2009 Toyota Camry

I first purchased a brand new 2009 Toyota Camry in June 2008. It didn’t take much to convince me that the Camry was the car I wanted. I was looking for a good value, great gas mileage, style, and quality all rolled into one. I test drove the Ford Fusion, but it seemed to give me the feeling it was more cheaply made then the Camry.

I had never owned anything besides an American car before so when I first took the Camry home, the one thing that seemed a little confusing and backwards to me were the controls for the air conditioning and heater. Not that it was really complex, the setup just seemed strange to me. I got over that quickly though and I don’t even think about it anymore.

My Camry drives really smooth. The suspension and handling performs very well. Much smoother then the Fusion. However, I did have a problem when I first bought it with a misaligned strut due to a factory error. It took 4 different visits to the service station to get it fixed.

I was very pleased with the setup of the auxiliary input jack and storage compartment which I make good use of for storing my iPod and GPS.

Now this is the most important reason why I am very happy with the Camry:

In December 2009, just several months after I bought the Camry, a man in a pickup truck ran a red light and t-boned my new car. I was driving and the impact was on the driver’s side from the front fender to the middle of the back passenger door. I was passing through an intersection on a green light when I realized he was not stopping. I knew there was no way to move fast enough so I held on, put my foot on the brake, and leaned in toward the center of the Camry (trying to get as far away from the window as possible). In seconds I felt the impact, the car spin, and was flung toward my door and window. Immediately, the side (seat) airbag deployed as well as the side curtain airbag. I experienced a loud bang like a gunshot at that time and felt as though I may have passed out for a few seconds. I opened my eyes to what seemed like white smoke, but turned out to be the powder and debris from the airbag. I immediately started shaking and crying, but had enough sense to push the airbags aside and look around. The guy who hit me was fine and ran to see if I was ok. The car had shut down and I was unable to open the driver side door so I climbed out the passenger side door and walked around to assess the damage. When I saw the driver’s side I just lost it. He had destroyed my car. But the thing I want to make clear here is that this car performed exactly as it should have and I believe it may have saved my life. Had the airbags not been there, I would have smashed my head and side into the window. The car also may have rolled into more traffic had it not shut down on it’s own. Keep in mind, there was no impact to the engine compartment. One thing that stands out in my head is that I really did feel safe in that car. I believe it protected me.

So, the Camry ended up being totaled by my insurance company. The cost to repair such a new vehicle would have been too great.

I was so happy with the Camry’s performance that I went right out and bought another one in a different color. I still have it today and I couldn’t be happier with it! I have told everyone about my experience and I would recommend this car to anyone that wanted to listen to me!