I purchased a Toyota Camry 2011 LE 2.5L 4 automatic transmission a year ago at 260000 for 2900$ and till this day the car hasn’t had major issues nor has left me stranded currently sitting at 276325 miles. I’ve put a few thousands in the vehicle on replacing certain parts, Mainly fuel and airflow related things because something seemed a little off about the car but not bad enough to not get me where I needed to go but maybe 2 times my car wouldn’t start. I’ve replaced the fuel injectors, MAF sensor, coil packs, spark plugs ( twice because the first time a little later on didn’t seem gapped right and a little black at the end ), cleaned the throttle body, replaced the fuel pump, I do an oil change every 3000 miles even though I use full synthetic and sometimes add the high mileage Lucas oil stabilizer in it. The only thing I can think of that might be too worn out now is my Catalytic Converter because my check engine light and Slip indicator will either blink maybe 10 times or stay on for some miles and it only happens when I speed up too fast it seems as if the engine can’t breathe maybe so the RPM keeps bumping quickly and my car can’t really speed up while it’s happening. Also my car has been burning oil quicker than usual and there’s no oil leak or anything of that nature; I’ve added atleast 3 quarts of oil in only 2600 miles and 2 months of useage which didn’t seem normal to me but maybe it is? Toyota told me my piston rings are wearing out and that’s why I’m burning through my oil so quickly. The transmission as far as I’m aware works fine but the owner before me has never changed the fluid so Toyota told me it’s too late to do it now because it can cause issues. The car has been reliable and I know Camrys are good cars, I’m just not sure if mine is worth putting a lot more money into or should I just look into getting another car and drive my car as is until it breaks. There's a lot so my apologies if it seems a bit jumbled up. : )
I’ve replaced the fuel injectors, MAF sensor, coil packs, spark plugs (...) might be too worn out now is my Catalytic Converter because my check engine light and Slip indicator will either blink maybe 10 times or stay on for some miles (...) Also my car has been burning oil quicker than usual (...) the owner before me has never changed the fluid
To answer your question: Yes, you should be looking at other cars.
I mean it sounds to me like your car is on it's last straw, you're saying your engine is burning over a quart in 1,000 miles and that your transmission in running on 280k mile fluid.
Also judging by your description and the list of repairs, it has turned into a money pit (because of the insane milage) The list of repairs on this sounds like what you'd do on a BMW at 150k miles.
I'd recommend considering a newer Camry with less milage (Avoid ones with TC issues)
Tc issues?
Traction Control???
Torque Converter - was a huge issue on most 2011-2014 Camrys.
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Toyota documentation on this issue:
https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/staticcontent/en/techinfo/html/prelogin/docs/cp/e03tofaq.pdf
Toyota acknowledged the issue but never really gave a real solution. A lot of these torque conveyors fail at 60k-100k miles are require either an expensive rebuild or replacement.
Exactly what Dan said above. Start looking now while your car is still running (well kind of) so you have a bit more time to look around for a good deal. And by good deal I mean a good deal in this new market which is going to be very different than what a good deal was before. Also, I don't know your budget but depending on how much you want to spend for example if you say $17k then I'll say spend like $3k more and buy a brand new Corolla instead of a used Camry (if this smaller size car works for you).
Corolla Camry either is fine I just want something that’s gonna last me a while and is an easy fix for most things. Would you recommend getting a used or new car? I can save up for a down payment but buying a car in full will take me too long. People recommended me see about trading in my current car towards one at CarMAX. I’ve only had cheap cash cars so this is all new to me.
Don't buy anything from CarMax, they're just flippers and a popular dumping ground for bad cars that people want to get rid of. Very high probability of winding up with someone else's problem.
Exactly as Chuck said above; avoid CarMax without a doubt. If you think it is financially feasible for you go for a brand new base Corolla; it's cheaper than Camry and they're good cars. Also, the current used car market is so crazy that in so many cases buying new is worth a lot more than used especially since you plan on keeping it for a long time.
Should I try to buy from Toyota themselves? Personally I wanna stick with Toyota, I’ll try Honda too if I gotta though. I have good credit so I know I can get help financing through the bank but I’ve heard it’s hard to actually pick a car you want when you’re getting a loan from the bank.
Well if you want brand new then it's through a Toyota dealership so yeah your option is dealership. Honda is very good specially if you get one which doesn't have a turbocharged engine; for example in the same size as Corolla there is the Civic too which personally I prefer Civic given the much better interior (it has quality too). Regardless of how you are paying for the car (loan, cash, or whatever) it doesn't have anything to do with picking a car. You get approved for the amount of loan you need. And the dealership that's separate; you go in and negotiate the car you want and get the OTD price. Just know that this market is very different and msrp is the going normal price. Also, a lot of times you have to put a deposit on an incoming allocation and wait for it to come as dealership might not have one on the lot.