I'm in the market for a 2nd hand V6, about 6-8 years old (or, the start of '97, whichever you prefer :)) and Magna is at the top of my list, right along side Camry (obviously!). I've been doing my best to research these two cars but haven't found very much that extends beyond:


The Camry is reliable (damn near bullet proof) but boring and slightly more spacious than the Magna
The Magna puts slightly more power on the road, is more stylish and has better extras than the Camry, but beware of having to replace the timing belt
Both have pretty good handling, ride comfort and fuel efficiency


Most of that is pretty moot for me as I'm replacing a 26 year old Corona: Ride comfort? Leg room? What are you talking about? :) For the kind of driving I'll be doing, I'm considering the on-road performance of the two to be basically the same, I don't want to smoke any VS Commodores at the lights.

I'm interested in learning as much as I can about reliability and maintenance costs for either (or both) of these models from around '97.

I realise this is a Magna forum, but you guys seem pretty friendly and I've at least seen other makes mentioned here. Why did you buy your Magna? Did you consider a Camry? Why didn't you buy one?

Any help would be most appreciated.

The maintenance costs will be very very simillar, maybe more so for the toyota - as it's dohc and has belts too(assuming it's the v6), which will be more complex and more expensive, but from what I've seen you cant go wrong with either car, so drive them both and choose the best one to drive/live with :P


Matthius

Camrys are good and are slighty more reliable than Magnas but hold their value too much!! Buying one second hand is in my opinion not wise as they are too expensive relative to other cars like Magnas. If you're buying a car new, it would be wise to get a Camry since they hold their value, but 2nd hand Magna is definitely the way to go. I would say that you should get a 99 TH executive 3.5L manual or auto depending on which you prefer. The 3.5L is nice (147kw and 300nm), and the TH in my opinion is the best looking executive type magna made. The interior is also fairly nice and what not. They are a very reliable car because most of the bugs got sorted out in the TE and TF range. The executive itself doesn't have that many features, get an advance if you want more features.

when i was considering my first car i first started for turbo's buti nsurance stopped that idea so what was next? v6's no way in hell could i drive a 4 cyl i hate them so that left me with falcons commies magnas and camry's bascially, i have never liked falcons so didnt bother looking at them, the camry's i looked at didnt inspire me at all plus even for a 6 kinda felt gutless to me and was more expensive then a commo

so i was left with commo and magnas, commos i wasnt going to get anything better then a VR-VS, ****ty interior, common as hell, not such a great engine, auto was shocking, then i test drove my TF, smooth, nice interior for a base model, lighter, more fun engine

basically from what u've said is that hte magna has an unreliable timing belt (which ive never known anyone to have problems with unless it hasnt been replaced when it was meant too) and the fact that the camry is reliable. I think my magna is dam reliable! compared to other cars in family (sister now has had a Kia Rio, Gemini, now a Ford Mondeo, problems with all, dads volvo has had issues just like his old one, mums civic is running fine tho so did her last car, but she drives like a granny and has below avg km's for year)

realyl hte realiablity of the magna is really good amd maintenance as said before its a toyota and DOHC so i can see being around same price or possibly more expensive coz of DOHC

of course its a magna forum, ur gunna get a bias opinion

I baught a magna because i wrote off my other car and had 1 day to find a another car. Not the best sercamstrances to negotiate and test drive a whole heap of cars. Anyway i remembered as a youngster i loved the look of the magna 2nd gen and thats all i could afford at the time so i got it. I did look at 1 camry but as was said before, it was a 93 camry and for $2000 less i could get a 95 magna ts.

Then i loved the car and only upgraded cause when i got the timing chain replaced, oil leakes started and they couldn't stop it so i decided to trade up to my 9 verada. Didn't look at any other type of car other than a magna, was going to get a tj exec, but with the options of the th verada, i couldn't go past it.

My opinion is to go Magna but i haven't really given the camry a good chance so take them both for a drive, and get the waranty option, mine was $800 fo 3 yr warantie, haven't had to use it yet but never know.

Id stick to a magna, toyoto's show your age, there like driving a tank around, magnas are more stylish, better handling, fuel efficent, and the list does continue.


Id be saying this even if i owned a 2004 celica!

its the truth, but i see where your coming from and its better to find out costs now

good luck with it

:cool:

The Magna puts slightly more power on the road, is more stylish and has better extras than the Camry, but beware of having to replace the timing belt

The timing belt should be replaced at the 100k kms service which is indeed quite expensive but if you look at a magna in a yard that has over 100k k's you should get the yard to pay for it :)

If it has just under 100k you should get $500-1000 nocked off the price ;)

i've had my magna for over a year (with 135k k's) and have only had one issue with an oxy sensor.. INHO Camry = the new volvo driver...

And the best reason is: THERE'S A MAGNA FORUM!!

Can't say I've ever seen my local Camry chapter cruise past! :bowrofl:

Luckily for you, Magna's are getting cheaper every day. :doubt:

Thanks alot everyone for your comments. It's given me a few things to think about.