Thoughts on Buying a Second Hand Toyota Camry Hybrid?

LPulseidon on 26/02/2021 - 12:52

Hi all

Full disclosure - I know very little when it comes to cars and would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

I'm in the market for a second hand car, looking to spend between $7-12k. I know the market is fairly pricey at the moment but I need to replace my very old car which has just carked it.

I'm looking mainly at Toyotas and Mazdas for reliability and hopefully cheaper repairs. In particular, I've seen a few Toyota Camry hybrids (2010-2012 models that have done about 150,000kms) for around $10k and thought these might be a decent option (especially in terms of fuel efficiency).

Obviously battery degradation is main concern with a hybrid that's about 10 years old and done a fair few kms. I'd really appreciate any thoughts or insights you might have on this issue or alternative options you think I should be looking at.

Thanks in advance!

Automotive Car Toyota

Comments

  • spackbace on 26/02/2021 - 13:14
    +7

    Go have a look at the logbooks, and double check the owner history, make sure they weren't used for Uber. Likely they'd have higher kms if they were, but someone could've just done it briefly.

    The car that always gets forgotten about is the Aurion, and subsequently offers pretty good value for money, as well as that V6 engine

    • Pulseidon on 26/02/2021 - 13:21
      +1

      Thanks very much mate, really helpful! The car I'm replacing is actually an Avalon (the predecessor to the Aurion). I'm hoping to get something that's a bit less fuel-hungry and am not too fussed about power.

      • spackbace on 26/02/2021 - 13:25

        Camry hybrid uses premium fuel, so the savings might not be as great as you think. The V6 doesn't have to work as hard, so can be surprisingly economical. Plus it's rare to have issues with the V6's afaik (not that the hybrids have issues, just the battery).

        Thing to think about is resale, unless you're running it into the ground. Those concerns you have over a 150,000km hybrid… think how the next owner will be at 250,000kms

        • wiipantz on 26/02/2021 - 16:02
          +4

          No they don't, I have 2010 Hybrid and it runs on plain old regular or if I feel particulary perverted I can use e10. It states this in the manual and the fuel cap

  • MS Paint on 26/02/2021 - 13:27
    +1

    What typical driving do you do in percentages?

    Eg. 80% peak hour bumper to bumper traffic
    20% freeway / highway without stopping

    The reason I ask is that hybrid may not be suitable and you may be wasting money and other good purchase opportunities.

    • Pulseidon on 26/02/2021 - 13:31

      Good question, I catch public transport to work so don’t drive at the really peak times very often at all. I mainly use the car for getting around Brisbane on the weekends (shops, restaurants, sport etc) and a trip to the Gold/Sunshine Coast once or twice a month.

      • knasty on 26/02/2021 - 14:40
        +1

        Based on that explanation I'd second Spaceback's suggestion; Aurion is very well suited to open road cruising and the hybrid benefot is most felt for stop start urban driving.

        • WreckTangle on 26/02/2021 - 15:55
          +3

          Love the word benefot…i’m going to use it myself even though i don’t know what it means

          • knasty on 26/02/2021 - 17:01
            +3

            @WreckTangle: Its French for benefit…that's what I'm sticking with.

          • Hirolol on 27/02/2021 - 14:06
            +2

            @WreckTangle: I read it as benefit and had to go back and check after reading your comment

  • techno2000 on 26/02/2021 - 13:36
    +2

    A 10 year old Hybrid.The battery will be carked or on its last legs and will need to be replaced.
    Probably add a couple of thousand dollars for that.

    • 82norm on 27/02/2021 - 09:44

      Yes, my neighbour just had his replaced and it cost him around $2300. A lot for a pensioner. HeRing his experience, I’d stay away from them.

      • spackbace on 27/02/2021 - 10:15
        +1

        At how old and how many kms?

  • casho on 26/02/2021 - 14:13
    +8

    Congrats on choosing to buy a cheap 2nd hand car vs most posts on (finger quote) ozbargain (finger quote). "I want to spend $40-50k on a car, typically drive 10kms a week" Uh you realise you will loose 1/2 your value in 3 years, so that's $20k-$25k in three years. That buys a looooooooot of taxi/uber/limo rides for your 10kms a week.

    • techno2000 on 26/02/2021 - 14:25
      +5

      While i agree that cars depreciate a lot,Can you show me this car which has travelled 10 kms per week and is now 3 years old and travelled 10000 kms on the odometer and cost half now.
      I want to buy it.

