69k car that needed paint after being sunfaded in the Denver sun. 1995 Tercel after, again another low mile car 88k when bought in 2006. Put 20k on her before selling her a year later (one I wish I kept but ultimately at 6’5″, the little coupe proved a bit too small.)
1995 Galant which I bought from my stepmom. She bought it from Avis in ’96 and babied it, but again tell tale Mitsubishi blue smoke after about 133k. 1994-98 Galants are much better cars than people gave them credit for. Aside from the smoke and normal maintenance items, i.e. oil, brakes, etc, I never, ever replaced any kind of factory part or component EVER! and I drove it to 211k. (I travel A LOT). Another 1997 Taurus that looked beautiful but was done in by rust from when my Mother lived up in Ohio. The tranny went and I swapped in a used, but the subframe was so rotted that it had to be spot-welded back on to the car. Torque converter went 20k later. You couldnt tell from the outer panels at all though. This was in 2011. I actually got a few compliments on how nice that Taurus was. Interior was like show-room new! I also briefly drove a 1987 Delta 88 Coupe. Now that thing was a sleeper. I beat a few mustangs and some riced out eclipses in that old girl. She even came in whorehouse bordello red with interior to match. Light and nimble. I wish I could find another of those Oldsmobiles.
I have been driving this Camry since, (I convinced my grandmother to sell it to me and she bought a 2013 Camry XLE. Nice car, but nothing like the good old days of Toyota fatness.) and even as old as it is (Again, manufactured 10/91) I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t continue driving it. The 3vz-FE is one of the most remarkably smooth engines I have ever felt in a regular midsize sedan and its even more of a marvel of how quality it feels after almost 23 years on the road. The car still pleases immensely with is soft smooth v6 and soft ride. If cared for properly, this car will last you damn there as long as any W123 Merc out there. These were something special. Especially the interiors. Gen 4 Camry interiors feel very cheap to me compared to the Gen 3. Especially the seats. ’92 Camry stays until it dies or gets totaled (knock on wood). This is a perfectly serviceable machine….Oh and this car spent all of its life in Texas up until 2012. El Paso. Not a lick of rust anywhere. Interior a bit faded but still not bad at all. I care for her as if she were fresh off the showroom floor and I drive her nice ‘n easy.
…..And find me one Gen 4 Camry that doesn’t have the driver’s side power window control panel lifting and warping its way out of the door panel. I also commonly see gen 4’s with that quintessential pushed in corner of the rear bumper……SMH Toyota.
Really, what is it with Camry rear bumpers? It seems like the tiniest love tap caves them in like that. Has anyone tried removing the bumper cover and just popping it back out from inside?
I havent owned a gen 4 but if I ever do and if it has that issue I would probably attempt to pop it out. Although im sure the pain in that area would be done for lol. Had a few friends who have had them over the years (Gen 4). None of them ever had that bumper problem but they all had the power window switch that could hardly stay within the door panel as well as the annoying rear cup holders that break. I liked they styling of the gen 4 when it first came out and I think it has held up about as well as gen 3 over the years. However, all that de-contenting that Toyota did with the ’97 model gives it the feel of a large Corolla sedan.
I have a 92 4 cyl and I drive it hard but it just keeps being totally reliable. It has 304k and you would never know it.
I believe I have a very rare one… A ’95 2 Dr. Camry LE 4 cyl., 125hp., auto trans, Burgundy on the outside, grey interior. Looks alot like the one shown above, except no spoiler. Hardly any of the 2-door models they made this year came with a 125 horse 4 cyl. Sadly had to re-paint half of the hood, so it has a kind of 2-colored look :/. A very nice car indeed, it has impressed me thus far! Awesome first car. Plenty of power, and sporty-looking, gonna use it to take the girl of my dreams out on a date <3 <3
I know that this thread is over two years old at this point, but I came across it when I was looking up stuff about my car. I have s ’96 Camry LE Coupe V6. It’s my first car. I’ve had it for five years. I really do love this car. Since I’ve had it, I have rear ended a guy at about 15 mph while hydro planing, the only damage was a bent hood and a broken headlight assembly. Since then I have replaced both headlights. And have had it hit by some jerk in a parking lot, which left lots of scratches. But it still looks just as amazing as when I got it. Reliable. And durable. And pretty quick for a 90s car. This Camry will definitely be the best and most sentimental car I will ever own.
I still have a 92 Camry LE I bought new. It was difficult to find one without a sunroof so I could fit. It is a US built model. Still a great car but has required some maintenance. Air conditioning replaced, 2 replacement radiators, all of the seals that keep oil in the engine instead of on the exhaust pipes, plastic door handles (inside and outside), stereo, etc. Now after only 24 years in the sun, the paint is falling off.
