2nd Hand Celica

[Dann]

Hi there,

I've had my Aygo for almost a year now and I really fancy a bigger car. I've been looking at 2nd hand Celicas and really set my heart on one. Unfortunately having only been driving a year and with little knowledge of cars in general each car I look at I start to worry about it's age/milage etc.

So I thought who better to ask than the proud owners of these fine beasts :)

The one I have my eye on at the moment is this...

2001 Y Reg TOYOTA Celica 1.8 VVTi

3 Doors, Manual, Coupe, Petrol, 70,000 miles, Metallic Black. ABS, Adjustable seats, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Alloy wheels, Computer, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Foglights, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Remote locking, Side airbags, Radio/CD, Air conditioning, Body kit, Central locking. Insurance Group:15, pictures may differ,the actual car has a rear spoiler, not shown £6,495.

People have told my about timing belt issues with cars with this kind of milage, is this something I should worry about with this car? Are there any known issues with high milage/aged Celicas?

All and any advice is greatly appreciated.

If feedback is good I will try and look at this car today, so if there's any questions I should ask...?

Many thanks

Dann

[sotal]

It hasn't got a timing belt so you don't need to worry about that

It's got a chain instead - it may need replacing but I wouldn't have thought it would till 120k plus - not actually sure what the service interval is.

I wouldn't be worried at 70k

Look at the wheels for any bubbles the original wheels were prone to corrosion.

Check the boot struts as it's got a spoiler. The boot struts must have SP stamped on them otherwise the spoilers been added afterwards and the boot struts won't be up to it

[Dann]

Thanks for the prompt reply, this has eased my worries already :D

I've been reading that the wheels were prone to buckling on the WhatCar website, is this something I should look out for?

Also what is it like to park? Having the Aygo as a first car is a dream as I find it far easier to park than any other car I've driven. I hear reversing can be a problem with the Celica?

[sotal]

I've got the older model celica - the one with the four round head lights and it's one of the easiest cars I've had to park even though it's bigger than most.

No idea with the new shape though

[irish_kev]

I've got the older model celica - the one with the four round head lights and it's one of the easiest cars I've had to park even though it's bigger than most.

No idea with the new shape though

i wouldn't agree, i find my celica harder to park in comparison to a standard saloon/hatch as you sit low in the car and visibility out the back is crap. Then again, i do park like a girl.....errmmm..... person who doesn't park well.

its gonna take a bit of getting used to in comparison to an Aygo, but a couple of weeks and it'll be no probs!

[DefiantFrog]

Parking ain't too bad. You don't see too much out the back, but once you have an appriciation for where the bumper is in relation to the spoiler, its easy. Blind spots can be a pain as well if you aren't paying attention.

Early 1zz-fe engines (ie the VVT-i engine) had high oil usage, something else to be aware off. Its not a big problem if you buy one, just something to keep your eye on when you use it (expect to put an additional £20 of oil in between service intervals). BIG bills involved if you don't...

Service Interval is 10k, and each service is on average £200 from Toyota, or cheaper from a specialist.

Other things - weak boot struts, nothing you can do other than replace them. Bubbley rubbish wheels - swap 'em! Squeeky belts - WD40. The O2 Sensor can be weak on them as well, so something else to expect of a car with that kind of age / milage on it. Everything else is pretty good!

[Dann]

Thanks guys this has been really helpfull. But I'm still undecided, the garage got back to me and offered me £5k part ex for my Aygo Sport(11 months old). My main concern is the fact there's no warranty, the garage offer 1 month and recommend using a 3rd party warranty for £300 a year, their called Motorplan if anyone has heard of them, I have no idea whether their any good?

[sotal]

I've got the older model celica - the one with the four round head lights and it's one of the easiest cars I've had to park even though it's bigger than most.

No idea with the new shape though

i wouldn't agree, i find my celica harder to park in comparison to a standard saloon/hatch as you sit low in the car and visibility out the back is crap. Then again, i do park like a girl.....errmmm..... person who doesn't park well.

its gonna take a bit of getting used to in comparison to an Aygo, but a couple of weeks and it'll be no probs!

I think visibility is quite good, it's a nice big back window - distance seems easy to judge and blind spots are minimised. The turning circle isn't bad. It's longer than the Focus we've got and I can park it in a smaller space. The Focus has huge blind spots and visibility appears worse out of the rear. Maybe it's just what you get used to but I never had a problem