Comments: 1-15, 16-18
Mysterious rattles from the back.
Poor panel fit.
I have this car as a rental after my 2001 Intrigue was hit from the side by a red light runner. This is the first time I've ever driven this model of a Camry, and I was greatly disappointed, after hearing much praise of this.
For one, the seats are too wide. I'm 6'1, of average width, and I don't have enough lateral support. Worse, every person who I've taken along has moaned about the terrible seats, whether it be the bath tub seating position, or the head rests. I'm not exactly wild over the fabric either.
Coming from an Intrigue (GM Cars are known for their plasticy interiors and poor panel fits), the Camry was disappointing! With the exception of the passenger door gap (on the Intrigue), the Intrigue's interior is much higher quality than the Camry's. The lower part of the dash is cheap, hard plastic. The textures don't match one bit, either.
I also hated how high the dash went from the passenger's side, and so did everyone who rode in it.
The car is bland. I mean bland. Not even pleasing, just bland.
The rear driver's side of the car is rattling incessently. Neither my Intrigue, nor my 6 year old Taurus have such a rattle.
The cup holders need some revision. They work, but not very well for anything larger than a can.
The engine is smooth, but it's far from the gem that is the inside of the Intrigue.
I really can't see why anybody would buy this car. The fit and finish is nothing to brag about, the styling is bland to the point of ugliness, it makes the passengers sick, and it's not even comfortable.
If you're looking at a Camry, please visit your local Ford or Oldsmobile dealer, and test drive a Taurus or an Intrigue, and you suddenly won't want a Camry anymore. And while I can't say this for all GM cars, the Intrigue is every bit as reliable as the Camry, which should not be all too surprising (keep in mind, Toyotas are made at co-GM plants).
I mention the Taurus, because I've had mine for quite a while, and it has had stellar reliability despite its heavy usage.
I have a 1997 CAMRY with 242k miles. I drive a lot. Your rental 2001 Camry was the exact same thing. My wife has a 1998 Taurus. It is in the shop all the time at only 80k miles. I am sorry but I do not agree with your opinion.
The reason that GM and Toyota have embarked on joint ventures is because GM begged for Toyota's assistance in making Chevy's last longer than 40,000 miles.
The "joint venture" that you are referring to? Basically they are GM plants that receive Toyota vehicles and remove the big "T" and put on a Chevy bow-tie.
Look at the best cars in terms of reliability that GM has ever built: The Geo Prizm and the Chevy Nova (circa 1980's). They are both Toyota Corollas with different badging.
Give your Intrigue a few years. Then is the time to compare it to a 2001 Camry. You won't get jack for resale, and once your warranty is up, you will be paying through the nose for transmissions, electronics, alternators, and head gaskets. Mark my words.
I am sorry, but I do not agree with your opinion. As an owner of a 1998 Camry, I do agree that the car is a bit dull, but keep in mind, you're the one who rented it. If you wanted a sports car, you should have rented a sports car. Some people don't need or want flashy cars. Some people just want a basic car that will last. Those people buy Toyotas.
I have driven my Camry for a while, and I have not experienced any problems at all. I find the interior practical and well designed. I find the seat very comfortable, and so does my family. After 3 and a half years of use, all of my interior panels still match, and I happen to like the cup holders. They seem to hold a 12oz can just as well as a 20 or 24oz bottle.
My car still is put together pretty well considering all of the abuse that I have put it through. I have experienced only one problem with the whole car- the armrest broke after my dog jumped over it while it was open. The dealer even fixed it under warranty, even though it was obvious that it was not a manufacturer's defect.
Please keep in mind that your car was a rental unit, which means the rental company probably bought the cheapest version. Upgraded models feature adjustable seats, both driver and passenger's seats, so you can get comfortable, as well as raise it so you can see over the dashboard.
