New to the celica community Options

[pnguyen]

Hello all!

i'm new here and new to the celica community. i'm looking to buy a 6th gen by the end of this month. i currently own a mitsubishi 3000gt and it's been giving me nothing but headaches recently. so i figure its time to get rid of it and try out a more reliable and efficient car.

before i go out and buy one though, i just had a few questions. is the celica a pretty managable/easy car to work on? i have moderate experience with cars and can do most things by myself. i know my 3000gt was a pain sometimes to work on.

also, are there any common problems with these cars? anything i should watch out for in particular? it will be my daily driver and i drive roughly 60 miles a day to work and back. just wondering how these cars hold up as im sure most of you know, 3000gts are notorious for breaking down :X

and lastly, are parts and stuff pretty readily available and inexpensive?

thanks for any input and i hope to join the community with my a 6th gen of my own soon

Paul

[CastrolCelica]

I always loved the 3000GT body style, but being it's a Mitsubishi, I'm not surprised you're having issues.

The Celica is a very easy car to work with. I said it before and I'll say it again, before I got my car the only thing I knew how to do was change a tire and change my oil. Since I purchased this car, I've had a lot of help through friends and the guys here, and just research on my own, and have found working on this car to be a joy. Unlike my Prius, I can access all the parts in the engine and change out anything I need to without any accessibility problems.

Rust on the rocker panels and back quarter panels are your main "issues". I got my car in Texas though and brought it to Ohio, so I'm rust free. The parts are VERY inexpensive (heck, you can get a brand new top of the line engine for under 2K) and I couldn't recommend the car enough.

A couple suggestions. When you get your car, it's probably wise to replace the following:

Battery
Valve cover gasket
Oil pan gasket
Spark Plugs
Oil and pretty much all fluids including coolant.

I know that sounds elementary, but it's good to replace those as you know when the last time they were changed. That way you don't find yourself on the side of the road like me when I first got mine.

Oh btw, radiators in Celicas have a tendency to be stock. Mine was, and at 140k of use, it was ready to go... and did....the day I bought it. If the radiator is a weird greenish yellow kinda canvas color, replace it. It's stock. They're cheap at Auto Zone, reliable, and easy to install.

Best of luck bud. Get a manual, and try to get a GT. Hatchbacks are the usual favorite around here and they're easier to get aftermarket parts for than the coupes and verts.

This post has been edited by CastrolCelica: Jan 25, 2010 - 9:28 AM