So here is my review of my recently purchased 2009 Toyota Camry SE I4
Pro's
Handling
Size
ease of maintenance
Simplicity
burns very little oil.
A/C
Con's
Paint
Interior quality
Gas mileage
jack points
power
headlight controls.
Ding/scratch magnet(not car's fault)
Insurance(under 25)
This is my third car that I owned and first import and real car purchase. Overall I'm pleased with it. I paid a bit to much for it but I have to start somewhere. My previous car, a 95' Buick Park Avenue,is still running and in good hands now. There was/is nothing really wrong with it but it was just time to move on. I wanted a reliable car that I wouldn't have to put much time in maintenance or worry about long term reliability (a/c is the biggest factor for me) since I now have a monthly car note. Did not expect to end up with a Camry in all honesty, but feel that it was a good purchase. Used cars are overpriced right now so even though I payed a little more than I think the car was really worth I think long term the higher initial cost will pay for itself.
OK, on to the review so far. Car had 90k when purchased. Well maintained, and the engine bay looks very clean. So far I have changed the oil, changed cabin air filter, purchased new tires, and changed transmission fluid(drain and fill). I love having a drain plug for the transmission fluid, no mess and incentive to change more often. It was funny that the same special socket that I need to change the brakes on my park avenue is the same size for the transmission drain plug on the Camry which saved me a trip to autozone. Also it only burn a little oil as far as I can tell It barely moved under the full line in 3k. My Buick went through a quart every 1700 miles. But the SE model does not have any good places to put a jack stand and added to the fact that it rides lower than a no SE Camry. If someone knows it would be greatly appreciated.
The paint overall looks nice, it's Barcelona red put the front hood has a few chips on it and various scratches overall which I contribute to the paint just being thin. But since I have purchased my car there have been several new marks and a nice long scratch that I contribute to people hitting my car(love apartments).
The interior is overall nice and simple. I put the interior quality on my con's list but it's mostly about the floor carpet. It seems to be loosely put in. I should not be able to see the wire routing for the car(area between pillar and front seats) I think that unacceptable but I guess since you mostly don't notice it right off Toyota thinks it's okay. Also on the door panels some sections are light colored and looks like stretched plastic another minor issue. Also I noticed that the passenger seat vibrates when empty at highway speeds. Loose seat, or corner cut for Toyota? I don't know. I do like the simplicity of of the dash layout and the blue back light. Also the climate control is manual which I have been accustomed to auto climate control but I've adjusted. For long term reliability I rather them be manual than auto. It would have cost me $900 for a new climate control module for my park avenue when it went bad but I happen to find a good one at the junkyard and got it for $12. I do wish that it had a instant/average mpg feature standard. I also don't like the placement of the auto headlight function on the turn signal lever. Somehow even though I turn to the auto headlight function it turns away from it. Having the auto headlight function would be better placed on the dash panel somewhere. Even low end GM cars have this.
I also like the handling of the SE package. It has a bigger sway bar, stiffer shock and/or springs, not sure, and bigger/wider tires than the non SE Camry. Some may laugh at my comment about good handling but coming from a Buick to this was like night and day. I like the size of the car, not to small and not big, mid-size I guess
, although looking out the drivers window is slightly uncomfortable, my head head hits the window frame but I'm 6'2” so that may be factor. The handling is very responsive and you have a good feeling of control although during my daily driving my arm gets a little tired.
I have the I4 SE model, rated at 158hp and 161lbs of torque. It's adequate but not powerful by any means. So it only looks fast. Overall I think it has about the same quickness of my Buick but doesn't feel as fast of the line due to lack of torque. But the VVTI makes up for it in all honesty. Although I think overall that the I4 is pretty gutless I've had it up to 120mph(top speed 127mph) and it didn't take an hour to make it there. Also it still felt controllable at that speed. The 5 speed transmission is not as smooth as my 4speed Buick was even at 199k. I doesn't feel as refined but it could be due to being mated to a 4 cylinder. It also seems like it doesn't know which gear it wants to go in at around 35-45mph or maybe it has something to do with the power band. I really don't know. I'm sure it will last for a long time though. But this does bring me to my dissatisfaction with the gas mileage. I'm only do 2-2.5mpg better on average with my Camry than I did with my Buick. I averaged around 19-20.5mpg on average with my Buick and I average around 21-23 with the Camry. In a pure number aspect it does better but from a logical aspect it nothing to boast about. My Buick weights about 450-500lbs more has an engine that is larger by 1.4, 3.8 vs 2.4, and has a 4speed transmission vs. a 5speed transmission. Also the 3800 Series II was in production 7yrs before the 2AZ-FE engine series. But maybe that's just a hats of to the 3800 motor.. The higher the price of gas rises any mpg gains becomes morenapparent. That aside, any mpg gain is a good gain. So while I was looking for maybe 23-25 mpg I can accept this. I'm just a little disappointed. Maybe I should just slow down.
So overall I'm happy about my purchase and really like my new to me car. I hope to get years of service out of it and experience the Toyota quality of low maintenance and few problems although I think all cars are more reliable to day. So far so good.
