Starlet

[Mr Morse]

Hi folks

Just wandering across from the Lexus Owners Club for some advice on a used car for my missus:

1996 Starlet 1.3 sportif, 115K miles, 1 owner from new, FTSH to 60K, serviced locally thereafter. Been standing since March. Up for £1250.

Good condition inside, needs a good polish but drives well, very slight oil leak around rocker cover, doesn't smoke or rattle.

Anything else I should be looking out for?

Cheers, Mike

[JT]

just the usual stuff i think. obviously the mileage is high, but it's reflected in the price, so just check suspension etc isn't all knackered.

my mate's got one of these and it's a cracking little car. she's had 110 out of it (i was behind her, so she wasn't lying!). they're quick for a 1.3 :D just a shame they're a bit....dull

[opelfruit]

shames its not a GT Turbo ;)

although I don't know if i'd fancy doing 0-60; 7secs in a starlet!

[nrgizerbunny]

steer clear mate, that car is overpriced by a country mile!

A guy on the starlet forum picked up a similar car with 40k on the clock for £860.

if your still interested check:

1. Clutch - good for 100k max i reckon unless its been on a motorway

2. alternator belt

3. cambelt 60k interval on this

4. check to see its not been pranged around the wings

5. check for corrosion on the brake lines

6. brake pistons often corrode on one side and you get asymmetric wear on the discs, check this as its a nightmare to sort (just feel for rough spots around the periphery of the disc , more than 10mm and walk away!)

7. if its the one with power steering make sure the lines haven't corroded

8. check underneath the spare wheel for corrosion

thats about it. the starlet is not an unreliable car but with that high mileage might want to be a bit careful.

hope this helps

[JT]

well £860 is extremely cheap for a 40k mile starlet (at least round here!). honestly, that'd have been about £2000. maybe its a regional thing

[nrgizerbunny]

well parkers reckon about £1200 for the sportif. with average mileage. the sr fetches around £1500-£1750. again with average mileage.

A starlet is not exactly designed to cruise german autobahns so i'd be scared to go near one with 115k on the clock.

also have a peak on eBay

[Mr Morse]

well parkers reckon about £1200 for the sportif. with average mileage. the sr fetches around £1500-£1750. again with average mileage.

A starlet is not exactly designed to cruise german autobahns so i'd be scared to go near one with 115k on the clock.

also have a peak on ebay

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Reason I was attracted to it is that it's only had one careful owner from new and the general condition suggests that it's been well looked after. I figure that 115K miles in 9 years isn't really that much higher than average anyway. The timing belt was done at the 60K main dealer service. Anyway, I'll have another look on Monday.

Can't handle the manual box though, after being spoiled by the IS300's auto tranny! :D

[Hou]

buy my sr instead

[Carrera_C]

My mate has a starlet and it's a really fast car for a 1.3 and has never given him many problems, they are surprisingly good cars (if not very eye catching)

If you decide to go for it, try and talk them down closer to the £1,000 mark. Think that's a fairer price given the milage.

[Mr Morse]

buy my sr instead

←

She hasn't passed her test yet - insurance is already sky-high for a 1.3 sportif!

They won't even consider her as a second driver for my IS300 until she passes the test.

[nrgizerbunny]

well 18months ago we got our starlet sportif for £1350 with 54k on the clock in Bath (from a dealer with FTSH) which is probably one of the higher places in terms of regional cost variation (not as high as london admittedly). So i think £1250 for a 115k car is well overpriced :(

just bare in mind in another 5k you will have to get the cambelt changed, and unless you do it yourself it'll cost you somewhere around £200 at toyota. Not sure cos i did ours myself :D.