NZ road trip

[willswitchengage]

Yes, I'm selling my BX. Not for any specific reason, I just know I'll ultimately end of hemorrhaging money on it or it will spectacularly fail one day when I really need it. Comfortable place to be, frugal, low insurance, fast and with good parts availability... but that's it.

 

Anyway, I've narrowed it down to three prospective replacements:

 

 

1986 Carina II 1.6

 

144K, no tax, MOT 5/14

 

£400

 

Not far from me, has full service history, for sale due to death of owner. Fairly recent timing belt plus Toyota quality, seller has been very polite. MOT advisories for rust and some other trivial stuff. Downsides: needs a tax disc, bad on fuel, would nudge my insurance up, MOT advisories.

 

 

1991 Corolla 1.3

 

18K, tax & MOT 5/14

 

£650

 

Bit more money, but this is another recently deceased one elderly owner car. FSH so basically like new, although the seller says it could probably do with a timing belt (apparently the book time for this though is only 40 mins on the 2E engine). Seller friendly again and happy to talk, this is what I'd have with my sensible hat on but it's a bit boring. Probably quite nippy though and will never ever break down. No MOT advisories.

 

 

1988 Corolla 1.6 4WD

 

96K, No tax, unknown MOT

 

£1700

 

Seller hasn't replied to my email but has to be one of the rarest thing, so much want! Stupid expensive too but in the advert's brevity it does say what superb rust-free condition it's in.

 

Any advice on which to choose/avoid would be much appreciated, or if you have anything of your own for sale...

 

 

There's also this bargain Rover, but I can't fit my bike in it.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-600-2-0-Di-/161110745281?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2582f2e0c1

[Rusty_Rocket]

I think the 18k Corolla for £650 would be my choice

[HillmanImp]

I would be damned and get the 4WD Corolla which would instantly depreciate in value, be made of parts that are obsolete and would make a girls fanny dry up on sight quicker than you can say Mick Philpott. 

[Shep Shepherd]

Corolla 1.3 all the way for me

[Mr Livered]

I posted about those 4wd corollas a week or so ago so I won't repeat it. Suffice to say that they're brilliant motors. I remember the Toyota salesman in 1988 - when my old girl bought it new - saying "you'll run out of nerve before you run out of road," and he was right. Fantastically reliable too.

 

If you go for that one but get sick of it, you won't have to worry about selling it on because there's a buyer right here.

[willswitchengage]

THIS IS SO HARD

 

Still after a Leone but they turn up less frequently that 2013-2014 season Manchester United home victories.

 

Bikes being out of action means BXing to work tomorrow, I never look forward to this

[Lacquer Peel]

Why do you hate the BX so much?

[willswitchengage]

I'm just worried that it will categorically bankrupt me as me my previous two have.

 

Looks like 4x4 Toyota is off the list though, the seller got back to me:

 

 

 

Hi 
Yes car is still for sale but rear windscreen has broke since

 

I imagine that's a part that Autoglass will have in stock

[Station]

Second Corolla is probably the most reliable car you can buy. Toyota received no 'recalls' on breakdowns from it. It also has an uber comfy interior, with a nice steering wheel and bucket-y seats.. It's also faster than a Golf GTi mk3. I've got a set of mats for these - they only came in green!

If you buy this and come to sell it I'll be interested next year, as I've been after one for ages. The others are just as good though. Toyota made amazingly high quality cars from this era.

[skattrd]

I'm just worried that it will categorically bankrupt me as me my previous two have.

 

Looks like 4x4 Toyota is off the list though, the seller got back to me:

 

 

I imagine that's a part that Autoglass will have in stock

 

If you have fully comp insurance the glass should be covered under that.

I had a broken windscreen on one of my JDM motors a few years ago, I called autoglasss said I needed a new screen. After 3 weeks I called again to ask where it was, and I was told the screen couldn't be sourced in Europe so was being flown from Japan, it still only cost me £50 excess.

 

I'd say hold out for a Leone, or just buy something cheap in the meantime, you won't be happy with anything else by the sounds of it.

[Junkman]

I used to have a 1986 Carina II just like the one you pictured and want another one ever since the rust death did us part. So go for it. It's a darn good car.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Tercel is yummy, but overpriced by approximately £1000. Corolla is a very sensible, practical choice, hence completely unsuitable for Autoshitters.

 

You should therefore buy that Carina II immediately !

[Mr Livered]

That's no Tercel! It's a Corolla 4WD (which replaced the Tercel).

[Squire_Dawson]

The 1.3 Corolla would be my choice. But the other two have novelty value, which is almost as important as practicality.

[Station]

1.3 Corollas are a bit boring, but honestly, buy it.

The Carina is great but they're not as good.

[Volksy]

Corollas are ace. I loved my old one, They're very 'white goods' transport. But that is part of the charm!

[Sigmund Fraud]

That's no Tercel! It's a Corolla 4WD (which replaced the Tercel).

 

You're absolutely right, it is therefore even less appealing !

[Station]

There was a £400 Tercel on ebay last year in gold. It had mk1 MR2 wheels on it and look amazing.

[Joey spud]

Back in the day i remember the sideways SU type carbs on the Corolla could be a right bitch for flooding and giving auto choke grief..

