2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles

On Apr 9, 9:42 am, toyodriver <the....DeleteThis@historyonline.net> wrote:

(fuel injectors, steering rack, steering pump, charcoal canister,

I've got a couple of cars over 200,000 miles and neither of them have
had the work you describe above. I replaced the O2 sensors (not CO
sensors) at about 175,000 miles in both cars. My 1998 Sienna, with
210,000 miles, costs me about half your figure for annual repairs,
maintenance and upkeep.

What part of New York do you live in?
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

I am not a car guru and do no work on the car myself nor do I know
anyone that can. I take it in to the dealer (they've physically the
closest shop I can get to) for all recommended servicing and whatever
else pops up and yes, something usually pops up. Still I've gone along
with it since knowing the car will start when I turn the ignition
wherever I am is most important to me, so I chalk that up to
preventative maintenance and not knowing a thing about cars except
what I've learned by paying for various services. Most recent expenses
$800 for routine service internal, fuel injector service, new valve
gasket covers (and I forget what else), $200 for brakes, $1100 for
steering rack and pump, and $400 for one new fuel injector. Live in
northern NJ. I guess I need to marry a mechanic!
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

If you had to change injector (just one for $400!) and $1100 steering
rack/pump at 109K miles then it's either severe service driving or
your Camry is one of the more problematic ones.

There are major services once in a while. For example, a complete
timing belt job that includes water pump, oil seals and idlers
typically runs $600-800 dealer (for about $200 of parts online) and
comes every 5yr/60K miles or 6yr/90K miles. $50 Brake pads every
60-90K miles depending on driving style. Coolant hoses (radiator,
heater, bypass, ~$60) should be done around 100K miles preventatively
(although they'll last longer, like the timing belt). And the
alternator brushes ($20 assembly) wear out around 120-150K miles, etc
etc.

I don't know what your $800 includes, but if only for oil coolant and
ATF changes plus tire rotation plus "inspect" a lot of items then IMO
it's way too high even at the dealer. That said, dealer prices are
always high because they have overhead costs. Independent mechanics'
prices are lower, but finding good ones isn't easy.

But sounds like your dealer is trying to move you into a new
car?




On Apr 9, 10:57 am, toyodriver <the....DeleteThis@historyonline.net> wrote:
> I am not a car guru and do no work on the car myself nor do I know
> anyone that can. I take it in to the dealer (they've physically the
> closest shop I can get to) for all recommended servicing and whatever
> else pops up and yes, something usually pops up. Still I've gone along
> with it since knowing the car will start when I turn the ignition
> wherever I am is most important to me, so I chalk that up to
> preventative maintenance and not knowing a thing about cars except
> what I've learned by paying for various services. Most recent expenses
> $800 for routine service internal, fuel injector service, new valve
> gasket covers (and I forget what else), $200 for brakes, $1100 for
> steering rack and pump, and $400 for one new fuel injector. Live in
> northern NJ. I guess I need to marry a mechanic!
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Apr 9, 1:57 pm, toyodriver <the....RemoveThis@historyonline.net> wrote:
> I am not a car guru and do no work on the car myself nor do I know
> anyone that can. I take it in to the dealer (they've physically the
> closest shop I can get to) for all recommended servicing and whatever
> else pops up and yes, something usually pops up.

You are paying dearly for convenience. Time to do something else.

-Buy a new car with an extended warranty (you should shop online for
manufacturer's warranty at a discount before visiting your local
dealer).

-Buy a Certified Used car with an extended warranty.

-Find an independent mechanic with a decent reputation (not a boat
owner). [If you are successful finding said mechanic, you should be
able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!]

-Work the numbers (maybe with a banker) to see if leasing a car would
work out cheaper for you.

