How Long Will OEM Parts be Available...??? Options

[FrankB2]

Hmmmm..... I'm loving the '97 GT convertible we bought, but there are some concerns. The windows work fine now, but I've read on this site that the quarter windows are a parts nightmare. The dealers with online catalogs don't have the convertible's window motors listed, and it would seem the company that did the conversion is gone. I'd ratherr not pay $500-$1000 to get a window moving. There are some other normal wear parts that would be nice to have from Toyota, so how has everyone made out with their needs? I'm debating whether or not I should sell the car while it's still in good condition, or hope for the best and keep it for a few years (w/o shelling out a fortune). We've put around 700 miles on the car in the last 3 weeks, most of it with the top down.

I looked through craigslist in Philadelphia, searching for 6g Celica Gt's. THEY ARE A RARE FIND! I was lucky to find a few, and those were in searches that extended beyond Philly. Even ebay only has one or two from each year in the mid to later 90's. Was the Celica GT produced in smaller numbers, or are they in junkyards?

P.S. The car came with the plastic convertible cover (looks very nice installed). I didn't think much of it until I saw they're $600 from Toyota (online)! :eek:

This post has been edited by FrankB2: Nov 5, 2012 - 9:37 PM

[Malhar95]

I didn't know they were worth that much either. If I did I wouldn't have left them in my old vert

[njccmd2002]

the reason you dont see many for sale, is that people are keeping their old cars now. the economy is not good. so many keep they celicas, especially if st because of fuel economy. as for parts. i replaced both my quarter windows mechanisms, and i keep spare parts. I usually frequent the yards, and take what i can spare.

[rave2n]

probs harder to find because you are up north.

Old cars don't last as long up there.

Plenty down here in FL.

When I was searching for my GT it took about 2 weeks, seeing about 15 plus of them before I picked it up. There is always a bunch at dealers for obscene prices.

[FrankB2]

That all makes sense. Mine was a trade in at a local LARGE new car dealership, and it was owned by a woman that lived down the street from me. I looked through the local craigslist to get an idea on price, but couldn't find any GT convertibles. I thought Los Angeles' craigslist might be a good place, and I did find a few models in that area. We had been looking at the car for a couple months, and the price was $6,000. We bought a new Jeep Patriot from them, and then began haggling on price for the Celica. I finally got them down to $4,000, and the 3 month/3,000 powertrain warranty. Not a bad deal, and we've had a couple grand worth of fun already. I did get a Pioneer AVH2400BT HU from Crutchfield yesterday (on sale), so I can get rid of the dated (but fully functional) factory stereo. The 3-CD changer is weird: magazine slides in and out when changing CD's....

[zero07]

There are plenty of cars for sale here down south. Also Ive never had a problem getting parts for the car.

[xrav22]

Hmmmm..... I'm loving the '97 GT convertible we bought, but there are some concerns. The windows work fine now, but I've read on this site that the quarter windows are a parts nightmare. The dealers with online catalogs don't have the convertible's window motors listed, and it would seem the company that did the conversion is gone. I'd ratherr not pay $500-$1000 to get a window moving. There are some other normal wear parts that would be nice to have from Toyota, so how has everyone made out with their needs? I'm debating whether or not I should sell the car while it's still in good condition, or hope for the best and keep it for a few years (w/o shelling out a fortune). We've put around 700 miles on the car in the last 3 weeks, most of it with the top down.

I looked through craigslist in Philadelphia, searching for 6g Celica Gt's. THEY ARE A RARE FIND! I was lucky to find a few, and those were in searches that extended beyond Philly. Even ebay only has one or two from each year in the mid to later 90's. Was the Celica GT produced in smaller numbers, or are they in junkyards?

P.S. The car came with the plastic convertible cover (looks very nice installed). I didn't think much of it until I saw they're $600 from Toyota (online)! :eek:

When you put the top up just take the rear windows down a bit.
Here is a place with a good number of convertivle parts also

http://www.villagetoyotaparts.com/showAsse...trimLevel=13980

[FrankB2]

When you put the top up just take the rear windows down a bit.
Here is a place with a good number of convertivle parts also

http://www.villagetoyotaparts.com/showAsse...trimLevel=13980

That's what we've been doing for the most part, figuring that 1/10th of the way down will give us 10X more window life. I actually forgot to lower the windows a bit a couple of weeks ago, and the top puts a lot of pressure on them(!).

Thanks for that link. At least it shows that the motor assembly is available. I told my wife that this might be a little like sailing: the cost of a sailboat can be fairly inexpensive, but keeping up can hurt every now and then. We got a fairly new looking convertible for $4,000 with a warranty (and I will have a Toyota mechanic examine the car carefully before that warranty is up ), so spending a little here and there won't be a big deal. The Pioneer AVH2400BT was just installed, and works great! It has a DVD slot, but I had Star Trek playing off a microSD drive. COOL!!!!! The best part is that unit's bluetooth features. Light years ahead of my single DIN JVC unit that I thought was excellent. When my wife sees it, I'm guessing her Jeep's U-Connect stereo is going bye-bye....