[ifc63]

The EE90 Corolla would be an outstanding everyday car with a future prospect of being one of those cars that people 'haven't seen one of those for ages'. In 1.3 guise it should return 35-40 mpg, always start and virtually never break (the auto-choke issue is fairly common, you just get used to holding your right foot to the floor on warm starts.)

I can say this from nearly 5 years with the earlier EE80 in auto form that had 46k on it when bought. It now has 85k on it with only a recon radiator and a new exhaust and a couple of sets of front pads (heavy wear on autos).The ONLY time it didn't start was when I had to replace the starter motor solenoid contacts (£8 off Ebay !!)

The Carina is a nice prospect for a future 'classic' (whatever that much-abused term might mean). It will be a bit heavier on juice and stuff like body panels might be difficult to source.

The 4WD Corolla might be a bit dear IMHO but is certainly a good-looking car !

 

Here's the EE80:

[willswitchengage]

GUESS WOT I BOUGHT? Terrifically exciting road trip story will magically appear here at that weekend.

 

NB good luck with whoever wants the 4wd Corolla, the seller sounds like an ambitious nonce and I fear that it could be sat on his driveway for an awful long time

[Junkman]

You bought an old Supra, since it's the only sensible* WBoD offering by Toyota.

[junkyarddog]

The Carina 2 would be my choice,

comfy old cruiser,and mind numbingly boring and reliable.

Very few and far between now.

[willswitchengage]

How hard can it be to wade my way through my insurance policy's jargon to see if I can drive other vehicles? 

 

NB don't insure with the Co-op either, their customer service is atrocious

 

NB look forward to turning 24 in a few months when you will magically be now a "responsible driver" and be able to buy cherished car policies, and say goodbye to the days of them being rude to you on the phone "aww only 23? Have these Halfords vouchers and a baseball cap, here's my colleague at blackboxcorsainsurance4u, that's £10,000 please"

[willswitchengage]

Well, I bought the '91 1.3 hatch and have just got home from picking it up.

 

The good:

 

+ The car really is in pristine condition. I know Peugeot 405 1.6 Style owners like to say "the seats are like new", this is new. The interior - literally spotless. The same for the exterior (other than number scratches on the front). It was literally immaculate. Gunmetal too, so unlikely to fade. Real testament to being garaged all its life.

 

+ Mechanically, like new. The smoothest gearbox (actually engages first!), tight brakes, engine as quiet as any modern car.

 

+ Didn't get in any traffic jams on the way home, despite doing 1/4 of the M25 at rush hour.

 

The bad:

 

+ The radio is useless at picking up stations.

 

+ My train ticket to Norwich was significantly more expensive than the website told me, which was a nice surprise.

 

+ The car seems somewhat useless on fuel. Haven't done a full tank to tank yet but the needle moved far more than I'd have liked it to.

 

+ The engine, for all intents and purposes, doesn't work. This is where I need AS HELP! It idles a bit slow, but this does vary a bit. The lowest it went was about 500rpm, and tended to be somewhere between 550-600. But that's not the worst. Sadly I'm going to leave negative feedback for this as the seller described "drives like new" and told me there were "no advisories" where the first piece of paper he handed me was a garage receipt saying "engine hesitates, poor running". Not sure what that means but up to about 3500rpm it was so lumpy it for all intents and purposes can't be used. Accelerating flirted between impossible and downright dangerous. Steady state driving at 70mph worked okay, but any acceleration required feathering at lower revs or revving the beans off it to blast to get it to work. Sigh. It would drive perfectly smoothly then judder like mad if you put your foot down. So, where do I start with this?

 

[Parky]

I would start off by giving the timing a bit of an advance to see if that makes a difference although mark the dizzy before you move it. That way if that doesn't work you can put it back as was!

 

Sometimes if the ignition is a bit retarded that can affect the acceleration and leave the car feeling gutless

[Parky]

Should have asked - when idling, will it rev up smoothly when you hit the gas or does it hesitate and bog down a bit before revving? If it does, I would def start with the timing.

 

Had a renault that was undriveable. A few degrees of advance on the distributor and it was all good again

[Sigmund Fraud]

I don't know much about those engines, but investigating running faults in cars of that age is fairly simple.

 

It is easier to start with the ignition side of things : is the timing correct ? is the dizzy cap and rotor OK ? are the leads OK ? are the plugs OK ?

 

If all the above are good, then the carb could be the culprit. If the car has such low mileage, it may have been laid up for long periods of time, so the fuel system could be full of crud and/or jellified petrol. If this is the case, a carb rebuild would sort out the running and a large, transparent fuel filter will show you whether taking the fuel tank off and cleaning it is necessary.

 

Annoying and time consuming, but unlikely to break the bank and probably within the DIY abilities of any Autoshiter.

[Station]

Sounds like primary carb? Put some carb Redex in it. Always benefits from strobe light timing adjustment (which will improve mpg as well slightly).

These have really small tanks and the needles slow down about 1/4.

There are two 1.3 carb corollas in the local scrappy if you need anything.

They are ace, give me pm if you ever come to sell!

[stuboy]

How hard can it be to wade my way through my insurance policy's jargon to see if I can drive other vehicles? 

 

 

on the certificate it should have 2 or 3 lines saying.. the policy holder may also drive with the owners permission any other vehicle that is not owned or hired by them.