Toyota Camry Problems

There's no reason the Avalon should be any thirstier than the Camry. They're about the same weight and they share the same V6 engine and drivetrain. The Avalon is locally produced, not imported, so the parts are the same price as the Camry's. On the current market the Magna is the best buy in that its used values have slumped, the Camry and Avalon are standing up well, while the Commodore remains popular and hence has good resale value. In terms of mechanical reliability, it's hard to go past Toyota and I would probably prefer the Camry or the Avalon, but all four have good reliability and will do the job well.

I assume the VH Commodore is a six, which was a new updated XT6 version of the venerable pushrod Holden six. While it was improved over the previous versions of the engine it was still quite inefficient even by 1982 standards. The Trimatic three-speed should have plenty of life left in it, but check the oil and make sure it's nice and red. Also make sure the shifts are smooth and precise with no sign of flaring on part or full throttle. Check the body for rust, particularly in the lower sections of the front guards, the lower sections of the doors, around the rear side windows and around the tail gate and rear window. The Camry has lots of life left in it, but it is near the mileage where major servicing could be needed. The Camry is most likely to be in better condition overall than the Commodore, which can be expected to be riddled with squeaks and rattles in the body.

Your Falcon would have tested about 13 litres/ 100km when new. For comparison purposes, the Commodore V6 would return about 11.5 litres/100km, the 3.5-litre V6 Magna about 10.5 and the Camry closer to 13. Clearly, on that basis the Magna is the car for you.

The Commodore will need an upper cylinder lubricant added to the fuel if you run it on ULP. The Toyota should happily run on ULP without any additional lubrication.

There are many detail differences, and I'd need to know which model Apollo you own to give you the rundown. With fuel consumption, it depends on how you drive and how well you maintain its tune, but under normal circumstances I'd expect 9.0 to 9.5 litres/100 km. The run-on could be caused by several things. I'd check the engine tune and make sure the idle and the ignition timing are set correctly.