What made you buy a Camry?

[Azr87]

I always have driven a Holden. Until my missus and I got together and my car wasn't safe for a family. 

[campbeam]

My first cars were mainly Honda; great reliability and fun to drive. Then got a Corolla SX hatchback with the 100kw motor.

When it came family time, price and reliability were the main considerations at the time. Essentially a choice between a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. Honda too expensive for our budget. Happy with the Camry.

[trentmeyer23]

Cheap, reliable, cheap insurance and easy to get parts for. 

[Azr87]

24 minutes ago, trentmeyer23 said:

Cheap, reliable, cheap insurance and easy to get parts for. 

Same thing my mate said when I showed him my Camry Sportivo. I thought he was gonna laugh at me.

[TIDYWAZZA]

I started with  a 1997 wide body Camry & have had them ever since. In 1998 added a new Honda Odyssey to move grandkids about, only sold it 3 months ago with nearly 500,00kms. Camry is exellent value, inexpensive service (capped price on my 2 newer ones),  also insurance is always good pricing. Totally reliable no issues over 20 years of owning several camry models. 

Edited December 2, 2017 by TIDYWAZZA

[Codename47]

I recently bought a 2014 Toyota Camry for my wife after trading in the Toyota Aurion ( smoke issue). 

My brother owns 2013 Camry and have had no issues with it and also being Toyota as everyone said above, cheap to maintain and reliable car.

[nidge]

Similar reasons to the others here. Bought my Camry second hand in 2004 (November 2000 build) and it runs pretty well to this day. So cheap to keep going and very reliable.

[thtupid]

Love Toyota sedans. But couldn't afford a lexus IS at the time. But also did not want too much power through the front wheels...and the Aurion sportivo at the time was also in my opinion, pretty ugly compared to the 2012 camry atara sx. So I went for that. Next car will, hopefully, be the IS 300 f sport though... 

[antscamry]

I could not find a replacement for my much loved 2010 Honda Accord Euro,and then I saw the all new Camry,and knew I had to have one.

Absorlutely  brilliant car.

Edited April 27, 2018 by antscamry

[ZZT86]

My mate mechanic has been saying for decades  . . . you can drive a Toyota into the ground & they still go. Have owned a Toyota virtually since day 1 :)

[campbeam]

6 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

My mate mechanic has been saying for decades  . . . you can drive a Toyota into the ground & they still go.

Read this and agreed with the caveat that regular basic maintenance i.e. oil and fluid changes should to be done. Another reason for buying a Camry was on the shelf ready availability of spare parts at SuperCheap, AutoBarn etc particularly compared to a Honda Accord.

[ZZT86]

^^ 100% agree but he genuinely did/does get many people who drive their cars for tens of thousands of kms without touching it. The takeaway from this is obvious - look after your Camry & Corollas & they will last a very long time.

[campbeam]

Following URL comparing the Toyota and Tesla Production Systems also highlights quality and total cost of ownership. I previously mentioned price and reliability.

I also want a totally reliable vehicle that is available to drive 99.9% and servicing [including lifetime and replacement of parts] is low cost.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4172190-tesla-betting-toyota-bad-idea?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral 

[Hiro]

3 hours ago, campbeam said:

Following URL comparing the Toyota and Tesla Production Systems also highlights quality and total cost of ownership. I previously mentioned price and reliability.

I also want a totally reliable vehicle that is available to drive 99.9% and servicing [including lifetime and replacement of parts] is low cost.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4172190-tesla-betting-toyota-bad-idea?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral 

The irony of that being that Tesla's Fremont factory is actually an old Toyota facility (well, joint Toyota/GM)...

[campbeam]

15 hours ago, Hiro said:

Tesla's Fremont factory is actually an old Toyota facility (well, joint Toyota/GM)

Just confirms It is not what you have but how you use it. Interesting times ahead in the car industry. Because I am a late adopter of new technology etc, I will be sticking with a tried and proven product i.e. Toyota Camry

[campbeam]

Did I previously mention safety? Following URL reminded me of this importance.

http://amp.timeinc.net/thedrive/news/20852/toyota-dealership-displays-2018-toyota-camry-that-got-rear-ended-by-a-semi-truck?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral

[ZZT86]

The new gen XV70 appears to be the goods on safety - very impressive. Wonder what speed the truck was doing?

