A couple of weeks ago we saw a pretty new Camry, a 1989 model, but an anonymous reader sent in a tip for an even newer Camry and didn’t leave their name. Sneaky. This 1995 Toyota Camry isn’t what we expect to see here but being 25 years old now, it’s in the range of a lot of car shows, believe it or not. It can be found here on eBay in White Marsh, Maryland from a familiar seller. Bids are over $3,100 and there is no reserve. Thanks to whoever sent in this tip, I think?…
Ok now, douse those torches. Remember, I didn’t send in this tip, I’m just reporting on it. Do I love Camrys? Yes, I openly admit that for a commuter car they’re fantastic. I have only had one in over 40 years of owning and driving cars, a 1984 Liftback, but their influence on both Toyota and other car companies is unarguable. Is this a dusty muscle car that was found in a barn? No. I don’t see one speck of dust on this car and there isn’t much muscle here.
This car only has 36,770 miles on it and it shows. My wife’s mom had this same car but in a more Camry-like color: beige, and it was a top-trim-level car with leather. A very nice car. It lasted well over 300,000 miles which almost any car from any manufacture can do these days, but it required minimal maintenance and no major work. That’s not something that every car company can say. That’s why they’re so popular. As an appliance for commuting, or even road trips, they’re great. Are they exciting? No, but neither is calling for a tow truck every few months.
The only Camry that I thought was really interesting was a 4WD 5-speed 1988 model that I wrote about a few years ago, but this one is a standard front-drive automatic. The interior looks pretty much like new as you’d expect a 36,000-mile car to look. Beige abounds here even more than The Dude abides. I could see The Dude driving a ’95 Camry, no question. The seller doesn’t mention rust at all but it sure looks solid, even underneath.
This monster mill is Toyota’s 2.2L inline-four with around 125 hp. The timing belt was replaced, which is great, but it was 18 years ago at 15,859 miles. It needs another one due to age, not mileage. Add that to the to-do list. Other than that, it should go another 200,000+ miles with ease. NADA’s high-retail value is $3,600 so this one is almost there. Have any of you, gasp… owned a Camry? If so, are you brave enough to tell us?
We had a 99 Camry. Grey/beige 4cyl moonroof. It went 200k without ever needing a tow truck. It was starting to nickel and dime us, plus we needed more room so we bought a used Highlander. That Camry never owed us a dime, and I actually like driving it. This one looks great and I’d have no problem driving it to the local car show. Unless you’ve owned one you can’t appreciate how far ahead of the curve these are/were in terms of build quality. Another great find Scotty.
The beginnings of the zenith of The Camry. My brother owns a ‘99 with the 4 cylinder and a stick. At 230,000 and going strong, the fit and finish still astounds me. It still sports its original battery! I can’t remember if it is an American-made Camry, or if it was made in Japan. But if it was made in America, it “proves” we could do it, so why wasn’t, say, Plymouth, building something at least comparable??
Please – no more.
I worked on a lot of these cars and I agree they are very reliable and a good commuter car. That being said the fanciest thing I saw about the Camry was clever people who removed the rear emblem and switched the letters around to spell Mycar. Seriously this is an enthusiasts car site talking about a Camry is like bragging to the guys you just went all out and bought a bright red front loading washer or how sexy and quiet you Bosch dishwasher is! Please start another site called Fugly Finds.
A guy showed up at our Coffee and Chrome driving one of these outfitted with a set of Torque Thrusts! The change in appearance was astounding….I guess it’s true that a set of TT’s can make anything look sharp! :-)
These are fantastic cars and probably the reason Camrys hard the reputation they do. Toyota was at the top of its game in the 90s!
Everyone with a kid about to turn 16 should be made aware of this thing. Camrys were so ubiquitous they won’t be classics for another 15 years, but it’s nice to see one with less than 200k miles on it.
Until now I’ve never run across a low mileage 90’s Toyota. I would expect this would be an excellent investment to carefully store and drive occasionally, because in ten more years, it will be the only one around.
I had a 92 that had 313K on it when I sold it. It was still running great on the original engine. Rust in the trunk is what made me finally sell it. Teenager just getting his license bought it. He had worked all summer to buy a car. I told him and his dad about every issue he seemed like a good kid, so I practically gave it to him. You should have seen his face when I showed him how to use the remote start! HAHA!
Currently wife has a 2000 model with only 120K on it. I am going to see how bidding goes on this one. Might have to replace the 2000!
Some of us actually like (love) dependable cars. One that can take you where you want to go and bring you home again.
Hey Jelly Bean!
How many “barn finds” can you say will run another 200,000 miles easy at minimal cost.
*yawn*
??? Buy here pay here lots across the country are full of Camry’s and Accords like this.
I have a white 95 Camry with 190k miles that my parents drove for 22 years before deciding to junk it- I saved it from the jaws of death, replaced some brake lines and the rear subframe and it is now my bullet-proof back-up car, the one I drive when one of my more personality laden American made “projects”, which includes my daily driver, malfunctions in some unexpected and inconvenient manner… and I don’t need to worry about tunes because the cassette deck still plays well out of the left rear speaker!
I had a ’96 five speed Camry. I got it when my mom could not use the clutch because of medical issues. I thought it was so cool that my 65 year old mom made the dealer hunt down a manual for her “because she liked to actually drive the car”…
I loved that car and drove it into the ground. It turned me into a life long Toyota driver.
This one sold for $3600. I would have paid that if I was looking.
Auction update: this Camry sold for $3,400!
That’s a steal! Good luck to the new owner.
Just got an email telling me it has been reposted.
As a retired shop owner and had owned a few 4-cyl. Camrys. The last one that I’ve owned was a ’94 Green with beige interior had auto, PW, PL, the LE version … I kept it running until my oldest son blew the engine-low coolant & oil! From my shop experience the Camry with 4-cyl. engines were the best. The V-6 tends to leak oil at the gaskets… Too bad this car is too far away, if it was closer-Texas, I buy it for my youngest son. He’s one of those easy to please-if it has 4 wheels and run, it’s fine with him!