I’m looking to buy a new affordable sporty looking car.
After reading Consumer Reports, I’ve been gravitating towards the Toyota Celica GT.
So I am asking any current Celica owners to share their Humble Opinion about the car.
(I went to a dealer and was disappointed that you can’t order a Celica with exactly the options you want on it. I was told that they produce a few set combinations of options (the ones that 98% of the people want, he said), and that you can’t get it any different. It’s annoying that Toyota wants to force people to buy power windows, power locks, and keyless entry (stuff I don’t want), but you can’t get anti-lock brakes on the GT.)
Ohh - I’m looking to buy one of these myself in the next couple of months. From what I’ve read - its not much of a performance sports car but it has enough zip to be fun to drive. I’m looking forward to seeing what any owners have to say about it. Thanks AV8R for starting the thread!
AV8R, I don’t have a current Celica, but I am still driving my 1990 Celica. I love this car. It has 140,000 miles on it and has needed only truly minimal repairs. I think this car could run for many more miles. It gets pretty good gas mileage, it handles well, it looks pretty cool (according to MrValley, whose first sight of me was in this car), and it is amazingly reliable. What can I say? I love it.
Toyotas are great cars. In general, the dealers are the opposite. Crooks, scamsters & the like. That dealer may have been simply filling your ears with wisdom so that you’d buy a car he has in stock. Or maybe it is so. I dunno, but the dealer is certainly likely to lie to you.
In any case- whatever you do- listen to me very carefully: do NOT, under any circumstance, buy your Toyota at a Toyota Dealership. Trust me on this. Try a car broker, buy on line. Cheaper, and you can order what you want. No pressure to buy weird options you don’t want. If you trust Consumer Reports, look at their “satisfaction with the deal” ratings- Toyota stands out as the absolute worst.
If you don’t listen to me on that- don’t buy anything “aftermarket” from them- undercoating, special finishes, extended warrenties, and the like- those are for rubes.
My only experience is with the GTS - level trim. I own a 2003 Matrix XRS which shares the same engine, transmission (6-speed manual) and suspension setup as the GTS.
The GT reviews (I was going to go with a Celica but couldn’t afford the insurance) looks good. I didn’t like the fact that it has only front disc brakes (the GTS/XRS share the same brakes as well - all wheel disc) but the braking power of the GT is above average. 140 HP engine is solid (same engine as the Collora and the base Matrix).
The seating is a little too low for me but otherwise my test drive impressions of it were great. Nothing special in the power department (a supercharger from TRD should be available soon) but you shouldn’t have any issues with the Celica.
It’s a nice sporty car. There’s a good reivew on www.caranddriver.com (don’t know how to link).
I have a '91 Celica and I’m toying with the idea of getting a new one. I love my little car… It has over 170k on it, and still going strong, with only minor repairs (take, for instance, it is currently in the shop to replace the ignition switch).
The only reason I have’nt gotten a new one, actually, is because I’m not sure I want to strap myself down to car payments
I thought about getting one too, but I really don’t think that it has enough power for the price. It looks really sweet with the “action package” though.
For the money you could get a lexus IS300 instead with more power and whatnot.
Try renting before buying if you can so you can see how it feels…Be sure to check your insurance rates & carbuyingtips.com It hink the 2004 is a bit too new for detailed opinions but you might try epinions.com
I had a 1992 Celica GT I bought from my Grandpa a few years ago with ony 30,000 miles on it - he didn’t drive it in Minneapolis winters. He sold it to me when they moved down to Florida, and I loved that car. I sold it to my great aunt (Grandpa’s sister) when we (My girlfriend and I, not my great aunt) had a baby, since I couldn’t fit a car seat in it, but she says she’ll hold on to it for me so I can have it back in 5 years or so. I drove it from St. Louis to South Florida on a fun roadtrip. Got excellent gas mileage and wasn’t too uncomfortable, though I probably wouldn’t think so now that I have an Accord.
I don’t know where you live, but in Canada, Toyota has moved towards the ACCESS system, which is very similar to the way I understand Saturn works. The vehicles have an MSRP, and thats it. Little or no bickering over price with the dealer. I don’t think the dealers even work on commision. You can price out the exact car you want from www.access.toyota.ca but I don’t know if the US is moving to a similar system yet.
Have you looked into a WRX? Much better performance for the price.
My brother had a 2000 GT-S. It’s fun, but the engine seems to function at its best at annoyingly high revs, so you row a lot of gears. Plus, it’s not the quickest thing out there. Buest, if you['re only interested in sporty-looking, it could be your car.
And I’m not baised against Celicas. I have a 1988 Celica AllTrac that I love (and race). But if I had the same amoun of money, I would go out an snag a WRX, or, if you need the sporty look, a used Acura Integra Type R. I think you can pick them up for around $22,000. Also, a used Eclipse GSX (very cheap), 3rd Gen Mazda RX-7, or MkII MR2 Turbo.
This must be my day for car posts. Anyway, not that it will help you much, but my daily driver is a 1983 Toyota Celica GT that I bought new in March, 1983. It has 138,000 miles on it now and runs great, but the body has seen too many Wisconsin winters and is getting pretty rusty. I still enjoy driving it though. There were several other cars I was looking at when I bought my Celica, and I’m pretty sure they would all be long gone by now, either because they wouldn’t have lasted or I would have tired of them. I’ve sure gotten my money out of that car.
Where are people getting the idea that a WRX and the IS300 are within the same price range as the Celica GT (or GTS)?
My friend got a WRX. On the road for $42000 (CAN). I priced the Celica GTS for $36K (without the action package) or the GT for $27K (the Matrix with interest on the finance and everything came to $33K).
Yeah, before you get the Celica make sure you’re ok with the 8300 rpm red line. It’s a lot of run but I’m sure some people don’t like to rev an engine that high. It took me some time to get used to (and the VVTI-L kicks in at 6K) so it might be a new experience.
And the auto is very slow. A manual GT 5-speed is reportedly faster than a GTS auto.
I just bought a Toyota Scion xB last night for my wife!
She loves it, although I’m stuck with my Tercel with 190,000 miles on it. Best of all, there is no haggling the price. The manufacturer says how much it costs, end of story. And it seems like a great deal for a very good car.
Okay, okay, so it’s nothing like a Celica, but I just wanted to share.
I drove it from St. Louis to South Florida on a fun roadtrip. Got excellent gas mileage and wasn’t too uncomfortable, though I probably wouldn’t think so now that I have an Accord.