Car Replacement Question

WWYD - We own 2 Toyota Camry's.  One is a 2009 with 67,000 miles and one a 2013 with 61,000. We have done just basic maintenance on both (no timing belt, water pump etc.). We are thinking of replacing one of these cars for a 2019-20 Camry. Although we do not commute far on a daily basis we will be taking longer road trips in the next few years and were thinking of buying something, perhaps, more reliable. What would be the pro's and con's of replacing one over the other? TIA.


I would hope the 2013 is still very reliable, but I would not be comfortable with a 2009 on frequent long trips if I had a better option.  Do you have a trusted mechanic you can ask?

My cut off for long trips would be a 10 year old car...if i could afford afford something better...but there are many variables...mainly the condition of the current car.


Very similar cars. My guess is that you’d get more money for the ‘13. Punch the particulars into the Kelley Blue Book site to find out.


Nearly identical mileage on two good cars.  If you are buying a new one, I'd sell the newer of the two.  The older one is still perfectly good and will be able to handle local driving for years.


keep the 2013

the old one could start costing you $


oots said:

keep the 2013

the old one could start costing you $

 Cars usually don't start costing bucks until 100k. That is, stuff like tune-up, maybe struts/shocks, if you are unlucky, muffler.   Brakes will go in about 15 -20K more miles.

All in all, looking at maybe $2 - 3k in repairs. BUT they ain't all gonna happen at once. If you sell the newer car and put some away for the above mentioned repairs, you got a home run.

Now before I turn you loose, one question is, the undercarriage. Was it garage kept? Did you drive it in snow? Did you have the undercarriage washed after each snow or ice storm? If you are not sure, put it on a lift and check it out. While you are there, have them check the compression.

I figure you will end up keeping the '09 -- especially if you will use it mostly for local trips.



Keep both.  Even a big repair will be far cheaper than financing a car, unless you pay in full upfront.


yahooyahoo said:

Keep both.  Even a big repair will be far cheaper than financing a car, unless you pay in full upfront.

 I would agree except they are looking for a vehicle to take on road trips. That requires reliability.


I wouldn’t buy a brand new car just to take a few long road trips. A Camry is a super-reliable car and easy to find repairs/parts for so even with an unexpected problem on a road trip, it won’t likely cost much down time. If you haven’t had any issues with the cars the 2013 especially should be plenty reliable for at least a few more years (likely even a few more with such low mileage). I’d say that the new car is unneeded based on your description of intended use. 


Formerlyjerseyjack said:

yahooyahoo said:

Keep both.  Even a big repair will be far cheaper than financing a car, unless you pay in full upfront.

 I would agree except they are looking for a vehicle to take on road trips. That requires reliability.

I would argue that both cars are reliable based on the description given.  At the very least, the 2013 is reliable.


Thanks for all the help. Neither car has been garage kept. Some minor rust is forming just below the drivers door on the '09 but does not look serious. It looks like the KBB value of the 09 is $6000 and the 13 is $9000 if I inputted correctly. I guess it boils down to relying on a 2013 Camry not to have problems on upcoming road trips of +1000 miles. Even though easily repairable I would not like to be held up for several days while the car is being serviced. So the question is which to sell?



Many years ago, I read a story detailing how cars breakdown clustered by mileage bumps.

That is around 90 to 130 thousand miles expect several repairs such as alternator, etc. After you get through that bump the next bump is near 170 to 230, with issues such as transmission, maybe alternator again, and so on.

It seems mileage, more so than age, is the determining factor on breakdowns.


rhw said:

Thanks for all the help. Neither car has been garage kept. Some minor rust is forming just below the drivers door on the '09 but does not look serious. It looks like the KBB value of the 09 is $6000 and the 13 is $9000 if I inputted correctly. I guess it boils down to relying on a 2013 Camry not to have problems on upcoming road trips of +1000 miles. Even though easily repairable I would not like to be held up for several days while the car is being serviced. So the question is which to sell?

 Again, rust is not a problem under the doors (rocker panels). The main thing is to put it on a lift and examine the framework, wheel wells and so forth. Use that as the decision point since everything else seems equal.


BG9 said:

Many years ago, I read a story detailing how cars breakdown clustered by mileage bumps.

That is around 90 to 130 thousand miles expect several repairs such as alternator, etc. After you get through that bump the next bump is near 170 to 230, with issues such as transmission, maybe alternator again, and so on.

It seems mileage, more so than age, is the determining factor on breakdowns.

 Similar information to what I posted above.



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