1997 Toyota Camry LE review from North America

- Driver's side outside handle broke, $50 on ebay and 1 week to fix. Dealership wanted $200, 100 for the handle and 100 for labor. Whoa!

- Driver' side and passenger side inside door handles broke, replaced them myself from ebay, it was a PAIN.

- Front bumper paint peeled off, I replaced the entire bumper, not worth repainting, $225 total.

- Speakers crapped out, and it was a huge PAIN to replace them. If I'd have known the trouble beforehand, I would have paid a store to do it.

- Sparkplug wires rotted and one end got stuck inside, and was a pain to replace. $50 (DIY)

- Passenger front window jumped off the rubber track and I changed the window motor before realizing what it was :) $50 off ebay, DIY.

- The car is underpowered. It's good in town, but has a hard time accelerating on the interstate, especially if you have 4 people in the car. Downshifts and sounds like a race car, but doesn't accelerate much. We were having fun on the trip, and I used the AC button as "turbo". When I turn off the AC I get quite a bit of boost.

- Started burning oil, due to valve stem seals leaking. This is a common problem, very expensive to fix. Seals are cheap, labor is expensive. Some suggest replacing the motor would be cheaper, ouch!. I've changed to 10-40 fully synthetic oil and it's better now.

- The headlights don't turn off automatically, I've drained the battery at least 20 times in 2 years. Probably THE most annoying thing.

- Very easy to change the oil myself, the filter is easy to reach.

- Reliable, it never broke down.

- Spacious.

-feels soft on the road but too soft in fast curves.