Toyota Stalking, er...um, SPOTTING with Charlie™ (Cars, vans, SUVs, Lexus, Scion, and brochures)!

1998 Camry LE V6


November 4th, 2023:

New Britain, Pennsylvania

 

1999 RAV4 Special Edition, and it's a 5-speed!


November 4th, 2023:

New Britain, Pennsylvania

 

2002 Prius


November 4th, 2023:

New Hope, Pennsylvania

 

2007 Highlander


November 5th, 2023:

Riegelsville, Pennsylvania

 

2009 Matrix S 5-speed


November 5th, 2023:

Riegelsville, Pennsylvania

 

2009 Scion TC 5-speed


November 5th, 2023:

Riegelsville, Pennsylvania

 

@ColoradoTJ

2010 Lexus IS350C


November 9th, 2023:

Warrington, Pennsylvania

 

I saw this interesting spare tire cover on a 2006-2009ish RAV4 last night...


November 9th, 2023:

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

 

And we can build this thing together....

 

I got no results when I ran the license plate through Carfax (likely because whoever owns it just bought it and the paperwork hasn't been processed), but I believe this gorgeous Lexus LS400 to be a 1997 model (like Christopher Moltisanti's car in season 1 of The Sopranos)...


November 20th, 2023:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

I've been driving past this Daihatsu HiJet for days, and I finally stopped for a photo op!


November 22nd, 2023:

New Hope, Pennsylvania

 

@6 gearT444E
@ABA180
@Bishop84
@BkerChuck
@ColoradoTJ
@Empty_Lord
@Just_A_Guy
@RustyGreen
@shakerhood
@steelcity2
@Speedytech7
@TnShooter

2022 Camry Hybrid LE; I have said many time before that I do not post pics of newer stock Toyota cars (other than Supras, GR Corollas, and GR86s) unless there is something truly unique about them, but I was curious to know if you all thought that this car is going to be totaled...?


December 3rd, 2023:

Hatfield, Pennsylvania

 

Unless the uni-body is also bent I'd bet it won't be totalled. Two doors, a fender, and a tire and she's mint if the structure underneath isn't bent.

 

A base model Camry Hybrid has an MSRP of just under $30K when new, so I don't think this car will be totaled, even though the cost of repairing it will probably be around $12,000 at a minimum. If something this happened to my truck and insurance paid to fix it rather than total it, I wouldn't care. However, if I had a year-old Camry that I was probably still making payments on, I would probably want the insurance company to total it...

Why would I want it totaled? It looks like there might be structural damage underneath the door and front fender. The airbags did not deploy, which is a huge determining factory in whether or not an insurance company totals a vehicle.

Also, even if the damage is purely cosmetic, the accident still goes in the Carfax Report and even if the owner paid cash, their car is worth less. That is one of the most annoying aspects of fender benders!

 

Eh, that car is an appliance and you live in the rust belt... insurance can pay you out for the "diminished value" but regardless it has a life of about 8-10 years anyway in that climate. I'd let it ride with a repair and be happy if insurance pays a few payments for my trouble.

 

I can tell you from experience that the total cost of replacing one door on a Tacoma is about $3,000. Luckily, that accident wasn't my fault and the at-fault party's insurance company paid for repairs. I actually think that the parts and labor associated with replacing the door on my truck was more in the $2,200-$2,500 range, because that $3,000 bill included repairing the right rear fender as well.

 

My truck got a new frame, as you know, and this included new brake lines, new fuel lines, new leaf springs, and new lower control arms; I now apply Fluid Film annually, so I think my truck would be comparable to one from the PNW; I do agree with you that most vehicles in my area are rotboxes.

However, there's another mechanic who works for my mechanic; Pete Grenata is the owner of The Fix Autoworks about ten miles from my house, and I have been going to him for pretty much everything truck-related since like 2018. One of his employees is another mechanic named Joe who used to be a Toyota technician and owns two Toyotas himself, both of which have over 200K. His daily for a while a 2007 Sequoia SR5 that got a frame replacement under recall before he bought it. His other Toyota is a 2007 Camry Hybrid that he bought from my friend's mom for a thousand bucks.

The aforementioned Camry has a clean title, but it had 198K miles on it at the time, and the hybrid batteries had given out. My friend's parents also do not take care of their cars very well. Anyway, my friend's mom bought used late model Camry Hybrid and just wanted this one out of her garage.

Joe worked his magic and got the hybrid system operational, ultimately getting about 5,000 miles out of the car before they quit for good. He used his connections at a Toyota dealer to buy new hybrid batteries and is now driving the car again.

I have lived in this area since 2005, and I can tell you that newer Camrys (2007-up) don't rust around here like their older counterparts. Joe's project Camry doesn't really have visible rust, though I'm sure the undercarriage looks like shit. However, I have seen 2007-2011 Camrys with clearcoat/paint issues; Nissan Altimas in this area are a different story when it comes to rust. Ford and GM, especially the trucks, are probably the worst when it comes to body rot!

 

Looking at this car from the front, back, or driver's side makes it seem fine...

 

It used to be totaled but it’s an easy fix for them now.
All hybrids have such high residual it’s impossible to write off. We’ve seen 40k repairs on vehicles no sweat.