My Camry, but it's no hybrid (with bonus LS400 content)

Spottedlaurel · February 15, 2020

The new Camry interests me. Probably because of this thing and some others I've had:

I'm rather pleased with myself today because I've just got this old crock back on the road. Its last MoT expired back in April 2019 and it just sat on my driveway since then. I think the novelty of the then-new-to-me RX distracted me, as well as having some other old cars to use as the weather got better,

I first bought it back in 2011 as it seemed to be a good price and I think these old Camrys are fantastic. After a few months I realised how good this particular one was, so I sold a newer Camry Sport I had and it became my daily driver.

The RH passenger door got hit by someone in a car park, but luckily I had a spare one off another estate.

At the end of 2013 it got hit up the back by an Audi A4. Both cars were written-off, but damage to the Camry was limited and with spares I had I thought I'd keep it and get it back on the road. What actually happened was I bought a 2010 Avensis and the Camry sat on the drive until 2017. I finally took it to a local, friendly garage and they gave me a list of things required.

Camry Estate parts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It ended up with a new clutch, two front springs, brake discs and pads front and rear and a new cam belt (probably a water pump as well). Engine had to come out. Happily the damage was easier to repair, just needing a replacement tailgate (which again I just happened to have).

Used it as a back-up car and occasional 6/7-seater people transporter (they have a third row of rear-facing seats) until 2019, which brings me back to where I started.

Driving it again today reminded me of just how great the 1990s Camrys are. Now I've also had experience of 1990s Lexus ownership (I ran a Mk3 LS400 for a while) I can see some strong similarities between them. The toy count is much less of course, certainly on the 2.2 models which have just fuel injection, electric windows, ABS and PAS to differentiate it from my older Japanese cars, but it's the feel and quality of what is there that counts. Mine looks somewhat rubbish (my wife despairs of it) but I know how good it is.

The Mk1 LS400 wheels were a fairly recent addition, in great condition with some very good Dunlop tyres on them for just £40. Despite the LS being RWD and the Camry FWD, the offset is the same and so is the tyre width, so they work perfectly on it.

The 2.2-litre engine is the best 4-cyl, multivalve unit I've had, smooth and with a nice bit of torque at lower rev's but with an ability to spin up to higher speeds quite happily. The stainless steel exhaust on mine gives it a surprisingly sporty note which adds to its Q-car appeal.

The Camry is a fairly obscure and overlooked model, so why do I like them so much?

I bought my first one in 2006 when I needed a big estate. It was a 2.2 with high mileage of nearly 180k at around 10 years old and I bought it unseen off eBay. Came from a Home Counties solicitor who'd spent more than my purchase price of £550 to get it through its last MoT.

1996 Toyota Camry 2.2 estate by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It was my main car until 2008 when the looming MoT looked like it would be a bit tricky. I sold it to a friend who had the pleasure of taking it past 200k, then I bought it back for spares for the next one.....

Camry on the track at RAF Marham #3 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Next-gen 2.2 Sport, an oddball Toyota GB creation with 17" alloys, bodykit, Connolly leather interior and surprisingly harsh, lowered suspension (I think some had been reading Max Power). Equivalent of the GS300 Sport I suppose. I ended up running it on 15" steels off the estate, much better-suited to the country roads where I live. This is the one I sold after I purchased the K-reg estate.

What came next? Ah yes, because I had a spares car with good panels on it this accident-damaged, low mileage 2.2 saloon appealed and it became another unseen purchase. What could possibly go wrong buying a damaged car I hadn't seen before that was on the other side of the country?

1992 Toyota Camry 2.2GL Project Car (Pt 1) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1992 Toyota Camry 2.2GL (Pt 3) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

It's a 1990s Toyota, so not very much. Battery was dead and I had to buy a new one on the way home, but otherwise it was fine and I ran it like this until the MoT ran out. I started repairing it, but the panels didn't quite seem to sit right so it never progressed any further. Also, I got sidetracked by yet another one......

1991 Toyota Camry V6 GX by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I'd left a note on this local car some time beforehand, then the owner rang to say he'd been offered £200 as a part-ex and did I want it for the same amount? As a running, driving V6 how could I go wrong? I got it MoTed and it went into regular use alongside the green 2.2 estate. These V6 models go nicely, although strangely I prefer the lighter feel of the 2.2. Again, it saw some trackday action:

Camry at speed! by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I had it for several years until it was clear the next MoT would be difficult. Sold the engine and 'box to someone for an MR2 conversion, then by chance another local Camry owner needed a load of panels as he'd had a bump in his, so from that I had enough to buy the N-reg LS400 (another story, which also involves trackdays).

I ended up owning all five at the same point (the Sport is missing from this shot):

A convention of Camrys by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

As well as the green estate I still have the 2.2 saloon as a source of spares. A bit of a shame it won't see the road again as it's low mileage and was tidy apart from the damage, but it's been an invaluable parts donor.

