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Camrys were notorious at one time for the engine oil sludge issue, which Toyota tried unsuccessfully to on blame on owners. Most car manufacturers have troubled models, at least in certain years, in spite of their reputations.
As cars get more complex, so do the problems. Forty years ago we worried about engine failures at 100K miles, now we worry about ECU failures that can cost as much as an engine. Toyota has certainly been in the gunsights the last few years for a variety of reasons but all manufacturers have had their share of issues. I think Toyota led all those accolades from various consumer publications go to their heads and maybe weren't as diligent about engineering new iterations of their models.
I think a reputable dealer is important because they are the ones who have to fix any problems, not that they are building the car. And I know, you can use any dealer you want but trust me, if they didn't sell you the car, you aren't first in line. I've often paid more for a car because of the dealership. Just not worth a few hundred bucks to deal with some questionable operation and then try to get the good shop to do the work.
When it comes to buying a new car the individual dealer has zero bearing on the quality of the car you're buying. The dealer isn't assembling them in the shop from parts.
Must be speaking of used cars since the OP mentions accidents. If a new car dealer sold you a car as new that has been in an accident there will be trouble all the way around.
Not only that but Toyota has had to rely on fleet sales to keep its sales numbers up, a tactic they used to sneer at the U.S. domestic 3 for. Over 1/3rd of U.S. Camry sales are now fleet sales; some sources say close to half.
Darn "some sources". So hard to pin down but easy to quote and makes unbacked stats look shinier.
OK, I am still trying to get over this, so what I am proposing is, when you buy a vehicle, you look at the history of previous issues some of them had, and then, say, you toss out engine, as it can crack, or pour no oil into it, as it can be excessive consumed, or cut roof off, as it may make noises, or toss transmission.
As a preventive measure. Genes and such.
We had an '85 Camry with auto. It got great mileage but the motor and trans. didn't do well on hills and grades. After it over heated once outside of Needles CA, it never ran right afterwards ( we turned around and went back into town and spent the night). If I had it to do over again, I would have put a bigger radiator in it but also seemed very underpowered. Other than that, it was an okay car, not as fun to drive as my Accord 5- speed.
2012 Camry owner.....no problems. Saw the recall about the air bag issue so thought o boy here it is.....LOL not on the 2012 but the 2003 Pontiac Vibe that we love and would buy aqgain if they were still available did. LOL
We purchased the extended warranty that covers everything. So far love the dealer and the customer service.
The only issue I have had with my 03 Camry has been exterior paint that could be better, it chips more than my 96 Corolla which has a lot more miles and lot older. The other was the tranny would shift hard jerk so the came out with TCB and uploaded new code to the ECU it is better but not perfect. It's an annoyance occasionally. If it were worse I might switch out the tranny fluid for all Mobile 1 full syn tranny fluid.
And I belong to Toyota Nation forum so I get more info it's toy specific. I mention it because it's where I learned that Toys are prone to sludge so I run full syn Mobile oil and no problems.
Sure if you are going to sell 400k cars per year you are going to have a few problems. No doubt in my mind Toyota remains the worlds most reliable car manufacturer.
At least they are resolving it.
It not like "there is nothing wrong with Explorer tires."
Or, "the Pinto's gas tank placement is alright."
Or, "there is no problem with the gas tank on the Police Interceptors."
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