Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Camry sports a V6 engine and five-speed stick, a combo that makes this a very interesting version of what’s arguably a very dull car. Let’s see if its price is anything to get excited about.
Of the 12 men who have, to date, walked across the surface of the moon, leaving their indelible boot marks for all eternity, only four are still living — Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Charles M. Duke, Harrison H. Schmitt, and David R. Scott. Some day, they will pass away as well, leaving only the legacy of the Apollo moon missions as their enduring memorial.
Part of that legacy is all the cool cars the astronauts drove, including a clutch of Corvettes and, in the case of Alan B. Shepard, a 1995 Chevy Camaro Z28 convertible that he and his wife used for a time at their Pebble Beach, California homestead. Shortly, that Camaro will be up for grabs with an asking price of $250,000, some of which will go to charity. Despite the cool history and astro-celebrity provenance, few of you thought that to be a price that would get the Camaro off the launch pad. At the end of our countdown, that asking resulted in a massive 96 percent No Dice loss.
Hey, do you have any superpowers? Super strength? Super speed? Super armpit fart noise-making? Yeah, me neither. It’s a sad fact that most of us are just regular everyday folk. Of course, we each have our own individual personalities and quirks. And since you’re here, reading this, you also, no doubt, have more than just a passing interest in performance cars. Or, at the very least, an interest in the performance of cars. What might such a middle-of-the-fast-lane persona equate to in the automotive world? I submit for your approval this 2000 Toyota Camry LE with a V6 and five-speed stick as a potential candidate. And, barring that, we’ll just see how much someone should rightfully pay for it.
There’s no question that for more than four decades now, Toyota has been carefully culturing the Camry to be the most blissfully boring sedan on the market. Its reputation has always been for solid, reliable transportation dashed with a modicum of comfort and convenience whipped together in a package that neither stirs one’s loins nor breaks one’s bank. It’s never, however, been a car that anyone would consider anything other than modestly entertaining. Some models, like this one, come close, though.
The car’s specs are pretty solid. The engine is Toyota’s long-serving DOHC all-alloy V6, here in 2995 cc displacement and offering 194 horsepower and 209 lb-ft of torque. That’s matched with a modestly long-throw five-speed manual designed for economy rather than fun but still lightyears away in the engagement department from the usual Camry automatic.
The drivetrain isn’t the only attraction this Camry affords. It also comes with copious records documenting maintenance work on all its consumables, major and minor. Listed in the ad, the car shows 120,000 miles, and while that’s usually just getting started for a Toyota of a certain age, it seems that this Camry’s owner has treated it like a traditional, less stalwart car and has addressed pretty much every major system and component. The clean-title car passes its smog test, and, according to the seller, it is “mechanically sound and currently needs zero maintenance.”
Along with the engaging drivetrain, this Camry offers such niceties as power accessories, a moon roof, and a modernized double-DIN stereo head unit. On the exterior, the car looks a bit tarted up in its upscale-looking silver metallic paint. It also features the LE standard fog lamps, and some aftermarket chrome-plated alloys, although the latter aren’t doing the car any favors. Those are wrapped in new tires in the front. Small scrapes on the corner of the front bumper detract from an otherwise solid appearance.
The cabin features cloth seats and carpet that still look factory-fresh. In fact, there’s no appreciable wear evident anywhere in the cabin. The engine bay presents equally, as does the trunk. Overall, this appears to be not just a solid car but one that has also been exceptionally well-cared for. The seller sets our expectations for the car by claiming: “As a 23 year old car it’s not necessarily sporty, but it is very smooth and quiet to drive.” What might one expect to pay for such a solid citizen?
The asking price is $7,000, which the seller says is fairly firm, owing to the “quality of the car.” What do you think? Is this best-of-the-boring Camry worth that much? Or does that price not excite you in the least?
You decide!
Las Vegas, Nevada, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Bill M. for the hookup!
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