I find it a little sad that Toyota/Lexus don't offer a normal, big estate car nowadays. I've had a couple of Avensis estates and they were OK (though the 1.8 petrol in the last one was a miserable unit). I saw an IS Sportcross today and thought it a shame they didn't continue with these.

It's great that Toyota have brought the Camry back here, with my history I should be a natural buyer for it, but a 4-door saloon isn't ideal for me which is why I went for the RX last year. An estate version would be a great alternative to the various German and Volvo models on the market.

In the meantime I'll keep this one going for as long as I can.

Malc · February 15, 2020

good write-up, well done

nearly bought a 3ltr Camry estate quite some years back when I had a car sales business, WOW what a fabulous car, just a dream machine in those days

Then I acquired my first Ls400 ( at the garage ) and have had a Ls400 ever since as my main every day driver, my 3rd now, a Mk3 N reg on 228k miles

Fabulous cars and if i ever needed an estate I'd try to find that Camry 3 ltr model for sure

Malc

rich1068 · February 16, 2020

What an excellent post! Thank you Nigel.

Malc · February 16, 2020

oh my, just found a Camry 3ltr V6 estate for sale in Tonbridge at £2475 a M reg 1995 car with 127k miles ?

do I or don't I go buy her .... sadly it's a very very very boring grey but otherwise looks brilliant in the piccys

Malc

Spottedlaurel · February 16, 2020

19 minutes ago, Malc said:

oh my, just found a Camry 3ltr V6 estate for sale in Tonbridge at £2475 a M reg 1995 car with 127k miles ?

do I or don't I go buy her .... sadly it's a very very very boring grey but otherwise looks brilliant in the piccys

Malc

Not exactly far away from you Malcolm, got to be worth a look?! Just found the ad, it looks great!

I believe the V6 can suffer with head gasket failure and auto gearbox faults. I never had an issue with either on mine, and it was higher mileage than the one you mention and was used on a couple of trackdays.

Looks like it has the later, lower-spec interior with cloth seats. I think they still have AC though. Would have had steel wheels as standard, so it's interesting to see those alloys on it - must be dealer-fit accessories, I've not seen that style before.

Old-style plates and a clean, tidy bootspace with the spare wheel cover apparently intact are a good sign.

Not cheap, but I think you'd struggle to find a better one.

The-Acre · February 16, 2020

That was the Camry that we hired all those years ago to drive many hundreds of miles in Canada. It was such a lovely car.

MartinH · February 16, 2020

Ha well I had one of those V6 GXs. Great car, unbreakable— went down to the Languedoc in it several times, cruise set at 110 mph on the autoroute. You can't do that now! But the aircon went and could not be re-gassed (I was told). Sold it to a Russian geezer for £400 cash, told me it was going to Moscow where they have plenty of cheap petrol and don't need AC. Replaced it with the next series, equally good.

Some of you will no doubt have seen the Camry recall meme in The Onion!

Edited February 16, 2020 by MartinH
Additional material

Malc · February 16, 2020

4 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I think you'd struggle to find a better one.

you're probably right but the simple fact is I'm not looking for one at all ....... absolutely zero use for one, not even a brilliant one

However, had it been in that luscious metallic green and a Top Spec model I'd have gone all retro in my thoughts and I'd be down the road to Tonbridge right now buying it !

Cest Le Vie

Malc

cruisermark · February 16, 2020

A nice collection of cars and write up

Before I started driving LS400s I owned 2 Camrys:

first one - Green P reg 2.2 with beige interior - had about 80k miles n it

second one: Sky blue M reg 3.0 with leather and only 52k miles when I sold it

Lovey cars to drive and back in the days I spent many many hours just polishing and fettling with them - sadly don't get round to doing that much these days

JamesIS220 · February 16, 2020

Liked reading about your cars.

I have never owned a camry. Had a corolla.

I really like old rear wheel drive Volvo 240, 740 and 940.

1986 740 estate. B230K engine. Had for 5 years paid £425 in 2002 as going to Normandy France to live.

Then PX for a new corolla in 2007. after 2.5 years didn't need a LHD in France as returning back to the UK.

Bought a petrol 1989 Volvo 240 GLT auto estate in late 2009 for £350 in Birmingham with 169,000. Drove it as my daily for 10 years and it was a reliable workhorse. Sold at 234,000 miles in 2019 for £500.

Have a petrol 1996 Volvo 940 turbo LPT SE auto estate as my workhorse. Bought 3 years ago for £250 and still going strong 202,000.

Bought a lexus IS220D big mistake should of got IS250.

Now have a 2015 Auris hybrid estate. Bought it for economy, reliable, 0 tax and an A-B car.

I also wish Lexus would do another estate!

James.

Sherra · February 17, 2020

My Camry Sport, beautiful car and the best I'd owned til the 450h. I had it for 10 years and relatively trouble free.

