Are Toyota Tercel good cars?

irishcelticeyes@sbcglobal.net · 15 Sep 2011, 06:39 pm

I think this car is somewhere in the 1990 and looks good in pictures...however, I have not drove it yet and have not looked at to personally, will do that today. But I really don't want to buy a car that will break down in a years time and I'm on a fixed income and need a car. I am having trouble walking these days and the heat here is terrible and winters are too cold to walk in.

Heidi · 15 Sep 2011, 06:54 pm

All toyotas are good, I have had a camry and a tercel, both were great cars that never had any major problems. The tercel I had was a 92 and it had over 170,000 miles on it I think when I got rid of it, mostly due to it rusting out from all the salt they love to put on the roads around here. The car was pretty small but very good on gas, and fairly comfortable, a little noisy on the highway but it rode ok. The only thing about it I didnt care for was how the seatbelt was hooked to the door so it was a pain to get in and out sometimes because the belt was in the way, so I would end up hooking and unhooking it which kinda defeated the purpose of it being "automatic" and the convenience of not having to put it on yourself, my other cars including the camry have had the motorized ones and they are so much better. Other than that it was a good little car, I would like to find a Paseo which is like the tercel but just a 2 door and a little more sporty looking, just because I miss the good gas mileage and great reliability.

HOLEY MUFFLERS · 15 Sep 2011, 07:09 pm

tercels in general, as a platform are good vehicles.

however,

i disagree that this vehicle is a good one for one who is not a mechanic or doesn't know it's history intimately..

it has either a 3E (carburetted-which is a defective one) or 3EE (fuel injection) motor. both identified by a sticker on the cam/valve cover that says "12 valve"

read!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_E_engine#3E

what that really means is that the engine is just weak when it comes to being run hard and maintenance has been neglected. a used terc with this engine i would not buy. period.

owner 89 terc 3E 35/44+ mpg.

you'll never see that mileage out of one that has fuel injection, auto trans, or 4 speed. most you'll see is 35 mpg.

mine is a carburetted one with a 5 speed. and i rebuilt it from the bottom up with upgraded parts. and it needed it!

Are Toyota Tercel good cars?

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