I also can't belive that a Camry could be chosen over a Taurus or an Intrigue. Although those two American cars are cheaper, you most certainly get what you pay for. Just do some math, buy a $23,000 Taurus or Intrigue, and you know what you'll have three years later? Squat for resale value. Maybe you'll be lucky and get $9,000 if you find a sucker. A $23,000 Camry often sees $13-14,000 when it comes time to sell three years later. Japanese cars simply last longer and are made better that anything from Ford, GM, or Chrysler. I bought an GM car once, the bottom of the engine block cracked at 38,000 miles. Not only that, but the dealer couldn't fix it. When I got it back, I found that the top half was now cracked. They wanted close to $6,000 to fix it, and GM refused to give any discount on fixing it, even though it was only 2k off of warranty. They wouldn't even give me a deal on a new car. Please notice that most American cars only come with a 3 year warranty, then the dealer basically denies that the car came from them. My Toyota came with a 5 year power-train warranty, and I am certain I will never use it.
Also notice that not only is the Intrigue dying, but the whole Oldsmobile brand. It gives me faith the at least some people in this country are coming to their senses.
425,000+ Camry buyers a year can't be wrong- that's more than Taurus and Intrigue. People know a good car when they see one. I look forward to many happy years with my Camry. Just ask any Camry owner as they drive past, as you wait at your Ford or GM Service Department.
To the second commentor. I have a 1989 GM vehicle. WIth many miles it has been extremely reliable, comfortable and great. I do not agree with YOUR comment.
I Have owned a 2001 Toyota Camry LE V6 Automatic until 2003.
That was a Bland, Expensive, Overrated and Unreliable car.
My first and last Toyota I will ever buy. Even my wife hated it.
Replaced for a 2003 Chevrolet Impala LS 3.8 V6. Me and my Wife we just love our Chevy.
Great AMERICAN Car. Very Reliable, Well Built, Fair Priced and Underrated.
An Overall Much BETTER Car than the Toyota Camry.
I do not agree with these people saying how unreliable their Toyota has been to them. I had been a service advisor at a reputable shop in Arizona for two years before joing the U.S. Navy and the majority of the time any Toyota, and I did say ANY Toyota came in to the shop, it was for maint. I bought my 2001 Gallery Series Camry in june of 2003 with 56,100 miles on it and to this day a year and a half later now have 107,350 trouble free miles on it.
Now understand that a dead battery, worn tires, blown shocks, etc... does not constitute an unreliable car. All of those types of things are general maint, and I have replaced those components on my car. My cars starter is still oe. My alternator is still oe, wait I just remembered, I did replace the water pump at 105,000 miles, but that was with the timing belt which again was general maint.
There are two types of Camrys, 1 being an American built, and 2 being Japanese built. My Camry is Japanese built and was shipped over from Japan. There might be a diff in quality at the assembly plants, but I can't say for sure. I have read many upon many bad threads about how unreliable Camrys are and in my case have seen nothing to support anything any of you guys have said. It's the most reliable piece of transportation on the road. If I had a choice between my Camry, as it sits right now, and a brand new Ford, GM, or Chysler product, I would without hesitation take my Camry.
