hooptie no more

[contentlove]

Backstory: I bought an '97 Camry from a friend earlier this year. Because both she and previous owner are known to be meticulous, I skipped getting the car inspected before purchase. Bad move, should have done a little more homework on the year and the model. There are known problems, and as we close in on 12 years and close to 200K, it's not a

Comments

[thomasrhymer]

S 1st Don is a good guy. I got to know him a bit because he sponsors both roller derby leagues in town.

[contentlove]

I agree, he's cool, and it's a little hard to miss the Roller Girl connection, what with the giant ATX Roller Girls tattoo on his forearm and the bazillion signed cheezecake pics'n'winning endorsements for Don. He obviously likes girls ;)

[amritarosa]

Oh, so familiar echoes of the conversations I have with myself over my '91 Geo every time something breaks! Fix it for more than the car is worth, or ditch it & get another one.

The "repairs are less expensive than buying a new(used)car AND at least I know what's already been repaired on this one" argument has won out so far (along with the no-monthly-payments or several years of debt, insurance stays cheap, and I'm recycling after a fashion arguments...)

One good mechanic in town doesn't want to work on it anymore, said what he'd be happy to help me with is calling the salvation army auto donation guys to pick it up from his shop :) Last time I cursed myself by replacing the headlights and a couple of tires. Then the cv joints went.

I dunno- it's coming up on 200k miles too. Next time might just be the last time. Then again I may just end up rebuilding the entire car bit by bit.

-sympathy-

[lassiter]

Interesting story. Is it just that particular model that has the lemon scent? Because Toyota has such a good reputation for not being that way (they consistently have the highest resale value after ten years of any other manufacturer except maybe Honda).

[contentlove]

Yeah, it's the Camry. They're granny-mobiles, you know? Good cars, but after 12 years, everything starts to go wrong...kind of like granny's hip. But if you can get 'em around the problems and you monitor them and replace the stuff that goes as it goes (think seals, gaskets, anything rubber) I might get a couple of years out of it. It's extremely comfortable, even if it's not hot sexy love between me and le Camry.

[najwa_maryam]

Yikes.

[aq777]

Yay! I am glad you have your ride back.