Helo! A New Gen6 Owner In Need Of Advice

[Simon H]

Hi!

New Celica owner here.. silver Gen6 P reg. Loving it.. hell of a lot faster than my old Suzuki Swift!! bought it through a family friend for £3500 and it's done 66K miles which I thought was a pretty good price.

However I have some questions I'd like to ask you knowledgeable celica fanatics about... (and bear in mind, I don't know a lot about cars & maintenance)

1. The car is in pretty good nick but has a few minor bumper scuffs at the front, a small patch of peeling paintwork on the front nose, and a slightly more serious dented scratch over the rear wheel arch. Take a look:

http://www.evilsimon.com/scuffs

Pic 1 - peeling paint on front nose

Pic 2 - corner scuffs

Pic 3 - more peeling paint

Pic 4 - 2 scratches, one of which is slightly dented (caused by the previous owner's wife scraping it against a brick wall)

I had a quote from my nearest Toyota dealer (Jemca in Croydon) and they quoted 700 quid to fix the lot !! 350ish for the dented scratch, and 350ish for the scuffs. Is this a reasonable price?? Do you guys know any reputable local (London/Surrey-based) bodywork people who could a good job for less?

2. The air con doesn't work. We presumed it just needed a recharge but Jemca Toyota in Croydon said there's a leak in the top air con pipe and quoted £414 to fix the leak and regas. This also seems a bit steep to me! question is, is the air con actually any good in the gen6 celicas or is it not really worth my forking out the money to fix it?

3. If anyone knows a good London/Surrey based garage for servicing celicas pls let me know... the car's had a full toyota service history which I'd like to continue, but Jemca Croydon's prices seem slightly 'inflated'

4. Something is vibrating inside the driver's door when some funky bass lines are playing on the stereo.. it's really quite annoying.. is it easy to take the door apart to have a look or should i get the garage to look at it?

Thanks a lot for any advice,

Simon

[Tom.B]

Hi and welcome to the club matey

Looking at those pictures the quote you have for them to be repaired seems ok. Have you tried anywhere else though?

Im not sure about the aircon..someone will be along soon who knows though!!

And door panels are pretty easy just dont pull too hard at them and remember to watch for wires!! if the speaker is making that kind of noise on big bassy bits...it doesnt sound too good..you may need a new speaker.

[sotal]

Nice choice on car mate

I think the price is about right if it didn't have the damage - but the mileage is good - plenty left yet (mines done about double that!)

Which Celica is it? The 1.8l ST or 2.0l GT?

I would have guessed around £200 to have the damage fixed - shop around but be careful of cowboys.

Speaker could be knackered - might be worth upgrading them whilst you have the door card off? I'm sure someone will recommend a good pair to replace them with. If it's not the speaker try a bit of silicone between the panels to stop vibration

[daktari]

You need to get a few different quotes for the paint damage. I personally wouldn`t pay over £200-£250 for that lot. But i`m tight and know a few people in the trade. Avoid Toyota dealers if you can. Your paying top money for a job most competent garages would charge a fraction of. As for the aircon. Get onto a breaker and get a replacement top pipe, Should be plenty around as the gen 6 is quite a popular car. This`ll save you a good bit as a regas is only around £40. Speakers. Don`t bother with genuine. Go for decent aftermarket ones. Again cheaper than originals and probably better. If you go to a ICE specialist they should be able to put you on th right track. I reckon you could get her upto scratch for less than £500.

[Simon H]

cheers guys..

it's a GT 2.0:

the resonance is something inside the door resonating to the music rather than a problem with the speaker. what is & where can i get this silicon stuff ?

[GT4 BOOSTER]

i personally think you jumped in at £3500 . similar motors of the same mileage could of been available. but that aside its a smart motor and has loads of life left in it .take the panel off the door , it may be something lurking that has been messed with.the gen 6 as is the gen 5 ^_^ dak ,is the best motor on the roads for a long long time.enjoy it and welcome to the cult world of the celica.

[sotal]

what is & where can i get this silicon stuff ?

←

Just bog standard silicone sealant from b&q or Wickes or whatever diy place you can find - It's just the stuff you seal the bath with! - doesn't need to be waterproof though!

You can also get some black silicone from your local motor factors but that tends to be stronger stuff - they use it to stick spoilers on to cars