I am a first-year college student trying to buy my first-ever car. I have 2 options right now: a "2015 Toyota Camry with 136k miles" and a "2019 Toyota Camry with 186k miles". Both are roughly about the same price, about 7000-8000, and I am planning to deal it down to around 6800 if I can.
Both have a clean title; the 2019 one has a Carfax, and the 2015 doesn't.
The 2019 Toyota Camry has a clean Carfax with a history of regular services and maintenance. However, at 182k miles, it has had its engine replaced (shown in the Carfax). I was very close to buying this car, but I heard there are lots of transmission issues with the 8th-gen Camry, and many people told me that an engine failure at 182k is a huge red flag. The dealer also mentioned that the replaced engine was not new.
The 2015 Toyota Camry is from a private dealer who just graduated from the same college that I went to, and he's moving out of state, so he wants to sell his car. It has a clean title, but the seller doesn't have a Carfax report. I was able to look at the VIN and saw that the maintenance was also pretty good.
I really can't decide between those 2. The 2019 is obviously nicer with lots of features, better interior and exterior, but the only problem is the miles, and everyone says Toyota is known for its "reliability".
On the other hand, the 2015 Camry (7th gen) is known to be the most reliable Toyota ever built, with fewer miles and fewer issues.
I just hope for something that can last me at least 4 years of college without any major issues
Can anyone let me know what I should do?