Toyota Camry / Nissan Altima

[Trav]

Who needs a monster with 65 MPH speed limits in a bread and butter car? I cant understand the fascination with power especially with fuel prices going up all the time.
A good 4 banger is simpler, generally easier to maintain and work on, cost less to buy parts for in most cases and have more than ample power for all but the biggest fruitcake red light racer.

 

[mx5miata]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Who needs a monster with 65 MPH speed limits in a bread and butter car? I cant understand the fascination with power especially with fuel prices going up all the time.
A good 4 banger is simpler, generally easier to maintain and work on, cost less to buy parts for in most cases and have more than ample power for all but the biggest fruitcake red light racer.


Nothing like getting to the next red light first

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Sierra048
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Since this is supposed to be a financial decision, look into a Sonata.

Could pick up a used Sonata for a fraction of the cost of a new Camry.


Wow! What a difference six hours make. Mrs. Sierra048 just got a call from her sister. My FIL in Florida has bladder and pacreatic cancer. He was rushed to the hospital yesterday but we thought it was because he wasn't eating and was getting weak. They are talking hospice now. Now my MIL is a basket case with worry and in poor health herself. Both are in their late eighties. She was just telling my wife that they really don't need their car anymore since neither can drive. It's a 2016 Sonata that replaced a Honda CRV he totaled in an accident two years ago. I may hold off until I see what they want to do. I'm not real familiar with Hyundai. And please understand, their well-being takes precedent over any other factors at this point. Especially any car, or to be more specific, their car. Thanks for all the great input.


good luck, and best wishes in this trying time. it sounds best to hold off and wait, right now might be a bit too stressful to make a big decision.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Sierra048
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Since this is supposed to be a financial decision, look into a Sonata.

Could pick up a used Sonata for a fraction of the cost of a new Camry.


Wow! What a difference six hours make. Mrs. Sierra048 just got a call from her sister. My FIL in Florida has bladder and pacreatic cancer. He was rushed to the hospital yesterday but we thought it was because he wasn't eating and was getting weak. They are talking hospice now. Now my MIL is a basket case with worry and in poor health herself. Both are in their late eighties. She was just telling my wife that they really don't need their car anymore since neither can drive. It's a 2016 Sonata that replaced a Honda CRV he totaled in an accident two years ago. I may hold off until I see what they want to do. I'm not real familiar with Hyundai. And please understand, their well-being takes precedent over any other factors at this point. Especially any car, or to be more specific, their car. Thanks for all the great input.
I wish them well, hope everything goes ok.

Later on down the road when things smooth out and you start considering cars, the Sonatas are great. Not really any problems with them, the 2011-2014 had some defective engines but 2015 and on are a different batch and seem fine. Mine has 80k miles, I bought it with 52k miles and it has been 100% flawless, I couldn't ask for a better car.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Forget about the car for now. Spend time with your family. We will all keep them in our prayers.

 

[s2krunner]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Forget about the car for now. Spend time with your family. We will all keep them in our prayers.



+1!!!

 

[Sierra048]

Prayers are always appreciated. I just feel bad for my wife and her sister. I went through this in 2015 with my parents. My mom passed in August and, although not in great health himself, my dad just gave up the will to live and passed away the first week in October. My wife was with me through that whole ordeal and she sees a similar pattern repeating itself with her parents. It is certainly a rough time to get through with ones you love and will miss dearly.

 

[UncleDave]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: UncleDave
The Camrys counterpart is the Maxima, not the Altima.

Between the two I'll take the Maxima - no drum brakes no timing belts.

I have had a 95 maxima, and 99 ES300 Lexus(camry) a Lexus RX400H and an infinityG35- so I've had a bunch of both vehicles.

The Nissans have held up every bit as well as my Toyota product and have required less maintenance (timing belts).

My Nissan products have had more soul than my Toyota products.


No, it's the Altima and always has been. And you can't get a new 4cyl Camry with drum brakes or a timing belt. They have changed quite a bit since the 1999 ES300 that you used to have. That was almost 20 years ago. The new Maximas are heavy and the CVT or something else seems to rob all the power from it. It lost it's soul a long time ago. Probably some 20 years ago.


Disagree with intended competing models.

The Camry was competing with the Maxima as the "like V6 sedan" since before the Altima was introduced.

Guy in the shop has a new Maxima - I thought it drove quite nicely.

UD

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: UncleDave
Disagree with intended competing models.

The Camry was competing with the Maxima as the "like V6 sedan" since before the Altima was introduced.

Right, but the way Nissan model line up goes, I think Altima is closer to a Camry than Maxima is. The way I see it:

Sentra - Corolla
Altima - Camry
Maxima - Avalon

When they do their comparison tests, I think most car mags pit Camry against Altima, not against Maxima.

 

[UncleDave]

The Maxima is marketed as a 4 door sports car and always has been.
The Camry can be had with a competitive V6 and a "sporty"
There is little to no sport in the Avalon, never has been.


Heres how I see it. Toyota has a wider lineup.

Sentra -Yaris
Altima-Corolla
Maxima-Camry
No competing model- Avalon

The camry can be had with a V4 effectively competing W the Altima Altima or it can be a V6 and compete W the maxima minus
The high end Altima is never as nice as the nice Camry - but Im sure Nissan love to hear you say that.
All Maximi come with the VQ series 6

The avalon is a larger car kind of a Japanese Version of a town car to my mind more of a buick type rig.



UD

 

[RTexasF]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Who needs a monster with 65 MPH speed limits in a bread and butter car? I cant understand the fascination with power especially with fuel prices going up all the time.
A good 4 banger is simpler, generally easier to maintain and work on, cost less to buy parts for in most cases and have more than ample power for all but the biggest fruitcake red light racer.


It's obvious that you have never experienced a 3.5l V-6 Camry. If you ever do you'll never get that smile off your face....

 

[JTK]

Sierra- Sorry if I missed it, but do you use dealer service for your vehicles? If so and being close to a dealer for warranty purposes is important to you, ~2yrs from a dealer seems insane to me. OTOH, in terms of a Camry, your chances of needed a dealer visit would be slim to none. Chances would be slightly higher for a Nissan product, but still pretty small. I've have good luck with getting Nissan to cover some things that were outside of warranty. One was a 4spd auto trans in a 1993 Nissan many years ago and most recently was a paint problem on our 2016 Nissan Quest that currently as over 60K miles on it.

My mom has a 2016 Camry LE that I helped her buy a little over 2yrs ago. It's an excellent car that I enjoy driving. Like you, I prefer the look of the Altima and I prefer the seating comfort on the Altima as well. If I were buying new, the Altima would have to be considerably less cost than the Camry, for me to go that route. Mainly because I don't typically keep my vehicles more than 4yrs.

 

[Spector]

Your comment on the 4 cyl engines and a bad experience with the only one you have owned.
As you mentioned, huge improvements in the engines themselves but the thing that has really made the 4 cyl react like a 6 or old 8 are the improvements in transmissions, the 6-9 speed units of today really make the 4 cyl engines perform quire well.

Test drive some.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The Japanese have always been the masters of the 4 cylinder engine.

 

[nap]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Who needs a monster with 65 MPH speed limits in a bread and butter car? I cant understand the fascination with power especially with fuel prices going up all the time.
A good 4 banger is simpler, generally easier to maintain and work on, cost less to buy parts for in most cases and have more than ample power for all but the biggest fruitcake red light racer.


You would be correct if it weren’t for the Jetta jerks who would pass you on the merging lane if they notice your car model is even slower than theirs.