Fleet car and 100,000 km service

[sionghua]

Hi all, I am new to this forum. I am thinking o buying a Camry soon. I have friends who know where to get company fleet cars which may be able to get me a 3 years Camry for about A$10,000. But I think since those car were driven but sale people they probably have high Kms. I have also heard from my another friend that when Camry reaches 100,000 km it need to have a major service including replacing the timing belt and may be some other major works that can cost about A$1000. So I am seeking advice (only good/knowledgable/educated advices, no non-sense advices please) on this area. Thanks.

[leasaunce]

well for a 100,000km old camry, you might find the suspension/shock needs replacing, timing belt too. but other than that just the normal things.

[sionghua]

well for a 100,000km old camry, you might find the suspension/shock needs replacing, timing belt too. but other than that just the normal things.

How much normally do they cost?

[leasaunce]

^for a decent set (shock & springs, inc labour) around $800. but really shop around and you can get a really good deal

[perthcamry]

If you get new springs and shocks it will handle well and be a nice car.

Do the radiator fluid and brake fluid if it has not been done.

At about 140,000 change the gearbox fluid and give a high pressure clean to flush oout the junk - some special places have this.

The camry can do near 300,000kms without a drama on gearbox or motor.

Just check they have had service records on them.

If you look after the oil changes and fluid changes the car should be fine. Parts are not too expensive.

[sionghua]

If you get new springs and shocks it will handle well and be a nice car.

Do the radiator fluid and brake fluid if it has not been done.

At about 140,000 change the gearbox fluid and give a high pressure clean to flush oout the junk - some special places have this.

The camry can do near 300,000kms without a drama on gearbox or motor.

Just check they have had service records on them.

If you look after the oil changes and fluid changes the car should be fine. Parts are not too expensive.

Looks like I need to budget for another A$2,000 to do all these things... where can I find the advised interval of doing all those services? Are they listed somewhere on the net? In case I am getting a higher or lower km car I will need to check what were done and what were ignored and how much should I budget for upcoming maintenance etc. Thanks for all the info.

[perthcamry]

You have to maintain any car to keep it running well.

Should be in the service book in the car. Just follw that. And check the services have been done.

Keep a spare $1000 and some for insurance.

Also check how long the Rego has got to go another $500 odd a year

Get quotes form differnet places on what you want done, ask your local area for a good mechanic.

Are you getting a 4cyl or a 6 cyl. If budget is a concern check the prices of insurance and rego in your state as 6cyl may cost more to put on the road (+ 10-35% ish more in fuel depending on how you drive and driving conditions)

[sionghua]

You have to maintain any car to keep it running well.

Should be in the service book in the car. Just follw that. And check the services have been done.

Keep a spare $1000 and some for insurance.

Also check how long the Rego has got to go another $500 odd a year

Get quotes form differnet places on what you want done, ask your local area for a good mechanic.

Are you getting a 4cyl or a 6 cyl. If budget is a concern check the prices of insurance and rego in your state as 6cyl may cost more to put on the road (+ 10-35% ish more in fuel depending on how you drive and driving conditions)

I am eyeing a 4 cylinder, currently I have a 350,000 km falcon and its giving us a lot of maintenance problem and we had spent about $2k-$3k on maintenance alone. I was hoping to get a newer car so that we don't have to spend so much in maintenance.

[Rolla Boy]

You won't need to get the timing belt done, Camry specs are for the belt to be changed at 150,000kms...

[t0y0ta]

You have to maintain any car to keep it running well.

Should be in the service book in the car. Just follw that. And check the services have been done.

Keep a spare $1000 and some for insurance.

Also check how long the Rego has got to go another $500 odd a year

Get quotes form differnet places on what you want done, ask your local area for a good mechanic.

