looking for a wagon

[FabZ]

hi! I,ve been looking around on the forum for about a month.. pass trough the whole pic tread. and feel in love with a couple of our members cars

so here is the situation. I live in Quebec, Canada. driving a rusty (long story) celica GT-Four australian version ( it's badged 4wdturbo kind of cheap name compared to GT-Four in japan and alltrac turbo in US/Can :P).

so since my ST185 approach the end. I've been looking for a replacement and tought about a AE101 swapped 4a-ge BT because i want something that have some guts and that is relatively fuel efficient.

I've made my mind on buying a wagon because i've always do things differently and because I,ve seen that this model can be really cool looking. but the problem here is that. corolla are really hard to find in good shape.. most of them are rusty and need a lot of body work, which i don't want to do. and wagons are even rarer. I've only seen two and they were rusty too.

so i was thinking of importing one from usa ou anywhere i could find one that is rust free and i need some help and hints to know where to search to get what i want and not getting screwed and buying a rusty piece of crap...

i'm know at 4 days left from finishing school and from starting my research on the importation procedure and to find the rolla of my dream.

so to resume this long story, do you have any suggestions, hint or whatever that could help me finding a clean wagon rolla?

[PhatRoyale]

You might have to resort to looking at autotrader.com or ebay in the U.S. since a lot of Canadian cars of that era are rusty due to the excessive salt they use on roads here. Cars.com is another good search engine to check out.

[speedy25]

put in zip codes for Georgia and Alabama. I see non-rusty machines from about Chatanooga and south. If you just want to go down and look, travel the dixie highway through Atlanta GA. Dont bother with the "buy here pay here" places. You might see something good but their business model is selling s car multiple times to make their money. I've been told AL is cheaper than GA but I havent bought enough cars from AL to say for sure.

Dont forget to stop at pull a part to bring back some non-rusty bits for your buddies.

-SP

[zythr]

Make sure to research all that is involved in exporting a wagon to Canada from the United States. There will probably be fees involved. Also, try to look for a 1996 model, some owners have had oil burning issues with the 93-94 7A-FE. Good luck

[FabZ]

Originally Posted by zythr

Make sure to research all that is involved in exporting a wagon to Canada from the United States. There will probably be fees involved. Also, try to look for a 1996 model, some owners have had oil burning issues with the 93-94 7A-FE. Good luck

thanks for the advice. but i'm not worried about that since i want to swap the engine and transmission ( which will probably be automatic when i'll buy the car) for a black top and a C160 tranny. i'm more focused on the body condition. i want something rustless that i will take good care of so it will stay in good conditions.

[zythr]

Originally Posted by FabZ

thanks for the advice. but i'm not worried about that since i want to swap the engine and transmission ( which will probably be automatic when i'll buy the car) for a black top and a C160 tranny. i'm more focused on the body condition. i want something rustless that i will take good care of so it will stay in good conditions.

I see. Good luck then.

[FabZ]

Originally Posted by speedy25

put in zip codes for Georgia and Alabama. I see non-rusty machines from about Chatanooga and south. If you just want to go down and look, travel the dixie highway through Atlanta GA(travel down to the south? actually i'm near montreal in quebec and I would like to make the trip only to go and buy the car). Dont bother with the "buy here pay here" ( what do it mean? i understand the words but didn't saw it before. it's like, you pay cash to the seller or it's more a local buying thing) places. You might see something good but their business model is selling s car multiple times to make their money. I've been told AL is cheaper than GA but I havent bought enough cars from AL to say for sure.

Dont forget to stop at pull a part to bring back some non-rusty bits for your buddies. (sorry, i didnt understood at all :P)

-SP

I'm sorry but there are some expressions that i didnt understood. i'm french and english is my second language you see. could you explain me plz :P

[FabZ]

Originally Posted by zythr

I see. Good luck then.

thanks, i was already looking for a newer one. 96-97 if possible, but it's not my main criteria.

[PhatRoyale]

Originally Posted by FabZ

I'm sorry but there are some expressions that i didnt understood. i'm french and english is my second language you see. could you explain me plz :P

From what I understand, he is just emphasizing the fact to avoid the small shady used car dealers by researching thoroughly beforehand. By "pick a part" he is referring to those junkyards where you go in with your own tools and take the parts off the cars in the yard yourself.

One more tip, Carfax and experian autocheck will also come in handy when looking at a cars history when looking to buy from the U.S.

[FabZ]

Originally Posted by PhatRoyale

From what I understand, he is just emphasizing the fact to avoid the small shady used car dealers by researching thoroughly beforehand. By "pick a part" he is referring to those junkyards where you go in with your own tools and take the parts off the cars in the yard yourself.

One more tip, Carfax and experian autocheck will also come in handy when looking at a cars history when looking to buy from the U.S.

okk thanks!

so he suggest my to stop at some junkyard during my trip? thats a good idea! :P

and i bet AL and GA are states? AL for alabama and GA for... georgia?

[PhatRoyale]

Originally Posted by FabZ

okk thanks!

so he suggest my to stop at some junkyard during my trip? thats a good idea! :P

and i bet AL and GA are states? AL for alabama and GA for... georgia?

Yep, you got it.

Although car-part.com is a better resource for searching junkyards for something specific.

Most are cool about putting parts aside for you so you can go and pick them up.

It will make your search a lot easier.

[FabZ]

cool! thanks again!

i hope people that are holding junkyard are nicer that some of those around here! most of the time they are rude or they argue with you that you are not looking for the good part i you make the mistake of telling them your car is a ... but your are looking for a part from a ... :P it wont fit! you need a part from your car! blah blah blah! won't you shut up and give me what i've asked for... -_- :P

[g05xrs]

Craigslist.com can be your #1 spot to look. ;-) check it out if you haven't.

[FabZ]

i looked at craiglist a while ago, but didnt took time to make a good research!

anyway, there are some bad news for the project.. i was supposed to do days of 12h at work shit summer and to have a couple of 3 days of. i was planning to go pick up the car in a 3 days trip but, plans have changed, i'm doing 8h a days 5 days a week, so i will take my time to read about importation this summer and i will look for the perfect car during que first half on my college session then do the roadtrip during que reading week in wich we are off :P

but more i think about it, less i want to daily drive a hellaclean wagon all year long, maybe i'll be picking a tercel cheapo tercel for the winter! :P

anyways thank you guys for your help! if anybody has another place for me to look just post it please! and if i do mistake and write something incomprehensible just tell me as i don't master english :P

[g05xrs]

Originally Posted by FabZ

i looked at craiglist a while ago, but didnt took time to make a good research!

anyway, there are some bad news for the project.. i was supposed to do days of 12h at work shit summer and to have a couple of 3 days of. i was planning to go pick up the car in a 3 days trip but, plans have changed, i'm doing 8h a days 5 days a week, so i will take my time to read about importation this summer and i will look for the perfect car during que first half on my college session then do the roadtrip during que reading week in wich we are off :P

but more i think about it, less i want to daily drive a hellaclean wagon all year long, maybe i'll be picking a tercel cheapo tercel for the winter! :P

anyways thank you guys for your help! if anybody has another place for me to look just post it please! and if i do mistake and write something incomprehensible just tell me as i don't master english :P

I hear you bro, sometimes things do not work out as planned. I was on craigslist last night. I came across a few wagons. Check out Rhode Island, there is one for around $1,000. High miles but your are looking to swap anyways. And a couple more for 2500-3200. I saw them last night. Search Rhode Island first, then all of Massachusetts.