Still quiet and powerful and it gets good gas mileage as a commuter.
When I was a boy, my parents had three Toyota Camrys. The first was a 1985 Toyota Camry. As far as I can tell, it was Toyota’s first front-wheel drive car.was too young to drive at the time, but I remember finding the car to be quite attractive to look at.
The second Camry was a 1989 Camry V6. While I can’t remember the engine displacement, my guess is that it was a 2.5 litre V6.
All Toyota Camry’s are excellent values and have bullet proof reliability to match. Unfortunately this type of car falls in the noncollectable classic car class, becacome grocery getter status symbol.However the early Toyota Corona’s Celicas, Corrolla 16 Valves rear wheel drive GTS, or mid eighties early nineties Supra, and Turbo models are more of the enthusiasts car crowd which has more of a bad boy street cred that the Camry will never have. Camrys just don’t have the style that these other Toyotas have, unfortunately Camry’s are stuck with grocery getter Mommy and Daddy status!; that makes the Supras and Celicas and even the rear wheel drive Corrolas of the eighties like the GTS so much more desirable than a front wheel drive grocery getter, like the Camry.
Back in October of 2015 I was looking around for a decent used beater at a reasonable price. I went to a garage in the town I live in and the owner showed me a 1995 Camry LE that someone had brought in and traded for a newer used car. One spin around town was all it took to convince me to buy it. Got it for $600.00. Since then it’s been a daily driver for me and my wife. The engine runs fantastic, and it burns absolutely no oil. The tranny also shifts smoothly and surely. This car will cruise at 75 MPH all day long without a hitch or a hiccup. Now I’ve had to spend some money on it for routine stuff like new tires, a new exhaust, brakes, battery, and so on, but that’s stuff that one would expect to have to replace eventually anyways. The body is a bit rough looking, having been through 22 New England winters, so I’ll be doing a bit of body work come summer. The one thing I noticed right away was that everything in the car worked – power windows, rear defroster, all the controls, everything but the AC, probably because there’s no coolant in it. Another thing I noticed is how cavernous the trunk is – perfect for transporting a dead body around (just kidding!). All in all a great car, even after 22 years. With some TLC and routine maintenance I expect to keep this car for at least another five years or more. If you find one, buy it, no matter how it looks. You won’t be sorry!
I have to disagree with some of the posters here. I have a 2001 Camry LE and have loved that car from the day I first saw it. I consider the design of the vehicle to be understated and tasteful. The driving experience is comfortable but otherwise nondescript, as it should be for an “appliance” car. It’s stable, safe, comfortable, and far better looking than the recent efforts that have come out of Toyota, or most other car makers for that matter. The only real fault I can give to the car is that it sucks in the snow, and I’ve had it long enough to be on my third set of snow tires, these Michelin X Ice are the best I’ve had, but still it’s not a car to drive in the snow at all.
After looking around at new cars for a year, and seriously considering only a Subaru, I have decided to attempt to make this vehicle last whatever time I have left on this plane.
My 92 never had a problem in the snow. I’m sure that is due to a weight difference or balance. I never even used snow tires. This also could be to driving experience. varying your speed and complete stops are not good when driving in snow. steady speed and complete alertness to your surroundings are key in snow travel. Plus anti lock brakes I find to be extremely dangerous in snow I will never own a car with this feature, You lose complete control of steering when applied, let alone the noise and shuddering of the steering wheel would scare the crap out of most people & into releasing them. You want to be able to steer when you start to slide.
I picked up a used 1994 Camry wagon in 2010, really clean shape with 164,000 miles, as the cheap mountain bike hauler. It wound up being the daily driver, still rolling with 220,000+ miles on it today. Besides oil changes, replaced brake rotors and pads, and 1 set of tires so far. It’s been the most insanely reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned – boring, but reliable – at least the wagon version is weirdly more cool then the sedan.
It’s been the mountain bike hauler, great for hitting races with, lots of room for gear. I’ve also hauled 7 people around on occasion, the rear passengers getting a kick out of the old school rear facing seats. With the rear seats folded down, room to sleep/camp in the rear. The very versatile car indeed.
It currently leaks a fair amount of oil, could also use a timing belt change (last recorded change at 75,000 miles). Otherwise, it’s still crazy reliable, motor quiet and smooth. Interior has held up fantastic, and when washed/waxed, looks decent. The check engine light mysteriously appears every few months, but always goes out after a few hours (at most). It appears to be the self healing car.
I’m debating to have the oil leak and timing belt changed, since almost the worth of the car itself ($1200 or so). Though in this day and age, dirt cheap to keep transportation rolling.