Edited May 18, 2018 by ZZT86

[campbeam]

Not enough detail in the article except that it was "at speed" and it happened in peak hour on the [interstate highway] I-10 in Phoenix. In this accident situation, the sedan shape with a boot section is a significant safety factor. In comparison, a hatchback would have probably crumpled up to the driver's seat.

[antscamry]

That accident is a reason why I prefer a sedan over a hatchback.

You have the whole boot section to protect you ,whereas a hatch does not.

This Camry stood up really well,I’m proud of the way it protected its driver.

[thisguy]

Basically, my previous car was old and unreliable. It was a Hyundai Accent and within the first few years, after buying it brand new, I had to take it back under warranty about 4 or 5 times. Although, to their credit, Hyundai did fix those problems under warranty. I have to admit that did give me a good impression of Hyundai as a company.

I chose a Camry because I'm a tall guy and I found the Accent to be a bit on the small side for me. I was going to test drive a Corolla Sedan as well but I took a Camry for a test drive and I immediately decided that's what I wanted. My Camry is quite simply the best car I've ever had. 

Before I bought the Hyundai I had 2 Corollas in a row. The Hyundai I bought was a mistake. I have heard Hyundai cars have improved in leaps and bounds in the years since I bought the one I had. But after the trouble I had with my Hyundai I decided it would be too much of a leap of faith for me to buy another one. I guess it's possible I just got the one bad apple from a bunch full of good apples. I still see quite a few Hyundai Accents of around the same age as the one I had, so maybe they were normally a good buy, I guess that's possible.

The Camry I now have, by comparison, feels so much more "sure of itself on the road".  Plus I've got the 4 cylinder 2.5 litre engine (petrol only) and it drinks less petrol than my previous car, which had a 4 cylinder 1.5 litre engine.

Edited June 23, 2018 by thisguy

[campbeam]

9 hours ago, thisguy said:

too much of a leap of faith

When you are on a good thing stick to it. For many years, I have been looking online at the reviews of the Hyundai and Kia models. Just when I was thinking that they might be a viable option, I came across articles [more USA based] about their eventual engine recall due to a manufacturing defect.   

https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recall/kia-motors-australia-2011-2014-tf-optima-and-2013-xm-sorento

[TIDYWAZZA]

I read this post some time ago explaing the probable cause for engine failure. It explains why the engines fail.

http://www.kia-forums.com/1664986-post7.html

[thisguy]

15 hours ago, TIDYWAZZA said:

I read this post some time ago explaing the probable cause for engine failure. It explains why the engines fail.

http://www.kia-forums.com/1664986-post7.html

I tried clicking on that but I get a message saying my ip address has been banned. Probably because I'm haven't created an account for that forum. Can you quote part of the post? I don't think I want to join the KIA forums just to read that post.

[TIDYWAZZA]

Here you go ......

Description of defect:
Metal debris may have been generated from factory machining operations as part of the manufacturing of the engine crankshaft which may not have been completely removed from the crankshaft’s oil passages during the cleaning process. In addition, the machining processes of the crankpins caused an uneven surface roughness. As a result, the metal debris and uneven surface roughness can restrict oil flow to the bearings, thereby increasing bearing temperatures causing premature bearing wear. A worn connecting rod bearing will produce a cyclic knocking noise from the engine and may also result in the illumination of the engine warning lamp and/or oilpressure lamp in the instrument panel. If the warnings are ignored and the vehicle is continued to be driven, the bearing may fail and the vehicle could stall while in motion.

Description of safety risk:
An engine stall at higher speeds can increase the risk of a crash

Identification of any warning that can occur:
Illumination of the engine warning lamp and / or oil pressure warning lamp and / or knocking noise from engine.

[thisguy]

Thanks for quoting that, TIDYWAZZA..