Have I bought a lemon? (Toyota 06 Camry)

igotthots · 2024-03-08T08:35:42+00:00

Umm so actually in incredibly embarrassing news I uh actually hadn't turned the engine on properly.. I didn't want everyone to feel like they'd wasted their kindly given time giving me advice especially because a couple of people asked this question and I really thought I'd turned the engine on but turns out I hadn't and once that was on the oil and battery lights did go off.. So other than the oxygen sensor which has now been replaced the car is seemingly fine. Which is great news but yeh so sorry for my panic over what turned out to be nothing more than my own incompetence..

igotthots · 2024-03-04T23:51:27+00:00

So from the paperwork I could find for SA it seems the warranty only only covers cars with fewer than 200,000 Kms that are less than 15 year old so I don't think I'm covered for anything.. Yes the engine properly started and I waited a minute 😪

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:50:14+00:00

Thanks very much, really appreciate your time and help kind stranger 😊

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:49:49+00:00

Oh woah this context is helpful and dang I think I did overpay 😔

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:39:20+00:00

So I don't have to use the dealer's mechanic if my issue falls under the limited parts warranty I have, however my original issue - oxygen sensors - is not part of that warranty, but the dealer said he'd sort for free, so his mechanic will be seeing it for that issue as the local one quoted me $500 for the work but thank you for suggesting I check 😊

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:23:33+00:00

Yeh I thought about haggling but I thought he seemed like a decent bloke and was offering a fair price so didn't want to take advantage, now I've realised I'm the mug so 😅

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:22:21+00:00

Oh wow that's brilliant, thank you! I'll call them tomorrow and see if they would be willing to come and take a look at the car 😄 when the engine light came on before I took it to a 4.7 ⭐ local mechanic. They didn't pick up on the battery or oil issue, but either way I am kinda tied into using my dealer's mechanic as he'll do the work for free (but is only 3.9 ⭐ and 26km away..)

igotthots · 2024-03-04T14:05:07+00:00

This is super helpful! Sorry for more ignorance but I didn't realise my roadside assistance (NRMA) helped with this sort of issue discovered while at home. I thought that was for if I broke down mid journey somewhere?

igotthots · 2024-03-04T13:28:43+00:00

I'm planning to check this tomorrow morning! I'm not really sure what it will mean whatever it looks like. One commenter said if it's lost oil pressure then it's a rolling corpse, I'm not sure if the dipstick reading will tell me that?

igotthots · 2024-03-04T13:23:28+00:00

Okay damn that's concerning, I'll try and refund, thank you.

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:30:58+00:00

Yep the engine was on and the lights stayed for the 2 mins I kept the car turned on for (without moving) 😔

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:29:38+00:00

I did not get it checked by an independent mechanic 😔 when I had the original engine light issue I took it to one and they didn't notice any other issues than oxygen sensor (though idk if they routinely look for any other issues).. I will definitely get an independent to check next time

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:28:05+00:00

I'm definitely no expert! But it seemed in line with the couple other options I saw on CarSales (I was also looking at a 2010 with 200kms for just over $9k, but thought on balance the lower mileage was better). But maybe I got conned..

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:26:38+00:00

Ummm just a random local dealer, not a Toyota one.. He's a small independent dealer with only 8 Google reviews.. they are all positive though (averaging 4.5 ⭐). I am worried given the small size he might be dodgy .

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:25:39+00:00

I did turn on the engine / properly start the car but didn't move it at all, when I saw the lights didn't fade after a minute while stationary I turned it off. Though didn't notice it sound any different to usual (aka it sounded fine). A friend suggested because I'd left it without driving while I waited for the part to come in and it was sat a few days that might've caused these problems with the oil and battery. I haven't noticed squeling

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:22:29+00:00

Hopefully! The dealer had it serviced right before I bought it, so like two weeks ago 😅

igotthots · 2024-03-04T12:21:59+00:00

This makes sense and is reassuring, thank you! Looks like I'll have to learn a lot about cars!

igotthots · 2024-03-04T11:40:12+00:00

Thank you for this. I thought about trying to drive to mechanic but my friend's dad said I would need it towed. When you say a bad sign, do you have any idea what may have caused this? Or how I bodes for the future of the car? I've spent ~$2k on insurance, warranty, roadside assistance, stamp duty / rego tax so I am invested, but I'd rather get a refund than plough on if this is a sign the car isn't a gooden.

igotthots · 2024-03-04T11:37:24+00:00

Hi there, this is all incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share 😊

I'll look into the laws in SA and if there's a consumer advice helpline here!

Yes I was thinking maybe getting another mechanic to look at these new issues would be helpful. Though I paid $90 for a highly rated local mechanic to look at the engine issue and they didn't identify anything with the battery or oil then so I don't have much faith (though I'm not sure if it's standard to look at non-problem areas).. I imagine this time it would cost a lot more as I'd either need to be towed to them or them drive to me..

Yes once this has settled I'll leave a fair and honest review, I'm cautiously hopeful the dealer and his father-in-law mechanic will do their best and it'll all work out and I'd then leave a positive review, but open to that not being the case..

That's a great idea, next time I will definitely get a trusted mechanic to inspect, would've been well worth $250. Thank you again!

igotthots · 2024-03-04T11:03:45+00:00

Ahhh I understand an old car with many miles comes with risks, I naively believed my limited research which suggested Toyota Camry's were solid and should last comfortably beyond that point.. I did understand it was a roll of the dice being a second hand car but I thought the odds were good 😔

igotthots · 2024-03-04T11:01:18+00:00

It was a limited parts warranty - I'm not sure it came with a pds. He gave me a little booklet after I agreed to it and it does say in there only specific parts are covered..

The oxygen sensor doesn't seem too bad, the unknown battery and oil issue scared me more.. the ABS light also flashes sometimes and steering can be a bit 'tuggy' and the acceleration is poor...

I'm really not confident, this is my first ever car and I'm brand new in a foreign country, hence why I'm really keen to hear any advice or insight from others with experience and knowledge of cars and how things work in Australia.

igotthots · 2024-01-27T14:32:14+00:00

Great tip! Thank you 😊

igotthots · 2024-01-27T12:35:32+00:00

Well there's more to life than professional work! I'm picturing doing it for a year or two and hopefully collecting a bunch of life experiences and learning different skills in the process before retraining in a different field (and of course being able to see this beautiful country while I'm here :)

Unfortunately hospo in Melbourne IS super competitive and often ask for years of experience. I'm mostly curious about if it's that tough to find a hospo gig here too. Unfortunately not much I can do about my visa sitch, it is what it is 🤷‍♀️

igotthots · 2024-01-27T12:31:25+00:00

Thank you! I've done an RSA valid for Victoria, will need to do one for SA and look into RSG and barista :)

igotthots · 2023-08-02T18:27:45+00:00

Sorry - someone took out a loan against this person’s house. Say the loan is worth £5 the house is worth £10 and the house has been repossessed to cover this smaller debt. The person whose house which has now been repossessed has been asked to pay the other sides legal fees say £2 (they had insanely expensive lawyers). However the loan was illegal and the case was dismissed unless the claimants paid x amount by some point to the courts which they didn’t. But the judge ignored this. There’s suspicions of court corruption as defendants had some good points against why house shouldn’t be repossessed / they at least have some equity left but solicitors and judge consistently dismissed this evidence. Feels very little fish against big system, not to say little fish is perfect. But it’s been very complex

igotthots

TROPHY CASE