All of our answers are pretty much guessing, because it really depends upon what Camry's are selling for in your area. You need to look at the newspaper ads, and see what similar cars are selling for. But problem with that is that people will usually sell the cars what they FEEL they are worth, not their true real value.
But there's still some generic values we can check out.
Based upon my own watching of newspaper ads, the $2300 is a pretty good price for the car. The 173K miles means the engine is about middle-aged. I have a 1991 Corolla that I"m still driving with over 256K miles on it. YOu just have to take care of the engine well enough to make it last.
Many Camrys I've seen in late 90's go for closer to $3,000 and above, but they also have quite clean good body and interior. A car's value will obviously go down the more defects are on and in it. If interior seats are very worn or dash is messed up, then it'll cost less. If you've got scratches or some dents on outside of car, also less money.
The one problem with buying a used car is that when a car is driven, ALL THE PARTS are aged. Yes, we know about getting new brakes and tires, because those are the easiest and quickest to get worn and go out.
But there are many other parts such as struts/shocks, alternator, water pump, timing chain or belt.
At 173K, the struts should have been replaced at least once, they can usually go at maximum of 100,000 miles if the car is driven easily, not by crazed teenagers trying to play "Fast and Furious" with mom and dad's car. So if the current owner (and hopefully the ONLY owner) says he hasn't changed the struts, then they are greatly due. But that's easy to check by just pushing down hard on all of 4 fenders. If good, the struts will cause the movement of car to stop. If struts are bad, the fender you pushed down on will bounce noticeably as you let go. So you can judge that way. Struts will cost you about $500-700 depending upon who does them.
Timing chain is the other highly important factor. The timing chain or belt is what unites all the motor's functions together so that all pistons, etc work together.
If the timing chain or belt hasn't been replaced, then it's lonnnnng overdue. My car ran up to about 185K before it broke, luckily not causing any damage. YOu want to replace it BEFORE it breaks. But you usually only do it once in the lifetime that you own the car. If you have to change it on this Camry, you probably won't do it again. But it, too is going to be close to $500 or more job. It sits right in front of the water pump, so it's better to also replace water pump at same time, because the exact same labor is done to change out the water pump, so you'd be saving hundreds of $$ in labor costs.
So most important to consider in whether to buy this car, is timing chain and struts. The car seems little undervalued, so there might be some things wrong.
Also, check to see if the ball joints are still good and strong. You can turn the front wheels to left and check to the rear of the front tire on right, reach under and gentle twist the rod attached to ball joint, If it's very stiff, then it's good. If it wiggles very easily, then the ball joints need replacing. At 173K they might or might not need replacing.
Overall, it sounds like a good price. But you've got to check ALL parts of the car to see whether you'll need to do some replacing later on. There are garages which charge you $50 and up to inspect a car that you are buying. They check it over moderately, and then give you a list showing what's good or not. Then you can talk knowledgeably with seller. If seller won't let you take to garage to have check out car, then I wouldn't buy car. Seller is probably hiding something.
Good luck.
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