Good luck.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

"ACAR" <dimndsonmywndshld.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b9f7dce6-aeb9-4d9c-b34f-030d233f9fd8@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 9, 1:57 pm, toyodriver <the....DeleteThis@historyonline.net> wrote:
>> I am not a car guru and do no work on the car myself nor do I know
>> anyone that can. I take it in to the dealer (they've physically the
>> closest shop I can get to) for all recommended servicing and whatever
>> else pops up and yes, something usually pops up.
>
> You are paying dearly for convenience. Time to do something else.
>
> -Buy a new car with an extended warranty (you should shop online for
> manufacturer's warranty at a discount before visiting your local
> dealer).
>
> -Buy a Certified Used car with an extended warranty.
>
> -Find an independent mechanic with a decent reputation (not a boat
> owner). [If you are successful finding said mechanic, you should be
> able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!]
>
> -Work the numbers (maybe with a banker) to see if leasing a car would
> work out cheaper for you.
>
> Good luck.

Extended warranties for most Camrys are for suckers. Best to simply have an
emergency fund, earning money for YOU, to pay for the eventual repairs. Rest
assured, warranty companies make money for THEMSELVES, at YOUR expense.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Apr 10, 12:34 am, johngd....RemoveThis@hotmail.com wrote:
> If you had to change injector (just one for $400!) and $1100 steering
> rack/pump at 109K miles then it's either severe service driving or
> your Camry is one of the more problematic ones.
>

Just taking into account this part of your response, I may have a bad
Camrry. It was one of the first ones on the line for the 2000 model. I
didn't want to do that but that is the time my former car (Chevy
Beretta) died on me. I didn't want to go American made again, so went
with the Camry. Despite the high maintenance costs (for me anyway), I
love my car. I had never heard of anyone changing a steering rack and
pump at around 100k so I did take the car to a few mechanics and
another dealer, not all put it up on a lift but those that did agreed
that it did indeed need to be replaced (one took me under the car and
showed me the leaks). I must say the steering is now incredible! Feels
like new as it should with a new steering rack but I don't know what
else is going to go and not sure I want to be the owner to find it
out.

As you suggested, I started looking into extended warranties. Hadn't
thought of them. They would probably have worked out well for me if
they truly pay for parts, labor, and a rental car. Is buying an
extended warranty from the dealer the best option, or buying from an
independent service offered on the web? I see a few of these but not
sure if they are valid when you actually take your car in to an
independente mechanic.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

Yeah, I know what you mean about some of the earlier products out of
Detroit. That's why all three are under new management and one of them
even guarded by a three-headed dog (Cerberos) that allows the spirit
of the dead to enter and none to exit!

I think people are generally right that extended warranties are
worthless for most, unless one plan can be found that closely matches
the original "bumper-to-bumper" warranty at a reasonable cost.

I'm not doubting your Camry needs a pump and a rack (rare), but that's
why I flush my power steering system with each transmission strainer
change.



On Apr 11, 7:29 am, toyodriver <the....RemoveThis@historyonline.net> wrote:
> On Apr 10, 12:34 am, johngd....RemoveThis@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > If you had to change injector (just one for $400!) and $1100 steering
> > rack/pump at 109K miles then it's either severe service driving or
> > your Camry is one of the more problematic ones.
>
> Just taking into account this part of your response, I may have a bad
> Camrry. It was one of the first ones on the line for the 2000 model. I
> didn't want to do that but that is the time my former car (Chevy
> Beretta) died on me. I didn't want to go American made again, so went
> with the Camry. Despite the high maintenance costs (for me anyway), I
> love my car. I had never heard of anyone changing a steering rack and
> pump at around 100k so I did take the car to a few mechanics and
> another dealer, not all put it up on a lift but those that did agreed
> that it did indeed need to be replaced (one took me under the car and
> showed me the leaks). I must say the steering is now incredible! Feels
> like new as it should with a new steering rack but I don't know what
> else is going to go and not sure I want to be the owner to find it
> out.
>
> As you suggested, I started looking into extended warranties. Hadn't
> thought of them. They would probably have worked out well for me if
> they truly pay for parts, labor, and a rental car. Is buying an
> extended warranty from the dealer the best option, or buying from an
> independent service offered on the web? I see a few of these but not
> sure if they are valid when you actually take your car in to an
> independente mechanic.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

<johngdole DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4a31c3b9-c0ed-4535-8475-f8f755956280@s33g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> Yeah, I know what you mean about some of the earlier products out of
> Detroit. That's why all three are under new management and one of them
> even guarded by a three-headed dog (Cerberos) that allows the spirit
> of the dead to enter and none to exit!
>
> I think people are generally right that extended warranties are
> worthless for most, unless one plan can be found that closely matches
> the original "bumper-to-bumper" warranty at a reasonable cost.
>
> I'm not doubting your Camry needs a pump and a rack (rare), but that's
> why I flush my power steering system with each transmission strainer
> change.
>

What he said.



