Any of you own a 1997 to 2001 V6? What's it like to own?

March 21

There's something nice about how simple they are. It's commonly mentioned that while they are incredibly reliable, some suffer head gaskit leaks. How easy is it to fix this? Is it costly?

A couple of gems come up on AutoTrader and CarsAndClassic from time to time, but each time something prevents me from pulling the trigger. One example on CarsAndClassic was on the site for about a year. 1998, V6, 87K miles, immaculate. I was going to buy it once then unfortunately had to pay for a funeral. Then next time I had to prioritise some works to my home. This time I got my bonus and it was sold a few days later 🥲. I never messaged the seller after the first time, didn't want to mess them around. But it's sad how rare these models are.

Has anyone ever seen a 6 cylinder automatic with cloth seats instead of leather?

March 25

I am going to follow; I have been thinking about one of those for some time!

It also of course depends on who have been the previous owners.

As for cloth (velvet?) seats ( - I have seen one (for sale) in Denmark: 1997 3.0 V6 Aut.: Brugt Toyota Camry 3,0 V6 aut. til salg (biltorvet.dk), however since the markets can be different I do not know if they also shipped these to the UK.

March 25

I've been driving mine, an OZ import 1997 Vienta 3.0 V6 for the last 6 years as my daily driver. I love it.

As expected its been very reliable, only issue I have had in six years was the EGR valve. Its so relaxing to drive and easy to live with. 25mpg is a bit painful at these petrol prices but I just don't know what I could replace it with that will be this nice to drive everyday, as reliable but more economical. Its 27 years old so I almost feel I need to get it to its 30th birthday :)