im considering purchasing my first celica, i love mustangs, and i love celicas..which one to choose? Options

[Badkarma]

hi, my names Erich, im 17 and i cant choose between buying a 6 G celica or a mustang..either '89-'93 GT or '99-'04 GT. im kinda stuck..ive always wanted a mustang..but the celicas are really appealing to me now. i would want either of the cars to go fast..but i would want to work on it my own..and build it to be fast..which models should i be looking at?.i have roughly for a spending limit. i want a maual tranny too. i'll take ANY suggestions!..thanks.

[OOBE]

Mustang GT for:
Power, Aftermarket...

Celica for:
Reliability, fuel economy, looks, rareness

I am talking stock for stock. You can always slap a turbo on the Celica or swap a better engine and be faster, but it'll take a lot of money. The Mustang will be faster and easier to mod in terms of aftermarket parts, but it's not as reliable, it burns more gas, and it's more common. I am not biased, but since I've owned both cars, hands down...I'd pick the Celica.

[JFrost9]

Look for the Celica GT hatchback....and ofcourse the later the year the better (96-99)...Definately go with the celica though. I dont know about you, but i like to stand out. I see atleast 15 mustangs a day. Where as i might see 1 Celica. The mustang will definately have more parts available, and will be easier to fix up, but wont be near as much fun. My info is all biased ofcourse, but either way celica = the way to go.

[sinner96ST]

The only reason i'm keeping my 6th gen for now is the fact that it's rare, and I can count on one hand how many I see in a months time, even in an extremely populated suburb of Chicago.

It's not known for speed, but it still gets the looks.

OOBE summed it up pretty good, he speaks the truth.

[Digndoug]

If you want speed and easy modd's... get the stang, if you want a nice reliable car thats sexy and handles.. get the celica..

Ford mustangs are not very reliable, but celicas are not veyr fast..

[Nano]

Mustang GT for:
Power, Aftermarket...

Celica for:
Reliability, fuel economy, looks, rareness

I am talking stock for stock. You can always slap a turbo on the Celica or swap a better engine and be faster, but it'll take a lot of money. The Mustang will be faster and easier to mod in terms of aftermarket parts, but it's not as reliable, it burns more gas, and it's more common. I am not biased, but since I've owned both cars, hands down...I'd pick the Celica.

Having owned a fox body mustang ( 91 ), and now a celica GT ( 99 ), the celica is hands down a more fun car to drive. The newer mustangs are pretty nice, but I'd still take my celica over one, personally. As stated, mustangs are commonplace, celicas not so much. I've seen three since ive bought my car a few weeks ago, and ive been looking.

[blu94gt]

since I've owned both of these cars I'll chime in my opinion. I had a 1994 Celica ST when I was 17, it was slow and I had a hard time keeping up with my friends who would take out their Talon TSI and Mustang GT. The car was wonderful, reliable (never had a single problem in over a year of owning it), handled very well and looked very good.

After it was wrecked I got a 1992 Mustang GT. The car was very fast, easy to work on (the Celica is just as easy to work on IMO), and looked good. Didn't have very good handling at all and just in the 4 months of owning it I put in 2 new power steering pumps, a new thermostat, new heater core, and a new clutch and it only had 100k on the car.

Now I have another 94 Celica GT and love it, don't plan on getting rid of it for anything. It's slow in a straight line yes but I think the rest of the car makes up for that.

[ThAixGuYx2k7]

Hey im 17 too and i bought my car last year when i was 16. i paid for it with my own money and i'll tell you, it feels good to know you got it with yur own hard work. Mustangs are fast, most of the guys at my school has them, but when it comes down to looks and reliability..any toyota (or japanese car) will be good for that. However, just be careful when you buy your car. I made the mistake of not taking the car to have a mechanic look at it before i bought it, my dad thought it was good, and so did i. little did we know that this car was about to leak oil, the suspension is giving out...and so much more. i wish i had a celica in better condition, but hey..that can be fixed. good luck man!

[CelicaZR]

Try to get a GT model Celica, it will be easier later on,
if you want to do the 3sgte conversion

[Badkarma]

thanks for all the advice..i deffinitely thought that the celicas would match up witht eh mustangs ya know with all the tuner options out there..but..you guys have the experience..and i think im gonna go witht he celica with gas prices and what not..plus..i currently drive a 1994 geo metro 5 speed..it is extremely slow..i beat my friends '94 prizm tho..and he has 400$ under the hood..lol..im gonna need a reliable car too going to college soon..ill try to go for the celica....but what should i look for with a price limit..i want to work on this..to TRY to make it quick..which models.. and whats the deal with the GT-4 i hear? its illegal in the US? and why? im also considering a neon? accord?

