Mark sent a message to Akio Toyoda President and CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation – email address that said:
Dear Akio Toyoda,
I am writing you this email to thank you for building such a quality product in my 1998 Toyota Camry! This past weekend, it crossed 354,000 miles and is still going strong. Here is a little history:
- 2001 My mom purchased the car with 20,000 miles from an older lady who couldn’t drive it any more
- 2004 I purchased the Camry from my mom while in college.
- 2010 Crossed 200,000 miles.
- 2011 Replaced Original Timing Belt at 218,000 miles. The mechanic said it was still in great shape and could have lasted longer!
- 2014 Crossed 300,000 miles.
- 2015 Put new brakes on and had to replace 1 of the original brake calipers / brackets. The other original is still in place working fine!
- 2015 Replaced Original Radiator at 342,000 miles.
Besides typical maintenance and small fender benders this car has been great with no issues. It still averages around 30 miles per gallon interstate driving and always starts right up even in the cold of winter. This Camry has traveled all through the United States Midwest. It has been to Colorado twice, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and has made the trip from Milwaukee, WI to Minnesota probably 100 times as that was my route when I moved away for college! During all of these trips I have never had an issue or concern with the Camry breaking down.
Everyone knows about the Camry, my coworkers always ask what the mileage is at and some of my coworkers have even helped with Camry maintenance. When I drive home, my wife and dog will walk on the street and as soon as my dog notices the car, he runs towards it.
Also, since I don’t have a truck I have always used the Camry as my work vehicle when doing projects around the house. It has been used to haul 2 kayaks, 24 bags of mulch, 2 screen doors, a gutter system, trim, 30 cases of ceramic tile, wood doors, flowers / plants, a chest freezer, 100 feet of drain tile and many more smaller items! See attached document for some photos of this.
I just wanted to say thank you. This 1998 Toyota Camry has been a great car and has now served me well for over 12 years.
Best Regards,
Mark
