Ask an expert

I am interested in purchasing an early Toyota Celica 1989 to 1990 model with the standard Toyota motor Not 4ws or turbo.

Can you give me any feedback on whether they are a reliable car or am I wasting my time. What do I have to look out for or are they an all round good car. They just seem to go cheap so I wondered if there was something wrong with them.

John

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

There is nothing wrong with the Celica. What you have to remember is the age of the car, now heading towards 20 years old.

The reality is all cars of this age are losing their values really fast. You can however, pick up some nice examples and expect reasonable reliability. Obviously any car with a proven service history is more desirable to own.

Pay close attention to the body work as well as the mechanicals and make sure any car you have a keen eye on passes a new Warrant of Fitness before committing to purchase.

Where you miss out big time with any vehicle of this age is on the lack of safety features.

Still, if it fits your budget, you could do a lot worse.