Celica Buying Advice

[Saint Eldrick]

...as I'm not one.

I'm on the verge of finally getting my feet wet in the import market, and plan to buy the Celica I've been drooling over for the last two years now I've persuaded it's owner to sell. Finance and insurance is all set to go, trouble is I don't really know what I'm looking for on the car itself as far as defects might go.

It's an N reg model with 24k on the clock and as far as I can tell it's been really well looked after - receipts for new exhaust, manifold, wheels, tyres, ICE etc. as well as 12 months MOT and tax. So what's the problem?! It all seems to good to be true that's all!

I'd love some advice on what to look for on a modded import before I hand the cash over. It's got a Veilside style kit and I don't really know how they stand up to the lovely British weather and stone chips, where does rust tend to spring from?, and so on and so forth.

Sorry to ramble but your help would be greatly appreciated! Hello by the way, first post and all that. Cool site.

[GT4 BOOSTER]

why buy a 140 bhp import with dumb insurance costs , when you can buy a uk model with 173 bhp ,cheaper insurance and the ease of finding spare parts.mileage isnt really an issue with the celica , for 3k you can pick up a 1994 1995 model gen 6 , with 50 to 90,000 miles and they still drive like new. as for what to look out for , not much other than crash damage as its only done 24k miles, dont worry about stone chips the front of these cars is fibre glass.

[Saint Eldrick]

dont worry about stone chips the front of these cars is fibre glass.

D'oh! Oh yeah. I got a good insurance quote so thats not really an issue at the mo, and I'd love to get a bare bones model and do it up myself, but buying my first house too so I won't be able to afford to. Be nice to get one thats been done for me, as it were.

I'm not really worried about the loss of power compared to a UK model, I drive an escort (staggering 1.3) now so it'll be like changing from an oil tanker to a speedboat. Cheers for the reply

[leon1918]

i bought the 140 bhp model and although i love it i really would like the 173 so if power is a factor in choosing the car. either way , ul love it. uk would be my choice again

[Calisto]

welcome to the club :group-cuddles:

On imports rust is rearly an issue

Ash.

[Saint Eldrick]

Thanks 4 putting my mind at rest - HPI check done, money in place, dunno whether to bother with a car inspection tho. Cheque will be handed over tonite then I'll be getting my grubby hands on my dream car.

Thanks again for the replies, this is a cool site u should be proud of it!

[GT4 BOOSTER]

enjoy