[sinner96ST]

thanks for all the advice..i deffinitely thought that the celicas would match up witht eh mustangs ya know with all the tuner options out there..but..you guys have the experience..and i think im gonna go witht he celica with gas prices and what not..plus..i currently drive a 1994 geo metro 5 speed..it is extremely slow..i beat my friends '94 prizm tho..and he has 400$ under the hood..lol..im gonna need a reliable car too going to college soon..ill try to go for the celica....but what should i look for with a price limit..i want to work on this..to TRY to make it quick..which models.. and whats the deal with the GT-4 i hear? its illegal in the US? and why? im also considering a neon? accord?

GT-4's are illegal in the states, yes. Although, you can buy parts straight from Toyota to make it look like one, no problem.

Price varies from state to state, I couldn't give you an estimate, but here in IL I wouldn't pay anything over $8,000 for a 6th gen, unless it was a late model GT with fairly low mileage. If you want to try to make the car faster, don't buy an ST. The ST has the same engine your friend's Prizm has in it, and is generally a slouch unless you slap a turbo on it. The GT has a better engine & a few other options, the same engine is also found in earlier model MR-2's and Camrys, so there are tons of parts for it.

As far as the Neon or the Accord are concerned, we're biased here, we like Toyota. I wouldn't recommend a Neon for reliability, the Accord would also be a good choice, but ultimately, I think what the 6th gen GT has to offer is a better deal.

[6th_celi_vert]

mustang.....ugh

[OOBE]

Just get a Celica GT...not an ST. Because you will get tired of its slowness and end up paying more for modding it. Get a GT and be happy. Celicas are EXTREMELY fun to drive. I've driven the 7th gens and they're faster but feel sloppier and less tight. They feel more like a mass produced car than the 6th gen...which to me feels a lot tighter and solid. That's why I went with a 6th gen...my first choice was a 7th gen.

[maxpower_hd]

I have some experience with both as well. The bottom line is that it depends on how you plan on driveg the car. If you want to see the back tires lite up and want to slide the ass end around a lot then buy the Mustang. If you want something that will be more dependable and better on fuel then get the Celica.

Buy the best one you can afford. You will be happier in the long run. I recently bough a 1995 convertible for probably a little more than I should have spent but it is a low mileage car and is mint. I looked at some newer ones for less money but they were not nearly as nice.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Both cars are pretty fun to drive and both are fairly easy to work on.

[Mr_E]

I think I can also claim a little bit of prior form here;

http://www.jamesneale.com/GT4/Carwash/

The 'stang is an anniversary model, and had the 4.6litre V8.

It was also an absolute dog to drive. I make no joke here, down a half decent bit of British B road it simply would not see which way the Celica went.

The Mustang made a fantastic noise, looked great (v.rare over here), made you smile and small children would point and cheer as you rumbled by. And it had fantastic torque from about tickover.

It didn't have any concept of handling, any steering feel to speak of, any brakes, any top end or any concept of composire.

It, frankly, wallowed and understeered for the good old USA.

But, I liked it. I genuinely used to enjoy punting about in the thing. If it was dry and I wasn't in a hurry.

This post has been edited by Mr_E: Apr 24, 2006 - 3:42 PM

[Badkarma]

thanks again for the replys/suggestions...they both look real nice..but with the way gas is going..celica is the choice im gonna make..after all..i dont like the new celicas..and these ones are only getting older..so might as well get one now. like te new mustangs..ill wait for those to get a little cheaper too.. thank you very much everyone!

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

Mr_E, you put it best when you said it in another thread......"Yank Tank".

Its so unfortunately true on most older US-manufactured sport cars/muscle cars. They crank out a boatload of torque and power but don't have an ounce of quick in them. Its a concept that alot of domestic guys I've known don't understand....no matter what you do to your Mustang or Camaro, it just won't ever have the balance, tossability, sharpness, and quickness of response that our cars have.

But the car culture in our country was built on making huge powerful motors, so its hard to get that idea across to many. Definately go for the Celica, it'll be a much more rewarding vehicle to own.

This post has been edited by Silver94CelicaOwner: Apr 25, 2006 - 11:23 PM

[Mr_E]

Interestingly, the engine was far and away the best bit of that Mustang.

I reckon that a freeflow filter, a more aggressive set of cams and ripping the cats out would have hugely improved the engine at high revs.

[tomazws]

Hey im 17 too and i bought my car last year when i was 16. i paid for it with my own money and i'll tell you, it feels good to know you got it with yur own hard work. Mustangs are fast, most of the guys at my school has them, but when it comes down to looks and reliability..any toyota (or japanese car) will be good for that. However, just be careful when you buy your car. I made the mistake of not taking the car to have a mechanic look at it before i bought it, my dad thought it was good, and so did i. little did we know that this car was about to leak oil, the suspension is giving out...and so much more. i wish i had a celica in better condition, but hey..that can be fixed. good luck man!

Good job! Most kids nowadays just want their parents buy'em a car...