Rent, Lease, Sell or Keep: 1993 Toyota Camry DX – 5 Speed

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

12 years. That’s how long I drove a 1994 Toyota Camry LE coupe. It was red with a sunroof and ABS. Truly loaded for the time. But not quite loaded for the modern day. I never even considered anything else because to me this was just like an underpowered Lexus without the cost.

We’re talking the type of quiet and serenity that many compact vehicles (which this technically was) still can’t match. The 3rd Generation Camry was the absolute peak of Toyota’s over-engineering prowess and my car pulled a straight 239k with nary a hiccup. One owner later, it just recently crested the 300k mark with plenty of life left on the original powertrain. With that in mind I can…

Rent: Does anyone know how to drive a stick anymore? I swear that the only folks I ever get who even have a clue how to drive one are either over 45 or are immigrants. The Camry would have no trouble pulling in a $25 daily / $175 weekly rental rate. There are still millions of folks who would rather drive an archaic Toyota than a new domestic. That’s too bad for them. This car is good. But not that good. It is 18 years old after all.

Lease: Now we’re in the Camry’s sweet spot. $500 down. $50 to $60 a week for 18 months. Preferably to someone who is 45 or older since they are by far the easiest segment of the population to finance.

These customers want reliability, a little size, and very cheap operating costs. The Camry would be the perfect for it. Of course I have to endure the risk of them not paying or totaling this car without having full coverage insurance. Despite an eagle eye on insurance, this has happened to me twice. I made money on both cars. But not nearly as much as I could have.

Sell: With 188,000 miles and a body that is in near showroom condition, I am probably looking at around $2500. I used to price them right near their out the door price. But today’s market is different. There is so much finance fodder out there that you can’t help but try to get a healthier margin on your inventory. The lack of any good old-school Camry’s that haven’t been rebuilt or Frankensteined by someone with a very strange foreign accent will probably make my life easier if I decide to sell.


Keep: I am tempted. The fellow who owned this car put his kids through Emory, Annapolis, and at least three or four private high schools. He took care of this car from day one, and the interior is surprisingly strong with nary a rip on the seats or a cracked piece of plastic on the dash. I can probably hit close to 35 mpg’s on the highway, and I can still service this particular car with my eyes closed.

In fact, I just did an oil change without so much as blinking an eyelash. Everything is as I remember it. 12 years of familiarity breeds not only acceptance and rote memorization, but respect. With gas prices cresting four dollars, it may now be time to say bye to the 1st Gen Insight hybrid and ‘Hi’ to a familiar thrifty beater. I’m only in for $1150 so depreciation shouldn’t be much.

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

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  • William442 William442 on Apr 27, 2011

    Come on people. A ten speed, non synchro, Road Ranger, takes some time to master, but passenger cars are easy. The 15 year old took about ten minutes,with me as a teacher! Just do it, and save the rev matching for driver's school.

  • Romanjetfighter Romanjetfighter on Apr 28, 2011

    Soft touch plastics everywhere, from the lower door panelss to the glove box, and the steering wheel is great. The 2009 Camry I drive is a shit box compared to the 96 model. Only problem is they added the side impact beams in 95, I think. I wouldn't feel safe in that 1993 camry.

  • Jalop1991 The Trax looks great. Too bad it's from GM. Won't have one.I'm driving a rental Prius, a 2016 with 84K on the clock. I had forgotten how well Toyotas hold up. It drives great (for what it is), and still gets 60mpg. The current Prius looks great, like the Trax does, so it's the winner.You can't under-rate the Trax. That GM label kills everything in its path.
  • FreedMike Non-GLI VW Jetta. Even the base version is a good driver, there's a manual version, and the whole line is reasonably priced. The Sport model is a fine little driver's car for not a lot of bucks. And...NO CVTs.Also: Hyundai Sonata N-Line. It's a modern day GTO (think modest family car with a crud ton of performance), and it's reasonably priced. Yes, it's overpowered, but it's overpowered in a hilarious sort of way - like an old GTO. With the loss of the Honda Accord Sport 2.0T, it's also the last survivor in the midsize, mass-market performance market, which I mourn losing.
  • Bouzouki Under-rated? Wrong question? What is the LEAST over-rated new car? That is the question."With all the excitement of the NY Auto show". Really? Tell us about the fun to drive cars with manual transmissions that you saw, that aren't wired for automakers to sell our data, how were they?What's that? There were none. Thank you.Yes, the THREE-cylinder cars are not as over-rated as the automakers would like, like the new Encore. It's not much fun to drive, but it has a great touchscreen--woo-hoo!!!
  • ToolGuy you make it sound so exciting i really wish i could attend in perzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  • ToolGuy Yes let's be fair to Ford Motor Company, after all the Ford dealership has been so fair to everyone.
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