1998 Toyota Camry Conquest 3.0L V6 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A cheap and reliable car

Faults:

The only problem that I have so far is the central locking. Sometimes when I use the remote locking, the front door will not lock.

Engine had sludge (previous owner didn't change oil for nearly 4 years).

Boot flooring is not a single piece.

HAIL STORM IN MELBOURNE - It gave my car lots of dints >:(

General Comments:

I'm a uni student who has to drive everyday to uni. I'm also a car enthusiast, so I clean and maintain my car maybe too much :)

I previously had a 1993 Mitsubishi Magna 3.2L V6, and that car was very unstable and the engine was poorly built. After it was written off by an elderly driver, my parents bought me a Toyota Camry V6 Conquest. The first thing I noticed was the engine smoothness. Rev the engine to 4k RPM and the car wouldn't rattle or engine grunt. Bought the car for $6500 AUD. I'm the 3rd owner of this car, where the 1st owner used it as a company car.

Ever since buying it I only changed the oil with Castrol Edge 5-30W synthetic oil twice by myself to fix the sludge problem. People who say using synthetic oil on this car will ruin it are WRONG. My engine runs even smoother now.

The car came with Michelin XM1+ tyres, and they were very good. For the tyres (205/65R15) I found after using and researching that the best tyres for this car were Dunlop SP Sport Response. The Dunlop just edge out Michelin in overall performance of dry/wet grip and braking.

For engine performance, it's very good for a 12 year old car. 0-100km/h for mine was 7.8secs. People consider a Camry driver to be slow and old. I'm the opposite. Since Australia have too many hoon drivers that drive Commodores and Falcons; police would never consider a Camry driver to be reckless. But I do stick to the rules.

Suspension is soft, so the comfort is excellent. Cornering is lost, but is compensated up by the car being low and wide. Steering is responsive and good for a car this size.

After test driving a Toyota Aurion V6, I found that cabin noise was louder than my 1998 Camry. Even though the Aurion has insane power, I won't be moving over straight away because this car is perfect for me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th March, 2010

17th Mar 2010, 08:42

"A cheap and reliable car"

Cheap? For sure; it's made of cheap material, and it's cheaply designed.

Reliable? Sure! Who cares Camry has the record for the most killed people because of the unintended acceleration.

I don't know when people will believe the Japanese cars are not such great ones...

1998 Toyota Camry LE 2.2L from North America

Summary:

Good, reliable, comfortable, roomy car but extremely slow

Faults:

Tune ups are easy but pesky in this car; just go for a complete tune and you'll avoid problems.

Struts in the front are incredibly loud when driving over bumps, and I personally had the water pump break, therefore leaking antifreeze, but besides that it's reliable at 173000 miles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th March, 2009

1998 Toyota Camry LE 2.2L from North America

Summary:

Minor problems, but a reliable car

Faults:

Front struts needed to be replaced, and the rear struts are next on the list as of now, but $money$ is the problem.

Front oil seals are leaking, and valve stems (smoke on start up).

Door trims panels around window switches are popping out of place (I would say that was due to rain seeping in expanding the Styrofoam) "Keep windows up in drive-thru if possible when it rains".

Airbag light came on around 160,000 miles (Replaced sensor $600 to replace airbag sensor).

Battery corrodes really bad.

Driver side mirror fail to operate left to right (manually use to move now by hand)

Catalytic converter is going out (rotten-egg smell when accelerating hard).

Instrument cluster, climate controls lights burned out (replaced instrument cluster lights myself $10.00) (replaced climate control lights "Dealership" $255)

General Comments:

Aside from all these problems listed, I still love my Camry, the car has served me well without really any major problems such as: engine failure, transmission, or any other major problems like with other cars I've owned in previous years.

My Ford Explorer had only 30,000 miles on when transmissions problems arose, and that shows you that Toyota is a very dependable brand over any American made car. Not going against American built, come on I live here, but quality wise yes, I do agree foreign is the way to go.

The Camry is very comfortable, and I prefer to take this car on long trips than I would in a nice SUV, because the seats are very relaxed and laid back.

This car is a keeper, and I hope it only makes it past 200,000.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th March, 2009