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

I can’t tell if these are legit chrome wheels or cheap Chinese “skins”...


September 9th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

2003 and newer Corollas are just about everywhere, and 1998-2002 Corollas are still fairly common as of this post as well; 1993-1997 Corollas are hard to find, especially in decent condition; Anything older than 1993 is virtually unheard of. Today, I saw a 2009ish Corolla colored in ubiquitous “rental white” in a parking lot here in town (just a couple spaces down from the red Scion FR-S), and I didn’t bother to take a picture because they are so common...

However, the Yaris is not as common as the Corolla, so I tend to photograph them whenever I can. I cannot remember the last time I saw the Yaris’s direct predecessor, the Echo in person! Most examples of the Yaris that I see are generally not in the greatest condition, like this one...


September 9th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

I have a mint 2003 Camry brochure you can have (free) if you PM me your address. I bought the car new and still have it. There was a mid-year model change in 2003 MY to upgrade the V-6 to VVTi. The brochure doesn't mention it, but they stuck a leaflet inside to show the new engine and transmission. I bought the first VVTi engine equipped XLE they got into the local dealer.

Been a solid car for about 170,000. All I have done is replaced the timing belt and plugs around 110,000. Drive it here in the salt belt and the underside looks almost new. Even the V-6 gets about 30mpg on low slope highway miles. I get 25 in city.

 

One of my coworkers at my old job has a 2002 or 2004 (I forget) Camry. The A/C doesn't work and paint is peeling, but it will not die!

 

Mine is the model after the one you show. There was a major model change at that time. Looks exactly like this one. Definitely boring, but definitely reliable and a great mid size sedan. For it's time, the styling was pretty decent.
I have driven it in snow so deep the car started to "hydroplane" from riding up on top of the snow being compressed under the engine undercover area. As long as I kept moving, I didn't get stuck. Literally, the only parts that have ever failed are head and tail light bulbs.

 

My mom had a 1990 LE V6 that she and my dad bought new (how I got the 1990 sales brochure) and it looked just like the one on the cover of the brochure...

 

@Wsidr1

My friend's late mother bought a 2006 Camry brand new. It was right when the newly redesigned '07 models were hitting the lots, so she got a really good price, paying less than twenty grand for it. It was a base model Camry (LE?) with a 4-banger and automatic transmission, and as to be expected, it was much better than the 2002 Hyundai Elantra it replaced. Unfortunately, my friend's mom did not have much money or very good credit. She financed the car and had it for a few years, then it got repossessed in 2010 or so when she fell behind on the payments. Remember that the price of the car was less than $20,000; When it was repossessed, my friend's mom owed like $23,000 four years after she bought the damn thing!

 

Most auto makers reap the bulk of their profits from the financing side. Not hard to understand how she got into this predicament. Sad though.

 

My dad financed the 2010 Tacoma through Citadel at 0.9% APR and paid it off early, then gave it to me. The '96 Nissan Pathfinder we traded for the Tacoma fell victim to "Buy Here Pay Here". We traded the Pathfinder (which my dad bought new and paid off in 2000 or 2001) for the Tacoma in September 2009 and the dealer sold it within a week. That old Nissan was 13 years old and had like 113K miles on it, and was worth maybe four grand (five grand at most) at the time. I never knew what happened to the Pathfinder until my dad found the original window sticker in 2015 or 2016. I ran the VIN through Carfax, and it actually said that the Pathfinder had been repossessed in May 2010. This begged the following question...

Who in the fuck finances a 13-year old vehicle with over 100K miles that most people could afford to pay cash for?!?!

Aside from a recall issued by Nissan in 2011, our Pathfinder's trail goes cold after the repossession in 2010. Specifically, the trail goes cold in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. There is absolutely nothing. No emissions testing/safety inspections, no registration updates or transfers out of state. NOTHING. This leads me to believe that the Pathfinder we took great pride in maintaining has been rotting in a tow yard in Fairless Hills since 2010. If it had been totaled or sold for scrap, the Carfax report would have reflected this. This guy I know had a 2007 Suburban that he traded for a Dodge Ram 1500. Just for fun, I ran the license plate through Carfax and found that his 200K+ mile Suburban had been shipped to the United Arab Emirates. Carfax may be bullshit sometimes, but it is generally good with following the trail of vehicles even if they leave the country.

If I ever find my Pathfinder, I'll gladly buy it back and restore it to its former glory. When we traded it in, it had a ton of new parts, the A/C blew ICE COLD, and everything worked. Right now, KBB value on a '96 Pathfinder in good condition with those miles is less than $2,000. If I find it, I could probably talk whoever holds the title into letting it go for $500.

 

November 1st, 2009:

Furlong, Pennsylvania

 

Asked my coworker about his Camry and got some info...

2007 Camry, 230K miles, engine is starting to burn oil, A/C recently stopped blowing cold; He’s looking to get rid of it!

 

I generally DO NOT photograph any 2004-newer Prius I see unless there’s something really unique about it, because newer models are a dime a dozen around here!

The “First Gen” Prius, however, is not that common at all, and this is the first one I’ve seen in person in a while! It may be a Prius, but it’s still a fairly uncommon early 2000s Toyota, and I love taking pictures of those...


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

The 2002-2006 Camry, unlike the early Prius, is a common sight; Examples like this one, that haven’t been completely beaten to shit, are not common at all...

In true Camry form, this one has just one stock wheel cover, and three El Cheapo Plastico specials!


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

With few exceptions and with a few exclusions, I will only be taking pictures of Toyota, Lexus, and Scion vehicles ten years old or older; This will be a floating timeline, meaning 2010 is the oldest I will generationally go for the remainder of this take. Exceptions include any Land Cruiser of any year, any Lexus LX or GX SUV, any Scion FR-S/Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, and any new Supra, among others. Exemptions include any Prius newer than 2003, any Camry newer than 2001, any Sienna 2010 or newer, any 2nd Gen or newer Highlander, any RAV4 newer than 2005, and any Corolla newer than maybe 2007, unless it is customized or otherwise unique in some way.

The following vehicles in my picture collection get their own threads:

Tacoma, now with generation-specific threads (obviously)!
Tundra
4Runner
Hilux/Pickup
FJ Cruiser

 

This is technically a Toyota...


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

For when your family won’t fit in a mere Camry...


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

I’ve driven plenty of Corollas over the years (mostly dealer loaners, a few used ones at the detail shop, and a friend’s 5-speed). The oldest one I’ve ever driven was a 2010 bargain lot beater at the detail shop; This is a 2003-2007 model, a generation I’ve never driven, and it’s actually in decent shape (plus a bonus 4th Gen RAV4 across the street)...


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

This is one of those exceptions to the “no RAV4s newer than 2005” rule...

Why? I’ve never seen 4th Gen “Adventure Edition” before!


September 12th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

Subaru BRZ! I love these cars but would never buy one because I don’t fit...


September 13th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

 

Whenever I see a Scion tC, it almost always seems like it’s a shitbox...

This example is registered in Jersey, and it’s emissions test sticker expired in June 2018; The car is trashed inside and out...


September 13th, 2019:

Doylestown, Pennsylvania