I am getting rid of my Compass due to seatbelt issues that haven't been addressed by Chrysler. I am looking at 00-04 Avalons as a replacement. Any issues that aren't commonly talked about that I should check when looking at Avalons / watch out for during ownership? I know about the valve cover gaskets, most of the ones I've looked at have already been replaced. I know they have timing belts but that's about it, I haven't really heard of any other unusual repairs. Please let me know! Thanks.
Would it be foolish to buy an 03 with 220k miles. Not only that, but I'd have to drive it 1550 miles home
Have a local mechanic check it out thoroughly, before you close the deal.
You don’t want to get stranded somewhere, in a vehicle you know nothing about..
That's what I was thinking about
You could check on carcomplaints.com for each model year. All from 00-04 have a small number of reported issues as well as the 09, 10 and 12 model years. As you know it all depends on how they were maintained. I have an 04 with 163K miles which I love and have never had a problem with, except the CD player quit working about 8 years ago. So I listen to the radio.
At age 67, it will probably outlive me. 😉
You just need to find one that has service records that reflect the recommended mileage interval maintenance of engine oil and filter, transmission fluid, air filter, timing belt and water pump replacement and coolant. These 1MZ-FE motors have a history of sludge build-up if the motor oil and filter are not changed at least every 5,000 miles.
Would it be foolish to buy an 03 with 220k miles. Not only that, but I'd have to drive it 1550 miles home 🙃
As Yaser advised, "They are great cars if your mechanic checks out."
If the 03 is 1550 miles from you, do you have a plan for a mechanic to perform a thorough inspection?
If the 03 has been properly maintained and serviced, it could be a good purchase if the price is right. But only if you have credible documentation of the service history would you be able to know. If this information is not available, I would pass on this or any other vehicle with high mileage and in this case, advanced years.
I'll most likely just have to see if there are good mechanics in the area where the car is located since all of the Avalons I'm finding are out of state. Would a Toyota dealership be able to perform an inspection or should I stick to independent mechanics?
I am getting rid of my Compass due to seatbelt issues that haven't been addressed by Chrysler
I am unsure wether this is the correct time for an upgrade,
used car prices are high and your Compass (although it's not a good vehicle) is probably newer and in better shape.
Would it be foolish to buy an 03 with 220k miles. Not only that, but I'd have to drive it 1550 miles home
You're replacing a car that you're familiar with, for a 19 year old car that's definitely nearing the end of its life...
Although the Avalon was built well, this name is being retired completely - and the value is going to drop.
It's also a deathtrap, lack basic safety features and crashworthiness is crap by 21st century standards.
Generally, I would NOT recommend buying that car, too old, too unsafe, too many miles.
What would recommend in the 4k and under range? I still do not feel safe in my car which is 2 years newer than my dad's tundra already has failing seatbelts. I don't want to risk my life or any of my passengers lives.
I've been also looking for facelift first gen Sequoias, are they safer?
Would a 05 and up Avalon be safer? I found an 07 with 177k.
How old is your car?
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Realize old cars, especially Japanese, aren't built with safety in mind - the Avalon is a neck breaker
(IIHS 315 lbs of tension force on the neck and over 9.5g of the T1 vertebrate in a simulate 10mph impact)
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Just look at a difference in a crash between a 1998 and a 2015 Corolla:
https://youtu.be/BV2KZXBGo80?t=14
And Toyota didn't take it seriously with the Corolla until the 2009 model year, and the first reliable variant of that platform is 2010 (and they aren't cheap)
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An old car, especially Japanese will not make you safer then a car with potentially bad belts - that's for sure!
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Back then the only ones who took it seriously was Volvo but I wouldn't recommend buying one for under $4k because they're luxury cars and when something goes wrong it tends to cost a lot to solve.
Or this video, the Volvo driver with minor injuries, the other car has pretty much turned into nothing.
https://youtu.be/ftmlorp6yW4?t=193
Or just the body quality
The 05-08 Avalon had the same head restraint issues as the previous generation.
The 09 has solved them so it's decent.
Okay, I will probably look for an 09 Avalon then.
Preferably with a 5 speed automatic, as I remember seeing quite a few questions about bad shifting on the 6 speed.
Thank you, I was wondering which transmission was better.
Not that I am questioning the fact that the head restraints are useless, the car usually lacks esc or traction control, but the 98 Corolla you used as an example got 3 stars from Euro NCAP which could be comparable to a marginal in the IIHS crash test, while the Avalon got a good. Is there anything else the car is missing that would make the car more dangerous than a newer one in a front end collision?
Head restraints aren’t useless, especially when it comes to high tension force measurements - if the neck isn’t worth protecting, what is?
I can’t think of many more severe injuries than neck / head injury.
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I agree that’s it’s NOT a reason to run and buy a WHIPS equipped car, but I’d be cautious of cars that performed poorly in that crash type.
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The Corolla is not a “Marginal” it’s an IIHS “Acceptable” (the one bellow Good) - if not for “ Driver restraints” (the report talks about poor neck and head kinematic) being subpar it would be a “good” as the other measurements were mostly good.
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In other words the IIHS test are useless in the context of crashes involving multiple cars.
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The Avalon that’s not trying to pull your head off is as safe as cars were back then.
Of course you can’t expect the same rigidity (Toyota’s new TNGA can even handle a frontal collision with a similar sized German car without falling apart https://youtu.be/o_vhCHLX-mc) or systems like BAS or LDW BUT it’s still quite good.
I wasn't saying that head restraints are useless, I was saying that the head restraints on the Avalon were useless. But, I see what you are saying. I just didn't understand why the old one got a good rating but still was unsafe.
I'm assuming the same thing would apply to a 2003-07 Accord?
The Avalon is generally better than the Accord, as far as safety it’s about the same.
I forgot to answer your question, my compass is a 2007.
Yeah, dumping it for an Avalon is a great idea.
If I remember correctly, at first they had questionable CVTs and later they had the very first modifications of the Hyundai 6 speed automatic that were prone to disassembling themselves (They cheeped out on Loctite)...
Yeah, I sold it today lol. I got 5k out of it.
Nice. Don’t forget to get a pre-purchase inspection on the Avalon.
I won't. I was trying to get one out of state, because I'm looking for one with the bench seat, I'm going to wait for one to pop back up here in Texas or maybe whithin 500 miles of my house. I added up the travel costs, and the Avalon would actually be 6k because of flight tickets, gas, hotel, food, pre purchase inspection, etc. So I'm going to wait 🙃. However, if a good deal on a Sequoia shows up, I might do that. We'll see I guess.
Yep.
Also front bench seats are just a good feature to have, it’s a shame no one makes them anymore. New cars cheap out on the seat size even…