1993 Toyota Camry XLE 2.2 from North America

Summary:

Unpredictable mess..

Faults:

Head gasket - 110k miles

Transmission slipping - 120000

Sporadically not starting - all the time.

General Comments:

I'm sorry, this car was nothing but a pain. It was my wife's car that her dad bought for her when she was in college.

The engine (not the exhaust) smoked quite a bit up until the end. The transmission slipped in every gear. When I tried to start it to bring it to the dealer to sell it, it wouldn't start. We had to jump it to bring it to the dealer to sell it!!!

Anyway, my family and I have always had GM and we have never seen anything like this. I'm sure most camry's are reliable, but this thing had many thousands of dollars of repairs coming to it that involved internal engine and transmission work before 130k miles. To give it some credit, once it was running it never gave out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 29th August, 2007

30th Aug 2007, 15:27

Good review... I have numerous friends who own Camry's of various years and they have all had numerous quality and reliability issues. Definitely a car to avoid.

15th Aug 2008, 13:58

Great car... have had my 1993 since new... have 131,000 on it and just doing my second timing belt... very reliable.

1993 Toyota Camry LE 4 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Reliability that can't be beat!

Faults:

Had to replace the timing belt and water pump at 126,00.

Had to Replace the Egr Valve because the car would stall while idle.

Replace the brake pads and shoes.

Had an oil leak had to replace all the seals.

Had to get new engine mounts.

I will soon be replacing my axles.

General Comments:

I had had this car for bout five months. My last car was totalled in an accident. When I first got the car I had to replace several parts due to poor maintenance form the previous owner. I bought the car for $1500 dollars and spent an additional $1000 parts and labor. There are many positives when it comes to this vehicle. First off the gas mileage is excellent. It has a very quiet engine, and drives smoothly. Some cons would be that it does not accelerate as fast as I would like and it's a bit boring to look at. Overall it had been a reliable car. Although I have only had it for about five months so I am not sure if my opinion will change. With the exception of the oil leak and egr valve all the repairs I have made are just regular maintenance such as oil changes, breaks, and now my axles. This is a great first car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th March, 2007

1993 Toyota Camry LX from North America

Summary:

Overrated. Not as reliable as its reputation

Faults:

Timing belt broke at 108,000 miles.

Car stated to stall when hot this spring at 108,500 miles. Six months later, 4 mechanics, new distributor assembly, new computer, new thermostat, new MAP sensor, new temp sensor and the car is not stalling at every stop light. Or maybe is just the cold weather.

General Comments:

I bought this model by looking at the previous reviews. WHAT A MISTAKE! This car is a LEMON! I did a search on the internet and there were a lot of toyota owners with exactly the same problem. The reliability reputation that this car has is clearly just a PR campaign. Stay away!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 1st December, 2006

2nd Dec 2006, 17:03

The problem was and is a lack of maintenance. Toyota recommends changing the timing belt at 60,000 and some cases every 90,000 miles. It's not a lemon, it just needs to be maintained just like any other machine in the world. Your overheating problems probably also come from a lack of maintenance. Have you EVER flushed your cooling system, or even changed antifreeze? I'm guessing the answer is no. Toyota's are damn good, but they can't fix themselves just yet.

1993 Toyota Camry LX from North America

Summary:

A good car, but be careful of the gremlins

Faults:

Power antenna quit.

Speaker covers on front doors fell off.

Paint on front sides gradually deteriorating.

Replaced water pump

Replaced cv boots and half shafts

Replaced driver and front passenger side power window mechanisms

Replaced one of the rear passenger power window mechanisms.

Replaced again front passenger power window mechanism.

Replaced timing belt

Needs to have cv boots and half shafts replaced again.

General Comments:

Bought this car because I needed a reliable and money saving car. Obviously buying any car, including a Toyota, is a gamble. In this case, I lost.

The car is a wonderful driving machine, smooth, quiet, responsive. I don't know if I have ever driven a nicer car. It also is a reliable car and have not experienced any serious mechanical problems--so far. But, it is also reliable in being costly, the windows and cv boots being the main culprits. They just keep coming around like hungry children.

In the last five hears I've probably spent over $1600 in hopes of rehabilitating this machine. Now, having started a second round of repairs with it, it appears it is time to say "Goodbye, Toyota". My only concern is where will I place my next bet, and will I be able to do it before the next window mechanism fails.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th February, 2006

17th Feb 2006, 10:46

My advice to you is to stick with Toyota or Honda, and simply buy one without the bells and whistles (power windows, door locks, etc.). I have 287,000km on my 1995 Honda Accord with nothing power except the steering, and everything works flawlessly.

7th Jul 2006, 11:21

I bought a 1996 Accord with over 107k a year ago and have put an additional 13k miles with absolutely no issues. It is the LX model which has some bells, but I agree, Toyotas can become very expensive to maintain. My 93 just cost me over 1000 in repairs at an independent shop. (T-belt, and a tune up on the V6 which for that year is a pain in the neck to do back plugs). Accords are a bit noisier, due to higher rpms, but are a great little car.