Buying an 88 Camry Wagon

[yolner]

Hey guys.
I am looking at an 88 camry (107k) for $700. Everything is in very good condition except the oil level is very low and almost black.
Apparently the car was very well maintained by owners dad (regular oil changes etc, he showed me receipts) until 5000 miles ago. As far as I can tell the last oil change was done a year or 5000ish miles ago and they probably used some dyno oil. Do you think this engine has some life left in it if I just change the oil?

Btw the engine runs/looks/and sounds fine now. Im taking it to a mechanic tomorrow but I just wanted to get a few more opinions.

Thanks

[Toysrme]

Probably. The top quart is just extra fill. Toyota's historically run very low oil pressure at idle (in a relative world) simply becuas ethey don't need a lot.

Less you start with a clean engine, flush the engine out, or start using dual filters, all oil is going to turn jet black at some point. Some in a few hundred miles. Color has nothing to do with how well it's working.

For years, Toyota also use to specified 10 month, 7,500 mile oil changes on the non heavy duty schedule.

If you ever bother to take a baseline sample, then analyze oil, you find out that even most poor dino oils will do 5,000 miles under most conditions before they start really showing signs of wear.



Check the compression, if you don't feel like that, drive it around & put a heavy load on the engine. Since high speed runs are fairly illegal in most places... A big hill on a dead start works!

[ProMan]

That car should be made in Japan. Imported into the US. Check the VIN, should start with "J". Very reliable car. Especially if well maintained. Don't worry about the oil. I believe the manual says change oil every 10k and dino oil is good enough. I never use syn oil on my 88 camry, but I always change oil around 3k.

[calvic]

Well for that price you sure go wrong! I have 320K on my 88 Camry.
I change oil about every 5k, flush the trans every couple years. Its got a lot of life left in it. I'd buy it in a heart beat.

[Bossman]

I had an 87 Camry wagon 4 cyl auto trans and I loved that car. I changed the oil/filter every 3,000 miles and I drove it every day for 15 years.

$700?.......BUY IT!

[yolner]

Well the mechanic found about 3k worth of crap that I missed. I guess im gonna keep looking.

[JOET/CAMRY]

Originally Posted by yolner

Well the mechanic found about 3k worth of crap that I missed. I guess im gonna keep looking.

Hello Yolner, I feel the car is worth $700.00. For a 17 year old car 107,000 miles is very low and in your post you said the car ran/sounded fine. mechanics are trained find every little thing possibly wrong. it's how they make their living. sounds like someone is going to get a great deal on a 88 camry wagon for $700.00 I have a 1989 camry with 173,000 miles on it and is still going strong. I'm sure if a mechanic was to look over my car (with a microscope) they probrally could find $3000,00 in repairs which don't need to be done. it's a 16 year old car so I dont expect it to run/look perfect!! Take care, JOET/CAMRY

[yolner]

One of the things they found is that the transmission is on the way out. Believe me I wanted to buy this car but to put that kind of money into an 88 would be stupid.

[calvic]

Originally Posted by yolner

One of the things they found is that the transmission is on the way out. Believe me I wanted to buy this car but to put that kind of money into an 88 would be stupid.

Where is this car located at? My transmission been on the way out for about 3 yrs. $700 is better than car payments and used transmission are pretty cheap!

[yolner]

yeah but the labor is expensive. the car is in va.