lean

I knew a guy with a Jag who had no end of trouble with door locks. I used to greet him with a merry "So which window are you climbing in this week?" It got old fast.

The planets must not be in alignment today. As soon as I start the car, the check engine light comes on and it runs roughly. I drive the 60 miles to work on a prayer and a temperature gauge (stays normal). My guess is that one cylinder is out, although a glance under the hood shows nothing amiss. Oh well, only another 60 miles to go home and then I'm away on vacation and my wife can take it to the garage for them to sort out (assuming it still runs).

Look on the Internet. I went with American Sunroofs (have had a name change since, I believe), although you could try Webasto. Around $1,000 fitted.

1997, black. 145,000 miles. No mods. Bought from Honda dealer used in September 2000 with 57K, $20,000. One previous owner. Added sunroof and 12-CD changer shortly after buying. I'm about to replace the rear tires, recently replaced the fronts. This will be the third set (i.e. originals and one replacement set of MXV4s discarded). Going to Dunlop SP Sports. Replaced all struts around 130K. Have changed timing belt once - looks like I need to again. I have the squealing drive belt problem and will fix it soon. I was badly rear-ended in February of this year and thought the car would be a write-off. In fact the repairs were excellent and I can detect no difference. Note however that when you tell yourself it will be cheap to fix with Camry parts you may forget that body panels take longer to get. I was stuck in a Buick Century for two and a half months :( Since I bought it the car has never seen a Lexus dealer. The local gas station changes oil at 5,000 (regular fluids), does brakes, etc. I'm hoping to go to an LS400 with low miles and change cars before I reach 100,000, so that I don't need to worry about strut changes. I'm 59 so insurance isn't a big issue. I have no idea what it costs.

Looks like you're good until 128,000. My 1997 is at 145,000 and still no trouble. I bought struts recently for around $1,000 installed, but that's it. I would not be surprised if they tried to claim that struts were "wear and tear."

>>> I told my insurance company that it was a passive alarm so they would give me the discount. My insurance agent checked the manual and told me it was a passive alarm.

I looked for the 2004 Camrys. The only one to have the 3.3 engine is the SE. It's not even an option on the other Camry V6s. The Avalon doesn't get it, but all the Solaras have it as an option. Strange.

on my 1997. There it is, bright and shiny. And there are all the other bulbs, bright and shiny. Any ideas?

I do documentation for a company that makes huge storage units for banks, big Internet sites, and so on. I travel 60 miles each way and have taken my 97 ES300 from 57,000 to 145,000 in under three years.

I recently had new struts all round. I noticed that Monroe has the same part numbers for the 97-01 Camry as it does for the 97-01 ES300. Is this because the struts are the same, or is it because Monroe reckons that a physical fit is all that's needed?

I feel it in my '97. Not much, but I feel it. I'd rather have a car that is smooth at normal running speeds, and if that means a little more vibration at idle, so be it. If you have problems with hearing other peoples' stereos, ask them to put on something you like.