So I went to inspect a 2010 camry (80k miles) and I had some enquiries about the condition. Overall the car is clean and well maintained but when I removed the oil cap of the engine, I felt air coming out. No smoke whatsoever though (either from the oil chamber or the tailpipe). I am not sure what to make of this but I heared that in some cars this mean that the piston rings maybe worn out. Is this a problem?
Another thing is that the coolant compartment lid had a bit of residuals around (nothing too crazy though). Is this an issue?
Thanks in advance for your help
Does it have the 2.4L engine?
Yes. 4cyl 2.4L engine
The 2.4 engines of the Camry were known to have defective engine designs where the piston rings were designed wrong and the engines use excessive oil. This usually starts to occur between 70-100k miles and they are a pain to deal with honestly I would just walk away.
Here is some info: https://www.classaction.com/toyota-oil-consumption-defect/lawsuit/
There is a lawsuit about it (in the US) and the cars are out of warranty I would stay away from the Toyota 2.4 engine.
I have a friend with a 2.4 Rav4 with 60k miles and guess what? The piston rings were designed wrong and it burns oil. You could just add oil but after some time problems may occur and people spend from 3-6k dollars fixing it and for me that is not worth it. We are talking about possible likely cylinder misfire or engine failure.
There is no Camry Altise in the US but if it has the same 2az-fe 2.4 I4 engine, then I would recommend you avoid it as serious issues may pop up later on. If you really want to buy it, have a mechanic check it out.