Help finding older, cheap ,reliable Toyota

You may be able to find a '92 or '93 Camry with slightly higher mileage for that much, depending on where you live.

I don't know the cost, but first make sure it really needs one. Our '95 has made a buzzing noise under certain conditions when the converter lock disengages. It's done it for at least 12 years, and still no problems. Our '95 wagon shifts harshly because the fluid wasn't changed enough by previous owners, but with a fluid change and some quality transmission additive, it hasn't gotten a bit worse in over a year.

If you can find a '92-'96, I know of no year-specific issues with them. Not sure about the previous series. There are others here with much more knowledge.

If you can find a Honda Civic that has body damage with low (under

110k miles) mileage as opposed to one with high mileage, that would be a good bet too. Especially if it was serviced!

You'll see Volvo 240s in your price range, but if you don't like lots of minor repairs to a basically rugged but primitive car, avoid them.

Sounds like you need a good true canadian car. Oh, wait , I almost forgot, there is no such thing. you'll just have to take what others offer. Scott

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thanks MJC. Volvos are a like it or leave it car. We had one years ago and it was hard to work on and not in the same class as the japanese cars, IMHO. I did see a '92 camry with 140 miles, and it seems like it's been looked after. I may look at that one for $2000.

If it's had the timing belt and water pump replaced at least twice, and the brakes aren't shot, that's a decent price. If it needs that work, though, go no higher than $1500, and plant to spend $500-$750 on getting it up to snuff. BTW, that series is known for groaning, vibrating brakes. If they aren't work out, and you can live with it, that doesn't need to be fixed. Sometimes it's bloody hard to fix it!

Also look at the Chevy/Geo Spectrum. It's a rebadged Corolla with higher trim levels but a lower resale value (no Toyota badge). They are supposedly as good as Corollas.

ya, a friend has bought and sold Metros, Fireflys, Swifts, all basically the Suzuki drivetrain, and apparently prett good cars.

That '92 Toyota price dropped to $1500. SOmething seemed odd with the buyer's demeanour and desperation, plus inconsistencies. WELL, I discovered he's rolled back at least 100,000 Km (62,000 miles). What a SCUM BAG!! PLUS, says he's done all this work, but ZERO documentation to prove.

(...)

Keep looking! Sorry for the typos in the earlier post - I don't always see them these days, even when I look. Old age... Anyway, another thing you will see in the '92-'96 Camry is a motor (the four) that shakes at idle in Drive. If it seems excessive, the car probably needs engine mounts. Not a huge issue, but an annoying one that costs a few hundred to have fixed. Sometimes it's just stiffened radiator hoses transmitting engine vibration to the body, but more likely it's the mounts. So a little shaking in Drive is normal, a lot means it needs motor mounts. The rear sway bar bushing also tend to wear and make noise, but they are just an annoyance.

Another note on the automatic transmission: it's basically a very sound unit, but the brake band material is a bit too soft, and the stuff wears off and gets into the fluid. That's the main reason why most of them are ok - because of regular changes or flushes - but a few have black fluid and/or bad transmissions from neglect. If the fluid is black but it shifts fine, then a couple of of fluid & filter changes (not flushes) are probably all it needs.

Yeap, start looking in autotrader and other sources for used cars. I've found most of my beaters that way in the price range you mentioned.

So the '95 had owners who abused it. My '96 is still solid at 214000km.

Don't blame German engineering on this. So the last few owners did virtually NO maintenance on the car and you probably bought it without a proper inspection only to discover it is now a money pit. That is just a poorly maintained car - that's all.

Oh, and yes American cars are POS.

babbler, I didn't look it over as well as I should have. With every car, I learn their nuances AFTER I've owned it for a couple of years. The guy I bought from is a curber and knows these cars inside/out. He snowed me and i overpaid him, but i still talk to him to get tech advise as he knows these VW diesels better than anyone. I actually have every maintenance record on the Jetta, so it wasn't badly neglected. I had leaking gear oil issues from tranny. replaced stub axle seals; it kept leaking. I was told it meant carrier bearings were worn out in tranny so I had it rebuilt. STILL pours out tranny oil. stains on floor every morning.

ALSO, many other VW models don't last, poor auto trannies, expensive to fix, etc.. So I still think they're in the same category as North American made. I also think the North American stuff gets a bit of a bad rap. For years people did nothing but change the oil and expect them to last forever. i guess the V8s all lasted forever, but the rest of the car fell apart. The imports have always been clever about having a rigorous maintenance schedule posted on a board when you go in. North American dealers finally caught on to this concept in the

90s. But their cars were so awful through the 80s, they scared me away. My '86 Merc Topaz was by far the worst car i ever owned. And resale...forget about it!

Sorry about the luck with the tranny, sounds like a lemon really. I haven't owned a Jetta but the folks I know who have had them all kept them in the 15-20 year range. One fellow with a '90 jetta diesel that I know took his up to 400,000km ish, another with a regular gas jetta ('87 I think) had hers 15 years (auto tranny) and lives in a salt belt - thing thing had a mint body and no problems. And a few more like that that I know, so yours might have just been a ripe old lemon.

American cars I avoid but I did have an '84 pontiac which in it's last 5 years of life i didn't put one red cent into (yes rear drums were just shoes on drum) and it ran to almost 300,000km before I gave it away and it was still going strong - dripped every colour of the rainbow and had holes in the floor but the body looked great.

I'd like to say American cars are all POS but it's not true. I'd take an import any day but have also had a few American cars that were damn solid before they starting cheapening their materials to pay for pension, health care and other collective agreement goodies for their staff.....

Agreed about American cars.... two of the best cars I've ever owned were Mercury Cougars, a 1986 and its successor, a 1990. Very few problems and the only reason I sold the '90 was a minor oil leak which I would have tolerated, but my wife hated a few oil spots on her precious driveway. : - ( The only thing I disliked about the '90 was that the airconditioning really got in the way when I tried to change spark plugs...it was a half day job.