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Years back I bought a brand new 2014 Camry SE based on logic not heart.
In less than 6 months later I hated it so much and nobody in the family wanted to drive it, that had to sell it.
Nothing wrong with it, had less than 5k miles but the worst appliance like drivability, went back to sporty German sedans.
Sounds like Camry was not the car for you. Camry is what I drive now and so I already know its what I want. I'm not necessarily looking for an SE. I was more shopping for LE or XLE...
The 9,900 miles is barely time for one oil change, there is really no maintenance that needed doing beyond that and a tire rotation. The dealer may or may not give you a truthful answer as to the reason it was brought back, that short time makes me wonder. If he traded it in for something bigger, with 4WD, or an EV, then it may just be to save money or better suit needs. Like Malloric, I would wonder if it has a history of problems and is a lemon. Is there anything on Carfax? Why would they push you onto that one if they could get a bigger commission for the $32k-40k+ on a new 2024?
They don't have any new Camry's. This is an issue at a lot of dealerships and I'm still deciding if I'm going to get a Camry now or wait.
My reasoning for swaping now is:
1. My 2012 Camry XLE hybrid is pristine with 66K miles but is now 10 years old. I've noticed my gas milage slowly decreasing. I want to trade it before its clear it needs new batteries.
2. A 10 year old car, regardless of milage and condition may not get a fair payoff in case it is totalled in a collision.
Well, for one thing I have never seen a Toyota "lemon" car in my life. I'm not sure I would be put off by someone racking up a few miles on this rig. As others have noted, high mileage per month might mean highway miles which are much better than city miles.
In my experience, 10K miles on a Toyota of any sort is barely broken in.
You never know why the previous owner traded this rig in, in the case of a Toy, I seriously doubt it was giving trouble.
Of course, it's very easy to tell when a dealer salesman is lying, if his lips are moving, OK that means he's lying. Or she.
This camry, was traded in before its first free toyota-supplied oil change and tire rotation...how thrashed can it be? and trust me, THEY took a bath on the trade in.
You can pick up the ext warranty to run it out 8 years 100K on average.
If I was shopping Id pull this trigger. not even that many farts in the seats either...
ps: the XSE in 2023 added a v6 that has 100 more hp over the 4 banger. while the 202hp is no slouch, it will be fine, the 3.5v6 they traded for pushes it into caddy CT5 V6 territory and ford ecoboost territory for those that want more flavor.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
Well, for one thing I have never seen a Toyota "lemon" car in my life. I'm not sure I would be put off by someone racking up a few miles on this rig. As others have noted, high mileage per month might mean highway miles which are much better than city miles.
In my experience, 10K miles on a Toyota of any sort is barely broken in.
You never know why the previous owner traded this rig in, in the case of a Toy, I seriously doubt it was giving trouble.
Of course, it's very easy to tell when a dealer salesman is lying, if his lips are moving, OK that means he's lying. Or she.
That may be rare but I had one, a 1996 4Runner. First it had a rear main seal oil leak on warranty, then the power radio antenna died right after the warranty expired, then at 88,000 miles the transmission went our (cost me $3,800) and at 98,000 mile the head gasket blew. Fortunately our mechanic told us about the "secret warranty" on that, up to 100,000 miles so we lucked out, then traded it in. It also ate up brake pads and rotors, they had to be changed every 15-20,000 miles.
It's possible that the car is a lemon, but there are a lot of possible reasons that don't have anything to do with the reliability of the car.
Buyer lost his job and wants to get rid of the car payments. Buyer broke up with his girlfriend, doesn't want to buy her a car any more. Decided he doesn't like the color, after all. His next door neighbor, whom he hates, bought an identical one and started to call him "twinsies"
My son bought a lovely little chevy that got fantastic gas mileage. It was zippy and fun to drive, and comfortable to sit it. The problem is that it was an itty bitty car and he is a great big tall guy and the low set car was miserable to get in and out of. I'm normal size and I found the car miserable to get into. So he gave up on the great gas mileage and went back to driving a pickup that he could fit into better. He kept it less than 4 months. There was noting wrong with the car other than having to climb down to get into it, which a lot of people don't seem to mind.
I bought a pre-owned Infiniti in 2005 which had 24,000 miles on it. It was a 2004 model.
I am still driving the same car to this day and it runs great. It has 180,000 miles on it. I'll probably bite the bullet and get a "newer" pre-owned car once I get closer to 200,000 miles.
They don't have any new Camry's. This is an issue at a lot of dealerships and I'm still deciding if I'm going to get a Camry now or wait.
My reasoning for swaping now is:
1. My 2012 Camry XLE hybrid is pristine with 66K miles but is now 10 years old. I've noticed my gas milage slowly decreasing. I want to trade it before its clear it needs new batteries.
2. A 10 year old car, regardless of milage and condition may not get a fair payoff in case it is totalled in a collision.
Please don't take this as me telling you what to do but I wanted to provide some counterpoints as a person who's not afraid to buy an older vehicles with mileage:
3 year old VW Golf TDI with 80K miles...currently has 320K miles and it's been sitting in my garage for the last 5 years.
5 year old Lexus Rx400h with 80K miles...had 260K miles before it was rear-ended and totaled. Gifted it to my sister-in-law, insurance gave them $9,600 for it since it was in great shape.
2 year old Fiat 500e with 20K miles...currently has 92K miles
6 year old Tesla Model S85 with 60K miles...currently has 136K miles
I would hop on a Toyota hybrid specific forum to see what the life expectancy of the car is, what kinds of repairs or maintenance are in the future, and perhaps how to fix your loss in efficiency. I know in the Lexus hybrid we had, I would reset the ISC (idle stop control) to get the ICE to shut-off sooner to increase efficiency. You may also want to check your tire pressure and engine codes with a scanner to see if anything is amiss.
As for insurance, if you're concerned about the economics of not getting a fair payoff but would rather spend $28K and pay higher insurance on a newer car I could tell you that you and I have very different ideas of how we like to spend our money. That thought has never crossed my mind, but I've been driving for 28 years and have never been in a car accident nor made an insurance claim.
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