2008 Toyota Camry XLE from North America - Comments

Yes... lack of import service/durability is why I have 2 new domestics parked in our driveway today. I have had extensive follow up calls, great communication and satisfaction requests. Will never be taken for granted again.

I'm so sick of the "foreign vs domestic" trash talk. Most people on here probably don't even know that most Toyotas are made here in the ol' USA by American workers so they're not 'foreign'. Toyotas are far better in reliability than any Chevy or Ford. Trust me, I've dealt with both.

1:06 trust you, we do not know you. I would say track your own personal service records on the last 3 vehicles purchased new and use as a guideline on your next purchase. If you do not knew who owned your vehicle if it was not purchased new... this recommendation is contaminated. Buy new and track will give you the best answers.

@22nd Dec 2008, 11:37.

The car in question is a Camry with the I4, which has better than average reliability records for ALL model years, and is probably one of the best purchases around.

16:55 the answer is yes and argumentative... I took my business up the street and bought new domestics. I bought 2 new vehicles within 9 months... I have never seen such great follow up calls on my domestics. It's nice being appreciated, and better yet not sitting alongside the road.

I just got a Consumer Reports January 2009. On page 51, it shows the 4 cylinder Toyota Camry LE has average "predicted reliability." Also the 6 Cylinder Toyota Camry XLE has average reliability.

The cars with better than average reliability are Accord, Camry Hybrid, Optima, Sonata, 4 cyl Malibu, Fusion, Milan, 4-cyl Pontiac G6.

Other cars that the Camry is now in the company of in terms of having average reliability are Jetta 2.5, 4 cylinder Chrysler Sebring, V6 Malibu, Taurus, Sable, Saturn Aura, Impala, Charger, LaCrosse.

Problem rates for modern new cars are really quite low. An average in 2009 would have been way above average 20 years ago. If you like the I4 Camry, I would not hesitate to buy one just because it is now just average in reliability. I read in a car magazine that 89% of Camrys sold are the 4 cylinders.

I think a lot of Camry buyers just want a nice family car without any worries on repairs. But it is not the standout in that regard that it once was.

But if you are looking for something a little more performance oriented, which I would guess would be relevant here since this is a comment on a review on a V6 Toyota Camry XLE, there are other choices on the market that combine 6 cylinder performance with better handling. Or if you are more into the 6 cylinder with a $3500 lower price, the Korean offerings look attractive.

"Toyotas are far better in reliability than any Chevy or Ford. Trust me, I've dealt with both"

No, I'd rather trust my experience with 30+ domestics and 3 imports over a 30-year period. No domestic EVER had an engine or transmission problem before 100,000 miles. Only one of our imports even MADE 100,000 miles. That's all the proof I need personally to continue buying domestics.

As for the incorrect argument that because a car is made in the U.S. it benefits the U.S. economy, no, it DOESN'T. Japanese companies pay far, far less in wages, offer virtually no benefits and all the profit goes outside the U.S. We buy domestic products not only because they are better, but because they benefit all U.S. citizens, including import buyers.

I agree with with 6:58. Late model imports have not held up well with us.

An even better comment is to buy new ones, track your own personal experience, and buy the next import or domestic from that.

I make them all work hard for my business as I buy. I never walk in import/domestic dealerships without buying something within a couple weeks of my quest either way. You know your household and what you spent on repairs more than anyone else. I do not agree saying a random edict on all makes and models by any mfr. as the best. It's how and where you drive, what you do and how meticulous you maintain dealer scheduled maintenance intervals.

Not changing the oil, driving erratic, not warming a car up etc. is a factor to consider as well. The car you just bought could have been abused or neglected and then you complain about it.

I go off new. My new ones I know their track record til I sell... in spite of that my late model Japanese imports have been a disappointment. Mid 90's before the reverse. Now I have new domestics (plural) and they are currently outstanding.

All domestics are junk in comparison to Toyota's. The Camry, any year at all, is a far superior car to any Ford, Chevy, or Dodge, as is any other vehicle that Toyota makes.

