Soldato
- Joined
- 10 Sep 2008
- Posts
- 11,973
- Location
- Bangor, Northern Ireland
Im now done with company cars, decided to save myself some money and get a cheap used car instead. I gave myself a budget to buy a car in the hope that it would do me for a year or two until i can save the money for something a bit better.
I considered a whole host of cars from Mondeos and other such sensible saloons and hatches to oversized ancient 4x4s and luxobarges before stumbling across this:
A 2001 Gen 7 Toyota Celica 1.8 VVTi 140bhp
108,000 miles
MOT'd to the end of May and a full years Tax
Full Toyota Service History
One owner from new
Absolutely fantastic condition for a 10 year old car, the bodywork is immaculate except for a few tar spots on the front wheelarches, and the bonnet has a few strange scratched spots where it almost looks like its been scrubbed with a scouring pad which shouldnt be much trouble to put right.
The interior is also immaculate condition, not a mark on it. Its not the best looking dashboard layout in the world, and its finished in horrible scratchy plastic, but it feels very solid and well put together. The seats are fantastic though, very comfortable and supportive even for my 6' 2" frame.
Spec wise its very basic, but if I remember correctly there wasnt exactly a huge list of extras you could specify with the car to begin with. Cloth interior which is absolutely fine by me as i personally prefer it over leather, air conditioning, electric windows and a CD player seem to be it. However at this price point im not complaining.
On to the driving then, quite simply its brilliant. Given my car history of boring VAG hatches, changing to this is astonishing. Proper hydraulic steering makes it quick to respond and really lets you feel the road and what the car is doing. The gearbox is also excellent, 6 speed short throw with a stubby gearlever makes for a perfect feeling gearshift, not the floaty vague gearboxes im generally used to.
The engine is smooth and just loves to be worked hard, no mechanical problems have presented themselves, and there is no oil problem that afflicted some of the earlier 140bhp Celicas. Its not a particularly fast car (claimed 0-62 in 8.7secs) but it feels much faster due to the low ride height and quick steering. Ill have to properly test the 0-62 as im sure its closer to 7 seconds personally, any other owners on here know their times by any chance?
There are a few niggles though, the CD player volume knob doesnt work, and its very picky about playing anything but brand new discs, so ill likely replace this in the near future. It also came with a handsfree kit installed, you can probably see the massive black phone holder in the interior shot by the gearknob so ill have to take the centre console off to remove it, but ill be putting my own Parrot one in so that'll have to be done anyway. The exhaust was rattling when i bought it (managed to haggle the price because of it) but it turned out to be the heat sheild had lost a rivet and was resting on the exhaust itself, so a 2 minute fix
The alloys are first of all, tiny. They ruin the look of the car slightly, they also have some mild corrosion spots which is a common fault with the Celica and MR2 alloys, but its not too bad so i dont think ill bother correcting that. If anything id be looking to replace the wheels altogether for a larger set, but finding official ones is proving difficult and in not particularly keen on aftermarket ones.
Lastly, out of all the colours available, i think the silver is among the weakest. But it looks good nonetheless it just wouldnt have been my choice if i had a bigger budget.
Overall i chuffing love this car
So pleased with it, the previous owner has really looked after it well. I was expecting it to be a complete shed when i went to view it, as i didnt think you could buy this much car for so little money. Love the looks, love the drive.
Oh and the matter of the price. Advertised for the measly sum of £2250, but was hoping to get him down to my budget of £2000. Managed £1775 in the end
Do your worst motors forum!
I considered a whole host of cars from Mondeos and other such sensible saloons and hatches to oversized ancient 4x4s and luxobarges before stumbling across this:
A 2001 Gen 7 Toyota Celica 1.8 VVTi 140bhp
108,000 miles
MOT'd to the end of May and a full years Tax
Full Toyota Service History
One owner from new
Absolutely fantastic condition for a 10 year old car, the bodywork is immaculate except for a few tar spots on the front wheelarches, and the bonnet has a few strange scratched spots where it almost looks like its been scrubbed with a scouring pad which shouldnt be much trouble to put right.
The interior is also immaculate condition, not a mark on it. Its not the best looking dashboard layout in the world, and its finished in horrible scratchy plastic, but it feels very solid and well put together. The seats are fantastic though, very comfortable and supportive even for my 6' 2" frame.
Spec wise its very basic, but if I remember correctly there wasnt exactly a huge list of extras you could specify with the car to begin with. Cloth interior which is absolutely fine by me as i personally prefer it over leather, air conditioning, electric windows and a CD player seem to be it. However at this price point im not complaining.
On to the driving then, quite simply its brilliant. Given my car history of boring VAG hatches, changing to this is astonishing. Proper hydraulic steering makes it quick to respond and really lets you feel the road and what the car is doing. The gearbox is also excellent, 6 speed short throw with a stubby gearlever makes for a perfect feeling gearshift, not the floaty vague gearboxes im generally used to.
The engine is smooth and just loves to be worked hard, no mechanical problems have presented themselves, and there is no oil problem that afflicted some of the earlier 140bhp Celicas. Its not a particularly fast car (claimed 0-62 in 8.7secs) but it feels much faster due to the low ride height and quick steering. Ill have to properly test the 0-62 as im sure its closer to 7 seconds personally, any other owners on here know their times by any chance?
There are a few niggles though, the CD player volume knob doesnt work, and its very picky about playing anything but brand new discs, so ill likely replace this in the near future. It also came with a handsfree kit installed, you can probably see the massive black phone holder in the interior shot by the gearknob so ill have to take the centre console off to remove it, but ill be putting my own Parrot one in so that'll have to be done anyway. The exhaust was rattling when i bought it (managed to haggle the price because of it) but it turned out to be the heat sheild had lost a rivet and was resting on the exhaust itself, so a 2 minute fix
The alloys are first of all, tiny. They ruin the look of the car slightly, they also have some mild corrosion spots which is a common fault with the Celica and MR2 alloys, but its not too bad so i dont think ill bother correcting that. If anything id be looking to replace the wheels altogether for a larger set, but finding official ones is proving difficult and in not particularly keen on aftermarket ones.
Lastly, out of all the colours available, i think the silver is among the weakest. But it looks good nonetheless it just wouldnt have been my choice if i had a bigger budget.
Overall i chuffing love this car
So pleased with it, the previous owner has really looked after it well. I was expecting it to be a complete shed when i went to view it, as i didnt think you could buy this much car for so little money. Love the looks, love the drive.Oh and the matter of the price. Advertised for the measly sum of £2250, but was hoping to get him down to my budget of £2000. Managed £1775 in the end
Do your worst motors forum!
