Hello, Im New Here

[Meathead316]

Hi there!

Im new to these boards and dont own a celica (yet). in about a month or two i'll have the 10k i need then its just a matter of finding the right car, which for me is about a 2000 reg model, 190bhp with leather etc in black :)

is there anything i shud look out for wen lookin for the right car, coz 10k is a lot of dough. i was thinkin of gettin it from toyota, but for 10k, i wont be able to get much. i reckon i shud get it from a dealer, to be on the safe side.

any who, i cant wait to get me new car, i get all excited just thinkin of it sittin there on my drive way waitin for me to drive it some more. :)

[chris202]

Good choice :D

The 190 is a great car - hard to find in black i believe but good luck.

Dealer may be best , warrantys always a handy thing .

Not many problems with the 190 i dont think , people have complained about the boots ( supports i think) but i cant think of much else .

Am sure a Gen7 owner will clarify .

[GT4 BOOSTER]

try asking in the t-sport section mate.

[Spuffington]

Welcome to TOC!

Good choice of car. As the others have said - good to go with a dealer if you can afford it, do a search of the Toyota Used Car network for peace of mind.

Main things to watch out for are boot struts which can fail and leave you with a nasty bump on your head! And lift bolts in the pre-2002 VVTL-i engines (190/T-Sport) can fail leaving you with a big bill to fish bits out of the oil reservoir.

Best thing I can suggest is putting that in the negotiations with the dealer and asking them to replace the lift bolts as a condition of sale (as a pre-emptive measure). This'll only cost £50 and should save you from a big bill if the original ones are fitted. The new ones are stronger and there have been few (if any problems) since 2002.

Apart from that, look for rusting rear wheel hubs (can be hammerited or painted by dealer for £50), corrosion of the alloys if 16" ones, 17" wheels seem to be fine. Also, the VVTL-i engines are prone to a bit of squealing from the aux drive belt - this can be fixed by replacing the belt tensioner.............get Mr T to do this if required, as a condition of sale.

Other than that - you'll be getting yourself a solid and fun motor with an amazing engine. Enjoy it!!

[Fidgits]

hi and welcome!

[daktari]

Welcome to TOC. Hope you enjoy your stay. Those gen 7 boys `ll look after you.

[DefiantFrog]

As Spuff said. Not much goes wrong.

If you've got a spoiler on the one you find, check the boot struts say "SP" on them (they should have been uprated for the spoiler). They are also a common failing - if they go, when its cold, the pressure inside isn't enough to keep the boot lid up and it !Removed! hurts when it comes down on you. £120 fitted from MrT for a new set.

On the 190, if there is no history with it, get them to change the lift bolts. If there is history of it being done after 2002 then they'll have been the uprated ones so no need to worry.

Excessive wind noise when driving could mean the door seals are on the way out. Not an overly common failing though.

The 16" 5 spoke Toyota wheels are rubbish. Lots of corroding and bubbling. Best bet would be to go for an after market set if the car you find has those. All the 17" ones (6 spoke, and multispoke) don't have any reported problems to my knowledge.

Also check all the other things you would normally look for in a second hand car. Chances are though, as long as it has been looked after, it will sail through any test you want to do on it. You will also want a HPI check, and may want to have an RAC check done on it as well, depending on how confident you are with your cars...

A Toyota Warrenty is a good thing, but you'll pay a price for it built in to the price of the car, and as you've said £10k doesn't get you much from a Toyota Dealer. You may want to fancy your chances going for a car not from Toyota. As long as its got a good Toyota Service History and any other evidence of work done on it it should be absolutely fine.

Good luck, and welcome to the club! Hope you enjoy the stay...

[Special Red]

Surely a private sale with a full history will not only save you money but also give you as much peace of mind that any dealer can really offer as if your buying a 2000 plate it wont have warranty left. It also possible to get a seperate warranty from one of the many companies out there (just like rover owners had to) and to still save money compared to buying from dealer. Just a thought.

Welcome to TOC mate nand I hope the wait does not seem too long!

