2002 Celica 190 VVTLI T sport. Talk me in or talk me out

[loskie]

1 owner car.
Looks tidy in the ad
135000 miles
Says full SH and MOT history looks good, no mention of rust.
MOT's done well in advance of the expiry date every year.

Looking for an old car to hoon about in.
Any advice welcome.


Posted this in Jap Chat but no response so mods please leave here. Thanks

[Andy665]

You won't regret it - a hugely underrated car

Had one at a similar mileage, completely reliable, everything still worked (apart from the boot struts), economical, great fun across country - only downside was lack of refinement at motorway speeds

The 190 engine is pretty bulletproof - much more robust than the 140

Edited by Andy665 on Monday 1st July 22:22

[rallycross]

Agree'd these are very under-rated with the 190 engine.
I've had a couple of these and for such low cost they are a great little coupe.
Years ago I had a long period of always having an Integra Type R (DC2) and I was surprised to find the celica is really not far off (ok its a lot more civilised) but still lots of fun.
They dont seem to suffer from rust, most of the mechanicals and elecs give bullet proof Toyota reliability, if the history is good then dont worry about the mileage very rare to find one less than 100k miles now anyway.

[loskie]

thanks both.

[Ankh87]

My mate has one and I had a 2005 Corolla T Sport.

These are good cars. Get them on some lowering springs and they will corner pretty good. Overall for the money you aren't going to get anything as fast and reliable. Just check the service history for lift bolts been replaced. Its a really easy job to do yourself but if they have welded in then you are stuck and have to take it to a pro.

[clockworks]

Be sure to check for rust underneath.

An ex-colleague of mine bought one a month ago. Apart from shabby paintwork, it looked to be in very good condition. No rusty bodywork, very tidy interior, long MOT. He was due to come to my house 2 weeks ago to drop something off. I got a message saying he had car trouble, and could I meet him in the local industrial estate.

Driving up behind him, the offside rear wheel looked a bit odd. I parked up, said hello, and wandered up to his car for a closer look. Lower wishbone had rusted through where it joins the hub carrier, and the wheel was about 15 degrees out of true.

Car is back on the road now, with new wishbones and anti-roll bar, all suffering from terminal rust. Not horrendously expensive to fix using secondhand parts, but could have caused a serious accident at higher speeds. No idea how it had passed an MOT a few months earlier.

[loskie]

should the lift bolts have been done as part of a recall or manufacturer campaign or just at the request/expense of the customer?

[Tasmin200]

I've just spent 6 months doing up a scrapper.

Great to drive, fun but not fast. I really like it. Check the rear subframe for rust behind the exhaust heat shields and the sills as they rust though under the plastic covers.

Check out my thread to see how bad they can rust. I'm really not trying put you off, I love it but get down on your arse and have a really good poke underneath.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Tasmin200]

loskie said:

should the lift bolts have been done as part of a recall or manufacturer campaign or just at the request/expense of the customer?

No recall. They changed the design with the facelift cars. 2003 onwards.

[rallycross]

Tasmin200 said:

I've just spent 6 months doing up a scrapper.

Great to drive, fun but not fast. I really like it. Check the rear subframe for rust behind the exhaust heat shields and the sills as they rust though under the plastic covers.

Check out my thread to see how bad they can rust. I'm really not trying out you off, I love it but get down on your arse and have a really good poke underneath.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

That car has come from somewhere like Aberdeen, ( I’m from Scotland but left a long time ago) a Celica from the south of England will never be like that - it’s rotten.

[Tasmin200]

rallycross said:

That car has come from somewhere like Aberdeen, ( I’m from Scotland but left a long time ago) a Celica from the south of England will never be like that - it’s rotten.

It doesn't help living in Scotland, but there's plenty of other guys on the forums got knackered subframes. Front and rear. I'm just saying it's worth not assuming it's ok. I knew mine was rusty, but i like a challenge!!

[loskie]

Tasmin, thanks for the link to your thread it looks really useful.

[anonymous-user]

loved my T-Sport - 'sold' it to my nephew and he's loving it now.

The calipers rust and are not that cheap to completely replace, also little things like the backing plates for the rear parking brake - 2 pieces of pressed metal £250+ .

Idle control can get sticky, but easy to take apart and clean.

Apart from the above, was great, plus mine had c160,000miles, so was well used.

There a good celica club - https://www.celica-club.co.uk/ that can help with most things.

This is what they can look like - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[loskie]

Thanks for the very helpful comments all. Especially Tasmin and your kind offer of a look at your Celica.
Called the seller and yes you guess it, it was already sold. 2002 car owned by him from new, he sounded a pleasant, honest and decent chap.

Not in need of a car was just looking for an additional one so no huge loss but a bit disappointed.

But all in all not a bad experience.

I guess the saying "you snooze you lose" was right this time.

[pilchard8]

I picked up a 190 Celica and used it as a daily for year due to good reviews and price.

I just couldnt get on with it, the gear change seemed very clunky, lift mode was 'on and off' through the gear changes, alloy material was poor etc.

There might have been something wrong with mine but it just wasnt for me, probably the worse daily ive owned in a long time. Replaced it with a 07 Swift Sport and its leagues ahead in everything except power.

[rallycross]

pilchard8 said:

I
I just couldnt get on with it, the gear change seemed very clunky, lift mode was 'on and off' through the gear changes, alloy material was poor etc.

There might have been something wrong with mine but it just wasnt for me, probably the worse daily ive owned in a long time. Replaced it with a 07 Swift Sport and its leagues ahead in everything except power.

I've owned and driven a few 190's the gear change should not be clunky, lift mode is ridiculously on and off which does make it hard to stretch its legs as you need a proper bit of open road as you need so many revs to get it going (stupid design), all Jap cars have alloy material that corrodes badly just how they are.