Drove a 2000 Camry for 14 years. Aside from excitement, it was the absolute perfect car. Easy to drive, decent power, reliable, low maintenance, it was just there for you.
Yep, that is what makes a car like this so great, especially for enthusiasts. Have a fun bike/car for the weekends or track days, but commuting to work in rush hour traffic to pay for the fun stuff? A reliable car that will get you from point A to point B and back everytime, with no drama, is a stress reliever. Plus, putting miles on one of these to commute is stress free. Not wasting sticky tires on the daily commute alone is worth the price of buying one for daily use. Plus, after a long day at work, I just want to get home. A reliable, comfortable cruiser is the way to go , IMO. I save the fun stuff for fun times, and use the boring stuff for boring times.
I still see this era of Camry about once a week in Washington DC, and I always have to do a mental double-take: "Damn that car is going on 25 years!" Indestructible.
My 1995 has the same powertrain and trim with 452k miles. Bought it as a disposable beater thinking it would last a few months and it's still going strong eight years later. These are legendary.
These cars are legendary, not for looks or performance, but reliability. As a former automobile tech, I saw a number of these come into the shop with 300k or more miles on them. They are easy to maintain. One unit that sticks out in my mind is one that I had the regular privilege of servicing that was pushing One Million miles. No joke. That's quite a few tire replacements. I'd like to see any Porsche or anything Italian do that. I just love these boring Camrys!! Great review, Dougie!!😅
Porsches are fairly reliable, especially compared to the rest of German cars. But yeah, nothing from modern Mercedes, VAG, or Stellantis can touch these old Toyotas when it comes to reliability.
@@RealElectech perhaps, but by 2024 you can actually afford a fun car without getting a loan that you can't afford. Just so the bank or IRS can take it because you got too far behind in payments and property taxes 3 years later.
My mom loved her Camrys. I think she had five in a row, all second hand. Her last was this same generation, maybe the next, and she took such good care of it. When she passed in 2022 we gave it to family friends whose daughter had just gotten her license. It’s still going strong. Miss you mom.
My dad had one when I was an infant. In 2003, he hit a deer in the middle of the night. Even thought the car was badly damaged (he was unhurt), the insurance company didn't total it because they knew it would run forever. I bet it's still going strong after it was fixed and sold.
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
I saw a Geo Metro hatch being driven by an old lady yesterday. I am not exaggerating when I say it was in absolute showroom condition. Perfect bright red paint, crystal clear headlights, deep black plastic trim, not a scratch on the plastic hub caps. Very neat to see one in that condition 30 years later
I love seeing stuff like that, too! Just today, around 9am this morning, I met an elderly couple that still drives a green 1996 Honda Accord wagon, and it is in absolutely perfect condition! Considering they live in central Ohio, I find the condition to be very impressive! As far as I know, they are the original owners and plan on keeping it until they both reach their graves
Last summer I was out with my 8 year old nephew. He spotted a porsche gt3 from across the parking lot. We drove over to see it and he thought it was extremely weird that I was geeking out about the 90s metro hatchback 3 spots down and that I couldn't care less about the gt3. I tired explaining that the metro was way more rare, but he was having none of it. So we checked auto trader. There were 3 gt3s for sale within 10 miles, and not a single metro for sale in the _entire country._ He still didn't care. It didn't have a giant wing.
I sold these cars in '93-'94, being part of the same product cycle of this car. What a great example of what these cars looked like brand new. Even in my early 20's at the time, this was my favorite model to sell and daily drove dealer-provided Camry's on three different occasions while I worked for Toyota. '92 marked the intro to this generation and Toyota discontinued the Cressida after the '91 model year partly because they thought this car was good enough to take up that slot. And these cars were quiet and smooth, and definitely a revolutionary redesign versus the prior generation. Much bigger and nicer interiors, and better fit and finish. The SE trim, while it didn't offer more power, did give you the option of a 5-speed manual transmission with the V6 engine. And a cute little spoiler. And different seat inserts. This generation of Camry was built in both Japan and the US, and some discerning buyers would check closely at the sticker or VIN to make sure it was a Japan-built car. Better paint quality and panel gap consistency on those cars. Great review and thank you for sharing.
Small correction: Overdrive button was 4th gear. If it was off the car only went to 3rd gear. With it on, the car would go into 4th. The power button changed the transmission shift points upward, allowing the engine to rev higher before shifting to give you a bit more power.
Yeah, he could at least have ... tried it before saying random c*** , a lot of cars had these, it was useful when you wanted to pass someone on the road, an easy "downshift to third", since the cars automatic transmissions back then moved slower than tectonic plates when you pressed the gas. Also, had a cupholder on my 1992 camry LE V6 wagon, it wasn't a new thing.
That's a whole FACT! "Common man!". It was just a button to down shift. A few hours of flooring it everythime to pass on the high fatigues your leg n back in a low hp 4cyl. It was just to drop a gear with your thumb instead of the gas pedal.
@@androiduberalles In the past, automatic transmissions weren’t assisted electronically as optimally then as as they are now. There are computers to detect what you want to do with the car today by the way you press the gas pedal. That wasn’t the case back then. Leaving the OD button off going up a hill or if you needed an extra bit of engine power gave you the ability to manually control what the car was doing. These buttons, the overdrive and the power buttons, were carryovers from the very first generations. By the time they had reached the 3rd generation, the car already had a high level of electronic sophistication which made it more or less a redundancy and by the 4th, in 1997, they eliminated the power button but the overdrive button held on for awhile. They didn’t get rid of it until the 2007 redesign.
I had the very last 1996 Toyota Camry XLE V6 before someone side swipe me about 10 years ago. It had 675K miles on it and it was running so buttery smooth with that V6. I loved that car, it took me everywhere’s was so reliable. Yes, of course I had to do some regular maintenance but nothing too serious. And no, mine didn’t burn any oil, at all!
What Doug failed to mention was that the Camry SE of this generation did have some changes from the regular Camry such as four-wheel disc brakes, a stiffer "sports tuned" suspension and from 1992-1993, it could be had with a 5-Speed manual with the V6 and it was the only Camry model of that generation to get the V6 and manual.
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
My neighbor, when i lived in Maryland, had one of these with 548k miles on it. The guy drove it from new until he retired from his job. His boss mentioned at his retirement, I've had a lot of cars over the years but Mac has only had one. Only major thing he replaced was the radiator.
I can attest, these things are un killable. Wife and I both had the Lexus versions, both were 1996 es300 in ~2015. We got them cheap like 2k with 180k and drove them to 300k with basically no maintenance (we were broke AF in college). They still ran great when we got ride of them, donated them.
No sir.. I'm afraid they are. My Y2K has 153k on it. 3 weeks ago.. I had the oil changed, next day I went on a 900 miles road trip. I was 93 miles away from my destination when I heard the motor rattling and clanking. I took the next freeway exit and pulled into an Arco AM\PM. pulled the dipstick and there was NO oil on it. I ended up buying 5 quarts of oil and it just started to show on the stick. The damage had already been done. It did NOT leak from the underside or the filter.. and I never saw any smoke. So where did 5 quarts of oil goto..? I drove 375 miles the first day. put in 12 gallons of gas the next morning and was getting 32 mpg. Later that afternoon.. is when this happened. So $1150 later, I rented a uhaul and tow dolly and took it back home. So, I found a good used motor with 88k on it.. and just got the car back this morning. Runs great again. 24 yr old car. Body and interior are in great shape. so $1200 for the motor and another $1000 to remove and replace the engine. total.. $4200 for the car 3 yrs ago, $3450 for recovery and replacement motor. I PRAY this lasts me 20 yrs. Now I'm planning on going back there to finish what I started by the end of this week.
@@OFFGRID_Trucker just because the shop said they changed the oil doesnt mean they actually did. sounds like someone in the shop screwed up. any car is killable if you run it without oil. pretty impressive that it did the best part of 900 miles without oil though.
In Turkmenistan (a country in Central Asia), this exact model gained a name as "insane camry" because of its unrealistic insane reliability and ability to remain fully intact even under challenging conditions of usage. Basically never fails.
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
This is my favorite Camry bodystyle! I 'd love one with a 5 speed. One of my co-workers has the same type of car, and it's over 400,000 miles, all original except the alternator. That only made it to 370,000 miles. The car still drives smooth, and he still drives it every day.
@@pkuneev then why is it that I see Toyota Camrys from that year and similar years all over the place but I don't see any Ford Tauruses from those years? The last decent Ford built was the crown victoria. The last decent Ford truck built was in 1996. GM is no better and Chrysler makes GM and Ford look like Paragons of quality in comparison. But that's okay, you keep buying those Fords. That leaves more Toyotas for people like me who appreciate quality.
This is extremely nostalgic, my father bought one of these the day I was born and I got to go home from the hospital in it, we had it for a few years and I remember playing with it as a child. My grandfather used to use it as well and I fondly remember my first trip to the dollar store. This is an extraordinary car, and I remember every detail of it fondly as I would steal the keys, unlock it and pretend to drive around in it when my parents weren’t paying attention. They had the same interior, exterior and i4 motor. Thanks for making this Doug.