My family just added a Ford Fusion and a Lincoln MKZ to our stable of vehicles. They are essentially the exact same car (mom wanted the snob appeal of a Lincoln) and both are absolutely flawless. Even the Mercedes C-300 mom test drove didn't compare with EITHER car. New domestics are some of the best vehicles in the world.

What I find strange is that so many Ford/GM owners are commenting on a Toyota thread. Have you actually owned any Toyota Camry? I think not, as your comments clearly indicate. Sadly, these kind of sites are taken over by people with their own agenda posting irrelevant information.

I've lived all over the country, in small towns and big cities. My conclusion when I read these little arguments about foreign or domestic, it's just like everything else in this country: There are people living in conservative regions that will NEVER-EVER buy something that has a foreign name on it. Never mind that cars like the Fusion are in fact more foreign than the Camry. Never mind that there are very few platforms from the Big Three that were developed in the US since the last of those went the way of the dinosaur with cars such as the late Crown Vic and older Buicks.

But I digress. I'm getting away from my point, and that is that some people who make comments that "Toyotas and Hondas are Junk!" despite the fact that these companies have had stellar - no, not perfect - but overall extremely positive track records due to quality engineering aren't basing them on actual ownership, fact, or comparison. They just hate anything foreign because they think that buying a domestic car is the right thing to do since it's supposedly 'American'.

"No, I'd rather trust my experience with 30+ domestics and 3 imports over a 30-year period. No domestic EVER had an engine or transmission problem before 100,000 miles. Only one of our imports even MADE 100,000 miles. That's all the proof I need personally to continue buying domestics."

#1 So... he had 33 vehicles in 30 years. It would seem unlikely that ANY of his vehicles made 100,000 miles before trade in.

#2 He doesn't tell us what model years these cars were.

#3 He doesn't tell us what model they were. For all we know they were 1989 Yugos.

#4 On other threads he makes this same claim except that he says that his domestics had NO problems... for 30 years.

#5 The 30 domestics are a significant number. The 3 "foreign" vehicles is not. 3 troublesome vehicles CAN be anomalous.

#6 We don't know how he uses his vehicles. Were they all used the same way? Were they all built for that kind of use?

#7 If he feels that way about the impact of foreign vehicles on our country and economy, why would he have even purchased the 3 that he claimed that he did?

Apart from these issues, I can certainly understand how, if a person had three troublesome imports and 30 reliable domestics, they would continue to do what is working for them. It is just too little info from an unknown source; The rest of us can only nod and say "Oh... OK --- Uh, rock on".

It may be more helpful if this guy would actually post reviews of these 33 vehicles and refer to them in his posts so we could see if those reviews comprise a reasonably credible and informative argument. Right now all you can get from his comment is: Domestic = Good; Import = Bad.

17:35.

Thank you. I've been writing similar posts everywhere I can. Reliability is no longer an import vs. domestic issue. These comment sections that devolve into that argument are a bit behind the times. Buy what you like and if you feel that you can't support a foreign manufacturer in good conscience... don't. You'll still have a good many excellent choices. If you would rather buy foreign and are suspicious of domestics, there are some very fine cars available to you. But neither foreign or domestic nameplates by themselves guarantee quality.

So watch the reliability ratings, test drive, determine what your needs are, and purchase with open eyes.

My family has owned Toyota, Honda, Mazda and VW. They were some of the WORST vehicles we ever were cursed with. Even if our own industry did not need the business, we would still buy from American-owned companies.

Since 2006 we (including my mother) have bought 4 vehicles. All were Ford, all were flawless. With our country in the mess it is in economically, there is no way I could be so unpatriotic as to buy from a foreign owned company now, but considering our past (very BAD) experience with cars made by foreign-owned companies, we would buy from Ford or GM anyway.

Since Chrysler is selling to a foreign-owned company, it is no longer a "domestic" company either, though our previous Chryslers were so much better than our imports, there was no comparison.