I’m already through the process but haven’t actually signed the paper work, i want to get a 99 camry for $3300 including tax title license… is this smart?! my brother whose great with cars checked it out and said it looks great! It’s a steal. And according to KBB its says its worth at least $5500. I’ve heard Camry’s are reliable but i’m so nervous to buy it. What are some of the things i should be aware of? On Auto Checker it rated a 82.
Please Help
I would ask for maintenance records and proof the last time the timing belt was changed. It should also go to a good mechanic and let him check it out. With all due respect to your brother, a good mechanic can probably find a large number of items requiring repair on a car that old. You can also use the report as leverage to bring the price down, potentially.
Personally, I think you could do better. Even if you spend $1000 more, you ought to be able to get a car with far fewer miles on it. If you plan on keeping a used car for a while, I don’t think I’d personally touch one with more than say 135K on it. Of course a car with 70,000 miles owned by an indifferent fool could be far worse than a well-maintained 225K car, so if you’re really interested, as jay suggested, see if the owner has maintenance records and have it checked out. With that many miles I’d give the transmission some extra scrutiny as well.
Frankly, it doesn’t much matter what kind of a car it is, after 225,000 miles its a crap shoot. There is just no way to tell how much longer the thing will run without an expensive failure.
I’m going to vote no on this purchase. Too many great vehicles with 140-170K miles out there for not very much more money. The only way I would consider it is if it had one owner who drove it on a long commute everyday and changed the oil every 4-5K with all the records. Even then I’d be wary of purchasing a car that I know that will be nearly impossible to sell when I’m done with it. Who’ll want a car with 300k miles on it a few years from now-you’ll have to give it away. Just my opinion of course.
If the mileage on this car exceeds 200K, it’s worth about $1,000-1,500, but no more.
$3,300 is WAY too much.
I am a retired physician-surgeon and I work on a number of used cars that are given to me by people in my church and I get them ready to give to people in need. Most of these cars are not worth selling or trading in and usually have some problem that needs attention. I have an associate who is one of the most respected engine rebuilders in our area, 30 + years experience. On a number of occasions he and I will go over a vehicle, especially the engine and tranny. He has educated me that when going over a vehicle you may see or hear an obvious potential problem. What he could not predict is the situation that you obtain the vehicle and 1 mile down the road, the major catastrophic event occurs and you are out hard earned cash.
Thanks everyone for your advice! I didn’t get the car. Hopefully i’ll be able to find one out there, its hard!
Hurray! Someone actually listened to us haha.
My 2002 Sienna with 143,000 miles was valued at Mexican insurance renewal time somewhere between $6,000+ and $8500, depending upon condition. Value goes down fast beyond this point.