I miss my 93 Camry. Most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. 430 000 km, engine oil was still gold at 5k oil change times. Good on gas, had enough get up and go, really great breaks, started in -40 every time.. Greatness. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. I should have never sold it.
@@boogitybear2283 i owned it for 9 years then I found a new daily driver 06 300c for a price I couldn’t refuse. Sold the Camry to offset the cost. If I didn’t need the money and had a spot to park it I wouldn’t have sold it.
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
These were great, well engineered, well executed cars that made Toyota famous for the masses. Nothing over the top, and nothing underwhelming. Every generation has its pluses and minuses, but the minuses were far outweighed by the pluses. Thanks Doug, I love these reviews of the "normal" and older cars like this!
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
I'd say the refinement these had were over the top , triple door seals, quiet interior it felt like Lexus at a Toyota price. I hear the rear door stamping was very expensive to produce.
In the UK we didn't have the Camry but we did have the Avensis instead. Which was basically the same thing but Europeanised 😂my dad had a early 99 model of the first gen Avensis and it was a boring but brilliant car. Blue with a petrol 1.6 and windy windows just pure reliable no fusses transport. He sold it in 2012 on 160k miles purely because he'd bought a BMW e46 320D. And that e46 gave so many problems 😂😂 actually since that Avensis until his current car (Audi Q3 1.4 tfsi) all the cars he had were very unreliable and he said a few times he wished hed kept the Avensis. Unfortunately we won't be able to own one again because 1. Theyve mostly been scrapped and 2. We live within the ULEZ zone(a £12.50 a day charge for drivers of older petrol and diesel cars)
This was the first time when I realized that Toyota was serious about their bread-and-butter cars. This car was bigger, nicer looking, quieter / smoother, and more powerful than its competitors. As an example, its main competitor, the Honda Accord did not get a V6 option until 1995 and did not grow to a larger size until 1998.
I'm so glad he reviewed it. I actually own one of these with almost 60,000 miles on it. It was actually my great-grandma's car. She got it from the original owner who traded it in and it had 20,000 miles on it. She only drove it 1800 miles a year until 3 years ago when she quit driving. It was with my uncle for 3 years until my grandma bought it from him for me to have as my first car. I love it and have been doing a bunch of research. Even Scotty Kilmer has seen those things with over 700,000 miles and still has the original engine and transmission! Reliability is where Toyotas shine, nothing else.
I really appreciate this one, Doug. This was my very first car (I had a 95 LE). I remember mine having a few quirks for the time period. Mine was "silverleaf metallic" which looked almost green in certain lights, had an automatic moonroof, and a pinstripe on the full length of the sides with Toyota symbol from factory.
Bought one of these in high-school. It was about 10 years old. Had 100k miles on it. I drove it for 10 years and sold it with 429k miles on it. The only drive train maintenance i ever had to do was oil changes every 5k miles and spark plugs every 75k miles. Other than that it never had a single issue. I still see it driving and always wanted to know what the mileage was at now. Its gotta be atleast 600k. 100% the most reliable car ever built.
The thing about this car is you have to drive it everyday and own it to get its charm. It’s like having a best friend that never lets you down. It’s not fun to drive, but very very charming.
Which part of NY? I'm in NYC and haven't seen a Camry from this gen in a long time. I still see a good amount of Camry's from the 2000's but that's probably going to change as the years go by
Doug isn’t just a car enthusiast, he’s a car sociologist. I love hearing about each car’s relationship to the people who built, the people who bought it, and the people who relied on it. Maybe even more than I care about the actual specs.
YEEES! For some reason I absolutely love to see normal cars reviewed by you 😂❤️ Like, I love the supercars and all of that, but there's something about seeing normal cars I could actually own without working my a** out and know that they are just nice and reliable and well peaceful, that just fill my heart with calmness :)
This is all you need. Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
There’s something about the design of 90s camrys that makes it feel so good it just serves it purpose as a family car but in all the best ways.great reliability,practical,fuel efficient and simple.not saying the new Camrys aren’t reliable because they’re extremely reliable still but you just can’t beat an old Toyota Camry its just so simple
Keep in mind that Camrys from the 90s might have actually been more reliable than today’s. Toyota had not built factories in the US yet so all of these were built in Japan so they were probably assembled better.
This gen was my dad's car since near new. Had it for over 15 years and 300,000 miles. I have fond memories of this car, and I'm thrilled to see a review of it.
This was my first car that I ever owned. Bought a 1994 for $1600 with 120k miles in 2010 in that jade green that Toyota used to make. I loved that thing. It took some insane abuse. So many good memories with the homies just jumping across train tracks and getting 2" off the ground in this thing. Always thought the front of it looked like a Nissan S14 too. RIP
My mom had one of these she got new up until a year or so ago. Dang near 300k miles. Thing was unstoppable, transmission was finally going towards the end. She replaced it with a new Highlander, quite the upgrade, lol.
Something about those taillights makes me feel super nostalgic. I remember seeing these everywhere when I was a very young child and for some reason those taillights stood out as a distinct memory for me. It makes me happy still seeing these around every now and then.
I know exactly what you mean! For me it's the 8th generation (2000-2005) Chevy Impala tailights that I distinctly remember being behind at stop lights all the time as a kid
100% agree - there's something about the taillights, and the entire backend, that just looks perfect to me. Toyota took no risks with the design. This is still my favorite generation of Camry.
These cars are insane in terms of how long they last. Here in the salt belt I still see tons of these mid 90s Camry’s on the road. I attribute it to superb build quality and risk-averse owners. Another thing that helps is that most of them are 4 cyls and autos after all
Such a staple of my childhood, I'll always love how simple and easy 90's Camry's are. I find myself really loving the styling of that era more and more these days, probably nostalgia but I think it's just because they were so much more functional rather than gimmicky
My first ever car (Currently 28 years old) was a 1999 Camry LE Automatic I bought from an estate sale for like $1500 when I was 17. I beat the absolute hell out of it, put tons of miles on it, and didn't exactly do a good job maintaining it (did oil changes but that's about it. I hit poles and curbs with it a lot and didn't do rust mitigation). It always started (even during the freezing cold winter), always ran, always shifted well past 250k miles. Even when the transmission fluid had metal shards in it and it was burning oil. I stupidly sold the thing in 2018 for $1500 to someone that was using it to teach his wife how to drive. I messaged him the other day and it still works, and he hasn't had to do any repairs on it besides basic stuff. I realized just how dumb it was for me to sell it. I'll never get a car that good for that cheap ever again for the rest of my life.
I received a 2004 Camry from my grandfather when they were downsizing to 1 car only and he gave it to me with 55k miles on it. It just hit 100kish miles. I love cars and I'd love to get something nice/faster/fancier, but I just CANNOT justify getting rid of this thing.. ever. Like it'll have to completely die before I get a new car which is great for my wallet, but sucks for wanting to have some fun haha
Just a quick correct Mr. Demuro, the sunroof was an option on the LE trim, my wife owned a 94 with that combo. It was the ultimate road trip car, roomy, quiet, super comfy ride and the gearing made it effortless on the interstate, no real pretense to handling ability.
I enjoy this more than a 4 million dollar Bugatti. I’ve never owned a Camry, but I’ve always had respect for its dominance over the years. The new ones actually look pretty good. Some guy in a red one with TRD badges pulled up next to me and punched it. Thing was pretty quick. But no match for my E550 with a V8 and AWD. I didn’t blow him off the road. But the gap was definitely increasing exponentially after about 50mph. I was surprised how well it hung in there. And honestly, it was a good looking car.
My first car was a 1996 Camry Silver Anniversary Edition. They are not too common, and there’s very little information online regarding them. It had a 4-cylinder engine, BBS wheels, leather with stitched “silver anniversary edition”, sunroof, and a CD player. Had some great times in that car. Eventually I swapped out the wheels and installed airbags suspension on it. Eventually sold it, but I think about it every so often.
I have had one of these since like 2004; it's been through so many accidents, adventures & milestone moments in my life, still running like a champ & everything still works. Way too over-engineered it's nuts.
I love love love love love love love this generation of Camry. You can say it's "boring" or whatever, but this car still looks contemporary in modern traffic 30 years after its debut. Surprisingly, where I live, I still see more Camrys from this generation than of the next.
ECT was mainly to get the rpms higher in the rev range for more power. Throughout my 2 year ownership of my 1996 LE I only used it a handful of times when I took my car on the mountain pass to have some fun on the corners. It kept the transmission from upshifting and felt like a sports mode that'd be in modern cars. A fun car it was. Shame it got totaled at school.
@@JonNobleNobelOne that too! I'd floor it without ECT when getting on the freeway and noticed it'd shift a few hundred rpms lower from redline. (About 5700). Turned on ECT one day and it would shift at 6100rpms.
@@tylerbuck9347 lady hit me while I backed out. She claimed the sun blocked her view and didn't see my car (time was around sunset). Made the mistake of going through insurance and whadda know they totaled it n said it'd take $5500 to fix and ignored my private shop's email quoting only $1200. Alternator went out soon after, so I had to cut my losses and accept the $3600 they gave me. No other car has been the same since then. Saving up for a 2014-16 Scion tC hatchback 6 speed manual.
Thank you Doug for reviewing this beautiful Camry. It was my first car, and I had it during my high school to college years. She was a tough gal battling Midwest winters and never failed me. Miss her to this day.
