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- YSSMAN
365 Days of Toyota
Its really hard to believe that it has been more than a year that I've spent with the Celica, it has gone by faster than I ever had expected. Though the ups and downs, I have to say, I'm coming away very impressed by an eleven year old car that has never seen snow, probably never been driven all that hard, and certainly never had an owner that treats it like what it is - a car.
Reading back through some of the infamous YSSMAN Infinite Crisis thread, it all seems so strange that I would settle on a Celica. Going from a hard look at a Forrester, Miata, and Jetta GLI up to a brand-new Mazda 3 and MINI Cooper is just... Odd. To wind up with a Celica, especially to just stumble upon it, it was ever so strange. The origional price was nearly $8000, but I managed to wiggle it down to $7250, which was still overpaying just a bit. But, considering it only had 76,XXX miles on it... It was practically new. The smell and feel, in fact, was very much new. It was so different from what I had had (a 1996 Jetta Wolfsburg), or even what I had grown up around (mostly American and German cars).
Fast forward to today, with a little more than a year gone by, and I've put just shy of 10,000 miles on the car. The differences between then and now seem to be pretty standard;
- The interior now looks like its been used more than once
- The new car smell is pretty much gone
- The whole "feel" of the car is more worn in (or I'm just used to it now)
- A few dings, dents and scratches - typical wear for a car that is used
Mechanically speaking, the car has for the most-part been reliable. I've known for about 5,XXX miles that the timing belt will need to be replaced (a $230 job), and the dealer has attempted to convince me multiple times that I need to flush everything out of the car and replace it. The biggest mechanical failure was a few months back, issues with the MAF and such, costing well over $800 to fix. That was a surprising Toyota fail, which I had never heard of before. Unfortunate, yes, but it had to be done. I occasionally worry about the clutch as well, but I'm fairly sure that it will cost far less to replace than the one on the Jetta.
I did also have to replace the nuked stereo head unit, which had inexplicably gone dead inside the car. I talked with the previous owner, and she said it had worked fine when she took it into the dealer to be sold, so she had no idea what had happened. I ended up going months in silence with the car, which was unfortunate, but I have replaced it with a pretty nice Pioneer unit that kicks hard with the Toyota-spec upgraded stereo equipment. After a while, eventually the radio antenna started giving me problems (which I have yet to fix). It will motor up and down, but not all the way, which causes the 40 seconds of burr-urrrrr-burrr-urrrr that everyone loves. I should get it fixed, but its not as high on my list as it should be.
Driving the car around, I have to say that I'm still pretty pleased with the drive overall. The steering is communicative, fairly heavy, but still easy to guide through tight parking spaces when needed. The ride itself took some getting used to, but in general it is more than tolerable over most surfaces. I had anticipated snow driving being brutal, particularly with how bad roads normally are - but the car proved itself as a champion, and moved through the rugged city streets with ease. I have to give props to Toyota for the driving position as well, which is just about perfect now that I've finally fiddled with it enough to get it just about right. Headroom is still an issue, but alas... Its a sports car.
I took my first big trip in the car in mid-January, driving across the state to Yipsilanti to attend a Killers concert at Eastern Michigan University. Traveling with my brother, I was pleasantly surprised by the decent amount of room for the two of us, as well as the comfort (and support!) that the seats offered on the 2+ hour trip. Traveling at 80+ MPH almost the entire time, the car was relatively quiet, very solid on the horrid E. Michigan highways, and surely confident as the weather bounced in-and-out of possibly inclement weather. It is a lot of fun getting the car up to speed and blasting around, but by no means does it make it a rocket-ship. After all, it is just a 135 BHP, Camry-powered Corolla coupe.
As far as anticipated changes go, I'm still in the same camp. I've barely driven the car enough to really worry about replacing the origional parts, but as I inch closer to the 100K mark, I'm fairly sure that suspension bits and pieces will start to wear out. I'd like to go with a slightly lower setup, preferably not any more stiff, so I will have to shop around. I'm still considering a summer set of wheels and rubber, but limited finances continue to put that off as my all-season Eagle GTIIs work fine in the dry and in the snow.
I'm still pretty happy with the purchase, and overall I'm pretty pleased that the car has held its resale value pretty well. Matched with the thus far stellar fuel economy (28 MPG average, rated 19/26 by the EPA originally), its been a miser when I don't push her too hard. Thing is, I've already contemplated what to do next. I've had people ask to buy the car from me already (the guy at the McDonald's drive-thru was classic), and I have to admit that I am occasionally tempted. I love the car, but I'm not totally in love with it. I'm still looking for a little more gusto, and I have to admit, I miss having accessible rear seats. But, considering that I continue to blather on about wanting to buy a Honda S2000 as a replacement, or perhaps a FIAT 500 or a Ford Fiesta depending on a swath of variables, clearly I'm just as out of my mind as I was in the Infinite Crisis thread. But of course... I've still got a long while to love this car, and so far, that is what I plan on continuing to do so for the next few years.
YSSMAN & His Celica: A Six Month Anniversary
It has been roughly a year since I had first begun to realize that my Volkswagen was not going to make it another year. For nearly six months, my 1996 Jetta Wolfsburg was on the slow decline, inches away from death at any moment, and yet my love for that car seemed to be keeping it alive. A clutch replacement, some driveway work on the electronics, and for the most part things seemed to be working moderately well until that one final night when the transmission went out unexpectedly. Transmissions, as I understood it, were rare and difficult to find for that generation of Jettas and Golfs, and consequently, with the sticker price as high as $2500 for a new one (what I paid for the car in March of 2005), I decided that Jenna and I would have to go our separate ways. On a sad day in early spring, she and I parted ways for the last time… A $500 to a family friend who ran a VW shop, her future in his hands as either a project car, or one that would help other Jettas come back to their homes in one piece. I would find out several weeks later that she had found her final resting place, sold to another VW collector further out in the sticks.
