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question on 01 Avalon before I buy

I wanted to ask a question about an 01 XLS Avalon I looked at today and considered buying. The car has 63k miles, runs flawlessly, ice cold air, and the leather seats were sooo much more comfortable than the 08 camry I just got rid of.

Only thing wrong with the car was it has several dings/scratches and one crease on passenger side back door. I can probably buff out most of the scratches and live with the dings. The book value on this car is 8900 in fair and 9800 in good conditiong and this one was 6000 and he would not budge off of that one penny. I would rate the body a 7-8, interior a 9 and mechanical a perfect 10.

Is there anything I need to watch out for on this car, problems for this year model (engine problems and such) and is this a good price and a good car. I have seen many of these with over 200k miles and I wanted this car to last me for at least 3 years.

When I drove it I was amazed at the comfort of the seats and the smooth V6, the seats are the reason I got rid of the 08 camry. Just wanted opinions.

Thanks

Reply to
specman2
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You're going from a 2008 Camry to a 2001 Avalon. The Avalon may be a great car (now) but it's still 10 years old. Doesn't sound like a wise move on your part. I have a 2008 Avalon and haven't found anything about it I don't like. The gas mileage for a V6 is way up there--26-28 City and 29 up to 34 on the road. It is smooth and very comfortable; no problem on a long drive. 63,000 miles is very young; the car should be a good performer. The earliest Consumer's Report I have only goes back to '03 but it shows the Avalon as being "much better" or "above average" across the board with respect to repairs. MLD

Reply to
MLD

Those 6-cyl engines were prone to sludge buildup, I think. The actual reason why is debatable, but not sticking to frequent oil changes was a major contributor. If there is some way you can get records of oil changes you would possibly eliminate an unknown. I believe the only way to know for sure is to remove the valve cover which the owner would undoubtedly balk at. Regardless of that, I would insist upon having a qualified mechanic look it over at your own expense before purchasing it.

My 1997 Camry just went over 200K and it still rides and purrs better than the rentals I get on business trips.

Reply to
badgolferman

The reason I got rid of my 08 was 2 reasons: One I had to have 10k worth of dental work done and about 6k is all I have left to spend on a car right now and second was the 08 had the most uncomfortable seats I have ever sat on, hurt my back so bad I could not stand it even on a short trip.

Reply to
No Spam

If I remember correctly the 99 and early 2000's had the sludge problem, don't know about the 01. Not one person I know with the V6 ever had a problem with them. The oil in this car was very clean looking. Not sure if the sludge thing was from poor maintainance or engine defect or just over exagerated.

Reply to
No Spam

I had a 1998 Avalon, drove it about 6 months,, was told to change oil every

3K miles, and use a TOYOTA oil filter.

bought it for $2500 in 2009, sold it in 2010 for $3200.. wish I had kept it.

V-6, 175,000 miles, cruise and a/c worked, leather seats were comfortable..

still in town, on 2nd owner since I sold it.. wish I had kept it, rode better and less mechanical problems than my 1991 Cadillac, for example.

Reply to
Mark Hoffman

**** Here is a link that may help you
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I fully believe in frequent oil changes, which I perform every 3500 miles in our 2007 Avalon. I do not use Toyota filters but I try to stick away from Fram - simply because of their reputation. I use Napa Gold or similar.

We have never had the first moment's problem with this car. It has the 3.6 litre V6, by the way.

I would run a CarFacts on it no matter what. You may find nothing, but the time to do it is before you buy.

Good luck with it

Reply to
hls

I did the car fax and found no problems. I have now put 2000 miles on the car and the only problem was yesterday the CEL light came on. Pulled the codes today and it was P1780, something to do with the park/neutral switch? I had the light turned off and will see if it comes back on. Only bad thing so far is the mpg sux in town. The best is has gotten was

  1. However, on a long rode trip I got 31.7 It sits and rides like no other car I have owned, a pleasure to drive. I did wind up getting it for 5900 and did not think that was too bad with only 63k miles. I was a little scared of the sludge thing but so far does not smoke or use a drop of oil.
Reply to
No Spam

The mileage in town is heavily dependent upon how much time you are not moving but the engine is still running. Driving habits make a big difference.

I wouldnt worry about the sludging situation but I do recommend that you change the oil and filter at 3500-4500 miles. The original specification on some of the Toyota models was 7500 miles, IIRC, but there is no reason to push it that far. The sludging problem in the Toyotas seemed to come from two sources?;(1) The PVC system on certain years were changed a bit, decreasing the crankcase scavenging, and this seems to have been involved, and (2) in some cases, Toyota says "all" cases, the cars were not properly maintained.

Maintain them with oil changes and I dont think you will have a problem.

Reply to
hls

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