By the time I started high school, this one was over 10 years old. We had a donor vehicle at our auto shop class. We took this thing apart so many times, it was so easy to work on and learn in. Definitely nostalgic to me.
I had a 1994 V6 XLE and drove it from 78k miles to 178k miles before the torque converter blew. Honestly one of my favorite cars. I wasn't anything super special, but it was comfortable, reliable and shuttled my friends and I all over the country. Thanks for the fond memories Doug!
Hm interesting, I used to have the same year and spec Camry and the torque converter also shat itself around 185k. I wonder if that's a common issue for this gen, maybe the V6 just puts out a bit too much torque for the 4spd auto.
@@Jay-jb2vryeah, you could overpay quite a bit for this car and still end out on top in the long run because it'll just keep going and going if you take care of it.
I live in Australia and currently own the beautiful third gen 1996 Toyota Vienta. Coming in a 3.0L V6 I'm still *extremely satisfied* how smooth and quiet my car is. Even swapping the original alloys with muscular looking 5 stars, and I am by no means "polishing a turd" ❤
As far as I know, the OD button actually activates and deactivates the 4th gear. Deactivating it does give quite a boost on an uphill road, but worse gas mileage of course. I have a 97 with the V6, not fast but not slow, it actually has a lot of torque and will spin the wheels easily in the rain when getting on the highway if you're not careful.
Hit the nail on the head, Doug. I own one of these, in Australia, with 82,000KMs on the clock. It originally belonged to my late grandfather, and is my weekend/special occasion car. I have all of the paperwork, dating back to the paper key tag from the dealer, and the media/press kit with colour slides and floppy disks. The air conditioning is ice cold, the suspension is supremely comfortable, and the NVH insulation has held up. This car was from an era of brilliance that we won’t see again. Mine is the very last of the 1997 runout models, called the “Intrigue”, manufactured in Altona, Victoria, Australia. Allegedly, there is a feature in an engineering book somewhere regarding the specific shape of the C pillar on this model.
my Mum went to toyota dealer to buy her first company car, and had bought a base model CSI. I checked the newspaper(remember them) and saw the dealer had an Intrigue, so she changed the order to one of these. She gained moquette cloth trim, 15 inch steel wheels and a CD player. Absolutely ballin.
@@donbrody8529 the joys of a runout model! CD player, “Odyssey II” Jacquard fabric, map pockets, air conditioning and 15 inch steel wheels with Vienta wheel covers. Mine was optioned with the boot lid spoiler, metallic paint (Moonstone Blue), bonnet protector, headlight protectors and driver’s side weathershield. It was quite good value at the time!
Doug , ECT stands for electronically controlled transmission, it would delay shifts so that you could get higher into the power band, sort of like a performance mode. It makes a significant difference when accelerating up hills or onto the freeway in my Lexus GS430 and LS460
Also. The OD button shuts off the overdrive. Pretty much keeping it in 3rd gear. Usually used if you are towing or climbing a tall hill or mountain. ***
I have a 2001 Avalon that is similar, and I love that this era of toyotas had flat door handles, and just like this camry it the design feels so simple and elegant that I almost feel like I'm driving a luxury saloon.
I am sorry but I disagree. This Camry is classical and will always be iconic in my view, but your 2001 Avalon (first gen models) was and continues to be one of the more uglier sedans that the Japanese sold in the US. I never got to drive one from that era. I suspect it drove really cushy, maybe better than this Camry, but I could never get over the “grandma’s car” look of the Avalon.
Doug is right. My elderly neighbor has this exact same body and even the exact same color, though her Camry may not be a '96 model year. She still has it and drives it every day like a charm.
In Australia our Toyota Camry was made in Melbourne, Victoria. If you think that car is boring, our base model 1996 Camry CSi was very basic. It had no power windows but you did get power steering, power mirrors & central door locking and that's about it. Optional extras were air conditioning ($1995), drivers airbag ($990) was not available with a passenger airbag & ABS brakes ($990). However it was also a very popular & reliable car.
Hey, if you had a CSi, they were better than my 1993 Camry Executive which was the base model. Thankfully I bought it second hand, it had Aircon installed. I do believe mine didnt have ABS, and nearly ran off the road on a wet day.
@@2157AF The Executive badge was dropped in June 1994 in Australia. Only had CSi CSX & Getaway in the 4 cyl model. The V6 models were call Camry Vienta.
I had a dark green 95 2.2 as my college ride, and it was still chugging along just fine at 380k miles. Never left me stranded, never broke down, always there ready to go whenever I needed it. It was an absolute beast in the snow and ice, couple road trips back to campus were done in horrible conditions and the Camry never shrugged. I still see a lot of 3rd and 4th gen Camrys driving around my city, it’s still a near daily occurrence to see them. And I think that’s a real testament to how bulletproof of a machine these are/were. They aren’t exciting but if you just want a car that works these were really hard to beat in that category.
10:12 ECT "Electronically Controlled Transmission" PWR delayed shifts and normal followed the "normal" shift schedule. think of it as sport mode for the transmission
I had a '92 Toyota Camry as my first car. It has 225,000 miles on it, bad brakes, and an exhaust leak. I got it for $450. It was an absolute bucket but I loved it dearly and still think back to how fun it was to have a car like that. I do remember how just remarkable easy and nice it was to drive. Great video Doug, thanks for the video on this one.
Love this car but I unfortunately wrecked it by accident in 2023 when I rear-ended a small truck, Thank god it was only at a low speed. We've owned that Red '93 Camry since I was 9, but the brakes became faulty maybe? Needed new brakes? Anyway yeah, we (my family and I) couldn't afford to fix it so we replaced it with a 2000 one.My dad still owns his '99 to this day! I love Camrys! This design I wouldn't call dull either. To anyone thinking that, they can stick their thoughts were their butts don't shine! The eff word to those guys!
One of the best memories of my life were in this car! My mom bought the same Camry that Doug uses as the 98’ model year picture. Same trim and color! It only had 20k miles when she bought it in 2002. The car lasted till I turned 16 in 2014 and was passed down to me as my first car with 250k miles! I remember never having any issues with it and driving it till I hit 300k then sold it. Greatest car ever.
My parents have a 4th gen Camry from 1999 with the V6, it actually looks the same as the one Doug flashed on screen. It has 275k miles on it but it still runs smoothly, is relatively quiet inside, and the AC stil blows cold. They still drive it around and I still use it when I go visit them. These things are indestructible.
Except rust at least. Had one in the Northeast US and had tons of rust problems with this car, to the point where it just wasn't worth maintaining. Car I replaced it with was 10 years older but had rust protection on the bottom and had no rust.
That's if it was disabled. Overdrive is a gear with a lower ratio than the engine speed. The 4th gear was an overdrive gear. You would turn that OFF if you wanted to pass.
Thank you for covering this. My parents had one, the loaded XLE. It was a poor man’s Lexus. It was smooth, the XLE had nicer materials. It felt expensive when compared to other cars of the era. The car lasted forever, and passed from my parents to me to my sister. Thanks for the memory.
This is a nostalgia piece for sure either your family or somebody you knew had one of these almost guaranteed. And yes the old days of road trips in the backseat with absolutely nothing to do!
Doug forgot to mention this Camry's color! This gold color is the most abundant, boring, neutral color available. There was always at least 5 gold Camry in any supermarket or mall parking lot in the 90s. In fact, I had two aunts that bought the exact same color Camry not knowing that the other had bought one too.
@@paulsz6194 you're not thinking in terms of the 90's. The gold Honda Accord with the pop up headlights was the most abundant in the 80's. Toyota was playing it safe and following suit.
My dad inherited an essentially brand new 09 Camry from my great grandma a few years back. It's interesting to see how little changed about the car in 13 years between this model and that, and how much has changed in the 15 years since 09.
My dad used to rent these when we needed to drive long distance. He would announce with great fanfare an overtaking attempt, it was then my job as a 14yo to press the ECT button. Good times.
Brings back fond memories of my '98 Camry. That car was the definition of bullet proof reliability. The oil light came on once and I stupidly continued on home. Some how it made it home in once piece and after getting fresh oil it ran fine. Only ever got rid of it for something with lower miles when it hit 200k
Has been waiting for videos like this for so long because cars like these are still everywhere here in Cambodia. Truly a nice vid to learn about the quirks of a very common car 😂
This is SO cool seeing this car get reviewed! Other than the paint color, this was the exact year, make, and model car that I drove for over 5 years. Over 300K miles on it and it drove perfectly and never broke down on me. I now own a 2018 Camry SE, but sometimes I still have dreams about driving this one 😂 highly recommend to anyone!
Why did you buy a 2018 Camry? You could have easily purchased a Subaru that would have been just as reliable and more interesting, or really anything would be better than a Camry. The only thing I can think of is reliability, but even that isn't really a selling feature as most non-enthusiast brands are just as reliable these days. You could have at least got a slightly older Lexus that would have been a little bit nicer, more comfortable, and slightly more fun to drive.
