Tips for buying a celica Options

[zanast]

hey, im about to get my license and im thinking about buying a cheap celica, because it looks pretty good for a stock car, its a toyota (dont want smth ricey like civics) , good mpg, and it should be pretty easy to fix, not like a bmw, audi etc.

what do you guys think about this one? http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/cto/2423145922.html this is just an example of what I would like to get and I would like to know your opinion. do you have any tips for buying a celica? its a gt so it has the 2.2l 5s-fe, is it a good motor? I dont have any experience about cars as you understood because im just going to get my license, but hey, better to ask than to buy a ****ty car right?

thanks alot in advance.

P.S. how are the 1.8's? they get better mpg but is it worth getting one of those instead of the 2.2's?

This post has been edited by zanast: Jun 6, 2011 - 1:20 AM

[SupraKid]

That is a really good deal on a GT. As for the 2.2 Vs 1.8 it depends what your gonna be doing with the car. If your only purpose for the car is a daily driver and get good MPG i would get a ST. If you want it to have a little bit of power and plan to swap in a newer better engine then def get a GT. Both engines are very reliable and strong.

As for finding a good one, since your not really car savvy, after finding a good deal on a car(if it has over 150k on it) id spend the money and take it to a mechanic to have it checked out. If you dont wanna pay to have it thoroughly checked however there are simple ways to generally test the car yourself, but a mechanic will notice a lot more things than you.

This post has been edited by SupraKid: Jun 6, 2011 - 1:59 AM

[NYp8tBaller07]

The car seems to be worth checking out, It's a car so look for the usual wear and tear and try to test drive it.

[HaysoosKreesto]

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...hl=check+engine

That link helped me out a lot when I bought my car a few weeks ago.

I'd say if you can get the GT, in the end you will be glad you did. I still get about 25~ mpg on my GT, which ain't bad for a 13 year old car . Also if you can, take someone who knows how to speak in car language or skilled in bringing down the price if you don't know how (haggling), so they can tell you if it's worth taking to a mechanic or not.

[jimmykay]

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...hl=check+engine

That link helped me out a lot when I bought my car a few weeks ago.

I'd say if you can get the GT, in the end you will be glad you did. I still get about 25~ mpg on my GT, which ain't bad for a 13 year old car . Also if you can, take someone who knows how to speak in car language or skilled in bringing down the price if you don't know how (haggling), so they can tell you if it's worth taking to a mechanic or not.

that needs to be stickied

[HaysoosKreesto]

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...hl=check+engine

That link helped me out a lot when I bought my car a few weeks ago.

I'd say if you can get the GT, in the end you will be glad you did. I still get about 25~ mpg on my GT, which ain't bad for a 13 year old car . Also if you can, take someone who knows how to speak in car language or skilled in bringing down the price if you don't know how (haggling), so they can tell you if it's worth taking to a mechanic or not.

that needs to be stickied

Nah, I'll just post it when someone on here asks about it. I have it under my bookmarks cause I knew one day it would help me out somehow.

[Euphoria]

Celicas don't have alot of generic problems other than little things (automatical aerial breaking, interior door panels and centre console wear pretty bad so check them!) other than that just check general things like wheel bearings, axles (cv joints), engine mounts, clutch, shocks and suspension bushes and then make sure its had the water pump done along with seals as if it hasn't the water pump won't have much life left.

Take it for a drive and if the brakes judder its probably in need of new or machined rotors, do a few brake stops to see it stops in a straight line, go up a steep hill in a high gear to see if the clutch is still good and/or do a fast gear change, drive jolty in a low gear (simulate traffic driving) to see if it has clunks or any noises in the suspension and also do a few full lock turns.

And more importantly check all the fluids and if it doesn't have much history check the oil to see if its new and full, if its low and feels sludgy and non lubricating then STAY AWAY! haha

This post has been edited by Euphoria: Jun 7, 2011 - 12:39 AM

[zanast]

Thanks for the replies. What do you think about a 1994 toyota celica gt liftback? it has 182k miles, its a 5 speed, has no radio and the owner said that the hand brake doesnt work. http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/2426062292.html Is fixing an ebrake hard or not? And is it even worth looking at a celica that has so many miles on it?

Thanks

This post has been edited by zanast: Jun 7, 2011 - 8:59 PM

[1994Celica]

Thanks for the replies. What do you think about a 1994 toyota celica gt liftback? it has 182k miles, its a 5 speed, has no radio and the owner said that the hand brake doesnt work. http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/2426062292.html Is fixing an ebrake hard or not? And is it even worth looking at a celica that has so many miles on it?

Thanks

Just check and make sure everything seems fine. The miles on that arent as much as when I first got mine. It had 236k on it 3 years. Had to put a new trans in and timing belt. After that it was fine. It now has almost 240k on it and its still running fine.

[Euphoria]

If its been looked after they will go forever its not uncommon to see 350k kms or 220k miles and beyond but If I were you I'd probs looks for a lower km one.