Pro's
Handling
Size
ease of maintenance
Simplicity
burns very little oil.
A/C
Con's
Paint
Interior quality
Gas mileage
jack points
power
headlight controls.
Ding/scratch magnet(not car's fault)
Insurance(under 25)
This is my third car that I owned and first import and real car purchase. Overall I'm pleased with it. I paid a bit to much for it but I have to start somewhere. My previous car, a 95' Buick Park Avenue,is still running and in good hands now. There was/is nothing really wrong with it but it was just time to move on. I wanted a reliable car that I wouldn't have to put much time in maintenance or worry about long term reliability (a/c is the biggest factor for me) since I now have a monthly car note. Did not expect to end up with a Camry in all honesty, but feel that it was a good purchase. Used cars are overpriced right now so even though I payed a little more than I think the car was really worth I think long term the higher initial cost will pay for itself.
OK, on to the review so far. Car had 90k when purchased. Well maintained, and the engine bay looks very clean. So far I have changed the oil, changed cabin air filter, purchased new tires, and changed transmission fluid(drain and fill). I love having a drain plug for the transmission fluid, no mess and incentive to change more often. It was funny that the same special socket that I need to change the brakes on my park avenue is the same size for the transmission drain plug on the Camry which saved me a trip to autozone. Also it only burn a little oil as far as I can tell It barely moved under the full line in 3k. My Buick went through a quart every 1700 miles. But the SE model does not have any good places to put a jack stand and added to the fact that it rides lower than a no SE Camry. If someone knows it would be greatly appreciated.
The paint overall looks nice, it's Barcelona red put the front hood has a few chips on it and various scratches overall which I contribute to the paint just being thin. But since I have purchased my car there have been several new marks and a nice long scratch that I contribute to people hitting my car(love apartments).
The interior is overall nice and simple. I put the interior quality on my con's list but it's mostly about the floor carpet. It seems to be loosely put in. I should not be able to see the wire routing for the car(area between pillar and front seats) I think that unacceptable but I guess since you mostly don't notice it right off Toyota thinks it's okay. Also on the door panels some sections are light colored and looks like stretched plastic another minor issue. Also I noticed that the passenger seat vibrates when empty at highway speeds. Loose seat, or corner cut for Toyota? I don't know. I do like the simplicity of of the dash layout and the blue back light. Also the climate control is manual which I have been accustomed to auto climate control but I've adjusted. For long term reliability I rather them be manual than auto. It would have cost me $900 for a new climate control module for my park avenue when it went bad but I happen to find a good one at the junkyard and got it for $12. I do wish that it had a instant/average mpg feature standard. I also don't like the placement of the auto headlight function on the turn signal lever. Somehow even though I turn to the auto headlight function it turns away from it. Having the auto headlight function would be better placed on the dash panel somewhere. Even low end GM cars have this.
I also like the handling of the SE package. It has a bigger sway bar, stiffer shock and/or springs, not sure, and bigger/wider tires than the non SE Camry. Some may laugh at my comment about good handling but coming from a Buick to this was like night and day. I like the size of the car, not to small and not big, mid-size I guess
, although looking out the drivers window is slightly uncomfortable, my head head hits the window frame but I'm 6'2” so that may be factor. The handling is very responsive and you have a good feeling of control although during my daily driving my arm gets a little tired.I have the I4 SE model, rated at 158hp and 161lbs of torque. It's adequate but not powerful by any means. So it only looks fast. Overall I think it has about the same quickness of my Buick but doesn't feel as fast of the line due to lack of torque. But the VVTI makes up for it in all honesty. Although I think overall that the I4 is pretty gutless I've had it up to 120mph(top speed 127mph) and it didn't take an hour to make it there. Also it still felt controllable at that speed. The 5 speed transmission is not as smooth as my 4speed Buick was even at 199k. I doesn't feel as refined but it could be due to being mated to a 4 cylinder. It also seems like it doesn't know which gear it wants to go in at around 35-45mph or maybe it has something to do with the power band. I really don't know. I'm sure it will last for a long time though. But this does bring me to my dissatisfaction with the gas mileage. I'm only do 2-2.5mpg better on average with my Camry than I did with my Buick. I averaged around 19-20.5mpg on average with my Buick and I average around 21-23 with the Camry. In a pure number aspect it does better but from a logical aspect it nothing to boast about. My Buick weights about 450-500lbs more has an engine that is larger by 1.4, 3.8 vs 2.4, and has a 4speed transmission vs. a 5speed transmission. Also the 3800 Series II was in production 7yrs before the 2AZ-FE engine series. But maybe that's just a hats of to the 3800 motor.. The higher the price of gas rises any mpg gains becomes morenapparent. That aside, any mpg gain is a good gain. So while I was looking for maybe 23-25 mpg I can accept this. I'm just a little disappointed. Maybe I should just slow down.
So overall I'm happy about my purchase and really like my new to me car. I hope to get years of service out of it and experience the Toyota quality of low maintenance and few problems although I think all cars are more reliable to day. So far so good.