Malc · February 18, 2020

oh dear, no MOT since 2010, wonder why that should be ! ...... maybe it's abroad

Malc

Spottedlaurel · February 18, 2020

Thanks for the comments, it's interesting to know there are some other former Camry owners who've now moved onto Lexus.

James, sounds like you have your '96 Volvo for the same reason I keep my Camry going!

Paul, biggest shame about that generation of Camry is that the indicators are on the wrong side of the steering wheel....

One thing I find impressive is that parts can be swapped between a Japanese-built saloon and the US-built estate with no problem at all.

Sherra · February 19, 2020

Malc

I traded it in in July 2010 for a new Avensis which was a nice car but no Camry and definitely no Lexus. Perhaps it is abroad or written off maybe.

Paul

Malc · February 20, 2020

On 2/18/2020 at 7:59 PM, Spottedlaurel said:

biggest shame about that generation of Camry is that the indicators are on the wrong side of the steering wheel....

am I imagining it but is the Mk1 Ls400 the same ....... somewhere niggling in my mind is that silly fact .......... perhaps it's my dotage coming on :unsure:

or maybe it was on my erstwhile Mazda 323f ........... what a great car that was too

Malc

RgrWynne · February 20, 2020

Currently touring Australia, and tonight used Uber in Melbourne, having recently travelled in a Sydney Camry taxi with 767000km on the clock and still going strong. The latest Uber was a newer Camry hybrid, 220,000km , a very comfortable ride, and was doing 60mpg...or as displayed 4.7 ltrs per 100km, which tbh I think is pretty remarkable.

Spottedlaurel · February 22, 2020

On 2/19/2020 at 9:20 PM, Sherra said:

I traded it in in July 2010 for a new Avensis which was a nice car but no Camry and definitely no Lexus. Perhaps it is abroad or written off maybe.

Like other 1990s Toyotas they do seem to have been popular for export.

On 2/20/2020 at 11:32 AM, RgrWynne said:

Currently touring Australia, and tonight used Uber in Melbourne, having recently travelled in a Sydney Camry taxi with 767000km on the clock and still going strong. The latest Uber was a newer Camry hybrid, 220,000km , a very comfortable ride, and was doing 60mpg...or as displayed 4.7 ltrs per 100km, which tbh I think is pretty remarkable.

The economy (circa 50mpg I reckon for my use) is one aspect of the new Camry that definitely appeals. At least the saloon has a folding rear seat, so if I'm doing more miles next time I change I'll strongly consider one.

On 2/20/2020 at 9:10 AM, Malc said:

am I imagining it but is the Mk1 Ls400 the same ....... somewhere niggling in my mind is that silly fact .......... perhaps it's my dotage coming on

or maybe it was on my erstwhile Mazda 323f ........... what a great car that was too

I suspect Mk1 (and maybe Mk2) LS would have indicators on the right when RHD. From memory so would Mazda 323F, pretty sure our G-reg GT model did.

Other than the modern RX and this '93 Camry I have three other cars, all old and Japanese. Indicators and lights are on the right on all of them, which is exactly as it should be for a RHD car. The only reason we got used to them being on the left was cheapskate European makers not bothering to change them for RHD. Sadly that became the accepted pattern in the 1990s and the Japanese makers followed suit for cars sold here (but hopefully not in their domestic market?).

The interesting thing (to me at least!) about the Camry estate is that not only did they have the wipers properly set for RHD, they also handed the twin rear wipers.

This is an example I went to view, but didn't end up buying:

1992 Toyota Camry V6 Estate - Dilemma! by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Compare to the USDM model:

A piece about the twin rear wipers here: https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/remember-when-toyota-camry-wagon-had-two-rear-wipers-260157

The article states there wasn't an estate version of the next-gen Camry, which is true for America but they were available elsewhere.

1999 Toyota Camry 2.2 Estate (Auto Trader, £3995) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

They look good, just a shame they didn't keep it going on future generations but by then I suppose there was the Harrier/RX etc.

As already mentioned, same comments apply to the IS Sportcross. Nice 300 I saw last weekend:

ghost_killer · February 22, 2020

Very interesting read here SpottedLaurel, my dad use to drive a 89 Camry 2.5 V6 GXi (the gen before yours - that estate one) very smooth and well equipped, reliable etc...he bought it after selling his E30 (I think) BMW 320i and it was lot more fuel efficient and better performance than the BMW and goes without saying lot more reliable too and it's more less same as the US only ES250 of that era too so that speaks volume. Always thought the Camry in UK / Europe was very underrated and even more sad when they discontinued them for over 10 years - never understood apart from branding / influx of diesels etc at the time maybe as Camry's are very popular in USA / Aus and even some parts Asia and Middle East/. Still they brought them back now to my surprise and even more so I see quite a few on road already ! Infact whilst picking up my IS300h few days ago I saw one at a Toyota car dealer forecout with the sign 'SOLD' - is a car I would definitely consider in future if I go non 'premium' or if I was to leave Lexus.