      • casho on 26/02/2021 - 15:27
        +6

        Sarcasm doesn't travel well through text. What I meant was endless posts on here "Hi I NEEEEEED a brand new $40-50k car so that I can drive to Coles once a week, please make it a hybrid so I can save some money on fuel". This is ozbargain, the correct answer is get a taxi or uber there and save tens of thousands in depreciation loses, insurance, rego, etc

        • Zachary on 02/03/2021 - 16:15
          +1

          This is ozbargain, the correct answer is get a taxi or uber there and save tens of thousands in depreciation loses, insurance, rego, etc

          Actually the more ozbargain option would just be to walk or sprint to your destination (or bike assuming you already have a bike to ride on that isn't electrically powered or fuel powered unless you dont mind hauling that extra weight for exercise when it dies)….taxi and uber rides are pretty expensive….like $100 a ride or something….while walking and sprinting is free until you break your legs tripping/slipping over something….

          • casho on 02/03/2021 - 21:07

            @Zachary: True also. But $100 will get you a long way!

            • Zachary on 03/03/2021 - 18:17
              +1

              @casho: I guess if ur in a hurry and ur legs cant run the speed of cars…..

    • Pulseidon on 26/02/2021 - 15:02
      +5

      Thanks mate, I don’t think I’ll ever buy a new car.

      I just need something that’s safe, reliable, runs relatively cheaply (in terms of fuel and repairs) and gets me from A to B in basic comfort (ie. aircon and I can connect my phone somehow for maps and music).

      There’s a million other things I could spend money on and get more enjoyment out of than a car.

    • Geoff-bargain on 27/02/2021 - 12:31

      Haha I'm probably like this. But even if you don't drive much in the week it can be worth it if you do a lot of weekend getaways.

  • wiipantz on 26/02/2021 - 16:11
    +2

    I bought a 2010 Camry Hybrid with over 200k on the clock last year for around 4k site unseen from an auction(I like to gamble when I know what I'm doing).
    Since then I've driven Melbourne to brisbane amongst other long and short drives without issue I've put about 15k on it, I got the battery checked and a minor refurb(cleaned the cooling core ect) for about 160 bucks from a reputable Toyota Stealer in Brisbane mind you. It's had one service and everything is great, except it doesn't have floor mats (woe is me!)
    I think those prices are a tad high your looking at but they might be exceptional examples, you are looking at the right space though. My other favourite is the Falcon on Gas as another choice in that sphere.
    Good luck

    • Pulseidon on 26/02/2021 - 16:20

      Thanks mate, used car prices are pretty crazy at the moment and I can’t see much better than $10k for an early 2010s Camry hybrid (with about 150k). $4k is an absolute steal so congrats!

      • wiipantz on 26/02/2021 - 16:24
        +2

        I bought it Jan last year so different market, I also bought it off the internet via an auction house. Plus it had over 200k on the clock. It's my third camry in my life so meh, worth a roll. Falcons on Gas are great too. Big advantage of the Camry is rego is cheaper beign a 4cyl in Queensland if that's still a thing? I get a discount in Vic for it being a Hybrid which is nice.

        • smashman42 on 27/02/2021 - 15:44

          Yeah, QLD still has the cylinders pricing thing

          Wonder how they work that with EVs? Do they call them all 4cyl or go by body size maybe? Edit: I assume with hybrids they just go off the ICE part of it, but really the camry hybrid is more comparable to the v6 than the vanilla 4cyl, isn't it? So maybe they count the electric part as a supplemental 2cyl engine or something weird?

  • godofpizza on 26/02/2021 - 17:54

    anyone know if there are any saving on rego for hybrids?

  • SgtGrumbles on 27/02/2021 - 08:11
    +4

    I've driven a few Toyota hybrids recently, though as rentals they were newer than you're talking. I was pretty pleased by the drive. Nothing glamorous but it just accelerates smoothly and all felt well put together.
    Has to be compared with all the downsides we're discussing, but I think my point is, go for a test drive if you haven't already.

  • Euphemistic on 28/02/2021 - 07:48
    +1

    My question: can you still drive a Camry hybrid if it’s battery dies or is it like a printer that won’t print black and white if it runs out of blue ink?

    Ie can I keep driving (but use more fuel) while I save up for battery replacement or will it be stuck in the garage?

  • hugamuga on 02/03/2021 - 22:47
    +1

    I was looking for the same kind of thing last year and ended up finding a cheap Honda Insight (2nd gen) that had previously been used for rideshare. Apparently battery issues are pretty much unheard of (based off what I have read in forums). been super happy with the car so far, getting around 4.5l/100km, car has 255000km but interior is flawless.

  • dazeet on 07/03/2021 - 21:00

    Some interesting points about hybrid vehicles. The only thing that seems to be wrong is regarding Camry hybrids not running an Atkinson cycle engine (they do). The rest seems to be sound:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ6EKLub0gc

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