I remember we got one of these in 94 or 95. It was a white XLE model with the in dash multi-disc CD changer and sun roof. When we got it I thought we were big balling because it had the most features of any car we had until that point. Eventually we traded it in for a Cadillac Catera (there's a car Doug should review) which I think we leased for 2 years before returning and buying a 2000 Escalade at which point I thought we were big balling again.
As everyone else has said, these are the reviews I get excited about. this is a real classic and there’s so much more. I wish you could’ve said about it like really lean on the reliability the fact that it’s an inference engine and if you’re lazy and don’t get the timing belt changed it won’t blow up the engine or you can run these things on no oil for a while and they’re still fine. Basically they entirely indestructible The Camry is not only the best selling car. It’s also the best selling platform, Half of Toyotas lineup is basically a Camry and a lot more should’ve been said about how careful Toyota is about introducing new technology and puts so much emphasis on reliability and that’s why people buy Toyotas because they don’t want it to break. Ask any mechanic and always tell you a Toyota is the most reliable car, and a Camry is the most reliable Toyota (except a land cruiser)
My first car ever! I owned a ‘93 Camry - got it used in 1999 with 46,002 miles on it! Loved that car. My brother had a ‘92 Camry V6 XLE - nicer than mine! My parents bought my sister a 2001 Camry for her first car!
Hi Doug, so cool meeting you yesterday! Thanks for taking a moment to chat! Although you were driving that awesome GT, I was more excited to have just met you. Keep up the awesome work! Cheers SD Mate
My second car was this generation Camry with the v6 and it felt spry at the time! One quirk was the foot-actuated emergency brake that made snow drifting particularly exciting! It was leaps and bounds better than my first car, a Pontiac Grand Am from the same year.
Can we talk about the fact that the material quality of the back seat area was top notch? The doors have soft touch material from top to bottom and there’s fabric inserts on the door! Now days the backseat doors are all hard plastic! And even the front doors are only soft touch on the upper portion, today. The entire lower portion is hard plastic. Also, the trunk is lined with quality carpet! Now days they use cheapo carpet. And did anyone notice that the little storage compartment under the stereo is felt-lined???? Quality was not overlooked in the 90’s. These were common place features back then.
Solaras are still incredibly popular on the secondary market where I live at the seashore. Folks buy them inland for not a whole lot of money, take them to their beach houses, and tool around top down year round. I’d know, I have one in my garage, and paid five grand for it in reasonable condition four years ago.
My uncle Bill and his wife Carol had a white 94 Camry DX with the blue interior for YEARS, he beat it to death and it kept on going. Finally he got diagnosed with narcolepsy (after hitting the trolley in Chula Vista for the 3rd time) and they took his license and the old Camry sat in the garage for another decade till he passed. I'll never forget that beat up old Camry
thanks for commenting that! i just wrote the same as i got really annoyed that doug is spreading such misinformation about a then super common thing with four speed autos and HE should really know better.
My first car was a 1989 Toyota Cressida with the blue velvet interior and the weird telescopic AC controls. I’ve always wished you’d do that car just out out that feature in your top quirks of the year 😆
Ahhh the memories! My first car was a '95 Camry coupe, most reliable car I've ever had. New wheels, 2 12's in the trunk, Apline head unit, ram air intake and with a sunroof. Thought the antenna was hideous so i chopped it off with hedge clippers then cut myself on it a week later. 😂 The car didn't like that so it retalliated! This car reminds me of those high school days all over again. Haha Love the normal car reviews!
I have a 1995 LE, same color and I drive it everyday! Sitting at almost 200k miles. The weird thing with mine is that the previous owner ordered all of the luxury XLE options on an LE which I find strange. Just a basic LE with a sunroof, gold emblems, V6 and alloy wheels. It’s so reliable and I love everything about it, this thing is built like a tank 💪🏻
This is why I watch Doug DeMuro. I want to see a 90's Camry after a video about the Spyker, and spend most of the video trying to guess how many t-shirts he's wearing.
I always love it when doug reviews normal cars instead of weird, expensive cars.
Thats How this channel was back when this channel is created
Same! Please do more of these classic normal cars!
Seems like now just reviews cars that are sold on his platform, making his opinion less reliable, since he barely says anything bad about the car
Normal old cars* New normal cars are still in the snoozefest zone.
This isn't a normal car it's an icon
Drove a 2000 Camry for 14 years. Aside from excitement, it was the absolute perfect car. Easy to drive, decent power, reliable, low maintenance, it was just there for you.
Yep, that is what makes a car like this so great, especially for enthusiasts. Have a fun bike/car for the weekends or track days, but commuting to work in rush hour traffic to pay for the fun stuff?
A reliable car that will get you from point A to point B and back everytime, with no drama, is a stress reliever. Plus, putting miles on one of these to commute is stress free. Not wasting sticky tires on the daily commute alone is worth the price of buying one for daily use. Plus, after a long day at work, I just want to get home. A reliable, comfortable cruiser is the way to go , IMO. I save the fun stuff for fun times, and use the boring stuff for boring times.
that generation is literally the best car for doing car things like driving forward
It's... beautiful. 😀
Let's face it, most cars a boring. At least the Camry is dependable, comfortable and reliable.
I still see this era of Camry about once a week in Washington DC, and I always have to do a mental double-take: "Damn that car is going on 25 years!" Indestructible.
I love the episodes with normal cars that are still VERY important. These episodes become more of a history lesson then a car review and I LOVE it.
My 1995 has the same powertrain and trim with 452k miles. Bought it as a disposable beater thinking it would last a few months and it's still going strong eight years later. These are legendary.
The 2022 Camry also has the same powertrain and can trim with 438.382 Miles.
I got my 95 Camry for $900. Absolutely adore the car. Has 258,342 miles and climbing rapidly. Best car ever
452k miles is just it breaking in. has another 500k to go probably
@@mr_mhg91That wouldn't be surprising. It now has 459k and runs just as well.
These cars are legendary, not for looks or performance, but reliability. As a former automobile tech, I saw a number of these come into the shop with 300k or more miles on them.
They are easy to maintain. One unit that sticks out in my mind is one that I had the regular privilege of servicing that was pushing One Million miles. No joke. That's quite a few tire replacements. I'd like to see any Porsche or anything Italian do that. I just love these boring Camrys!!
Great review, Dougie!!😅
Porsches are fairly reliable, especially compared to the rest of German cars. But yeah, nothing from modern Mercedes, VAG, or Stellantis can touch these old Toyotas when it comes to reliability.
True but imagine what a boring life you would have to lead to put a million miles on a '96 Camry.
Porsche is usually rated among the top for reliability
@@RealElectech perhaps, but by 2024 you can actually afford a fun car without getting a loan that you can't afford. Just so the bank or IRS can take it because you got too far behind in payments and property taxes 3 years later.
@@nathanlamont9920 charger and challenger owners are offended
My mom loved her Camrys. I think she had five in a row, all second hand. Her last was this same generation, maybe the next, and she took such good care of it. When she passed in 2022 we gave it to family friends whose daughter had just gotten her license. It’s still going strong. Miss you mom.
My dad had one when I was an infant. In 2003, he hit a deer in the middle of the night. Even thought the car was badly damaged (he was unhurt), the insurance company didn't total it because they knew it would run forever. I bet it's still going strong after it was fixed and sold.
My mother was a camry
❤️❤️
My mom handed me down her 95 she still brings up that I totaled it.
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
Doug is the kind of guy to own a $1M+ supercar and still geek out over a '96 Camry. Love it!
It's part of his contract after selling out
@@rickc303 What contract
Doug IS the guy!
@@rickc303 he signed a contract to praise a 90s Camry? Where can I sign up?
Cars & bids.
You can buy this car. Its not a review its advertisment.
I saw a Geo Metro hatch being driven by an old lady yesterday. I am not exaggerating when I say it was in absolute showroom condition. Perfect bright red paint, crystal clear headlights, deep black plastic trim, not a scratch on the plastic hub caps. Very neat to see one in that condition 30 years later
Those old school cars were something speacil those 80s and 90s smaller cars ba k than were fun in my opinion
Recently I saw an old lady driving a perfect past generation 4Runner. That is going to make someone very happy when she is done with it.
I love seeing stuff like that, too! Just today, around 9am this morning, I met an elderly couple that still drives a green 1996 Honda Accord wagon, and it is in absolutely perfect condition! Considering they live in central Ohio, I find the condition to be very impressive! As far as I know, they are the original owners and plan on keeping it until they both reach their graves
Last summer I was out with my 8 year old nephew. He spotted a porsche gt3 from across the parking lot. We drove over to see it and he thought it was extremely weird that I was geeking out about the 90s metro hatchback 3 spots down and that I couldn't care less about the gt3.
I tired explaining that the metro was way more rare, but he was having none of it. So we checked auto trader. There were 3 gt3s for sale within 10 miles, and not a single metro for sale in the _entire country._
He still didn't care. It didn't have a giant wing.
I'm Swedish so whenever I see a pristine Volvo 140, 240 or especially older Saabs I geek out and often give thumbs up or a compliment.
I've owned three of them. Reliable truly is an understatement.
Renault Clio 16V also is very reliable like the 96 Camry.
