Any experience of early 90s Celicas?
Discussion
Considering replacing my '91 1.4 Fiesta runabout with something a bit more interesting (not difficult!) and local dealer has a '91 Celica in which apart from minor cosmetics looks to be in good fettle.
Thing is, it's done 158,000 miles, though engine sounds fine, with no excess smoke from exhaust on start up. (Didn't drive it because it was boxed in by other cars.)
Anybody got any experience of high mileage Celicas and how well they stand up to daily use or have any useful pointers to check for?
Thanks
Thing is, it's done 158,000 miles, though engine sounds fine, with no excess smoke from exhaust on start up. (Didn't drive it because it was boxed in by other cars.)
Anybody got any experience of high mileage Celicas and how well they stand up to daily use or have any useful pointers to check for?
Thanks
I had a '92 GT4 CS with around 100k, and apart from turbo related issues (still not major) I had no trouble at all from it.
As stated above, the 150k mark seems to be a good time to replace the most durable of the consumables, but with those done (or reflected in the screen price) I would say it work make a very good daily runabout.
Ask over at the Celica Club as there will probably be more than a few people who have them as daily runners.
HTH
Ed.
As stated above, the 150k mark seems to be a good time to replace the most durable of the consumables, but with those done (or reflected in the screen price) I would say it work make a very good daily runabout.
Ask over at the Celica Club as there will probably be more than a few people who have them as daily runners.
HTH
Ed.
Those GS3E (?) engines are excellent.
Had an 88 model in the family for 6 - 8 years and despite doing over 10,000 a year only had it serviced properly twice! Changed the oil, filters and plugs ourselves and apart from changing an A/C pump nothing else went wrong.
Bought a newer one, like you are considering, but someone drove into it and wrote it off after only 7 weeks. I really liked it though, it was the car that got me into the Jap cars.
Its also the engien they use in the Supras for the JTCC. They take out the 3/2.5 litre engine and stick a heavily modified version of this one in.
(Or that might only be in the 300 clas, not fully up on it).
Its a cracking engine though, made by Yamaha I think.
Had an 88 model in the family for 6 - 8 years and despite doing over 10,000 a year only had it serviced properly twice! Changed the oil, filters and plugs ourselves and apart from changing an A/C pump nothing else went wrong.
Bought a newer one, like you are considering, but someone drove into it and wrote it off after only 7 weeks. I really liked it though, it was the car that got me into the Jap cars.
Its also the engien they use in the Supras for the JTCC. They take out the 3/2.5 litre engine and stick a heavily modified version of this one in.
(Or that might only be in the 300 clas, not fully up on it).
Its a cracking engine though, made by Yamaha I think.
Had a J plate celica for 7 years ran it to 240,000 miles mainly on the motorway.
These cars are bombproof just keep changing the oil.
Only issues I had were both front wheel bearings at about 185,000 miles and the cambelt snapped because i didnt change it - no damage to the engine though.
I got through 1 clutch, 1 set of front disks.
The Radiator is prone to damage at the botom due to no protection at high speeds and celicas can have problems with syncromesh which is noticeable when changing fast from 3 rd to 2nd. The front Tyres can scrub the inners out quite quickly if you like cornering fast!
Overall I reckon it was good for well over 350,000 miles and would recommend it - sold it for a Supra!
Paul
These cars are bombproof just keep changing the oil.
Only issues I had were both front wheel bearings at about 185,000 miles and the cambelt snapped because i didnt change it - no damage to the engine though.
I got through 1 clutch, 1 set of front disks.
The Radiator is prone to damage at the botom due to no protection at high speeds and celicas can have problems with syncromesh which is noticeable when changing fast from 3 rd to 2nd. The front Tyres can scrub the inners out quite quickly if you like cornering fast!
Overall I reckon it was good for well over 350,000 miles and would recommend it - sold it for a Supra!
Paul
had a couple of around that era, as above seem to be bomb proof for the most part. Only down side with them I found was that when they did go wrong, the bills were pretty steep parts wise (especially compared to your current car....) though I understand since I've had them parts have come down a lot? Would certainly consider another as a runabout.
grahambell said:
Thanks for all the replies chaps. Sound like good cars - though I've now got a hankering after a similar vintage MR2 instead...
Same engine so guess reliablity should be the same.
depends if you need the room. I wasnt looking for a sporty second car, just something reliable with a decent boot. The celica has a massive boot (takes my mountain bike no problem at all) and fitted with the reliability.
Also, I'm 6'3" and 15 stone and funnel myself into the Lotus for the weekend, the MR2 is smaller in the cabin stakes too. Not that an MR2 would have been appropriate for the weekday shed anyway.
Mr E said:
though I understand since I've had them parts have come down a lot?
Not as far as I'm aware I'm afraid.
shame, that's the one thing that really put me off - especially after the ECU went pop and I found it cheaper to buy another ropey celica and nick the ECU out of it than replace mine!!!!
Have to say of a choice between the MR2 and the Celica, I'd go with the Celica every time. All the fun and looks plus you can take it for a tour of europe with enough space for more than once change of cacks
I have, somewhere, recipts for rather a lot of money for my suspension rebuild. Granted, my Celicas suspension is a touch more 'trick' than the standard ST182, but still.
TCB and cheap toyota parts can help, but it's still not a cheap car to fix. Good job they don't go wrong too often really.
In 18 months and 15000 miles, my ST182 needed a clutch. That was it.
The electric ariels break, and the rear lights fill up with water. Oh, and the rear ARB bushes will want changing every 50K or so.....
TCB and cheap toyota parts can help, but it's still not a cheap car to fix. Good job they don't go wrong too often really.
In 18 months and 15000 miles, my ST182 needed a clutch. That was it.
The electric ariels break, and the rear lights fill up with water. Oh, and the rear ARB bushes will want changing every 50K or so.....
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