Newbe Hi There, Any Help Buying A Paseo?

[threepot]

Hello, I'm Matt, Hi, currently drive a little 1988 Honda CRX 16v but now I'm after a new car thats cheap to insure, tax, buy, doesnt look crap, has potential and is of good quallity manufacture. I feel the Paseo ST fills this gap being Group 6, and with cheap road tax. Lot less sporty than my CRX but i'm hoping the Paseo wont leak and rattle etc, I'm looking to spend around £1300 tops on a Paseo as I'm not feeling overly flush at the moment, and I realise i'm not going to be getting my sellect choice of prime cuts in that price range. A few questions for anyone in the know of the dark side....

Any pointers of regular faults? What to stay clear of, whats the norm etc

What aftermarket exhausts are about, anyone know what they are like?

thanks in advance for any pointers

[Jamesb4uk]

Welcome mate

For 1300 you should be able to get yourself a decent Paseo.

just check for the regular things but most important check the rear shocks - paseo's seem to be common on this failure.

Part from that they are fairly bullet proof.

Aftermarket exhausts - most people seem to be going for a custom job - unfortunatly the Paseo isn't exactly mod friendly.

J

[toyotasera.co.uk]

I've got a spare Sera for sale if that was of interest. Insurance is higher than a Paseo though.

[paseojim]

hay mate you cant go wrong with a seo im loving ownin mine and i too took a step down from a 200bhp starlet turbo, like james says im running a custom back box on mine and it sounds sweet and was not to expensive.

jim

[threepot]

thanks for your replies, so there is some people messing with them here in the UK then. I'll check all the shocks, i do a pretty tight inspection I like to think. £1300 is realistic then. I was expecting a list of things; Droplinks, wishbone bushes blah blah blah. Every site and review of the Paseo seems to claim faultless manufacture and high reliability.... i'm sure I can do something about than now :D

I mess with Hondas a lot, My mate has a CRX 16v and a JDM Civic Vti, and I have my 16v CRX. I chip Honda ECU's for people and also do custom mapping. Shame I cant do the same to toyota ecu's. I do all my own work, I've rebuilt a few engines, and dont trust anyone else to touch my babies. Quite looking forwards to getting a new car, the CRX has been a hell of a lot of fun but I want to die inside it. My girlfriend moans about it, and I go through petrol like its free. Let alone insurance!!

Not to keep asking stoopid frechin questions but can you easily build a 1.5 turbo out of a mixture of starlet and/or Mr2 bits... does the exhaust manifold swap easily, are the ECU's swappable etc etc, not asking for the way it done, just if its feasible, I need a car first

[Jamesb4uk]

As a friend of mine said... theonly stupid question is one you don't ask...

The engine can be modified if you don't mind spending money...

J

[riko666]

add £1350 to your price and you can get a mint 1997 si with just 65,300 mi and brand new shocks....i.e.....mine!!!

[matt_hillyard]

welcome to the site mate,

Riko's is a nice example and shock and brake wear are the only things that i could say to look out for as they last forever but soon these parts will need replacing like mine did a while ago.

As for exhaust, powerflow is the cheapest way to get what you want as i got a backbox from them for £185 all in and i love it!! a stock backbox is £165 without fitting so you can see the benefit wth going custom!

Any other questions these people are the best ive found to ask so any little question dont be afraid to ask!

Matt

[paseoGT4]

Just keep your eye open, you can pick up a clean example for about £1300, a lot of people ask for silly money for them - but if you keep an eye on eBay / autotrader they never sell. Sold my last one for £1275 and it was mint with full tax and MOT. They are solid as houses - I bought my 1st one on 40,000 miles put another 60,000 miles on it and only replaced 2 shocks and a wheel bearing and it was still solid when I sold it. Ive seen a few very nice examples recently for as little as £800 but you have to be quick to get these.

[Jamesb4uk]

Hah - i've put over 100,000 miles on mine mate - in total 5 years of ownership

spent about 1400 on her last year but that was a major toyota service inc rear shocks plus Aulternator troubles & all belts done in Cam belt.

J

[riko666]

i got an offer, that was £300 off, im not asking for a stupid price :P

[threepot]

Still hunting, found one with 62k in white that suits my budget. Just got to see if its still avalible.

If no exhausts are on the market for reasonable money i'll fabricate something my self.

[paseoGT4]

i got an offer, that was £300 off, im not asking for a stupid price :P

←

you should have snapped his hand off, ive seen mk7 celicas (vvti shape) go for 5500 recently with 60,000 miles ...

[riko666]

meh

[threepot]

Just been to look at a paseo.

Nice car in a blue colour, not that turquoise blue, proper blue.

1996, with 72k on the clock. An ST model 2 previous owners, current owner is a nice lady who sure aint a boy racer, shes had it for 5 years too. Nice car, one problem:-

took it for a test drive and the backbox fell off!!

i'm shoked at the price of a backbox... looks like i'll bodge an aftermarker ricer can on the back for the time being, my mates gonna lend me his mandrel bender so I can make myself a nice de-cat'ed stainless system. I'll have to treat myself to a manifold too while i'm getting dirty.

Gonna think about this car for the night, got the cash to buy it on me now, but I need to think before I get all itchy trigger finger.

but I recon I can have it for about 800 quid

[paseoGT4]

but I recon I can have it for about 800 quid

←

mate if you dont have it, send me her no and ill have it off her, you can get a non - original back box for about £60 - think bosal do them - but they are a quality make.

[threepot]

I am now the very proud owner of a lovely Paseo :)

I am so happy with her, shes lovely to drive. Thanks for the pointers

[Jamesb4uk]

Congrats mate

did you get the price you were looking for?

J

[paseojim]

nice 1 mate welcome to the seo family :D

Jim

[threepot]

Thanks for the welcome! Loving my little paseo. It needs a bit more go power. But i'm hoping a decatted exhaust + manifold, induction *****, apexi and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator might give me the scope to tune a few more horsies out of her

Yeah, i got it for the right money. got a new stock backbox for £50 too

but still sounds like a tractor, fitting the exhaust tomorrow

[riko666]

manifold = buy mine

[paseojim]

real subtle riko Lol

Jim

[riko666]

i am the king of subtlety but nah, just need to sell it off soonish...and its the best you can find, unless you find an exhaust specialist (not franchise, like powerflow, ascar, topgear exhausts...) that makes huge quality exhausts...