Aloha. I have a 1994 classic Toyota Camry Wagon LE that needs repair, and I’m not sure what it will need to get back up. But the stuff you’ll need for your wagon that you mentioned, gave me a pretty good idea of where to get started. O bought mine in 1094. Ot was a showroom car and had only 124 miles on it then due to transport from shows and shipping. I lugged 3 kids in it for 15 years to school and games then played chauffeur uo until 2013. It then had the anttenna up while going through a carwash.. and it all went downhill from then when my ex tried to fix the antenna he broke the anrenna motor then the taillight connections then he had to reset the modulator because he disconnected the battery and then he took apart something else
Eventually the wagon sat there and was never re started. Im thinking of getting a mechanic to gove me an estimate. So thanks for sharing the basic problens like new tires and belts that im sure ill need to change too..
I own a 93’ Camry V6 LE, 145k on the odometer
Almost a year of ownership and not a single problem although I do need to do some maintenance such as brakes and a coolant flush
I always wonder how Toyota packed such a big engine into such a small engine bay
I have a 2001 Camry with 90,000 original owner miles. It has some dents and dings and some rust spots on it, and I’ve been debating in my mind whether or not it’s worth it to spend the money to have the body restored to like-new. This is an excellent automobile, not an enthusiast’s car by any means, but dead flat dependable, reliable and comfortable. It is also a very good looking car as well, imho, much better looking than the new models which are designed to appeal more to kids.. I wonder if this car might someday be a collectors’ item. The only knock I can make on this car after 17 years is that it’s not very good in the snow. The last set of snow tires I have had, Michelin X-Ice are the best I’ve had on it, but it still is not a “snow in the country” vehicle. 23 MPG overall for me is not great, but acceptable. When I lived in CT, there wasn’t much highway driving. Now in upstate NY, open roads are common, but they are very hilly, so that plays into gas mileage.
Wow, I just noticed I posted most of this stuff here once before.. forgot all about it. As far as the vehicle’s performance in the snow, I am, and was in 2001 a very experienced driver, in all conditions, and I can assure people that this is not a good vehicle in snow. Maybe the V6 has a heavier engine, and that makes them a little better, don’t know. Never considered a six for this car, and never needed one, either.
I’ve got a 93 Camry 5 speed stick with 95k miles on it. Trying to sell it. The car drives fabulously for its time. The funny part is these youngsters have no idea what kind of a vehicle this is and how long she will last. All they say is “she’s 25 years old”. LOL
I think the ’01 Camry definitely deserves contention as a great one.
I still have a 96 with a 92 se v6 5sp I drive daily. My brother wrecked the original body so I transplanted the rare drivetrain into another body. I have had 4 gen 3 camrys and have loved every one but this 3vzfe 3.0 and 5sp is fun in a family car with all the sport suspension of the se under it.
I bought my 1993 Camry LE V6 new and it has been very reliable and comfortable, it still is my daily driver. I have maintained it regularly and replaced parts as they age and even before they stop working. Some parts such as the coolant temperature sensor and engine knock sensors need to be Toyota OEM parts otherwise they won’t work.
Also, I would like to add that if you are keeping a car for many decades, it would be good to regularly replace any rubber parts such as gaskets, seals, o-rings, hoses and belts since they deteriorate due to age and temperature variations resulting in leaks and ruptures.
The only daily I will consider is a 92-96 Camry. It’s the product of Lexus development and is one of the most over engineered cars of all Camrys. Ford bought one to blow apart and realized the Taurus was far behind in the midsize segment and Toyota bought a Taurus and realized people were willing to accept less and they cut $1700 in factory build costs with the 1997 Camry introduction.
I have a few different cars and they include XV10’s. I recently found a 96 LE at an auction with 260,000 miles. The bidding started at $600 and I got for $700. Did some homework and found out it was a one owner and that explained why the interior was showroom new. It has the missing clear coat on it’s 6L3 Silverleaf Metallic and super clean grey cloth interior.
Even though it showed recent maintenance I went ahead and changed the harmonic balancer, premium Aisin timing belt kit with water pump, motor mounts, hoses..etc. Brand new tires were on it. I put new OEM Lexus ES300 rear brake shoes on it, new OEM fuel pump and filters, installed new headlight housings with top of the line Sylvania Bulbs and all new LED bulbs in the interior and instrument cluster. LED bulbs outside as well. New windshield went in since the original one was heavily pitted. Ordered a dash cover and I had my local upholstery guy make a rear deck cover. In case it stays outside I didn’t want this Palm Springs sun to kill the interior.
There are two 96 XLE’s for sale out here I want to buy but the owners know what they have and want a pretty penny. I just recently sold my 94 LE to a guy on Craigslist…he was happy with his purchase.
Is there a rare 93 Toyota Camry wagons they’re all wheel drive with a 3.0