>
>
> On Apr 11, 7:29 am, toyodriver <the... DeleteThis @historyonline.net> wrote:
>> On Apr 10, 12:34 am, johngd... DeleteThis @hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>> > If you had to change injector (just one for $400!) and $1100 steering
>> > rack/pump at 109K miles then it's either severe service driving or
>> > your Camry is one of the more problematic ones.
>>
>> Just taking into account this part of your response, I may have a bad
>> Camrry. It was one of the first ones on the line for the 2000 model. I
>> didn't want to do that but that is the time my former car (Chevy
>> Beretta) died on me. I didn't want to go American made again, so went
>> with the Camry. Despite the high maintenance costs (for me anyway), I
>> love my car. I had never heard of anyone changing a steering rack and
>> pump at around 100k so I did take the car to a few mechanics and
>> another dealer, not all put it up on a lift but those that did agreed
>> that it did indeed need to be replaced (one took me under the car and
>> showed me the leaks). I must say the steering is now incredible! Feels
>> like new as it should with a new steering rack but I don't know what
>> else is going to go and not sure I want to be the owner to find it
>> out.
>>
>> As you suggested, I started looking into extended warranties. Hadn't
>> thought of them. They would probably have worked out well for me if
>> they truly pay for parts, labor, and a rental car. Is buying an
>> extended warranty from the dealer the best option, or buying from an
>> independent service offered on the web? I see a few of these but not
>> sure if they are valid when you actually take your car in to an
>> independente mechanic.
>
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Apr 9, 8:42 am, toyodriver <the... DeleteThis @historyonline.net> wrote:
> As with all new cars, I noticed my maintenance/repair costs jump from
> $500 or less in years 1-2 to $1k in years 3-5, and then $1500-2000 in
> years 6-8. I've never had a car beyond year 8 before and now see
> maintenance/repair costs going toward $3000. Is this normal, is my car
> over-maintenanced/repaired, or will costs go down beyond the 100k mile
> mark which seems to entail replacing lots of things (fuel injectors,
> steering rack, steering pump, charcoal canister, CO sensor, etc.). By
> the way, these are all inclusive costs including oil change, brakes,
> tires, rotation of  tires, etc.

Some of those items dont sound right, if you have a dealer do the work
what do you expect, they have to maintain those nice shops and pay for
the free coffee and dounuts I have never seen one that isnt double the
price or doing whats only necessary compared to a independant
mechanic. I just had a car in and they wanted to replace the front
brakes, engine oil and plugs, which I just did a month ago, oil had
100 miles on it. For most dealers work can be done at up to 75% less
somewhere else.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

Dealer has to make money selling accessories, extra service, etc. And
that's how service writers take a cut of the profit and collect money
to put food on the table and buy Christmas presents. If owners walk in
without a clue then all the dealers see are big dollar signs walking
through the door.

For example, a Mitsuboshi timing belt costs ~$13 on rockauto.com, it
costs about 3x at the dealer counter. Always watch your money yourself
I guess.