I sold these cars in '93-'94, being part of the same product cycle of this car. What a great example of what these cars looked like brand new. Even in my early 20's at the time, this was my favorite model to sell and daily drove dealer-provided Camry's on three different occasions while I worked for Toyota. '92 marked the intro to this generation and Toyota discontinued the Cressida after the '91 model year partly because they thought this car was good enough to take up that slot. And these cars were quiet and smooth, and definitely a revolutionary redesign versus the prior generation. Much bigger and nicer interiors, and better fit and finish. The SE trim, while it didn't offer more power, did give you the option of a 5-speed manual transmission with the V6 engine. And a cute little spoiler. And different seat inserts. This generation of Camry was built in both Japan and the US, and some discerning buyers would check closely at the sticker or VIN to make sure it was a Japan-built car. Better paint quality and panel gap consistency on those cars. Great review and thank you for sharing.
Small correction: Overdrive button was 4th gear. If it was off the car only went to 3rd gear. With it on, the car would go into 4th. The power button changed the transmission shift points upward, allowing the engine to rev higher before shifting to give you a bit more power.
Yeah, he could at least have ... tried it before saying random c*** , a lot of cars had these, it was useful when you wanted to pass someone on the road, an easy "downshift to third", since the cars automatic transmissions back then moved slower than tectonic plates when you pressed the gas. Also, had a cupholder on my 1992 camry LE V6 wagon, it wasn't a new thing.
I came here to say that exact same thing. 👍
That's a whole FACT! "Common man!". It was just a button to down shift. A few hours of flooring it everythime to pass on the high fatigues your leg n back in a low hp 4cyl. It was just to drop a gear with your thumb instead of the gas pedal.
Thats... insane. Why wasn't that just automatic, lol. "No thanks, I don't want to use one of those gears my car came with"
@@androiduberalles In the past, automatic transmissions weren’t assisted electronically as optimally then as as they are now. There are computers to detect what you want to do with the car today by the way you press the gas pedal. That wasn’t the case back then. Leaving the OD button off going up a hill or if you needed an extra bit of engine power gave you the ability to manually control what the car was doing. These buttons, the overdrive and the power buttons, were carryovers from the very first generations. By the time they had reached the 3rd generation, the car already had a high level of electronic sophistication which made it more or less a redundancy and by the 4th, in 1997, they eliminated the power button but the overdrive button held on for awhile. They didn’t get rid of it until the 2007 redesign.
I had the very last 1996 Toyota Camry XLE V6 before someone side swipe me about 10 years ago. It had 675K miles on it and it was running so buttery smooth with that V6. I loved that car, it took me everywhere’s was so reliable. Yes, of course I had to do some regular maintenance but nothing too serious. And no, mine didn’t burn any oil, at all!
Thanks man I have one outside ritenow and I am great full and thankful for my Toyota in Jesus Christ Name amen
@@MannythebestMartinezis McLaren Solus is as reliable as the 1996 Camry?
What Doug failed to mention was that the Camry SE of this generation did have some changes from the regular Camry such as four-wheel disc brakes, a stiffer "sports tuned" suspension and from 1992-1993, it could be had with a 5-Speed manual with the V6 and it was the only Camry model of that generation to get the V6 and manual.
Doug does leave out vital information a lot of the time.
It seems like to him, a performance upgrade is mainly a power thing.
@@paulie-Gualtieri. And sometimes gets facts completely wrong, especially if it's not a car from the US.
Interesting, competing with the Maxima SE perhaps?
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
My neighbor, when i lived in Maryland, had one of these with 548k miles on it. The guy drove it from new until he retired from his job. His boss mentioned at his retirement, I've had a lot of cars over the years but Mac has only had one. Only major thing he replaced was the radiator.
Why not the engine btw?
Wow. And I thought my 2017 V6 Accord approaching 300,000miles was cool
To put 548k miles into perspective, that's about 2/3 the diameter of the sun
I can attest, these things are un killable. Wife and I both had the Lexus versions, both were 1996 es300 in ~2015. We got them cheap like 2k with 180k and drove them to 300k with basically no maintenance (we were broke AF in college). They still ran great when we got ride of them, donated them.
No sir.. I'm afraid they are. My Y2K has 153k on it. 3 weeks ago.. I had the oil changed, next day I went on a 900 miles road trip. I was 93 miles away from my destination when I heard the motor rattling and clanking. I took the next freeway exit and pulled into an Arco AM\PM. pulled the dipstick and there was NO oil on it. I ended up buying 5 quarts of oil and it just started to show on the stick. The damage had already been done. It did NOT leak from the underside or the filter.. and I never saw any smoke. So where did 5 quarts of oil goto..? I drove 375 miles the first day. put in 12 gallons of gas the next morning and was getting 32 mpg. Later that afternoon.. is when this happened. So $1150 later, I rented a uhaul and tow dolly and took it back home. So, I found a good used motor with 88k on it.. and just got the car back this morning. Runs great again. 24 yr old car. Body and interior are in great shape. so $1200 for the motor and another $1000 to remove and replace the engine. total.. $4200 for the car 3 yrs ago, $3450 for recovery and replacement motor. I PRAY this lasts me 20 yrs. Now I'm planning on going back there to finish what I started by the end of this week.
@@OFFGRID_Trucker153k miles?
@@OFFGRID_Trucker just because the shop said they changed the oil doesnt mean they actually did. sounds like someone in the shop screwed up. any car is killable if you run it without oil. pretty impressive that it did the best part of 900 miles without oil though.
That’s fantastic news. I am selling my 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis with 230K in order to purchase a 1996 Lexus ES 300 with 112K.
@@nobutternotes 112k is not even broken in lol
In Turkmenistan (a country in Central Asia), this exact model gained a name as "insane camry" because of its unrealistic insane reliability and ability to remain fully intact even under challenging conditions of usage. Basically never fails.
Sounds like someone needs to do a "Dakar" version of this Camry.
...and they come in white!
@@woodprivacy3776maybe in 2026 they gonna make the Dakar Rally version of the Camry. Possibly "Camry Dakar Turbo Version"?
Honestly, I've seen Doug do enough supercars. These are the videos i look forward to now. Haha.
yeah I don't even give the supercar videos a view, this is what I'm here for, show me the weird and plebeian automotive nuggets
Agreed.
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
@@julianevans9548 In the interest of honesty a Camry isn’t a substitute for a pickup truck.
Camry is supercar.
The overdrive button is merely a lockout button for 4th gear. If you push it, you'll only get the first 3 gears.
Yeah, I cringed a little at that part heh
@@michaeljcurry Yeah- how could such a car guy not know that? Crazy!
Thanks I was thinking the same!
It's actually funny how little Doug knows
Doug is literally clueless when it comes to cars...as in how they actually work, his mechanical and electrical can be easily compared to a schoolgirl.
This is my favorite Camry bodystyle! I 'd love one with a 5 speed. One of my co-workers has the same type of car, and it's over 400,000 miles, all original except the alternator. That only made it to 370,000 miles. The car still drives smooth, and he still drives it every day.
That's no surprise. Any Ford will drive more and be in better condition.
@@pkuneev I used to be a diehard Ford guy. I won't touch thrm with a 10 foot pole now. Toyota is far better.
@@thatcarguy1UZ No toyota is no better. Toyota are low-quality cars at an inflated price. And with a disgusting design.
@@pkuneev then why is it that I see Toyota Camrys from that year and similar years all over the place but I don't see any Ford Tauruses from those years? The last decent Ford built was the crown victoria. The last decent Ford truck built was in 1996. GM is no better and Chrysler makes GM and Ford look like Paragons of quality in comparison. But that's okay, you keep buying those Fords. That leaves more Toyotas for people like me who appreciate quality.
@@pkuneeva ford won’t last 20 drives, a chevy will last 20 years.
This is extremely nostalgic, my father bought one of these the day I was born and I got to go home from the hospital in it, we had it for a few years and I remember playing with it as a child. My grandfather used to use it as well and I fondly remember my first trip to the dollar store. This is an extraordinary car, and I remember every detail of it fondly as I would steal the keys, unlock it and pretend to drive around in it when my parents weren’t paying attention. They had the same interior, exterior and i4 motor. Thanks for making this Doug.
I miss my 93 Camry. Most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned. 430 000 km, engine oil was still gold at 5k oil change times. Good on gas, had enough get up and go, really great breaks, started in -40 every time.. Greatness. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. I should have never sold it.
That is what I don’t understand why people want to sell something they like driving?
@@boogitybear2283 i owned it for 9 years then I found a new daily driver 06 300c for a price I couldn’t refuse. Sold the Camry to offset the cost. If I didn’t need the money and had a spot to park it I wouldn’t have sold it.
Doug the kind of guy who knocks on random strangers' doors and tells them about the quirks and features they may have missed about their cars.
Dumb.
He did that all the time in Atlanta. In Philly he would have been shot
Doug is the kind of guy Who
Destroying his channel😢
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
I had one for 500$ bucks lasted a whole year and sold it for 900$
These were great, well engineered, well executed cars that made Toyota famous for the masses. Nothing over the top, and nothing underwhelming. Every generation has its pluses and minuses, but the minuses were far outweighed by the pluses. Thanks Doug, I love these reviews of the "normal" and older cars like this!
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
I agree I wish he’d review a mint condition 2004 TSX or TL
I'd say the refinement these had were over the top , triple door seals, quiet interior it felt like Lexus at a Toyota price. I hear the rear door stamping was very expensive to produce.
