I've been looking for a 98-2000 LS as a "driver" for my daughter. It would double as a whole-family sedan in some cases, especially road trips (our other rigs are thirsty or garage queens). I'm noticing higher-mileage Gen 3 Avalons in the same price range. They seem to offer much of what the LS has (room, comfort, safety reliability and size-defying mpg), but a notch down in perceived luxury. I sat in a 06 Avalon Limited; it's pretty sweet and stands on it's own as lesser-known luxury sedan. And holy moly, that 3.5 V6 is said to do zero to 60 in 6.0 seconds? I guess that makes sense, given that my buddy pulled a 14.5 second 1/4 mile in a RAV 4 with the same engine (talk about a confused look from the high school kid in a Mustang GT behind him!) And the Avalon can do 30+ freeway mpg I gather. I'm not sure I like the in-dash screen regardless of NAV or not - I'm guessing audio mods might be tough, or just be a headache with age. But I'm intrigued, and looking for ownership experience and general opinions. Since both the LS and Gen 3 Avalon are a big stretch of what I had in mind to spend, I'd also be interested in feedback on the Gen 2 Avalon. I've heard guys say there were some troubles with the 3.0 V6 if oil changes were not done on schedule (very narrow oiling passages, or something like that?). I know it's quite a devolution from the Gen 3, but it's still a big safe reliable Toyota it seems. I know it looks like your granddad's car, but it still might suit us pretty well. Thanks!

 

Avalons are great. Previous Avalon's may not have been the funnest to drive, but they offer a lot of value, safety, reliability and overall a good buy. Any Toyota/Lexus with that 3.0 V6 had issue with consuming oil at a high rate and even some excessive sludge build up. Personally I'd stick with a 3.5 model but that's just IMO

 

the 3.5 liter Avalon is no sloach, 268 hp. It was a massive improvement over the previous 3.0 avalons

 

I agree. The 3.5 and 6 speed trans are reasons enough to go with this Avalon vs. the previous gen.

 

1998 Avalon was a good car, but its almost of legal age now. You'll have to pluck with it a lot.

 

That's far from the truth.

The sludge was due to infrequent oil changes and will not happen on a car that has been maintained. If the car had the oil changed every 5k miles, or 7500 (synthetic) miles it's safe to assume no sludge!

My RX and ES both with nearly 200k miles, are spotless under the valve cover. Both have the 1MZ-FE supposedly sludge monster engine.

Neither consume oil either.

 

Yes, the oil passages in the head are small. Toyota did this to get the oil temperature up quicker. However, Toyota did revise the engine mid-year 2002 with larger oil return holes.

As long as the oil was changed on time, it's not an issue. And nothing to be afraid of.

The 1MZ-FE engine is an extremely quiet, smooth and well balanced engine!

 

Glad to see others sticking up for the 1MZ-FE as well. One of the best motors Toyota has ever made. My '98 Avalon runs like a champ, just like it was new. Oil changes always done 3,000-3,500 miles, and no sludge. Or oil consumption, which isn't an issue with these motors and is something I've never heard of either until it was mentioned in this thread, and my family has had 4 cars with 1MZ's at one point. The sludge "issue" was people going 10,000 miles between oil changes or 1+ years.

As for the Gen 2 Avalon, my grandparents had a 2003 that they sold to their son (my uncle) a few years ago when they bought their 2010. They never had any problems with it, and got around 27 highway. Performance of the Gen 3 blow it out of the water though. Gen 2 isn't slow, but it isn't energetic like the 3rd Gen is.

 

Most of the comments here are correct. The older 3.0L V6s were OK IF regular oil changes were strictly adhered to....but a number of owners were either lazy or negligent, and the gel/sludge results, of course, are well-known.

In general, the older the Avalon, the better the ride and the worse the handling. The new 4Gen model, IMO has simply been compromised too much towards sharp handling. Toyota seems to have forgotten who the Avalon's main buyers are, and why comfort is more important to them than corner-carving. The latest version, though, IMO, DOES have the best-trimmed Avalon interior to date.

 

I like the gen 3 Avalon, I almost bought one a few years back... they are one of the few cars of its age that have the ventilated seat option. I have the 3.5 in my wifes RAV4 and my dad has a 3.5 highlander, great engine!

 

the previous 2000 to 2005 versions were built like tanks. not a great looking car but built like tanks and very reliable.

 

We brought a 2001 Avalon XLS home from a private party purchase last Monday. 124,000 miles, impeccably maintained and ultra-clean, from the second owners. Unmolested grey leather, straight and shiny silver exterior. What a great driving car! Almost as quiet as a LS 400. It may actually have more legroom than an LS ... with my 5'5" girl driving, I felt like I has in a limo behind her. We logged 31 mpg on a highway trip, seem to be getting in the low 20's around town. At $4900, it was on the lower end of local gen 2's with less than 200,000 miles, and it was by far the cleanest. Before I even saw it, I mentioned it would be primarily for a high school senior girl. When I arrived to view, I discovered they had taken it to the Toyota dealer for a thorough service (even though it had another 2000 miles/seven months before an oil change was due). The sellers explained that they have similar age grand kids, and wanted to make sure everything was in order. The dealer noted some uneven tire wear, but determined the suspension was issue-free other than needing an alignment. Adding a full alignment, they spent almost $200 at the dealer. Then per dealer suggestion, they took it to Discount Tire Company. Four brand-new tires. It was one of those buying experiences that later causes you to "keep the faith" when looking for just the right used car. And it makes me so relieved that I did not give in and buy something lower in the automotive food chain than a Toyota. We are very pleased with Avalons in general, and this car in particular.

 

I agree. I bought a 98 Camry V6 3.0 from my parents for a DD... Maintenance is key(which we did from day one). It didn't burn anything. Sludge is a problem if the owner of the 1MZ was neglectful...mine was sludge free. And when I sold it last year, the first person to drive it/get it checked out, bought it.

But I'd be nervous buying one now, unless the person could prove history of maintenance. Good luck.

 

Did the 2006+ avalons have tranny gremlins? I remember doing a ill research on the touring models when I was interested in them for a minute....
Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't want to see OP get a lemon....

 

As long as the oil is changed on the car when it should have been you don't have to worry about the sludge problem. Had 4 1MZFE cars in the family. Three were VVTI, one non VVTI. The only real problem with them is the stupid flex pipe that start leaking. Costly if you replace with the original part. Happened at least three times on our 2000 Avalon and 02 Sienna.