It's land yacht/taxicab V8. The real problem is all the small things and the AC Ford engineers to break in the car, and the way some are literal disasters waiting to happen, like with spark plug blowouts.
First car for son: 3800 Buick vs Crown Vic vs Camry 2.2L....need advice
- Thread starter Chris B.
- Start date
9 grand for a 22 year old Camry? It better be the most pristine well-preserved car outside of the Toyota museum. 
Thanks again gentlemen! I passed on aaaaaalllllll of these. The V6 Camry had a bad tranny going out. So much for the "1 owner impeccably maintained, cleanest one in existence". Super disappointed. That's ok we still have a year to figure it our. I appreciate all of your advice and input!
- Joined
- May 4, 2025
- Messages
- 122
My vote the Buick or the Crown Vic. Simple straight forward road Yatchs. Plenty of room sports equipment or friends and spacious back seats for studying yeah studying like human anatomy hahaha.
This 2003 Camry in Denver looks like a good candidate since it spent its previous ownership in FL & TX, so it should be rust free and the CARFAX shows no accident history. Super reliable model that has enough modern safety features and is affordable enough for the risks associated with a new inexperienced driver. Probably dealer serviced since the last photo shows a Toyota TrueStart battery (5/23) and red coolant in the reservoir.
My daughter is going to be 14. Picked her up an 06' Camry LE 4 banger. 120 k $ 1600 Original owner. Snow belt. Had some rust underneath, but took care of that. Paint not all that, but who cares. Touched it up... Full of dog hair, steam cleaned it out. In NY, they get permit @ 16. so, it will sit under the deck on a set of plastic " no flat spots" ramps, a good cover, and a Noco 2 battery tender. Completed all needed maintenance. Just gonna throw some ceramic coating on the paint. Start it up 1x every 2 weeks to keep the juices flowing. Stabilizer in gas tank already. OCI 1x a year till she drives. You gotta look around for deals. There out there, You gotta start early like I did. She'll be good to go for senior year of High School. Yeah, it's not a Mercedes, but, too bad. More than I got at her age. I got squat. " Wanna car, save you're money & buy one ....if not..you know where the bus is ".....that's what I got
Wow! Thanks! This looks great with a very extensive maintenance history! Were the automatic transmissions solid for the 2003 Camery? I remember reading some of these had problems.....That V6 above in my original post was one of them that had transmission problems.
Get the 03' Camry with the 4cylinder ONLY. Bulletproof engine 2AZ-FE . Have one in my 03' Toyota Solara. Fantastic tranny too. It's one of those 300-400k cars. 5W30 oil. Most common oil leak is the valve cover. 15 minute job. Tooo easy. Stainless steel exhaust too.
2AZ-FE bulletproof? after 2005 or so, before that they could pull head bolts. Few years after 2005 they started drinking oil--which is better than blowing a gasket--but still problematic. It's possible that all the bad ones died by now, but it was a problem.
I'd rather have the prior 5S-FE or the latter 2AR-FE. Well, much rather have the 2AR-FE but the 5S-FE was quite a trooper, and that gen Camry was nicer IMO.
Hmmm...Strange....maybe I got lucky with my 03' & 06'. I do know starting in 07', they switched to low tension piston rings to satisfy CAFE standards, and they all became oil burners. But my 03' & 06' have no problems. I'm sure there were better engines after the last of the 2AZ-FE's. They really did them in starting in 07'....But...I haven't much choice in the matter. These are what I have, and I'm fortunate enough that they are trouble free. I'll just keep my fingers crossed it stays that way. I will say this much, they get fantastic gas mileage and have plenty of power for a 4 banger.....One has 128k, the other has 120k. Purr like kittens. Wish me luck 
2AZ-FE, 2002-2005 have head bolt issue although if it last this long, it is probably fixed.
2006-2009 have excessive oil consumption issue.
Any of the 6 cylinder are built like a tank.
If you can find the 2000-2001 4 cylinder, they are also good.
2006-2009 have excessive oil consumption issue.
Any of the 6 cylinder are built like a tank.
If you can find the 2000-2001 4 cylinder, they are also good.
I'll be on the lookout. Thanks for the heads up though. I'll keep an eye on that gasket. Do they blow coolant / oil ???? Or both ?? Or did they start mixin in the radiator ?...If you remember...
I forget what they do... probably all of the above. The threads pull out of the block, so, whatever it does, it's bad. I believe to fix you pull the had, drill out the hole and put in a bigger bolt (which is what the factory eventually did).
I've heard of, stay on top of the coolant, and never ever let it overheat. But I'm not sure if that is really the cause of the problem or a symptom.
I've heard of, stay on top of the coolant, and never ever let it overheat. But I'm not sure if that is really the cause of the problem or a symptom.
Did some serious research on these old 03' and 06' 2AZ-FE engines. The problem was addressed and fixed by Toyota in 2005. So, that puts my 06' in the clear. As for the 03, It is a family hand me down, which I was the sole maintainer for 90% of it's life. My mother bought it new, and ran it back and forth to work ( 20 miles a day ), and a few romps on the highway to visit relatives an hour away. I changed the coolant at least 5X while she owned it. It was never overheated. The other 10% was my niece going back and forth to college. An hour ride on the highway. Never overheated. Maybe that's why it has 128k on it now. It was well taken care of, and stayed in the family. I just put a new water pump, radiator, thermostat, coolant in it. What I took out was all original from 2003.( except for the coolant).... I am at ease now. The car is in my possession, and barely used. I'm retired. Overheating seemed to play a major role in this head bolt problem, and this engine was never overheated. I thank you for bringing this to my attention, and will keep an eye on the back end of the head. That's where the coolant leaks started. Thank you, again.