In the UK we didn't have the Camry but we did have the Avensis instead. Which was basically the same thing but Europeanised 😂my dad had a early 99 model of the first gen Avensis and it was a boring but brilliant car. Blue with a petrol 1.6 and windy windows just pure reliable no fusses transport. He sold it in 2012 on 160k miles purely because he'd bought a BMW e46 320D. And that e46 gave so many problems 😂😂 actually since that Avensis until his current car (Audi Q3 1.4 tfsi) all the cars he had were very unreliable and he said a few times he wished hed kept the Avensis. Unfortunately we won't be able to own one again because 1. Theyve mostly been scrapped and 2. We live within the ULEZ zone(a £12.50 a day charge for drivers of older petrol and diesel cars)
This was the first time when I realized that Toyota was serious about their bread-and-butter cars. This car was bigger, nicer looking, quieter / smoother, and more powerful than its competitors. As an example, its main competitor, the Honda Accord did not get a V6 option until 1995 and did not grow to a larger size until 1998.
I'm so glad he reviewed it. I actually own one of these with almost 60,000 miles on it. It was actually my great-grandma's car. She got it from the original owner who traded it in and it had 20,000 miles on it. She only drove it 1800 miles a year until 3 years ago when she quit driving. It was with my uncle for 3 years until my grandma bought it from him for me to have as my first car. I love it and have been doing a bunch of research. Even Scotty Kilmer has seen those things with over 700,000 miles and still has the original engine and transmission! Reliability is where Toyotas shine, nothing else.
I really appreciate this one, Doug. This was my very first car (I had a 95 LE). I remember mine having a few quirks for the time period. Mine was "silverleaf metallic" which looked almost green in certain lights, had an automatic moonroof, and a pinstripe on the full length of the sides with Toyota symbol from factory.
Bought one of these in high-school. It was about 10 years old. Had 100k miles on it. I drove it for 10 years and sold it with 429k miles on it. The only drive train maintenance i ever had to do was oil changes every 5k miles and spark plugs every 75k miles. Other than that it never had a single issue. I still see it driving and always wanted to know what the mileage was at now. Its gotta be atleast 600k. 100% the most reliable car ever built.
The thing about this car is you have to drive it everyday and own it to get its charm. It’s like having a best friend that never lets you down. It’s not fun to drive, but very very charming.
Indeed, it’s just simple and reliable. It’s like having a lab or golden retriever; not fancy, not exotic, but great.
I’ve been daily driving one of these for 3 years and I love it dearly. Most reliable thing in my life and I still have some really good friends 😂
Smooth reliable and good on gas
It’s quite fun with the manual transmission. It’s just crazy how smooth everything still is after 30 years of wear and tear.
@@bobdole870 I need to drive one of those. Mine was automatic unfortunately.
The 90s Camry is such a popular car here in New York, almost see one literally every day. A staple on the road
Which part of NY? I'm in NYC and haven't seen a Camry from this gen in a long time. I still see a good amount of Camry's from the 2000's but that's probably going to change as the years go by
I see the '96 - 99 model mostly in Westchester and Rockland county.
One of my favourite doug episodes ever. Please make more popular "normal" car reviews!
Dash much better than many of the 2000-2010s cars, at least soft touch most of the places
Doug isn’t just a car enthusiast, he’s a car sociologist. I love hearing about each car’s relationship to the people who built, the people who bought it, and the people who relied on it. Maybe even more than I care about the actual specs.
YEEES! For some reason I absolutely love to see normal cars reviewed by you 😂❤️
Like, I love the supercars and all of that, but there's something about seeing normal cars I could actually own without working my a** out and know that they are just nice and reliable and well peaceful, that just fill my heart with calmness :)
Agree 💯
why didn't Doug made a review on a new car?@@mat13174
Not just that but I absolutely love seeing one so well preserved.
@@HenryBop Agree
This is all you need.
Your SUV or truck is pointlessly huge, dangerous for other road users and pedestrians and bad for the environment. Weight is the problem.
There’s something about the design of 90s camrys that makes it feel so good it just serves it purpose as a family car but in all the best ways.great reliability,practical,fuel efficient and simple.not saying the new Camrys aren’t reliable because they’re extremely reliable still but you just can’t beat an old Toyota Camry its just so simple
Keep in mind that Camrys from the 90s might have actually been more reliable than today’s. Toyota had not built factories in the US yet so all of these were built in Japan so they were probably assembled better.
This and the 90-93 Honda Accords have the same feeling. Gentle to look at and not gaudy. The looked mature and (and are) well put together.
@@Simon-oq6ds No, all 90s American Camrys came from Toyota's Kentucky factory, which was built in the 80s.
This gen was my dad's car since near new. Had it for over 15 years and 300,000 miles. I have fond memories of this car, and I'm thrilled to see a review of it.
Don't you wish all cars are like the Camry, not really exciting but reliable family transportation.
@@Yvaneify I'm definitely a car enthusiast, but sometimes I long for the ordinary again.
Ok
This was my first car that I ever owned. Bought a 1994 for $1600 with 120k miles in 2010 in that jade green that Toyota used to make. I loved that thing. It took some insane abuse. So many good memories with the homies just jumping across train tracks and getting 2" off the ground in this thing. Always thought the front of it looked like a Nissan S14 too. RIP
My mom had one of these she got new up until a year or so ago. Dang near 300k miles. Thing was unstoppable, transmission was finally going towards the end. She replaced it with a new Highlander, quite the upgrade, lol.
Something about those taillights makes me feel super nostalgic. I remember seeing these everywhere when I was a very young child and for some reason those taillights stood out as a distinct memory for me. It makes me happy still seeing these around every now and then.
I know exactly what you mean! For me it's the 8th generation (2000-2005) Chevy Impala tailights that I distinctly remember being behind at stop lights all the time as a kid
100% agree - there's something about the taillights, and the entire backend, that just looks perfect to me. Toyota took no risks with the design. This is still my favorite generation of Camry.
Yes those taillights and other rear designs of Japanese 90's cars are really understated and clean.
They sorta remind me of Celica taillights
Crazy, I have this exact car (except 1995 + alloys)-first car, now 310k miles and still driving it ≈ 10 years later, runs good
Ok
It's amazing, in fact surprising, just how heavy the hood is on that gen... solid Japanese steel.
Just bought a 95 XLE and had Car Care Nut fix it up. Nice little car! Other comment was correct…that long hood weighs a lot.
Loved this generation. I had a 96 Camry SE V6. Super reliable, smooth, & quiet. I still missed it til this day.
These cars are insane in terms of how long they last. Here in the salt belt I still see tons of these mid 90s Camry’s on the road. I attribute it to superb build quality and risk-averse owners. Another thing that helps is that most of them are 4 cyls and autos after all
Such a staple of my childhood, I'll always love how simple and easy 90's Camry's are. I find myself really loving the styling of that era more and more these days, probably nostalgia but I think it's just because they were so much more functional rather than gimmicky
My first ever car (Currently 28 years old) was a 1999 Camry LE Automatic I bought from an estate sale for like $1500 when I was 17. I beat the absolute hell out of it, put tons of miles on it, and didn't exactly do a good job maintaining it (did oil changes but that's about it. I hit poles and curbs with it a lot and didn't do rust mitigation). It always started (even during the freezing cold winter), always ran, always shifted well past 250k miles. Even when the transmission fluid had metal shards in it and it was burning oil.
I stupidly sold the thing in 2018 for $1500 to someone that was using it to teach his wife how to drive. I messaged him the other day and it still works, and he hasn't had to do any repairs on it besides basic stuff. I realized just how dumb it was for me to sell it. I'll never get a car that good for that cheap ever again for the rest of my life.
I received a 2004 Camry from my grandfather when they were downsizing to 1 car only and he gave it to me with 55k miles on it. It just hit 100kish miles. I love cars and I'd love to get something nice/faster/fancier, but I just CANNOT justify getting rid of this thing.. ever. Like it'll have to completely die before I get a new car which is great for my wallet, but sucks for wanting to have some fun haha
@@TheRecon614 Don't ever get rid of it. Even if you just keep it as a beater car.
@@TheRecon614don’t get rid of it. That Camry will last you many many more miles. Also cars nowadays are too expensive unless you are wealthy
@@FSAPOJake Oh absolutely, driving this thing till 300k+ miles
@@trendnwin6545lol u can find one of these Camrys for less than $900 it ain’t no big deal 😂
Just a quick correct Mr. Demuro, the sunroof was an option on the LE trim, my wife owned a 94 with that combo. It was the ultimate road trip car, roomy, quiet, super comfy ride and the gearing made it effortless on the interstate, no real pretense to handling ability.
I enjoy this more than a 4 million dollar Bugatti. I’ve never owned a Camry, but I’ve always had respect for its dominance over the years. The new ones actually look pretty good. Some guy in a red one with TRD badges pulled up next to me and punched it. Thing was pretty quick. But no match for my E550 with a V8 and AWD. I didn’t blow him off the road. But the gap was definitely increasing exponentially after about 50mph. I was surprised how well it hung in there. And honestly, it was a good looking car.
