Here we are about to close out 2004 and I'm writing a review for my car, a 1994 Celica. Granted, this has only been my car for the past three years but prior to that it was my wife's car. Oddly enough, when these were first introduced in 1994, I leased one for three years back then! For this one, in the last month the odometer showed 170,000 miles and I'm happy to report it is still going strong...which is a good thing, since I'm sure it's going to have to last a few more years.
The last thing I'll ever be called is Mr. Fix-It. For that reason, its extremely important to me and my bank account that a car be reliable. Don't get me wrong, I take care of my cars with routine oil/lube/filter jobs every 5000-7500 miles. The last thing I want is the hassle of a car that's constantly in the shop. My Celica couldn't possibly be more reliable, the following are the mostly minor issues I've had with this car the last three years:
Cracked headlight...and it still works (not sealed beam)
Trim from around one of the headlights does not stay in place
Bits of rust appearing around the rubber trim around the front windshield and back window.
Clip that holds the metal bar that keeps the hood raised broke.
Throttle sticking. I had to have this fixed once I got the car and its about ready to have to go in for this again, about a $75 job.
Drivers side seat belt does not retract. The seat belt does work as it should, but this is a bit of an annoyance when I return to my car to find the belt and/or buckle hanging outside the door when it's been raining. Then the wet belt is across my lap.
One of the hinges to the trunk started leaking and would get the headliner wet during periods of strong rain. This I had to get fixed as well.
The "cover" provided to keep items in the trunk from being seen from the outside has two plastic pieces that hold it in place. These break pretty easily, I've already been through two of them and need another. They aren't expensive, but just a minor nuisance.
The brakes squeak. This has been an intermittent problem ever since they did a brake inspection a few years ago. At one point they fixed it, then it appeared again later. I've learned to live with this one. I'm hoping with the next brake job that this will disappear.
A little bit of staining on the rear bumper, near the license plate. Also the plastic cover over the bumper has these lines across them where I've been bumped while parking AND when some tough guy in a big truck decided to bump me in traffic for some reason.
The gas cap "cover" makes a loud squeak when I open it. If I were more handy in fixing things, I guess I could probably fix this myself. Truth be known, if I'm not careful the gas cap cover might break off soon.
There isn't much rear seat leg room. I'm 6'1" and usually drive with the seat all the way back. Anyone sitting behind me isn't going to have much room at all for their legs and feet, even small kids. This is why I need a new car, well that and this car is OLD.
That's the entire insignificant list of items I've had to deal with in one way or another with this old car. In the next six months I'll need to replace the fuel filter, have the transmission/differential serviced and replace the timing belt at 200K miles, but that's regular maintenance...and will ALWAYS beat a car payment.
My job requires me to drive 35-45 minutes each way every morning and afternoon, probably half city/half interstate traffic. This car handles well in the city, doesn't complain when I run it up to 80mph or more on the highway (Thanks to my
Escort 8500) and still gets right at 30mpg, nearly 400 miles on one tank of gas. It's big enough to carry the wife and kids when needed, or I can throw my hockey stuff in the back on game day after folding down the rear seats. For my needs, this is probably the perfect car for me.
NOTE: I didn't intend this to be a bumper to bumper full blown review of a 1994 Celica. After all, if you're even considering buying a ten...I mean eleven year old car, the main question will be 'How long can I expect this car to last', not what features it has. I hope this review gives some Dad who wants to buy his kid his first car an idea of how reliable this car has been for me and perhaps to feel comfortable plunking down a little bit of money for a car that isn't going to end up being more of a problem than it is worth. Thanks!
January 31, 2007 update: Next week I will pass 220,000 miles. I had to replace the rear hatch after a severe hailstorm caused the rust spots to become HOLES. Part of the gas cover broke, but it still works. Cleaning the "throttle body" is now just a $40 job. And as things stand now, I'll probably have this car for quite some time longer!
May 2007 update: Stereo went out on it, so I bought a new one and speakers, bought the iPod connector so I can use my iPod in the car now. Given the length of my commute, this is a MUST. I've been singing in the car to myself now for a week.
October 30, 2007 update: Just passed 240,000 miles. Due to "misappropriation of funds", the hail damage hasn't been repaired on the roof, hood and one side of the car. No comment there. I had the brake pads replaced and the squeaking disappeared, only to be replaced with a different kind of squeaking due to the wrong kind of pads (thanks Trey). This is only on some occasions and just before I stop, so it isn't bad. The drivers side seat now has a huge hole in it from getting in/out of the car. I tried putting a patch over it (like the ones that we used to put on our jeans to get a few more months of wear out of them), but the iron wouldn't apply it well enough. So I don't have any low-cost ideas there...anyone have any? Looks like I'm driving about 30-35K miles a year, and that I'm going to keep this car through the end of next year. So I might get to 280,000 before finally biting the bullet and buying a new vehicle.
April 2, 2008 update: Just passed 250,000 miles and had all the fluids changed out ($400 later...of course, it probably hasn't been done in years). The guy at the repair place said, "About the only thing I see you might need is a tuneup, if you haven't had one lately." No major problems have cropped up, the hole in the seat is bigger and losing foam. The engine is making some odd sound when I start the car and drive for 5-10 minutes, it disappears after that...no affect on performance or mileage though. Not bad for a car this old with this many miles. Looks like I'll be just short of 270K miles by the end of the year, which is definitely when this car and I end our relationship.
September 9, 2008 update: What the heck, I'll update again. I'm at 259,000 miles now. After the odd sound started, I was afraid that it was exhaust related and I'd fail inspection. No problems there, passed with flying colors. Tires are wearing out now, I can't remember when I bought them...trying to hold off. They aren't bald by any means, but I've noticed more sliding when it's wet. I was informed at my last oil change that both CV joint boots are cracked. It's probably a mistake not to get those fixed, but I'm trying to hold off on that as well. Still targeting January to finding a new car, at the earliest. Still getting about 28 mpg, which is huge now with the price of gas. Still starts every morning, gets me from here to there and doesn't complain much.