Are you getting a 4cyl or a 6 cyl. If budget is a concern check the prices of insurance and rego in your state as 6cyl may cost more to put on the road (+ 10-35% ish more in fuel depending on how you drive and driving conditions)

I am eyeing a 4 cylinder, currently I have a 350,000 km falcon and its giving us a lot of maintenance problem and we had spent about $2k-$3k on maintenance alone. I was hoping to get a newer car so that we don't have to spend so much in maintenance.

4cyc?? <_<

why don't you get a V6 Camry would be much nicer and gets up the hills with ease. well anyway back to the topic.....make sure you check the car carefully before making a purchase, especially check the engine oil (look inside, bring a torch, if its clear and you can see the bottom then the car has been maintained properly. If you can see oil stick to the walls then stay away).

Also I would also clean the Throttle body, filter and the butterfly (if you do get the V6 ).

[sionghua]

You have to maintain any car to keep it running well.

Should be in the service book in the car. Just follw that. And check the services have been done.

Keep a spare $1000 and some for insurance.

Also check how long the Rego has got to go another $500 odd a year

Get quotes form differnet places on what you want done, ask your local area for a good mechanic.

Are you getting a 4cyl or a 6 cyl. If budget is a concern check the prices of insurance and rego in your state as 6cyl may cost more to put on the road (+ 10-35% ish more in fuel depending on how you drive and driving conditions)

I am eyeing a 4 cylinder, currently I have a 350,000 km falcon and its giving us a lot of maintenance problem and we had spent about $2k-$3k on maintenance alone. I was hoping to get a newer car so that we don't have to spend so much in maintenance.

4cyc?? <_<

why don't you get a V6 Camry would be much nicer and gets up the hills with ease. well anyway back to the topic.....make sure you check the car carefully before making a purchase, especially check the engine oil (look inside, bring a torch, if its clear and you can see the bottom then the car has been maintained properly. If you can see oil stick to the walls then stay away).

Also I would also clean the Throttle body, filter and the butterfly (if you do get the V6 ).

$$ and safety are my main concern, the rest are secondary.

[sionghua]

You won't need to get the timing belt done, Camry specs are for the belt to be changed at 150,000kms...

Thanks for that, do you know where can I find all the information regarding services for a Camry?

[Rolla Boy]

Check the owners manual...

Or give me the car year, model, engine type and model grade and I'll look it up for you...

[vivioman]

I've got a high km Gen 4 4cyl camry which was an ex fire-dept car. I bought it at 242,000kms and now have driven it to 277,000 kms.

It had regular log book servicing until 220,000 kms as indicated in the log book and so far I've spent about $1000 for necessary servicing on it incl:

1) Spark plug change

2) Oil change (and thereafter every 10,000kms)

3) Front struts replaced (was leaking)

4) Timing belt replaced (it was replaced once before at 100,000kms)

5) Auto transmission fluid flushed

6) All brake pads replaced

7) Rear discs skimmed

Of course, I've changed several things as well such as lowered springs, wheels and tyres which were not necessary "maintenance" but with regular maintenance, it drives ok for a high km car...you can't expect it to drive "like new" at this high kms.

Also important to shop around for a good reliable mech that does not charge high prices...I was lucky to be recommended to a mech from one of the members of another camry forum...

Edited August 30, 2007 by vivioman

[sionghua]

Check the owners manual...

Or give me the car year, model, engine type and model grade and I'll look it up for you...

I haven't come across a potential car to buy yet. Most cars can't be trusted. The worst part is my car breaks down again today, it's $$$ again.

[vivioman]

When you consider buying a used car, you definitely take a risk. The only positive offsets are if some form of warranty is offered by the dealer.

Even for some, buying a new car is also troublesome, if they get a lemon...I guess there is no way to guarantee whether you get a good car or not.

Good luck in your car hunting and update us on what you buy eventually!