My first car was a 1996 Camry Silver Anniversary Edition. They are not too common, and there’s very little information online regarding them. It had a 4-cylinder engine, BBS wheels, leather with stitched “silver anniversary edition”, sunroof, and a CD player. Had some great times in that car.
Eventually I swapped out the wheels and installed airbags suspension on it. Eventually sold it, but I think about it every so often.
I have had one of these since like 2004; it's been through so many accidents, adventures & milestone moments in my life, still running like a champ & everything still works. Way too over-engineered it's nuts.
My dad had one. Over 200k miles. AC still blows cold. That V6 is solid. Too bad it got in an accident. The coupe with MT is rare too.
Same with my gf 280k on hers it was her first car and still has it. Shitbox still drives just fine
I love love love love love love love this generation of Camry. You can say it's "boring" or whatever, but this car still looks contemporary in modern traffic 30 years after its debut. Surprisingly, where I live, I still see more Camrys from this generation than of the next.
ECT was mainly to get the rpms higher in the rev range for more power. Throughout my 2 year ownership of my 1996 LE I only used it a handful of times when I took my car on the mountain pass to have some fun on the corners. It kept the transmission from upshifting and felt like a sports mode that'd be in modern cars. A fun car it was. Shame it got totaled at school.
The ECT button (pwr) causes the car to shift at the red line, while Normal shifts at much lower RPMs.
@@JonNobleNobelOne that too! I'd floor it without ECT when getting on the freeway and noticed it'd shift a few hundred rpms lower from redline. (About 5700). Turned on ECT one day and it would shift at 6100rpms.
How did it get totaled? :0
@@tylerbuck9347 lady hit me while I backed out. She claimed the sun blocked her view and didn't see my car (time was around sunset). Made the mistake of going through insurance and whadda know they totaled it n said it'd take $5500 to fix and ignored my private shop's email quoting only $1200. Alternator went out soon after, so I had to cut my losses and accept the $3600 they gave me. No other car has been the same since then. Saving up for a 2014-16 Scion tC hatchback 6 speed manual.
Thank you Doug for reviewing this beautiful Camry. It was my first car, and I had it during my high school to college years. She was a tough gal battling Midwest winters and never failed me. Miss her to this day.
By the time I started high school, this one was over 10 years old.
We had a donor vehicle at our auto shop class. We took this thing apart so many times, it was so easy to work on and learn in.
Definitely nostalgic to me.
I had a 1994 V6 XLE and drove it from 78k miles to 178k miles before the torque converter blew. Honestly one of my favorite cars. I wasn't anything super special, but it was comfortable, reliable and shuttled my friends and I all over the country. Thanks for the fond memories Doug!
Hm interesting, I used to have the same year and spec Camry and the torque converter also shat itself around 185k. I wonder if that's a common issue for this gen, maybe the V6 just puts out a bit too much torque for the 4spd auto.
I drove a 95 Camry V6 to 270k mi, without any transmission or engine issues whatsoever. Maybe they changed something for the 95/96 MY.
Greatest and Most Reliable Car you have Reviewed. Bravo.
300,000 miles easily
@@Jay-jb2vryeah, you could overpay quite a bit for this car and still end out on top in the long run because it'll just keep going and going if you take care of it.
@@Jay-jb2vrI have a 91 5 Speed Camry with 258,000 , I just replaced the Timing belt Recently , ready for 350 Plus.
I had a 1994 model of this car with the connected taillights. It was very comfy and very reliable, and mine had the cd player.
I live in Australia and currently own the beautiful third gen 1996 Toyota Vienta. Coming in a 3.0L V6 I'm still *extremely satisfied* how smooth and quiet my car is. Even swapping the original alloys with muscular looking 5 stars, and I am by no means "polishing a turd" ❤
As far as I know, the OD button actually activates and deactivates the 4th gear. Deactivating it does give quite a boost on an uphill road, but worse gas mileage of course. I have a 97 with the V6, not fast but not slow, it actually has a lot of torque and will spin the wheels easily in the rain when getting on the highway if you're not careful.
Hit the nail on the head, Doug. I own one of these, in Australia, with 82,000KMs on the clock. It originally belonged to my late grandfather, and is my weekend/special occasion car. I have all of the paperwork, dating back to the paper key tag from the dealer, and the media/press kit with colour slides and floppy disks. The air conditioning is ice cold, the suspension is supremely comfortable, and the NVH insulation has held up. This car was from an era of brilliance that we won’t see again. Mine is the very last of the 1997 runout models, called the “Intrigue”, manufactured in Altona, Victoria, Australia.
Allegedly, there is a feature in an engineering book somewhere regarding the specific shape of the C pillar on this model.
Has that place Altona has anything to do with Altona, Hamburg, Germany?
my Mum went to toyota dealer to buy her first company car, and had bought a base model CSI. I checked the newspaper(remember them) and saw the dealer had an Intrigue, so she changed the order to one of these. She gained moquette cloth trim, 15 inch steel wheels and a CD player. Absolutely ballin.
@@donbrody8529 the joys of a runout model! CD player, “Odyssey II” Jacquard fabric, map pockets, air conditioning and 15 inch steel wheels with Vienta wheel covers. Mine was optioned with the boot lid spoiler, metallic paint (Moonstone Blue), bonnet protector, headlight protectors and driver’s side weathershield. It was quite good value at the time!
@@honestyisthegucci no relation, Altona is the name of the suburb/area where the TMCA factory was located.
Doug , ECT stands for electronically controlled transmission, it would delay shifts so that you could get higher into the power band, sort of like a performance mode. It makes a significant difference when accelerating up hills or onto the freeway in my Lexus GS430 and LS460
Also. The OD button shuts off the overdrive. Pretty much keeping it in 3rd gear. Usually used if you are towing or climbing a tall hill or mountain. ***
Thank you, just purchased a camry like the one reviewed and I was wondering what that button was about
My SC400 has the ECT with snow, regular and power modes. It can also be shifted to 4,3,2 L etc.
I have a 2001 Avalon that is similar, and I love that this era of toyotas had flat door handles, and just like this camry it the design feels so simple and elegant that I almost feel like I'm driving a luxury saloon.
I am sorry but I disagree. This Camry is classical and will always be iconic in my view, but your 2001 Avalon (first gen models) was and continues to be one of the more uglier sedans that the Japanese sold in the US. I never got to drive one from that era. I suspect it drove really cushy, maybe better than this Camry, but I could never get over the “grandma’s car” look of the Avalon.
@@Simon-oq6ds That's what made the Avalon popular. It was a Camry with a little more space. It was called the Japanese Buick.
I want a 96(98?) Avalon with the bench seat in the front.
Doug is right. My elderly neighbor has this exact same body and even the exact same color, though her Camry may not be a '96 model year. She still has it and drives it every day like a charm.
In Australia our Toyota Camry was made in Melbourne, Victoria. If you think that car is boring, our base model 1996 Camry CSi was very basic. It had no power windows but you did get power steering, power mirrors & central door locking and that's about it. Optional extras were air conditioning ($1995), drivers airbag ($990) was not available with a passenger airbag & ABS brakes ($990). However it was also a very popular & reliable car.
Hey, if you had a CSi, they were better than my 1993 Camry Executive which was the base model. Thankfully I bought it second hand, it had Aircon installed. I do believe mine didnt have ABS, and nearly ran off the road on a wet day.
I wish my Toyota Camry didn't have power windows. Just one more thing to fix. Both of my arms work just fine.
@@2157AF The Executive badge was dropped in June 1994 in Australia. Only had CSi CSX & Getaway in the 4 cyl model. The V6 models were call Camry Vienta.
I had a dark green 95 2.2 as my college ride, and it was still chugging along just fine at 380k miles. Never left me stranded, never broke down, always there ready to go whenever I needed it. It was an absolute beast in the snow and ice, couple road trips back to campus were done in horrible conditions and the Camry never shrugged. I still see a lot of 3rd and 4th gen Camrys driving around my city, it’s still a near daily occurrence to see them. And I think that’s a real testament to how bulletproof of a machine these are/were. They aren’t exciting but if you just want a car that works these were really hard to beat in that category.
You're good at what you do, Doug. Proven by the fact that I just watched, and found a review of an 80's Camry entertaining.
90s
@@BostonCycling_ wow, good catch dude
Ok
@@brentguinn2688 Lmao this was a 90s model tho
@@cxssetteman182 this is already been established from the guy before you. Try to keep up dude
10:12 ECT "Electronically Controlled Transmission" PWR delayed shifts and normal followed the "normal" shift schedule. think of it as sport mode for the transmission
Yeah, it held shifts for longer.
I had a '92 Toyota Camry as my first car. It has 225,000 miles on it, bad brakes, and an exhaust leak. I got it for $450. It was an absolute bucket but I loved it dearly and still think back to how fun it was to have a car like that. I do remember how just remarkable easy and nice it was to drive. Great video Doug, thanks for the video on this one.
Love this car but I unfortunately wrecked it by accident in 2023 when I rear-ended a small truck, Thank god it was only at a low speed. We've owned that Red '93 Camry since I was 9, but the brakes became faulty maybe? Needed new brakes? Anyway yeah, we (my family and I) couldn't afford to fix it so we replaced it with a 2000 one.My dad still owns his '99 to this day! I love Camrys! This design I wouldn't call dull either. To anyone thinking that, they can stick their thoughts were their butts don't shine! The eff word to those guys!
