I gave my daughter my 2000 Camry Solara and she took it to be looked at because of a burning rubber smell. The dealer told her she the power steering fluid line was leaking and so were the valve covers leaking oil on the manifold. The cost would be over $1200 they said. She doesn’t think it is worth fixing. But the car runs great and has 150,000 miles on it. What do you think?
The car is out of warranty. Take it to a mechanic and see what he charges.
Why doesn’t she think it’s worth fixing??? That makes no sense to me. What does she think a NEW car will cost??
Those repairs are MINOR. She should fix it and keep driving. If well maintained those cars can easily last 300k miles.
Those are pretty simple repairs for a good mechanic and shouldn’t be too expensive at an independent garage. It’s definitely worth fixing.
No way would I get rid of a car just for those reasons - heck, I’ve driven one car with those problems for thousands of miles (not too eco-friendly, I know!)
I think she’s angling for a new car…
I agree the repairs are minor in scope (easy to do), but I’m just curious -
What would you define as minor/major? This is a pretty hefty cost on a relatively easy problem that once fixed, the problem should be completely gone… But when I hear someone say “minor problem”, I’m thinking something that really is inexpensive, too…
Susan, the Camry Solara is one of the best vehicles on the road and also a very pretty one. As others indicated, the leaks are easy to fix, and may not cost the $1200 indicated. This car is defintely worth fixing and could run reliably for another 10 years.
No need to go to the dealer for the repairs. Any mechanic can do it, & cheaper.
I don’t know if it is coincidence or not, but the last time I had my Camry at the dealer they said the valve cover was leaking. I know there was no leak. Have someone check this out. If it is leaking it may only mean something needs to be tightened. Make them show you where the power steering lines are leaking.