96 Celica 5 speed what to look for?!, Buying a Celica Options

[Naplesnole]

Hello all, I am new to these forums and am on a crash course. I have the opportunity to buy a pretty tight 96 with 103,000 miles on it. The only thing not stock is an aftermarket air intake, which I understand hurts miles per gallon so that would be the first thing I take off?
Is there anything in particular I should be looking at on this model while checking it over? I am new to Toyotas but excited to buy one. I've heard gas mileage is really good and they are fun to drive. It is the 2200 motor. Thank you in advance!

[richee3]

These cars are known for rust along the bottoms of the doors and on the fenders behind the rear wheels. Be sure to check both places. Lately it seems as though they've hit the right age for the distributors to be a common issue, as well as rusting steel brake lines and fuel filler necks. My brake lines rusted out with only very minimal rust on the body so I had no idea I had any issues underneath the car, so it's well worth getting the car on a lift and checking. Otherwise, Box touched on the common 3rd gear syncro issue, and I was able to get 32 highway mpg out of mine before I swapped.