Used 1985 Toyota Camry for Sale near Bakersfield, CA

When I got the car it was used well, and although it had been maintained meticulously, the work was done by bad mechanics who did bad work. So the car was in bad shape when I got it. I knew the car as a child, as it was my mother's car. I drove it when I was a teenager when it was still a youthful car. Performance: acceleration great - braking great - handling okay Build Quality: Great, just really needs to be maintained better than it had been. Then it would have lasted longer than it did. Appearance: These are boring cars. Comfortable inside, not a lot of room in the trunk though. Cost of Ownership: When it was young and spritely, it was good. But even though the mileage was still very low (25K), after it was 15 years old this car acted like an old man. Falling apart. Needed a new A/C unit, new everything. It was atrocious. For that low mileage, it should have still been speeding around town like a young teenager. After all, it is a Toyota! I had to put it down. Sold it. Fun Factor: When I was a teenager, or borrowing the car as an adult, when the car was still in good shape, it was fun. When I owned the car, it was awful to drive. I hated it and sold it as quickly as possible. *I would only recommend a NEW Camry to someone. And they would need to maintain it well AT THE DEALERSHIP... not at some corner shop.

My mother purchased the car new in '85 for approx $12K, drove the car for 18 years until her death. Then she willed the car to her youngest grandson, who was 16 at the time and is now 23, and still driving the same car. It took him through 4 years of college in Champaign, ILL, and another 2 years of grad school in Lubbock, TX. 2 timing belts, 3 batteries, 1 clutch, 1 alternator, 4 sets of new tires, 1 motor mount, 3 sets of brakes and 157,000 miles later, the car is still running great and is about to move on to Dallas for post-graduate study!!! I was very fortunate to get the car in the first place, and it has been a real blessing to me. (my friends called it the pimp-mobile in high school, because of its conservative styling and color (brown!!!!). Probably in 2 to 3 years, I'll be ready to trade it in on another Toyota.

This is the first car I've owned myself, having driven my parent's Subaru for a year while I worked to save for it. I picked a Toyota having heard so many sing the praises of the company for reliability and fuel economy. I have to say that the Camry can deliver both. Unfortunately my particular car had a rocky start. She had been abused in a prior life, and the head gasket went almost immediately after I bought it. My first gasket job down, she's now ticking like clockwork. She isn't fast or sporty by any means, she chugs up long hills and idles a little rough, and occasionally shows her age in the completely analog dashboard and lack of any sort of safety features many people expect in a modern car. But if you want something simple, lovable, plucky, and fun with a whole lot of character and reliable if not abused, then this is definitely a car to check out. On top of that the minimalist interior is spacious and comfortable to match the absolutely gigantic trunk. She's old, slow, simple, a little rough around the edges and painted a drab shade of old Volvo blue, and I wouldn't have it any other way.