My husband has a 1997 manual transmission Camry V6. For the past few years, it’s been a game to see how long he can keep it going, and it now has 644,000 miles on the original engine. Believe it or not, the car still runs well!
I finally convinced him to buy himself a brand new car, and of course he is now the proud owner of a gorgeous, brand-new Camry. However, he can’t seem to bring himself to part with Old Faithful, which is now sitting on our driveway under a tarp. Is there any chance a car collector, museum, or rogue Toyota madman might want to buy it? Should I contact the Guiness Book of Records?
Will appreciate any suggestions on getting rid of this thing. The car–not the husband!
Naw, Buick wasn’t interested in my Riviera with 530,000 miles on it so don’t bother although that is a great accomplishment. I shudder to suggest it but the only way might be for some folks from the wrong side of the track taking possession of it some dark night. Don’t turn it in to insurance though since that would be fraud. Of course most of these folks can’t drive a MT so you might be stuck until it rusts away.
I seriously doubt it. It seems to me you should consider it performance art, and hubby should continue to drive the old Camry and the new one. He averaged 32,200 miles per year during the last 20 years. He can keep the mileage down on the new one by driving the old one two or three days a week. Maybe he could use the old car as his commuter and save the new one for nights, weekends, and when the old one bites the dust. That way you won’t be embarrassed by riding in it. As a rolling museum piece, he will take his museum piece to the public rather than having them come to it.
Why not donate (give) it to someone that could use it? It’s not worth much at all despite the fondness for it and someone may actually get some use out of it. It’s just going to rot away with non-use, trust me on that one.
Donation is a great idea. Charities like Vehicles for Change take vehicles, fix whatever needs done, and turn them over to people, usually families, that work but can’t afford a car. I can’t think of a better use for an unused vehicle in running condition.
They made way too many Camrys for that to have any special worth.
Donation is one option. A needy nephew might be another. Or, selling it might work too. Check around in your area and see what they’re going for. But understand that you’ll have to sell it cheap. It gives whole new meaning to the words “high mileage”.
I very dimly recall hearing… I think it was back in the 90’s that some guy got his Volvo to a million miles and Volvo bought it back from him to tear it down as an engineering study, but I have no idea as to the veracity of that story.
I can, however, completely understand him wanting to keep the old Camry. Getting anything that isn’t a semi-truck beyond half a million miles is quite an accomplishment, not only for the car but for the owner who maintained it so well.
It’s worth scrap prices at this point, so if you have room for it and it makes him happy, just keep it.
Keeping something forever is what I am inclined to do, but Mrs. Triedaq has a different opinion. You are more patient than she is. I had a 1978 Oldsmobile that I kept going for 33 years. We had two other vehicles and I wasn’t using it very much. She sold it to our neighbor whose son had returned from military service in Iraq. His wife found someone else while he was serving our country, and needed transportation. I was happy to see my old car serving a person in need.
If the car still runs and drives at this point (I assume it does…) then why not contact a local veterans group and see if they may know of a down on their luck vet who could use a set of wheels for free?
I sold my Riviera with 350,000 for $50 to a Native American girl who needed transportation to get to work. I knocked the price down from $100 with the understanding that she would buy a new headlight switch with the $50. Full tank of gas, new antenna, new $70 battery, and fresh wax and shampoo job. Wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did but that’s another story. Wish I still had it kinda.
Maybe it was one of the smartest things you’ve done. If it kept that young lady employed and helped her get financially stable enough to start a good life, it was the smart thing to do.
Good choice buying another Camry. Hubby’s still thinking clearly. My opinion, if he wants to keep it, he should continue to use it at least a couple times a week. Maybe use it to run errands, etc. Cars don’t do well if not used at all, and if you notice it isn’t getting regular use over the next 6 months, then I’d say it is time to let it go. Sell it, scrap it, part it out, donate, whatever. But don’t let it sit under a tarp unused. That wouldn’t be fitting for a car of this heritage.
Naw she let her cousin work on it and destroyed it eventually. Plus she never transferred the title like I asked her to at least do. What can I say? The car didn’t deserve the treatment it got.
In my neck of the woods, there are plenty of financially struggling families who would gladly accept that Camry for free, and they would drive it to/from work every day
I read a 3 page story about the 3 million mile Volvo P1800. The owner said he consider engines and transmissions just more maintenance and replaces them every 300,000 or so.
Well holy cow, any car just about will go a couple million miles if you replace the engines and trans every 300K. Especially if they are old enough to not have pesky electronic stuff in them.
