Interested in getting a Celica. Looking for advice.
Greetings everyone.
It's my first time here, and the reason I come here is that I need some good advice on what to get in terms of cars.
First of all, I am an avid fan of the Celica, for its looks and style. However, I have never had the chance to drive one. I'm interesting in buying a car, and the local dealership pointed out a 2005 Corolla, and they have a 2001 Celica on the lot at well.
Both are great buys, but as I said, my heart is on the Celica. As my parents already own a 2006 Corolla, I know quite a bit about the Corolla already, its history, and how it performs. My biggest concern right now is that when I pay off the Celica, that it will be quite an old car. So, my questions really are these:
1. From personal experience, how reliable is the Celica?
2. How expensive is it to maintain?
3. How does it handle compared to an average car?
4. How much in comparison to average is the insurance?
I would appreciate this information so I can hopefully join the happy Celica family, and see if it is the right car for me.
My experience is from a considerably older celica, but possibly still relevent? Are you looking at a GT or a GTS model?
1. My 92 is now at 160,000 and still going strong. If it is a GT model it'll have the 1ZZ engine, which is fairly reliable, some early models had a problem with oil consumption allegedly though.
2. The car needed some work when I bought it but was all regular maintenance that had been neglected (clutch, struts, motor mounts) but all was fairly inexpensive since the parts were readily avavilable, except two mounts, but that was an issue for the engine I have.
3. The handling on mine is ok, its a rather heavy car so is a little cumbersome, but the 7th gens were made considerably lighter, and the one I drove for a little bit felt pretty nice
4. Insurance shouldn't be too bad, but also my experience is for a car that is 9 years older. But my insurance actually went down a few dollars from my 90 corolla sedan.
Thanks for the tips. Actually, although yours is a different year, it is probably in some respects more valid to the reliability concerns than the car I'm looking at, as yours is about how old my car would be once it's paid off.
To answer your question, it's a 2001 GT Celica. I got a quote for $105.00CAD/month for the Celica, and $85.00CAD/month for the newer Corolla. Personally, I'd rather spend the extra $20 a month and turn heads.
That year Celica does consume oil, unless it had been rebuilt with 2003+ parts. Always keep a quart in the trunk and check it at least weekly. There was a TSB for Euorpean models that basically said (iirc) to keep the oil about 10 mm above the stock full mark.
I just got a 2001 myself and its a lot of fun- beats my previous, old reliable 94 Camry
If you don't mind paying a little extra for the celica, get it. I got an 2001 Celica this June and I love it. Parts will be a little more expensive than the corolla. All I have had to do to it other than regular maintenance is put new support lifts on the rear liftgate. Other than that the car is solid, runs well. It will be a whole lot more fun to drive than the corolla, and yes, it will definitely turn more heads. Insurance will depend on how old you are and what kind of insurance policy you get. I don't have a lot of options on my policy, so my rate is fairly low. If the car is in good shape, don't hesitate to buy. It will hold its value longer than the corolla.
I just thought I would chime in here and give my $.02. I currently own an 89 Celica GTS and have found it to be (with the exception of my newly rebuilt oil pump) the most reliable car I have ever owned.......which is saying something since I've owned 29 cars in 29 years. I've had mine for over 5 years now and its always been outside in the elements. One of the cars I owned was a 2003 Corolla S and I would take the Celica over it just about any day of the week. Sure, its an older car and it may not be as flashy as the newer ones but its fast, gets 33 mpg in town, costs me $25 a month to fully insure, and no one messes with it. It's also fairly easy to work on and parts aren't too horrible in terms of price. I say go for the Celica. I've never been happier with a car and I'm usually bored after about 6 months.
Last edited by 85HILUX2WD; 11-18-2009 at 04:37 PM.
Thought I would add this, just bought a 2000 Celica GT, did not need it but it came available from a co-worker and couldnt resist, the car is great at 36,000 miles its alot of fun to drive, makes me feel 20 years old again, have put 1000 miles on and not used any oil, and its a nice amber color on the dipstick right on the full marker. No issues at all with this one for me, not even a burned out light anywhere to replace You have to decide do you need a 4 door car or dont need back seat space for passengers with these 2 door's, im keepin this one, first year of 7th (last) generation.
(Imageshack link modified to show the original photo)
It's a 2001 Celica GT for about $10,000 including tax, 100,000km and a very fancy non-official radio. With your advice and a test drive under my belt, I have to say that, tomorrow, I shall be $10,000 poorer, and one Celica richer.
Thank you everyone. Now, from what I just said, how good of a deal does it sound?
Last edited by The Legacy; 11-19-2009 at 08:41 PM.
I am in love. This car is AMAZING. Thanks everyone.
My question again is though, is it a good deal? Apparently I got it for wholesale value, according to my bank.
the problem with 7th gen celicas gt is oil consumption. my '03 consumes approx. 400 ml in 4000 km. this was when it had only 51,000 kms. to me, 400 ml is too much. as far as i'm concerned, you should not have to top up your oil between oil changes.
toyota fucked up on this one so be careful.
EDIT - On a second note, I forgot to mention, this car came pre-equipped with the Alpine CD-9886 in-car Satellite/Radio/CD/MP3 CD/USB/IPOD system [Video inside this link]. It's a fantastic radio. I just spent about an hour finding the USB cable on it, and thankfully didn't have to pull it all out to find it, and plug the not-included extender that the original owner did not have installed, or had pulled out when he/she traded the car in.
EDIT 2 - Is a remote car starter normal for a Celica? I discovered that the little black antenna next to my rear view mirror is a SH 433-101, which seems to be used for remote start systems, which my custom keyless remote seems to work with.
Last edited by The Legacy; 11-21-2009 at 11:23 PM.
My experience is from a considerably older celica, but possibly still relevent? Are you looking at a GT or a GTS model?
1. My 92 is now at 160,000 and still going strong. If it is a GT model it'll have the 1ZZ engine, which is fairly reliable, some early models had a problem with oil consumption allegedly though.
there's no allegedly. thats the truth and its very annoying for me personnaly. my corolla doesnt burn oil but it does leak it. pretty badly. (seal that typically goes bad on the 8th gen corolla.) the 1zz's are a double edged sword imo espically the early ones like mine. you get good economy and performance but they drink oil and are awfully noisy. this i took a few weeks ago but it shows how noisy my corolla is but it still gets 35mpg
well you're ahead of me in at least one aspect. my 5SFE leaks pretty heavily (cam seal, will drop another engine in before I deal with that, hopefully), noisy as hell, and gets worse gas milage! I'm honestly still trying to figure out the milage issue.... 25.5 mpg all cruising highway. This was average with little variance over a 1200 mile road trip, so practically no city traffic. who knows at this point. I'll stop ranting now
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Interested in getting a Celica. Looking for advice.
2001 GT Celica. I got a quote for $105.00CAD/month for the Celica, and $85.00CAD/month for the newer Corolla. Personally, I'd rather spend the extra $20 a month and turn heads. 
its alot of fun to drive, makes me feel 20 years old again, have put 1000 miles on and not used any oil, and its a nice amber color on the dipstick right on the full marker. No issues at all with this one for me, not even a burned out light anywhere to replace 
You have to decide do you need a 4 door car or dont need back seat space for passengers with these 2 door's, im keepin this one, first year of 7th (last) generation.
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