[sionghua]

while still looking for a good car, my old car is acting up again, last week leaking LPG and a lot more other problems, this week died half way to work and spend another A$250, even without fixing the leaking LPG already cost me A$450 these 2 weeks. the market value of the car is less than A$2,000 but we were cheated by used car dealer and paid A$4,000 for the lemon and spent about another A$3,000 in maintenance alone. I guess I could have use that money to buy a much better car. The warranty given by them is useless as it only cover parts that will never need repair and even if they do cover some parts the coverage is not enough for even half of the repair costs. Used car buyers are totally on their won here in Australia and the protection provided by the Government is really not enough. The road worthy certificate was also simply issued by a buddy mechanic of the dealer and whole lot of RWC issues were not resolved when the car reach us. And even RACV don't detect any problem with the car.

Edited August 30, 2007 by sionghua

[perthcamry]

I suggest you cut your losses ASAP

Here is a place you can get a guide of costs for services plug in the numbers and add them up for the next few years.

http://www.sydneycitytoyota.com.au/Service...;type=passenger

Also think this way, repayments on a new corolla or something might be better off than what you are spending now on fuel, repairs, and you get a warranty and new everything including tyres. Just a thought. Just depends on where you are and what you want to do. But a new one would give you 10 years of happy motoring most likely and when you swap cars over and that sort of thing you loose money.

Just remember Buy cheap buy twice.

A 10k lemon might cost you motor, gearbox tyres and most importantly time.

Cars are a bad investment but that I find getting a new Toyota every 10 years is one of the most economical ways to do it.

[perthcamry]

I suggest you cut your losses ASAP

Here is a place you can get a guide of costs for services plug in the numbers and add them up for the next few years.

http://www.sydneycitytoyota.com.au/Service...;type=passenger

Also think this way, repayments on a new corolla or something might be better off than what you are spending now on fuel, repairs, and you get a warranty and new everything including tyres. Just a thought. Just depends on where you are and what you want to do. But a new one would give you 10 years of happy motoring most likely and when you swap cars over and that sort of thing you loose money.

Just remember Buy cheap buy twice.

A 10k lemon might cost you motor, gearbox tyres and most importantly time.

Cars are a bad investment but that I find getting a new Toyota every 10 years is one of the most economical ways to do it.

[sionghua]

I suggest you cut your losses ASAP

Here is a place you can get a guide of costs for services plug in the numbers and add them up for the next few years.

http://www.sydneycitytoyota.com.au/Service...;type=passenger

Also think this way, repayments on a new corolla or something might be better off than what you are spending now on fuel, repairs, and you get a warranty and new everything including tyres. Just a thought. Just depends on where you are and what you want to do. But a new one would give you 10 years of happy motoring most likely and when you swap cars over and that sort of thing you loose money.

Just remember Buy cheap buy twice.

A 10k lemon might cost you motor, gearbox tyres and most importantly time.

Cars are a bad investment but that I find getting a new Toyota every 10 years is one of the most economical ways to do it.

Thanks for your advice but I am just a poor student and don't think I can afford a new Corolla especially after spending so much on this lemon I bought from used car dealer. Will definitely sell it ASAP but need to find another better car or at least a temporary car for my family before I could sell it.

[Zeus]

You could buy a 1998 Camry like mine. One that has around 100,000 kms. They're good cars, and are hardly ever lemons. You could find one for about $8,900. How much were you wanting to pay? If you bought one for that price and had a major service done on it by Toyota, it should be just fine!

[sionghua]

You could buy a 1998 Camry like mine. One that has around 100,000 kms. They're good cars, and are hardly ever lemons. You could find one for about $8,900. How much were you wanting to pay? If you bought one for that price and had a major service done on it by Toyota, it should be just fine!

I think the best deal will be to wait for a fleet car... I heard I can get 3 years Camry for $10,000.

[Zeus]

What??? You mean a 2003-2004 model Camry with 100,000 km for only $10,000? Where on Earth did you hear such a thing? Do tell!

[vivioman]

Well, maybe not $10,000, but you can source well priced models from auctions...

this one's from perth, $12.5K for 2004 model with 88000 kms on the clock:

http://www.pickles.com.au/cars/vehicle/CP-...lotid-852024156

[Zeus]

That's only 5k more than what mine was.