I believe you would find some good information in the April issue of Consumer Reports which should be available atyour library. This past week, a friend brought over his Sienna for me to test drive as I was trying to decide between the van and getting another truck. One thing nice about the Sienna is that it has the vehicle stability control, something I won't be without anymore. He said that he was very pleasantly surprised that the vehicle surpassed the mileage ratings posted. V6 engines will generally cost you 4 to 6 mpg difference in gas efficiency.

One thing to consider is the auto market in general. right now, the lots are jammed and deals are easier to get. Some companies will be raising the price of the 2009 models when these arrive in the show rooms later this year. If economy turns around this winter and is on the road to recovery next year, You'll not see the same deals available right now. However, a 2008 new model will have almost 1 year depreciation as soon as your drive it off the lot because the 2009 models will be comming soon. If the economy contiues to tank next year, its a toss-up which is the better choice for your purposes. The 4 cylinder Camry is reported to give good trip mileage. On the other hand, I've heard (from my friends) that repair costs in a Toyoto dealership is much higher than at GM. Other folks will argue that you'll be returning to the GM garage more often than at Toyoto. You can't win! Buy the one you like. The 4 cylinder Toyoto will return good fuel mileage and reliability while the 6 cy Malibu has more pep. Driven conservatively, I'd expect the Malibu to return decent fuel mileage, but less than the Toyota. Both of these engines should return at least 100,000 miles of life without major repair under reasonable driving conditions. Commuting traffic will shorten the life of the transmission because of more frequent shifts and bursts of acceleration. Since both cars are within $1000 of each other, check with your insurance agent for the cost of like insurance on both models. A significant cost increase of one over the other may signal a differential of body repair, replacement, or theft costs.

I think that much of the bill is largely labor (at a new car dealership) and charges for tools and facilities. Check out a repair manual to see what is involved to change these two items. The water pump is probably ok right now, but most do not last the life of the engine and will require one changeout before 130,000 miles. Therefore, it does make sense to change it too while the mechanic is into the engine. There is an element of liability when changing the timing belt: One screwup here and the engine can be damaged. One other item you should consider is to change the timing belt tensioner when the belt is replaced.

As far as buying American-Toyota has a mfg plant in Georgetown Ky, and it my po dunk town there is a factory that makes the interiors for Toyota-this plant employs over 4oo people, and no telling how many the plant in Georgetown employs. You can't get much more American than something that comes from Kentucky.