My search for a new car was long and complicated. Many of you remember the “YSSMAN’s Infinite Crisis” thread, ideas flowing that ranged from used Subarus (the Forrester in particular) to brand-new Mazda 3s. I had nearly settled on the Mazda until I slowly began to realize that I did not make enough money to have all my ends meet. Gasoline was becoming outrageously expensive, and bills were getting much more tight at home. I had to settle on a cheap car, and consequently, I had to search tirelessly. The goals were simple; Reliable, cheap, and otherwise fun to drive. My health had improved enough since my kidney stone that I’d be looking to go back to something a bit more “exciting” than an otherwise docile sedan, and while my list was otherwise flooded by Honda Civic Sis and VW Jetta GLIs, I finally came across one special car by accident…
Meiko, my Tokyo Rose, my 1998 Toyota Celica GT was quite literally found without any intention of a serious buy. Many of you know how much I generally dislike Toyota, but there had always been an exception for the older models. Meiko was an absolute surprise. Out of curiosity I had typed “Celica” into Craigslist, and there she was, only a five minute drive from my house with an affordable sticker price and a shocking low number of miles… 76,666 to be exact. It had not been my intention to buy the car upon first seeing it, but for the first time in a long time, I had found a car that had otherwise called out to me… And it had to be mine.
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Six months with Mieko has been an absolute pleasure. Covering a little more than 4000 miles in this time, I’ve gotten to know her well. She has traveled throughout the Grand River Valley more times than I can count, cruising gracefully through the countryside, or quietly commuting back-and-forth through the city on my trips to school or work. The magic of this Celica has been the balance it has given me. The car is amazingly quiet, comfortable, and otherwise easy to drive with everyday things. But out on the two-lane roads, she shines as an absolute gem. Quickly, gently, all with the immediate ability to drive bomb into the twisties whenever it is required. I’ve driven many different cars in my day, but nothing that has done everything so well for a cheap price.
Its taken a bit of work to grow accustomed to the interior of the car, and really the general feel of everything. The two cars previous to this that I have owned have been German, and I had grown up driving mostly American cars (with one exception, the family’s 1995 Toyota Camry). The Toyota, by comparison, just feels “light.” That’s not in any way a negative thing, but it just feels like it was designed to be used, unlike the German and American models which are designed to take the use. It’s a very warm, and otherwise comfortable car, something that I haven’t had before. Although the headroom is a bit tight for me, the seats fit well, and there is plenty of room to move around in the front seats. Surprisingly I fit moderately well in the back, albeit with a gigantic lack of headroom. The ride quality is also something that becomes both a positive and negative as well. The Celica loves the open, flat road. But in the city, it can be a bit of a wild ride. I wonder if it is occasionally a problem with the tires, but I am not always certain. Nevertheless, it is a bit more stiff than the Jetta, but not the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever been in.
To make it all pretty simple:
Pros:
* The classic ‘90s looks à Who doesn’t love the GT-FOUR?
* Relative “rarity” here (there are fewer than 10 of these in the city)
* Decent Ride/Handling trade-off
* Average of 28 MPG (!!!)
* Six separate, adjustable speeds on the window wipers, absolutely brilliant
Cons:
* Ride can be a little stiff at times, especially in the city
* The exhaust note is far too quiet for a “sports car”
* Individuality comes at a price of insanity… I’m always worrying about her in a parking lot, parking as far away as possible to make sure that no one is near me
* Headroom is a problem more times than not
* No automatic trunk release on the key fob
* Could use a little more power, 130 BHP isn’t cutting it
In all, I have to say that I’m very happy with the car. For someone who never thought they’d ever buy a Toyota on their own, I’m very impressed. Furthermore, the value of the car seems to be holding pretty well, and the low miles means that maintenance is going to be minimal at best. It will require a timing belt change within the next few thousand miles, along with the other “basic” service needs at 90,000 miles. As of today, I just placed a new Pioneer head unit in the car, replacing the original model that hasn’t worked since I bought the car. But, other than that, I really don’t have any special plans for the car. She gets to me my daily driver, one that I take care of while she takes care of me.
I’ll update this more as things happen, but until then, enjoy!
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In an interesting twist as today’s six-month anniversary…
I saw my old Jetta out on the street today, and in all of the places to be at, it was following me while I took my Celica to get the radio installed. I knew it was Jenna immediately, the slightly broken grille, the dysfunctional fog lights, the small rust bubble on the hood… And most importantly, the Kent County Sheriff sticker in the rear window and the “Motor Werks” sticker on the trunk. It was the first time I’d seen her in more than six months, and although I didn’t get a look on the inside, it appears as though she had been fixed up quite a bit. She definitely had a new exhaust system, it appeared as though they had replaced the transmission with a new automatic one. Based on the look of the driver, a young man in his 20s who was otherwise very happy… I’m glad that she found a new home.
A very strange way to celebrate I suppose.
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But from what I've seen, the USDM car has about 10bhp less than the ones we get in Europe (105bhp vs. 114bhp). I think it's the familiar story of cars being strangled for the US market in order to meet emissions regs.
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