Old Camrys run forever without ever needing any work done to them, even their brakes; right?
CC Outtake: Busting Stereotypes: A Camry That Needs Wrenching?
– Posted on April 21, 2014
-
-
Curbside Classics Archives
Old Camrys run forever without ever needing any work done to them, even their brakes; right?
Reminds me of that time two weeks ago when I replaced the air filter, changed the oil and filter on my Caravan in my driveway, and rotated the tires the next day.
Now I try to not be a judgemental fellow and keep open minded, but does this photo not raise privacy concerns? Sure the person is in view of the public, but they are on private property so to me it comes off as rude and invasive. I surely would not like it if I was chilling in my front yard and someone took a photo from the street. Now if I was in a public area then I am more chill about it since I am in a public area after all.
That Camry looks a bit rustier than a normal Eugene car, but I suspect that is due to the damage on the quarter panel. Weird how there is a black window surround on just the rearmost side glass. Going to guess the key for the gas door was lost or the latch stopped working so the door was removed which unfortunately ruins the aerodynamics. *wink*
This photo is full of interesting vehicles. I believe that black sedan is a Suzuki, there is a custom painted Vanagon, a pre-door stretch Windstar and of course a Ranger with unique taillights.
I think the black is a Nissan Versa. It’s always hard to tell with all the amorphous shapes the alien pods of today have.
If you were thinking the Kisashi, now that is nice looking.
Right, because all cars back in the “good ol’ days” were so distinctive and easy for non-enthusiasts to distinguish.
The black car is a Nissan Versa from the previous generation.
Leo said it first.
I think that Windstar does have the door stretch.
Ok, it is hard to tell. Crazy that some Windstars are now over 20 years old with more to follow. Time does march on.
When that “Super Door” came out I had a grand old time making fun of it. “Oh look! A coupe door on one side, that’s a MUCH better idea than dual sliding doors!” Yes, I was Mr. Sarcasm back then…
Wow – a Vanagon, a Windstar and a Toyota (sounds like the opening line of a joke) – and which one is getting worked on? Maybe its because the Toyota is the only one worth doing any maintenance on.
An air cooled Vanagon even
I very briefly owned one like that I needed CV axles replaced. Hateful thing with every all rusted up underneath. The top side looked really nice still. My brother in law helped and we finally got the job done. I never wanted to work on the car again so we gave it to my sister in law who managed to write the car off three times in a month. This is the one and only photo I have of it.
A friend had a 1984 model of this Camry. I would ride in it and dutifully compare it to our 1984 Chrysler E-Class we recently bought back then.
Of course, the E-Class was a much nicer car, but I wonder just how long my friend’s Camry lasted, as we left the STL area in 1992.
We sold our E-Class in 1994, after 8 years of ownership. The man who bought it is one of my wife’s co-workers, and he drove it for years afterward.
“Of course, the E-Class was a much nicer car,” is not a statement that makes much sense. You may have preferred your E-class. It may have had a more ornate interior. It may even have ridden better on your roads at the speeds you asked of it. I don’t think there is any basis for throwing an ‘of course’ on your statement though. That the Camry name is still around, still attached to a family sedan, and has been the best selling car in the US for years points to the fact that more loyal owners were created by the Camry than by the E-class, a name that probably would draw a blank look if mentioned to a majority of Chrysler’s sales force today. While it is possible that you didn’t appreciate what the Camry had to offer, saying that the E-class was of course a much nicer car than the sales-conquesting and brand-building Camry is doing the historical record a disservice.
Maybe he just liked it better.
Nah, he’s not working on it. Just practicing so he can teach his daughter how to change a flat tire. If she ever gets one-it is a Camry, after all.
Does this mean that the owner is going to be taken out and shot, before he has a chance to publicly say that his Camry needed some kind of repairs? Because we all know they’re perfect, only gas, oil and tyres for at least the first 300,000.
Do people really claim that?
I got some interesting remarks from car-illiterate coworkers when I mentioned that my Subaru was going in for its scheduled 90,000 mile service. “But I thought Japanese cars were supposed to be reliable.”
No, American car enthusiasts often claim that about Japanese car enthusiasts. 😀
Tyres? Really? Aren’t you an American….?
I almost thought it was my friends old beater Camry that he owned when he lived in Oregon, but his was dark blue, it was in about the same shape though.
They badged them Corona in this market, maybe thats the problem.
Are you sure? The V10 Camry/Vista and the FWD T150 Corona/Carina look very similar and aren’t dramatically different in size, although they aren’t the same platform.
It’s the Prius that never needs a brake job. Get your internet memes straight.
I worked on a 2002 Camry recently. Everything works, but it is beginning to leak oil from pretty much everywhere. It will need trans/engine pan gaskets and valve cover gaskets. I will wait for timing belt change time before I change the valve cover gaskets. The biggest leak is coming from the steering rack bellows, which means new steering rack time is coming soon. That won’t be cheap.
I had a 1985. It developed serious transmission problems after about 75,000mi and needed new new front struts and bushings. I got a really good trade-in price for it, though. HA HA! /nelson
Now I have a 1994 (both passed to me from my mom, the newer one because she finally hung up the keys a few years ago). No issues of note other than the valve cover gasket is leaking very slightly. I’ve ordered a new BMW 335i so once it’s on the boat from Germany I’ll put the Camry up for sale. Only has 52,000mi.
Looks like the one saw today, old guy got out of it.
When I was in high school, a friend of mine had a 1st generation Camry hatchback in two tone orange-ish/tan with the digital dash and power sunroof. I thought it was such a cool car, but 99 out of 100 Camrys of this vintage you see are base model sedans, which aren’t nearly as cool. It was very comfortable, fairly roomy and seemingly well-built, but didn’t appear to drive all that well. I never drove it, though… that was just my impression from the passenger seat. He also had a Renault Encore at the same time, but wasn’t really interested in cars at all. Both were hand-me-downs and I guess his relatives were just weirdos (in a good way).
A girl I dated in college had a first generation Camry. My neighbor confused it with my similarly silver 4000S quattro one time, and she was incensed. Her used Camry had replaced a Jeep XJ(can’t remember if it was a Wagoneer or Cherokee) and a string of new Saab 900s from their pre-GM days, so the novelty of a car that never stranded her was mind-blowing. She loved that Toyota and still had when I last saw her several years later.
Does this man know his crack is on the World Wide Web……?