One of the best memories of my life were in this car! My mom bought the same Camry that Doug uses as the 98’ model year picture. Same trim and color! It only had 20k miles when she bought it in 2002. The car lasted till I turned 16 in 2014 and was passed down to me as my first car with 250k miles! I remember never having any issues with it and driving it till I hit 300k then sold it. Greatest car ever.
My parents have a 4th gen Camry from 1999 with the V6, it actually looks the same as the one Doug flashed on screen. It has 275k miles on it but it still runs smoothly, is relatively quiet inside, and the AC stil blows cold. They still drive it around and I still use it when I go visit them. These things are indestructible.
Except rust at least. Had one in the Northeast US and had tons of rust problems with this car, to the point where it just wasn't worth maintaining. Car I replaced it with was 10 years older but had rust protection on the bottom and had no rust.
@@robgriffin4801 Makes sense. I'm from the US South so rust isn't something I'm used to dealing with
10:26 the OD button on the shifter is so the car wouldnt go into 4th gear, essentially keeping the car in 3rd for passing power or whatnot.
That's if it was disabled. Overdrive is a gear with a lower ratio than the engine speed. The 4th gear was an overdrive gear. You would turn that OFF if you wanted to pass.
@@fuelvolts thats what i said. Doug said it would do the opposite in simulating a higher gear (5,6,7 with lower revs) which is false.
There is a reason that late 90's Corolla beige was in Office Space, its because it was THE typical workerbee car.
Thank you for covering this. My parents had one, the loaded XLE. It was a poor man’s Lexus. It was smooth, the XLE had nicer materials. It felt expensive when compared to other cars of the era. The car lasted forever, and passed from my parents to me to my sister. Thanks for the memory.
This is a nostalgia piece for sure either your family or somebody you knew had one of these almost guaranteed. And yes the old days of road trips in the backseat with absolutely nothing to do!
Gameboy. And or headset with cassette deck, or that newfangled CD player but it went through batteries too fast. Couple of books for backup.
Doug forgot to mention this Camry's color! This gold color is the most abundant, boring, neutral color available. There was always at least 5 gold Camry in any supermarket or mall parking lot in the 90s. In fact, I had two aunts that bought the exact same color Camry not knowing that the other had bought one too.
i thought white would have been more boring - think rental spec?
@@paulsz6194 you're not thinking in terms of the 90's. The gold Honda Accord with the pop up headlights was the most abundant in the 80's. Toyota was playing it safe and following suit.
My dad inherited an essentially brand new 09 Camry from my great grandma a few years back. It's interesting to see how little changed about the car in 13 years between this model and that, and how much has changed in the 15 years since 09.
My dad used to rent these when we needed to drive long distance. He would announce with great fanfare an overtaking attempt, it was then my job as a 14yo to press the ECT button. Good times.
Brings back fond memories of my '98 Camry. That car was the definition of bullet proof reliability. The oil light came on once and I stupidly continued on home. Some how it made it home in once piece and after getting fresh oil it ran fine. Only ever got rid of it for something with lower miles when it hit 200k
Has been waiting for videos like this for so long because cars like these are still everywhere here in Cambodia.
Truly a nice vid to learn about the quirks of a very common car 😂
You're on a roll with amazingly boring old cars. First the Contour and now this, I love it!
This is SO cool seeing this car get reviewed! Other than the paint color, this was the exact year, make, and model car that I drove for over 5 years. Over 300K miles on it and it drove perfectly and never broke down on me. I now own a 2018 Camry SE, but sometimes I still have dreams about driving this one 😂 highly recommend to anyone!
Why did you buy a 2018 Camry? You could have easily purchased a Subaru that would have been just as reliable and more interesting, or really anything would be better than a Camry. The only thing I can think of is reliability, but even that isn't really a selling feature as most non-enthusiast brands are just as reliable these days.
You could have at least got a slightly older Lexus that would have been a little bit nicer, more comfortable, and slightly more fun to drive.
I can finally say Doug reviewed a car I owned 😂
I showed this video to my Indian-American parents, they were so proud of you, Doug !!!
I remember we got one of these in 94 or 95. It was a white XLE model with the in dash multi-disc CD changer and sun roof. When we got it I thought we were big balling because it had the most features of any car we had until that point.
Eventually we traded it in for a Cadillac Catera (there's a car Doug should review) which I think we leased for 2 years before returning and buying a 2000 Escalade at which point I thought we were big balling again.
I've owned four Camrys. Three of them were that generation. A 92 and two 96's. My fourth one was a 99.
As everyone else has said, these are the reviews I get excited about.
this is a real classic and there’s so much more. I wish you could’ve said about it like really lean on the reliability the fact that it’s an inference engine and if you’re lazy and don’t get the timing belt changed it won’t blow up the engine or you can run these things on no oil for a while and they’re still fine. Basically they entirely indestructible
The Camry is not only the best selling car. It’s also the best selling platform, Half of Toyotas lineup is basically a Camry and a lot more should’ve been said about how careful Toyota is about introducing new technology and puts so much emphasis on reliability and that’s why people buy Toyotas because they don’t want it to break.
Ask any mechanic and always tell you a Toyota is the most reliable car, and a Camry is the most reliable Toyota (except a land cruiser)
1:56 My parents had a red 1994 2 door Camry LE Coup so I'm "in the know" about these cars. Yup, I know about these cars more than most!
My first car ever! I owned a ‘93 Camry - got it used in 1999 with 46,002 miles on it! Loved that car.
My brother had a ‘92 Camry V6 XLE - nicer than mine!
My parents bought my sister a 2001 Camry for her first car!
I love when he does normal cars. The original Ford Explorer is one of my all time favorite videos of Dougs
Mine is the Mitsubishi Mirage.
Hi Doug, so cool meeting you yesterday! Thanks for taking a moment to chat! Although you were driving that awesome GT, I was more excited to have just met you. Keep up the awesome work! Cheers SD Mate
My second car was this generation Camry with the v6 and it felt spry at the time! One quirk was the foot-actuated emergency brake that made snow drifting particularly exciting! It was leaps and bounds better than my first car, a Pontiac Grand Am from the same year.
Can we talk about the fact that the material quality of the back seat area was top notch? The doors have soft touch material from top to bottom and there’s fabric inserts on the door! Now days the backseat doors are all hard plastic! And even the front doors are only soft touch on the upper portion, today. The entire lower portion is hard plastic. Also, the trunk is lined with quality carpet! Now days they use cheapo carpet. And did anyone notice that the little storage compartment under the stereo is felt-lined???? Quality was not overlooked in the 90’s. These were common place features back then.
It wasn't dull for its time. I remember seeing them on the streets back in 1992. Up to 1998, these Camrys looked very luxurious for the category.
I think the OD button on the shift lever enables access to the 4th (overdrive) gear. I could be wrong.
Solaras are still incredibly popular on the secondary market where I live at the seashore. Folks buy them inland for not a whole lot of money, take them to their beach houses, and tool around top down year round. I’d know, I have one in my garage, and paid five grand for it in reasonable condition four years ago.
Love these kind of car reviews👍🏼 I had 95 camry one of the most reliable car I ever owned. I currently have 2000 v6 with only 152000 straight runner👌🏼
My uncle Bill and his wife Carol had a white 94 Camry DX with the blue interior for YEARS, he beat it to death and it kept on going. Finally he got diagnosed with narcolepsy (after hitting the trolley in Chula Vista for the 3rd time) and they took his license and the old Camry sat in the garage for another decade till he passed. I'll never forget that beat up old Camry
9:44 ECT changed the shift points of the transmission. 10:24 the O/D Off simply canceled the 4th gear, not what Doug said.
thanks for commenting that! i just wrote the same as i got really annoyed that doug is spreading such misinformation about a then super common thing with four speed autos and HE should really know better.
My first car was a 1989 Toyota Cressida with the blue velvet interior and the weird telescopic AC controls. I’ve always wished you’d do that car just out out that feature in your top quirks of the year 😆
I love that generation of Cressida! It was a sleeper car and surprisingly quick for its era
Ahhh the memories!
My first car was a '95 Camry coupe, most reliable car I've ever had.
New wheels, 2 12's in the trunk, Apline head unit, ram air intake and with a sunroof.
Thought the antenna was hideous so i chopped it off with hedge clippers then cut myself on it a week later. 😂
The car didn't like that so it retalliated!
This car reminds me of those high school days all over again. Haha
Love the normal car reviews!
I have a 1995 LE, same color and I drive it everyday! Sitting at almost 200k miles. The weird thing with mine is that the previous owner ordered all of the luxury XLE options on an LE which I find strange. Just a basic LE with a sunroof, gold emblems, V6 and alloy wheels. It’s so reliable and I love everything about it, this thing is built like a tank 💪🏻
You sure the “X” just didn’t fall off the badge? LOL
This is why I watch Doug DeMuro. I want to see a 90's Camry after a video about the Spyker, and spend most of the video trying to guess how many t-shirts he's wearing.
Nothing dull about it. It's everything you need. Best sedan ever made.