1997 Camry Ce

I saw a Camry today for sale with 189,000K or about 110,000 miles on it. It was in great shape, although a bit of dirty interior. It says one owner/no accidents/loaded. I didn't know the CE came loaded though. They are asking $6,800 CDN or best offer. I know there are lots of variables to consider, but all aside, is that a decent price for the car (certified).

Older cars with low miles can sometimes be a bad thing. Sometimes cars that have low miles weren't driven much and sat a lot. Cars that sit a lot can develop problems that are expensive to fix. They also need tires, brakes, mufflers, etc sooner than they should a lot of times. A seriously dirty or worn interior is a sign of a lack of care for the car. A sign that says to me, "BUYER BEWARE". A car can be listed as no accidents, but that doesn't mean anything. My car's carfax says it was never in an accident but it was, one that caused 7.5K USD of damage to the car. I had it repaired with all OEM parts, so I could lie about it and 99.9% of people would never know. Some people's definition of loaded is pretty easy to fufill. I know people who think a car with operable windows and doors that lock properly is loaded, so it is obviously a subjective term because to me a car isn't loaded unless it is the top trim for that model and has nearly every feature available for that particular model. A CE isn't loaded, it's the base model for that car and that year.

As for the price, it isn't a point if you aren't sure the car hasn't been well maintained and won't be troublesome. It also isn't a point if the car is not up to your equipment level standards. If you like it and think it to be a good car, then that price seems good.

However, I have one question for you: Who is certifying this car? As per the Toyota CPO requirement a Toyota can only be certified to the a Toyota Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program if it is six or less model years old, has less than 85,000 miles, can pass a vehicle history report and can pass a 160 point inspection. This car doesn't meet the first two requirements. So is it a dealer certified car? If it is, then the certification means little to nothing. My local Ford dealer certifies any car that comes on their lot that runs. They give a 3 month/3000 mile warranty where they pay 50% of parts and labor for qualified repairs. That isn't worth one penny to me over a non-certified used car.

Thanks for the input Contour. Still trying to get hold of the owners to find more info. Here in Ontario a vehicle can only be certified by certain mechanics and that is backed by the government, so they have to get it right. I'm sure there are some that can overlook things, but if something goes wrong their butt is on the line.

I forget you are in Canada sometimes. I know you guys have much more stringent consumer protection laws in Canada than we do in the USA. Here if a dealer doesn't want to assume any liability for the car, they simply mark it, "AS IS, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED" and that releases them from any legal obligation to fix anything that may go wrong with the car after purchase. Even if they (the dealer) warrant the car and certify it, the certification doesn't mean it was actually inspected. If you have problems you have little recourse because many dealer certification programs aren't legally binding contracts on the dealer to perform certain work due to their vaugeness. That is why when shopping for a certified used car in the USA you always want one that was certifed by the manufacturer, which will always include a contract for specific warranty coverage that is legally binding on them.

I would say come to the USA to buy a car - if you can save a bundle of $$$ and if it is legal.

You guys are forgetting that your prices of 4,000 to 5,000 are in USD. His price was 6,800 CAN. When you do the conversion you are paying roughly 6,000 USD for the car. That isn't bad if it is the price for a certified car and includes taxes. You guys have to remember that in Canada they require cars to be inspected and certified, that costs money. You also have to remember that they pay a lot more tax on everything they buy than we do. While we pay only 5% to 10% tax on cars in the US, they may pay as much as 20% tax on cars in Canada.

As for buying cars in the US and bringing them to Canada, not cost effective. Firstly you have to pay Canadian taxes on it. Secondly you must have it inspected to make sure it meets Canadian standards. I can tell you already an American Camry that is a 1997 won't meet at least one requirement: DRL. DRL was required by law on all vehicles registered in Canada that were manufacturered after 1992 IIRC. Because of this you would need to have the car retrofitted, at additional cost to you since the 1997 American Camry didn't have DRL. You may also find that the car doesn't meet other standards for floormats, low washer-fluid warning, and emissions. With so many requirements to meet, it is just easier to buy a car in Canada. Funny thing is that most Canadian cars are US acceptable, meaning that if you buy a car from Canada, there is a high percentage chance that you could bring it to the US without having to modify it in any way.