Topic: Hannibal's 2007 Toyota Camry LE - Circle of Life

[Hannibalsmith]

With my eldest son finishing driving school and gearing up for his test, and two younger teenage siblings waiting in line, I've been thinking about buying a third car for the kids. And this opportunity fell into my lap.

The car
- 2007 Toyota Camry LE
- 208,000 km
- Purchased for $4,000

The backstory
- I bought this car new in 2006 for ~$27,000 tax in
- Back then we had a 97 Honda Prelude and a 95 Chev Cavalier 2 door (both green), a 12 month old and a new born...I needed a family car to replace the Cavalier
- Drove it for 8 years and sold it to my neighbour (for $10,000 wth 40,000km) across the street from me, after I bought my 335
- He got it to replace his 94 Camry that had ~400,000km and for his three kids who started driving
- Fast forward to last week, his kids are independent, he's retiring and downsizing his cars...and here I am
- Also incidentally, when our third kid came along I had to finally sell the Prelude to buy a minivan, and guess what, I purchased a 2005 Odyssey from the same neighbour
- That 2005 Odyssey I sold 6 years ago to a forum member you may remember: Solstice2006

Anyway, I thought that was interesting. The car needs some work, but has been maintained. Power steering needs makes some noises, possibly just low fluids. There's a clunk in the rear suspension. Came with relatively new tires, including a set of winters. Plan is to work on it with my son (oil change, small repairs and such). I'll first take it to TheHire's shop for a safety and look over.

[Jaeger]

Whoa, now that is one cool story. 

[JohnnyMac]

That's pretty cool.  Does your oldest remember back when you owned it?  Can't go wrong with a used Toyota for a first car.  I'm assuming it's a 4 cylinder?  Have you checked to see how much insurance will be?

[Hannibalsmith]

That's pretty cool.  Does your oldest remember back when you owned it?  Can't go wrong with a used Toyota for a first car.  I'm assuming it's a 4 cylinder?  Have you checked to see how much insurance will be?

Yes he does. It was our family car for a long time, plus even after we sold it, we saw it almost every day across from us. Its a four banger.

As far as insurance, no I haven’t checked yet, but I’m afraid.

[Gurgie]

Cool story & a nice find!

As for insurance, when my oldest got his car last year I looked at putting it in my name & insuring it, but it ended up being cheaper for him to put it in his name & insuring it thru RBC insurance vs my CAA insurance policy. Also, he only has the minimum coverage, no collision, figured a $2k car isn't worth it.

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[rrocket]

Excellent choice and fun story! With sufficient maintenance his kids might be able to drive that car!!

When it came time for the kid to get his car, we told him we'd only be involved in a passive/advice role since getting a car was his next step in "adulting".

When it came time for insurance, he got his "base" rate from our insurer and told him he could A) Pay it B) Shop for a lower rate.

So he shopped using lowestrates.ca and ended up getting a better rate.

So you might try one of those online rate aggregator sites like he did to save yourself some time.

[me_2]

Cool, your neighbour & yourself are ..complementary it term of car exchange, at different period of your respective life.

[Firm]

Great story! A a really good choice as a first car for the kid, those things just seem to run forever. My neighbor has one too, also a 2007 4-banger, she's had it forever and does literally nothing to it, but it just keeps going. 

[quadzilla]

That is a great story and talk about coming around full circle.

- I bought this car new in 2006 for ~$27,000 tax in

And now that is what it costs for a new Corolla that has 10 times the tech but probably the same size and more power.

- Drove it for 8 years and sold it to my neighbour (for $10,000 wth 40,000km)

You obviously didn't drive it much.

[Hannibalsmith]

That is a great story and talk about coming around full circle.

- I bought this car new in 2006 for ~$27,000 tax in

And now that is what it costs for a new Corolla that has 10 times the tech but probably the same size and more power.

- Drove it for 8 years and sold it to my neighbour (for $10,000 wth 40,000km)

You obviously didn't drive it much.

It’s still way, way bigger than today’s Corolla, but you’re right about the power

I drive very little. As a car guy it’s a curse.

[Bubba]

Great story and great car!

[TheHire]

You know, I like the dark blue! These cars were handsome and I like how they drive.

My folks had an '07 Hybrid, one of the first in the country. I drove the heck out of it through university and have fond memories of, well, saving money on gas.

Can't wait to see it for the safety! If you find me asleep at the wheel in the parking lot, just give me a smack in the head to wake me up.

[2JDM]

Cool story and nice to see it in decent shape.

Do these have the oil burning engines?

[quadzilla]

That is a great story and talk about coming around full circle.

- I bought this car new in 2006 for ~$27,000 tax in

And now that is what it costs for a new Corolla that has 10 times the tech but probably the same size and more power.

- Drove it for 8 years and sold it to my neighbour (for $10,000 wth 40,000km)

You obviously didn't drive it much.

It’s still way, way bigger than today’s Corolla, but you’re right about the power

I drive very little. As a car guy it’s a curse.

While I believed you, I was curious at how different.

7 inches longer, 15 cf more interior space, 11 less hp.10 more tq, and 400 pounds heavier.

[TheHire]

Do these have the oil burning engines?

Yep. Until the Camry's 2.4 went to 2.5 in like 2010-2011.

[rrocket]

Going to be fun for you and the boy sorting and maintaining it.

Fantastic father/son time!

[Hannibalsmith]

Do these have the oil burning engines?

Yep. Until the Camry's 2.4 went to 2.5 in like 2010-2011.

Yup. Even in my first stint of ownership I noticed it burning oil. I even got an engine oil light once! But, it's still going...

We'll just need to regularly watch the level and top up as needed.

[Firm]

Yeah, my neighbors is the same, add about a quart a month (I am not sure how many kms she'd do in that period....not many)