Question Commuter car input.... 20 year old Camry?!

Mags462 · Aug 10, 2011

Okay you all here are so knowlegable when it comes to car buying i thought i would ask for your thoughts.....

DH works 70 miles roundtrip from our home. He has a paid for Ford truck which he likes, but well we would like something better on gas....

Just found a 1990 Camry with 62000 original miles on it

- little old lady has been driving it! I was curious if you all would buy it - we can get it for around 2K.

We are used car people - but have never bought anything so old before. The kids would rarely ride in it, if ever, but i wasn't sure what the general opinion of really old cars was.

Thoughts?

beetlemama · Aug 10, 2011

I personally wouldn't be comfortable buying that old a car to count on for a long commute. It sounds like it would be the perfect car for running around town in, but I wouldn't want to have to count on it for driving distances given its age.

P1ally · Aug 11, 2011

The mileage or year isn't what worries me, it's the safety. I personally wouldn't want to make a 70 mile trip every day in something so unsafe.

Pixels · Aug 11, 2011

Have you run the calculations to determine if it's actually worth it? What's the MPG on the truck? On the car? What would insurance, registration, and additional maintenance cost? How long would it take for the improvement in fuel economy to pay for itself?

Average gas price in OK right now is $3.428/gallon. The 1990 Camry was rated at 24 mpg. A 2008 F150 (taking a guess) is rated 13 mpg. Driving 70 miles a day, 5 days a week, that's a savings of $183.16/month. If it costs $50/month to insure, then it will take 15 months to pay for itself - not taking into account cost of maintenance and registration.

P1ally · Aug 11, 2011

Also, it looks like $2k is too much.

SavsMom · Aug 11, 2011

$2k for a vehicle of that age is too much....even if it is a Camry and has very low miles.
I would look for something newer, with at least dual front airbags and abs brakes for driving that type of mileage.

Mags462 · Aug 12, 2011

See... i knew you guys would think of things i wasn't considering!

Very good points - all of them! I think for now we will pass.... if i could just get the man to be willing to drive a newer civic/elantra i would be sooo happy! *sigh*

Emmyk · Nov 3, 2011

I think safety is a big factor, does it have air bags? If it has a drivers air bag I think it would be something to consider if mostly just your husband would drive it. My first car, Which my husband now drives, is a 95' camry. That thing has 230,000 on it and runs well. It gets 30 mpg, better then my currant car, an 2003 camry with about 120,000. So even though the car is old, you might get quite a bit of use out of it still with such low milage

Question Commuter car input.... 20 year old Camry?!

Mags462

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beetlemama

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Pixels

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