I am thinking of buying a toyota venza what sort of issues ha s anyone had?
If you are looking at a 2012, as indicated, all bets are off. 2002-2017s are based on the XV40 series Camry platform.
On an eleven year old car, who knows? Previous owner(s) may have maintained it well or may have abused it.
As with any older vehicle pay to have it inspected by a mechanic not associated with the seller.
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Mechanic pre-purchase inspection as above, definitely good idea. You pay for this & choose the mechanic. Make sure mechanics verifies all the readiness monitors are complete, and there are no diagnostic codes current or pending in any of: engine, transmission, abs, body modules. Ask mechanic to check car’s history via CaFax Report, & that VIN matches title.
There’s a few thing you can do yourself. Pop hood, remove dipstick. Is oil at the “full mark” and is it clear or mostly clear? If engine oil is at the “add” mark or below & black, not a good choice, look for another car. If engine oil checks out ok, insert key, turn ignition to on, but don’t start engine. Does the check engine light turn on? It should. Then, does it turn off immediately after starting engine? It should. Beyond that, make sure the air bag recall situation is under control, the A/C works & no weird odors, engine starts without excessive cranking, no weird noises when turning steering wheel, vehicle tracks straight down the road, doesn’t pull to one side, no weird engine noises, audio/gps/nav system works, has good reception.
A Venza in FWD/manual transmission configuration will likely present fewer repair problems than a corresponding version in AWD and automatic transmission configuration. Maybe someone here has the scoop which of the two engines is the best, 4 cylinder 2.7L, or V6 3.5L. By reports here “V” configured transverse-mounted engines tend to be a little harder to do routine maintenance, like changing the spark plugs, but don’t know if that applies to this one.
Pretty sure no manual Venzas were made. I’d want the V6. It used the same components as the Highlander and/or Camry. So it’s a reliable base, but at 11 years old, you’ll want it inspected.
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Yeah, 6-speed autos only for both engines. If it looks great get a pre-purchase inspection. If you still like it, dealer retail for a clean 2WD Venza XLE in clean condition and no problems is about $13,800 in Central Maryland with 130,000 miles. Reduce the estimated value by whatever cost the inspection shop says it needs. You can get a value for one you find on line. I use edmunds.com but there are others. They have an Appraise My Car button on the blue bar at the top. Fill in the blanks for a custom appraisal. As for the quality, it’s similar to the Camry, Lexus RX and Highlander and should be fine as long as it was well cared for.
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