On Apr 12, 2:20 pm, ransley <Mark_Rans....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Some of those items dont sound right, if you have a dealer do the work
> what do you expect, they have to maintain those nice shops and pay for
> the free coffee and dounuts I have never seen one that isnt double the
> price or doing whats only necessary compared to a independant
> mechanic. I just had a car in and they wanted to replace the front
> brakes, engine oil and plugs, which I just did a month ago, oil had
> 100 miles on it. For most dealers work can be done at up to 75% less
> somewhere else.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Apr 12, 10:14 pm, johngd... DeleteThis @hotmail.com wrote:
> Dealer has to make money selling accessories, extra service, etc. And
> that's how service writers take a cut of the profit and collect money
> to put food on the table and buy Christmas presents. If owners walk in
> without a clue then all the dealers see are big dollar signs walking
> through the door.
>
> For example, a Mitsuboshi timing belt costs ~$13 on rockauto.com, it
> costs about 3x at the dealer counter. Always watch your money yourself
> I guess.
>
> On Apr 12, 2:20 pm, ransley <Mark_Rans... DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Some of those items dont sound right, if you have a dealer do the work
> > what do you expect, they have to maintain those nice shops and pay for
> > the free coffee and dounuts I have never seen one that isnt double the
> > price or doing whats  only necessary compared to a independant
> > mechanic. I just had a car in and they wanted to replace the front
> > brakes, engine oil and plugs, which I just did a month ago, oil had
> > 100 miles on it. For most dealers work can be done at up to 75% less
> > somewhere else.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Well I have more than a clue everytime I go to a dealer for warranty
work or CALL for prices, the only time a dealer should be used is for
warranty work, and just about always I get unessary work bid for and
im told I need it, when I dont. I dont mean toy dealers I mean all of
them, there isnt most any work I cant get done 25-75% cheaper
somewhere else. And it adds up fast. I had a gm dealer want 1100 for
brakes, we got it done for 200, its just one of the many things ive
seen over the years. OP should find a independant mechanic that
charges 60 an hr, not the 1-400 an hr dealers actualy get. Not having
a clue, as most dont, and having someone seeing dollar signs, instead
of doing what is necessary, is crooked. My local independants are in
business for life here because their reputation for being honest was
built on honesty. I will bet op was overcharged and unessary work
done.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:37:10 -0700 (PDT), ransley
<Mark_Ransley RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:


>
>Well I have more than a clue everytime I go to a dealer for warranty
>work or CALL for prices, the only time a dealer should be used is for
>warranty work, and just about always I get unessary work bid for and
>im told I need it, when I dont. I dont mean toy dealers I mean all of
>them, there isnt most any work I cant get done 25-75% cheaper
>somewhere else. And it adds up fast. I had a gm dealer want 1100 for
>brakes, we got it done for 200, its just one of the many things ive
>seen over the years. OP should find a independant mechanic that
>charges 60 an hr, not the 1-400 an hr dealers actualy get. Not having
>a clue, as most dont, and having someone seeing dollar signs, instead
>of doing what is necessary, is crooked. My local independants are in
>business for life here because their reputation for being honest was
>built on honesty. I will bet op was overcharged and unessary work
>done.

While I agree that OP is probably being oversold on maintenance work,
I would disagree that the independent service people are always
cheaper. The Toyota dealer was cheaper on spark plug replacement,
they were the least expensive on timing belt replacement. I did shop
around and got 6 quotes.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles 

On Apr 13, 8:40 am, ray <spamm... RemoveThis @do.not.reply.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 05:37:10 -0700 (PDT), ransley
>
>
>
>
>
> <Mark_Rans... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >Well I have more than a clue everytime I go to a dealer for warranty
> >work or CALL for prices, the only time a dealer should be used is for
> >warranty work, and  just about always I get unessary work bid for and
> >im told I need it, when I dont. I dont mean toy dealers I mean all of
> >them, there isnt most any work I cant get done 25-75% cheaper
> >somewhere else. And it adds up fast. I had a gm dealer want 1100 for
> >brakes, we got it done for 200, its just one of the many things ive
> >seen over the years. OP should find a independant mechanic that
> >charges 60 an hr, not the 1-400 an hr dealers actualy get. Not having
> >a clue, as most dont, and having someone seeing dollar signs, instead
> >of doing what is necessary, is crooked. My local independants are in
> >business for life here because their reputation for being honest was
> >built on honesty. I will bet op was overcharged and unessary work
> >done.
>
> While I agree that OP is probably being oversold on maintenance work,
> I would disagree that the independent service people are always
> cheaper.  The Toyota dealer was cheaper on spark plug replacement,
> they were the least expensive on timing belt replacement.  I did shop
> around and got 6 quotes...- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Certain work like timing belts dealer often have deals on, OP should
talk to neighbors with old cars to find a reputable local mechanic.
 >> Stay informed about: 2000 Camry LE V6 - 109000 miles