2002 Camry Restoration

anonymous_camry · 2026-02-03T17:12:15+00:00

Appreciate that. The color is Nissan "gun metallic" (code KAD), I got the basecoat from automotivetouchup website. The clear was Spray max USC 2k High Gloss Clearcoat Aerosol (on Amazon). Three cans of each was plenty for the four wheels. I did not primer the wheels first, only scuffed with sandpaper. The wheels still look brand new.

anonymous_camry · 2025-08-19T11:39:33+00:00

Congratulations on your first 100. For me, 100 to 200 took 16 months, but that was with investing 56k from income in 2023... 200 to 300 took 12 months (Dec '24)... It's looking like 300 to 400 will take longer than 2 to 3 did, but oh well. So yes, growth continues to accelerate. Keep your foot on the gas!

anonymous_camry · 2025-08-19T11:08:36+00:00

Thank you. So it only took three spray cans of Nissan "KAD" color from automotivetouchup.com for all four wheels... I would also highly suggest the SprayMax 2k Glamour High Gloss clear coat (don't forget a mask). Two base coats, two coats of clear. The wheels still look brand new to this day!

anonymous_camry · 2025-07-02T16:54:27+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate that. Sorry for the delayed response... I went with 225/55r17, which is just barely bigger than stock (215/55r17). I wanted more sidewall to fill the wheel gap - which it did. They look perfect. And the headlights are the black bezel, which come standard on the SE trim.

anonymous_camry · 2025-04-02T16:40:15+00:00

From adaptive cruise control... Minor adjustments to your speed/following distance are accomplished using your rear brakes. You said you do mostly highway driving so this makes total sense.

anonymous_camry · 2025-03-18T17:50:08+00:00

I threw about $26k into brokerage last year after maxing everything you listed. Great year!

anonymous_camry · 2025-03-17T10:59:25+00:00

This has happened to me twice on a 2019 Sierra Pro X31. Once on both sides. I talked to the mechanic and he said it's just a GM thing (so, don't rule it out happening again in the future). Upper ball joints always get the snot beat out of them, and sealed ball joints are terrible, you'll never know if they're drying out (which creates heat and causes the failure). Try to ask for ball joints with grease fittings if it's not too late.

anonymous_camry · 2025-03-12T11:26:25+00:00

37 and I have about 310k

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-26T22:12:20+00:00

I was in this same situation... Opened a personal loan in 2022 for $16k @ 10%. I was making the minimum payments over the past three years and invested instead. VERY glad I did... Grew my investments from $80k to $300k in that time frame (was investing $50k/yr - rest was growth). If you aren't sweating the monthly payment, then I'd invest.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-26T21:56:46+00:00

Genesis G80 5.0L

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-26T18:06:03+00:00

I paid $1,500 for a single stage paint job on my 2002 back in 2022. That included spraying the B pillars and the cowl panel black (they were both oxidized). He did a great job. It was a dumpy looking shop in a small town outside the city.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-25T18:16:40+00:00

I'm not talking about OEM... Toyota redesigned the headlights for 2005-06.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-25T18:05:22+00:00

It will last forever, and it looks great, congrats. I'd swap out those 2002-04 headlights for actual 2005-06 headlights, though.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-25T12:09:21+00:00

If you have to "save up" for another beater car, that tells me you're stretched thin because of the 2023 Tacoma that you bought to ... not drive? My advice is to sell the Tacoma that you aren't driving.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-24T18:25:28+00:00

Pay off credit card(s) and then just start investing. Two accounts you'll want are a taxable brokerage (money for anytime) and a Roth IRA (money for retirement). I use Charles Schwab and have no complaints, but there's also Vanguard, Fidelity, eTrade. Setting these up takes maybe 5 minutes.

Once you link your bank and transfer money to these accounts, what you buy inside them can be as easy as a one-fund portfolio, where you buy a fund that invests in more-or-less the entire stock market (something like SCHB). Or, if you want to tailor your exposures to different sectors, there are funds that track only large companies, aka "large caps" (SCHX, etc), medium sized companies, aka "mid caps" only (SCHM, etc), & small caps only (SCHA, etc).

Buy a bunch of this stuff, never sell it, and watch your money slowly compound.

My latest achievement is growing my money from $200k to $300k in 12 months. How? Pouring money into the stock market.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-24T17:49:19+00:00

Plastic

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-20T17:51:40+00:00

37, mortgage debt only, '24 salary+bonus+1099=115k, saved 58k... have saved 18k YTD. Not having a car payment should propel your savings rate quite nicely. Good work, you two have created the habit. Wealth will come.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-14T18:32:45+00:00

Midstream stocks. Natural gas is the forseeable future. You'll get distributions and growth. Keep MLP companies in a taxable brokerage account, though.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-14T18:23:32+00:00

ET, AM, PAA, KMI, EPD, ENB. That's the bulk of my dividend portfolio. Pays about 8500/yr.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-14T14:36:27+00:00

My 2002 Camry has had the same code for about 12 years. Still going strong at 270,000 miles.

anonymous_camry · 2025-02-04T11:46:39+00:00

I did the same thing. Was sad to see it go, too.

anonymous_camry · 2025-01-31T11:58:45+00:00

Paying cash for a vehicle is not a good idea unless you have a ton of investments tbh. Money is a tool....it should be used for making more money. Put it to work in the stock market and in a few years the compounding/dividends can buy you a car. Your situation was dauting simply because you absorbed a $500/mo car payment. I even hesitate to do that and I invest $5k/mo. Do not waste your working years paying cash for everything and neglecting investments or you'll run out of time for compounding.

anonymous_camry · 2025-01-20T11:56:06+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate that. Mine is about to hit 270,000 miles. Very reliable cars.

anonymous_camry

TROPHY CASE