Faults:

Occasional slight rattle in the dash.

Coin tray doesn't close.

General Comments:

Extraordinary reliability and quiet ride make this car a keeper.

If I baby the gas pedal, the car averages around 7.3 L/100 KM (33 mpg US; 38 mpg CDN), which includes a fair bit of highway.

The clearance underneath the car sucks, so gravel roads often result in a bit of grounding.

The seats are fairly comfortable on long trips, but not outstanding.

The muffler system is rock solid and going strong (unlike my Mazda 626 that needed replacing every 2 yrs!).

Faults:

Many things have gone wrong. It has needed over 6,000 in work. Here are some of the problems:

Bulbs on dash have burned out

Thermostat stuck open needed new thermostat

Leaking oil pan had to be resealed

Front strut mounts had to be replaced

Valve cover started leaking oil, had to be resealed

Brakes had to be replaced twice

Sway bar bushings had to be replaced

Timing belt replaced

Oil pump had to be changed

Check engine light went on had to be replaced

Charcoal canister

Front control arm had to be replaced

Brakes had to be done again

Plastic bumpers are fading and the paint is horrible

Now after I thought it was finally giving me no more problems, the engine is starting to make this knocking/tapping noise at idle, that sounds like valve noise. The oil has always been changed on time, and the car has been meticulously maintained. I can't pinpoint the noise.

General Comments:

The good thing is the car has an absolutely wonderful ride, it is very smooth and the seat is very comfortable, it does not give back pain. The interior styling could be better, but it's not too bad.

The thing that I can't stand about this car is the gutless 2.2 engine. The thing has nothing for power. I am looking at something that has some more power for my next car, like a V6 Eclipse.

It has not been reliable at all for me, especially since I had high expectations of it being a Toyota.

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.