Toyota Camry: Terrific Car, PLUS A BONUS- HOW TO GET A TERRIFIC PRICE ON IT!

I just got my Camry LE about 2 months ago. So far, I am very satisfied with it. My best advice to anyone buying a car is do your research, it pays off.

There are several reasons why I chose the Camry. My top priority was to get a safe car, and all of the Toyota cars are very highly rated as safe. Also, I have had very good experience with Toyota, as I already owned the same Toyota Corolla for 15 years. My mother and my sister both have Camrys, and I had driven them, so I knew that they are far more luxurious than the Corolla, which I was tempted to buy. Toyotas in general have very good repair records. I knew this from my experience with my beloved, 15 year old Corolla and from my friends and relatives, who also own Toyotas. So I had my own experience and numerous other references for the Toyota Camry LE.

This is a very, very comfortable car! Of course I have sat in driver's seat, but I have also sat as a passenger in the front and back. It is roomy and the seats are very comfy. There is an armrest in the front, which also contains storage and cup holders. The back has a fold down armrest and comfortably seats 3. The driver's seat is electrically adjustable for height, leg distance, and arm distance. The steering wheel is also adjustable. Everything is sensibly placed and convenient on the dashboard. The sound system includes front and back speakers, am/fm radio with 18 presets, a CD player, and cassette player. This is standard. You can get a snazzier sound system for a fee. I find that this sound system is perfectly adequate for my needs.

I find the ride to be very smooth and quiet. The car handles very well, although it does not turn as sharply as my old Corolla, it does better than most cars I have seen.

I have put less than 2000 miles on the car, so far there has been no need to make any repairs or service the car in anyway, and if there had been, I would not be recommending the Camry. In general, I do a combination of both highway and city driving, I get about 23-28 miles to the gallon on average.

As I mentioned earlier, my greatest priority was safety. I knew I wanted a car with front AND side airbags, and antilock breaks. The front airbags and antilock breaks are standard on the Camry LE. However, there is a pretty hefty fee for the side air bags. You can buy them in a package with mudguards and keyless door entry. This is a strange combination to bundle together, but since I wanted the keyless entry, I went for the package. This was the only option that I added to the package.

The Camry LE is available with a 4-cylinder engine and a 6-cylinder engine. I did not even try the 6 cylinder because I don’t really need it, but I am told that there is a big difference between the two types of engines. This may be true, but I get very good pickup on my 4 cylinders, and that is good enough for me. (Secretly, I do sometimes regret not even trying the 6.) I should also mention that my car has automatic transmission with controlled automatic overdrive. The overdrive helps with pickup, and I always leave it on.

Here is a list of specifications I copied from the Toyota website:

Engine 2.2-liter DOHC 16-valve EFI 4-cylinder
136 hp @ 5,200 rpm¹
150 lb.-ft. @ 4,400 rpm²

Ignition Electronic, with distributorless Toyota Direct Ignition system (TDI)

Transmission
5-speed manual overdrive Standard
4-speed electronically controlled automatic overdrive (ECT) Available
4-speed electronically controlled automatic overdrive with intelligence (ECT-i) NA

Drivetrain Front engine, front-wheel drive

Body construction Unitized body with front and rear vibration-dampening sub-frames

Suspension MacPherson strut front suspension with gas-filled shock absorbers and stabilizer bar; dual-link independent MacPherson strut rear suspension with gas-filled shock absorbers and stabilizer bar

Steering Variable-assist power rack-and-pinion

Turning circle diameter, curb to curb (ft.) 35.4

Brakes Power-assisted ventilated front disc/rear drum (power-assisted ventilated front, solid rear disc on V6 models)

4-channel 3-sensor Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) Available

All-speed Traction Control System (TRAC) NA

Exterior Dimensions (in.)
Overall height, unloaded 55.4
Overall width 70.1
Overall length 188.5
Wheelbase 105.2
Ground clearance 5.1
Tread width (front/rear) 61.1/59.9
Coefficient of drag (Cd) 0.30

Interior Dimensions front/rear (in.)
Head room 38.6/37.6
Shoulder room 56.2/56.1
Hip room 54.0/54.1
Leg room 43.5/35.5
Seating capacity 5

Weights and Capacities
Curb weight, manual/automatic (lbs.) 2,998/3,042
EPA passenger volume (cu. ft.) 96.9
Luggage capacity, rear seatbacks up (cu. ft.) 14.1
Fuel tank (gals.) 18.5

Tires
Size P205/65R15
Type All-Season steel-belted radial
Spare Full-size

Mileage Estimates (EPA estimated mpg city/highway)7
Manual transmission 23/32
Automatic transmission 23/30

This is the basic review of about the Toyota Camry LE. I did not need to do much research to decide what I wanted, but in order to get a great deal I had to do some research, but not much haggling.

If you wanted to just read about the Camry, you can stop now. If you want to know how to get a killer deal on it, read on.

I asked myself the question, how far am I willing to travel in order to save $300. I then called every Toyota dealer within the distance I was willing to travel. I told each one what I was looking for specifically, including extras and colors, and that I planned to buy the car within the week. I told them that I wanted their best price and that I would purchase from whomever gave the lowest price for what I wanted.

Some of the dealers balked at this. I did not argue, I told them I understood if they did not want to give me a price over the phone and I would not keep them any longer. In the end, they all gave me prices. Some said that if anyone tried to give me a better price, they probably had hidden fees attached to the price. I sweetly explained that if I went to a showroom to buy a car and someone tried that, I would turn and leave the shop.

When I had the lowest price, I called everyone back to see if they could beat it. No one beat the price, and I bought the car for $19,200. Pretty cool, huh?