I purchased my first, brand new Toyota—a 2001 Camry XLE, loaded. It cost a lot, but I rationalized it by saying I’d keep it for 10 years or longer. All I’d have to do is change the oil and regular maintenance, right? Within the first few thousand miles, the engine light came on for the first time. A charcoal canister. One year later, another charcoal canister, a bad vacuum switching valve and a vacuum switch. Then, another VSV. Then, an air fuel ratio sensor, which brings me up to 2004. In addition to the cost of these parts is the inconvenience and time spent away from work which must be made up or paid for with vacation time. This isn’t why I bought a Toyota. But this is nothing. In August 2005, I got a bad feeling like maybe I should get rid of the car. Something just didn’t feel right, but I’m supposed to keep the car for 10 years to get my money’s worth. By October, the car was running sluggish and shifting hard. I flushed the transmission just in case, but that didn’t help. When it started skipping and hesitating at 60MPH, I brought it to the dealer. Unfortunately, the engine light wasn’t on, so as far as they were concerned, there was nothing wrong with it. The problem got worse, and days later the engine light did come on. Oh goody! Yet another trip to the dealer to find that I need a new catalytic converter that costs about $1,500. What!!! I was beyond the 80,000 mile warranty for this part—so sorry. They told me it wasn’t hurting the car, that it was only necessary for emissions and to get a sticker. About a week later, the engine light came on AGAIN. This time I needed a coil. Are you sure the bad cat isn’t hurting anything? I wanted to dump the car at this point, but even $1500 is a lot less than a new or used car. I finally bit the bullet on December 13, believing that all the bad things would go away if I just replaced the catalytic converter and the car would be like new. It cost over $1700 because I had to replace another bad sensor too. After, the power was back, but I still had the bad feeling. Two weeks later, the engine light came on again and the symptoms were the same. I assumed there was a problem with the latest repair and dropped the car off. This time, it was another $200 for something completely different—a bad thermostat that takes 2 hours to install. I feel like my car is blackmailing me. Is there no recourse? No, there’s no lemon law for a 5-year old car with 119,000 miles on it. So now I have a $2000 credit card bill for a car I never want to see again and I’m trading it in tomorrow for ANYTHING, but A TOYOTA. Before I found this site, I thought I was the only person ever to have a bad experience with a Toyota. Thank you for listening.
That sounds like my experience with Toyota. Lots of the same failures, but at this point covered by warranty. I'm afraid to keep the car beyond the warranty for fear of what will fall on me.
I recently bought a 2007 Camry LE and noticed that the dashboard is misaligned when the doors are closed the gap between the dash and door on the passenger side is a quarter inch, while on the driver's side there is no gap. Does anyone notice this?
The camry is what it is!!!
A good honest hard working car.
Had four camrys to date, nothing serious went wrong with any of them!
Definitely recommend them to anyone.
There must be a lot of out of work ford employees making crazy posts about how poor toyotas are. I've had many fords and had to constantly work on them to keep them running. Chrysler is even worse in my experience. listen, being blindly loyal to any make of car is bad for the consumer. if not for foreign cars, we'd still be dealing with cars wearing out at 36 k miles, remember that time about 25- 30 yrs ago? they only get better when they HAVE TO. its not the workers fault. junk parts =junk cars,no matter who puts them together. LET US BUY WHATS GOOD. if that changes, lets buy the new "reliable". - I hate working on cars and spending big $$$ on repairs.
For every 200K+ miles Camry I can show you a similar 200K+ miles GM vehicle like my 94 Corsica that refuses to die and the 93 LeSabre that we just sent off with 270K on it. Not to mention our 96 LeSabre nearing the 200K mile mark. Going back we had a 89 LeSabre and a 92 Caprice also in the same category. Even longer back I can mention the Olds Cutlass and my grandpas 78 2-door Caprice all lasting 15+ years and 200K+ miles.
I'm not saying that your Camry are bad, but what is all this talking about poor GM cars? We've never had a bad GM car and we are all sticking to our them.
I doubt this group has even looked at 2007 GM's to even comment. I have had imports and domestics every few years not just commenting 1998-2001. I would not buy another new import with 36,000 mile warranties. Its too short.
I think every-car no matter what brand it is works just fine as-long-as we always take care of them, and that's my comment... thanks for listening.
Simple facts guys. GM & Fords repairs bays are filled by 70% warranty repairs vs 30% of non-warranty. They are paying greatly for making unreliable cars. All those companies are hurting badly cause of this. The brand loyalty is so funny to listen to, here's a little insider fact. Every GM vehicle has $6000 added to its price to pay for it's worker's high wages, benefits and pensions. They make the worst compacts in the world and know it. But for Midsize they are rock solid.