Reliable car?

[eli07 10+ year member]

Hey guys, my little brother is about to turn 16 and I was going to help him get a car for his birthday. My parents are going to pay half, and I wanted to go in on half with them. He's a new driver so were just searching for something cheap on insurance, and reliable. Were looking at a older 96 Toyota Camry. How reliable are these cars for anyone that knows anything about them. He says he's going in the military when he turns 18, so it has to last him atleast two years.

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[morgans432 10+ year member]

Perfect car i hated my corolla but now i love it because I can count on it starting every time i go to it. Toyotas are great and very reliable. I got my other toy so that car is my daily driver and gets the job done very well. Has over 150,000 and still going strong

 

[ryan8551226 10+ year member]

they last seemingly forever if they are maintained correctly- my friends gf has one that has well over 200000 miles on it

 

[Calikid 5,000+ posts]

a civic

 

[eli07 10+ year member]

Well he only works like 13-15 hours a week, which wasn't enough to pay for a car. My parents told him if he kept his job for a full year, and maintained good grades they would help him get a starter car and if he was responsible with it and kept it up along with his grades, they would get him a new one for graduation. So i was just going to help my parents out with it since I've got a good job and doing well. I like car shopping anyway. He isn't a picky kid, he just wants something to get him from school to work and home anyways. I found a 96 Camry, that has 140,000 miles on it, and a nice deck with the dvd screen, and an aftermarket alarm system. I told my parents if they paid half, I'd pay the other half, and he could use his savings for the past year to put new tires, brakes, plugs, and fluids in it. It's allot of miles, but I've been shopping around and see some of these cars running with 250,000 miles on them.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Toyota's and Honda's seem to be reliable.

 

[skylineTT 10+ year member]

yeah my friend has a maroon 96 camry and it drives very smooth. engine runs great and they seem to last forever if maintained correctly.

 

[lostdaytomorrow 10+ year member]

Camry

 

[eli07 10+ year member]

What about the older infinitys? Found a 96' for 3k and has under 135k

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

Id go with the camry.

 

[86yota 10+ year member]

Camry. Toyotas are amazing! If you buy one, try to buy one from a owner that you think took care of the car tho, and maintained it. Thats the key.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Toyota builds some really reliable vehicles for the most part....

 

[dB-SPL 10+ year member]

Reliability.. Almost anything made by Honda, Toyota and VW last forever (even after taking some beatings) and get great gas mileage.

-Bill-

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

definitely look at it, look for service records, check the fluids to make sure they are not old or sludgy. if you can find a car that has been well maintained and you keep it up, it should run for a long time. any car will last quite a long time if maintained properly and not beaten on. But I second the vote for a Camry, they are very reliable cars

i bought my car from a friend whose dad is the manager of a garage and it has always been owned by a mechanic. interior and exterior were a little rough, but the engine was maintained impeccably.

 

[Pyro_By_Nature 5,000+ posts]

I'm loyal to toyotas for reliability. Keep up basic maintence and it's not unlikely to see them still going around the 300k mark. I know someone with an older toyota pick-up, like 530k or so, still runs good.You can barely find the gears, but it ran lol.

I'd go with the camry, proven reliability right there.