[Meathead316]

thanks for all the replies!

i think im gonan stick to buying froma dealer, 10k is a lot of cash to hand over to some stranger who could be out to mug me off. at least if its a garage there is some where i can go back to and someone i can shout at or what ever.

wud the garage do that? spend £50 to fit them lift bolts?

also question about insurance. how wud i buy the car and get it home? wud i be covered on my insurance (i have a mondeo at the moment, insured with norwich union fully comp, but will be changing to virgin wen i get celica as NU wont insure me til im 25) will i have to set up insurance for my new car before i drive/buy it?

who the hell is mr t? it aint that big black guy that says " i pity the foo!" is it? my guess its mr toyota???

thats all, you guys are really helpful and thanks for the warm welcome!

[Special Red]

thanks for all the replies!

i think im gonan stick to buying froma dealer, 10k is a lot of cash to hand over to some stranger who could be out to mug me off. at least if its a garage there is some where i can go back to and someone i can shout at or what ever.

wud the garage do that? spend £50 to fit them lift bolts?

also question about insurance. how wud i buy the car and get it home? wud i be covered on my insurance (i have a mondeo at the moment, insured with norwich union fully comp, but will be changing to virgin wen i get celica as NU wont insure me til im 25) will i have to set up insurance for my new car before i drive/buy it?

who the hell is mr t? it aint that big black guy that says " i pity the foo!" is it? my guess its mr toyota???

thats all, you guys are really helpful and thanks for the warm welcome!

Correct its Toyota! I thought that at first

Ask to borrow the dealers phone to contact your insurance company or if you buy one on a sunday ie when Insurance is not open, then ring up in advance and tell the insurance company when you want the policy to run from. Hope this helps. Generally people dont go straight in and leave with the car the same day as they will probably valet it and need to sort the paperwork out etc so that should give you plenty of time to sort it out.

[chris202]

thanks for all the replies!

i think im gonan stick to buying froma dealer, 10k is a lot of cash to hand over to some stranger who could be out to mug me off. at least if its a garage there is some where i can go back to and someone i can shout at or what ever.

wud the garage do that? spend £50 to fit them lift bolts?

also question about insurance. how wud i buy the car and get it home? wud i be covered on my insurance (i have a mondeo at the moment, insured with norwich union fully comp, but will be changing to virgin wen i get celica as NU wont insure me til im 25) will i have to set up insurance for my new car before i drive/buy it?

who the hell is mr t? it aint that big black guy that says " i pity the foo!" is it? my guess its mr toyota???

thats all, you guys are really helpful and thanks for the warm welcome!

"I aint gittin on no plaannee"

[Spuffington]

If you're fully comp on the Mondeo you might have 3rd Party cover driving other vehicles.....i.e. just enough to get you home. But a lot of garages will want to see a valid insurance certificate before they release the car to you.

I would've thought if it were a Toyota Main Dealer, it'd be easy to persuade them into making replacement of the lift bolts a condition of sale..........at the end of the day it's "only" £50, hardly a big deal for them and they'll get a happy customer as a result!! ;)

[Special Red]

If you have it in you, a bit of brown nosing when your agreeing on the price can pay off. Small price to pay, ask him throw in a tank of juice whilst he at it!

[mikeb]

If you're fully comp on the Mondeo you might have 3rd Party cover driving other vehicles.....i.e. just enough to get you home.

Fully comp usually covers you to drive other cars, BUT only if they're not registered in your name - which it would be if you've just bought it.

[Special Red]

If you're fully comp on the Mondeo you might have 3rd Party cover driving other vehicles.....i.e. just enough to get you home.

Fully comp usually covers you to drive other cars, BUT only if they're not registered in your name - which it would be if you've just bought it.

Correctamundo!

[DefiantFrog]

I would've thought if it were a Toyota Main Dealer, it'd be easy to persuade them into making replacement of the lift bolts a condition of sale..........at the end of the day it's "only" £50, hardly a big deal for them and they'll get a happy customer as a result!! ;)

Worth noting a garage that isn't a Toyota dealer probably won't know what your rambling on about when you talk about lift bolts. A lot of the small dealers I went to knew nothing about any of the cars they were trying to sell. I had to go back to the dealer I got mine from a few weeks after I bought it. Turns out the guy did some research on what I was asking about after he sold it, and realised he could quite easily have got a few hundred more for it!! His loss... :D

So, if you do go for a small garage, tell him you want a Toyota garage to replace the lift bolts, and tell him you want the receipt for the work as well...