January 6, 2009 update: Just passed 264,000 miles. I'm fairly sure that odd noise is an exhaust leak, as when I start the car with the windows down, there's a very strong smell that reminds me of my first car, a 1970 Camaro. It's also getting LOUDER, I think. I recently moved, so the commute isn't as long, but it's all backroads now and not highway miles. I ended up buying new tires anyway, but they were only like $300 at Sam's Club. A spend-happy couple down the road from us has mentioned something about possibly buying the car for their teenager, but a) they're sometimes just a lot of talk and b) I'm not finished driving it yet!!!!! See, I just made my last alimony payment (funny how I still have the car, but the "wife" referenced above is long gone), so the funds are now available...but with the economy and job security, I'm afraid to buy a car right now!!! Last thing I'd need is a five year payment and no job. So I'm going to give it a few more months and see where I am there. At least by then the financial picture will be more clear. Stay tuned!
May 22, 2009 update: Just passed 270,000 miles...boy, I never expected this to go on this long. Lost my job back in January, out of work for two months. Started back again in April, so NOW we've got to get out of debt, finish up some things around the house and then look at getting another car. My commute is back up to 45 minutes now, so the miles are building up a bit quicker. Some of that is highway though. I had to replace the front brakes as there was this AWFUL metallic grinding noise that went on for a week...so much so I hated having to stop the car. Wasn't major repairs, like $150. Hard to believe this is a 15 year old car now that I've been driving for the last seven years and put on probably 140,000 miles just myself. I have noticed that I get better gas mileage with Shell gasoline, as I had been stopping at Kroger on the way to work to fill up (mainly because of their 10 cent per gallon discount). The interior noise does seem to be getting louder, but I don't plan on addressing it just yet. It appears I'm burning some oil, but not so much that there's white smoke coming from the tailpipe. I went past 5000 miles since my last oil change and the oil light came on...I checked and the oil level was low, so I'll be keeping a closer eye on that. Some of the chips where rocks have hit the hood are now starting to rust. I guess that's just a consequence of a car this old. And finally, there's an area about the size of my fist on the roof where the paint is an odd color. I washed my car last weekend and these spots seem to be where the clear coat has separated from the paint! Literally, if I wanted to, I could peel it off in those areas.
I still have some financial issues I'm trying to work through from being unemployed for a couple of months, plus some house issues that need addressing, but I'm confident those will be resolved soon and THEN look at another vehicle. But then again, I've said that same thing for the last two years. But I'm changing my "Bottom Line" to read 275,000 miles, as I've now passed what I originally put there! Hopefully that'll be it.
August 10, 2009 update: Nope, that's NOT it! Coming up on 275,000 miles in the next week or so and we just decided it's going to have to last 8-9 more months before we've got a handle on our finances and what we're going to do in the house. I'm anxious to move on, but I don't want to be so selfish to get a new car when we've got other things to take care of where we could use the future car payment money. As far as car issues, not much to report. According to our government, this car gets 25MPG, so it does not qualify for the "Cash for Clunkers" program and besides, I wouldn't be getting a car with better mileage, anyway. About a month ago I hit a gutter where the metal casing was sticking out and had a blowout. I managed to make it to an apartment complex and change the tire to the spare. However the spare hadn't been inflated in years, so IT was low on air (NOTE: Kids, check the air pressure in your spare tire at least once a year). I made it to the parking garage, but the spare was barely above the rim. After work I gingerly drove it to the nearest Stop N Rob and filled up the spare. The tires were bought at Sam's, so I had about a 30 minute drive in rush hour traffic, HOPING the spare was just low on air and didn't have a leak. Made it to Sam's and a replacement only cost me $45. The other "accident" involved garbage juice that leaked onto the carpet in back. Yuck! I've had a heckuva time trying to get that stench out. I'm past due on changing the timing belt, fuel filter and having the plugs changed...not sure if I need any of that to last 8-9 months. But it's hanging in there, still loud, still smelling like exhaust, still leaving little bits of foam on my clothes when exiting the car, but still gets me from here to there. Figuring on 290,000 by the next time getting a new car is considered.
November 20, 2009 update: Will hit 280,000 next week and it's still alive and kicking. A couple of other comments and issues, however. It's just gotten cold and this car does NOT like the cold weather (neither do I). Usually it starts right up, that isn't the problem, but it takes a long time to really "warm up" and it seems like the squeaks, rattles and groans from inside and outside the car are louder until everything gets moving awhile. I have a new rattle next to the glove box now, which only happens when the car is idling. One of the places where the clear coat has bubbled up, has now ripped off. On the interior, the tint is now having issues. I know this is cheap tint (no, I didn't have it put on), but for quite some time there was this weird looking film on the inside of the windows. It was worse in the back because my son decided to scrape the tint with a stick. So I was cleaning it last weekend and noticed this film was actually COMING OFF ON THE CLOTH. So I rubbed harder and managed to get all of it off on two of the windows after some effort. Looking on the backseat and on the cloth I was using, there was this sparkly substance, which appears to be a layer of the tint. So the windows are now clear in the back, I'm sure I just rubbed a layer of tint off and now I need to work on the front windows. Also don't want to be inhaling whatever that stuff is. There's also this odd sound coming from the engine, which I thought was the belts. It isn't that annoying screetching sound when the belts get loose, but a low noise that seems to only happen at low speeds (then again the car is so loud, maybe I just don't hear it). Hoping it isn't anything major for now...doesn't seem to be getting worse.
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