Buying A Gen 7 Celica

[soon_to_be_celica_owner]

Hi Guys

I'm wanting to buy a 7th Gen Celica (140) and am currently looking at 2 options:

1 - 2001 Celica, 48,000 miles with full service history - £5,000 (red with spolier and after-market audio etc) :-)

2 - 2004 Celica, 119,000 miles with full service history - £4,800 (blue with leather interior but no spoiler) :-/

Am currently finding out if the 2001 car has had the safety recalls done etc and I don't know if the 'oil usage' issue is occuring or not . . .

The 2004 car is an ex-lease car which is tidy and I know the safety recalls (tank etc) are not a problem and I understand they redesigned the block on the newer models so the oil issue should not be an issue?!

Question 1 - is the 2004 car too much of a gamble with such high mileage?

Question 2 - is the 2001 car too much of a gamble if I don't know if the oil usage issue is present?

Question 3 - If you were me (5000 to 7000 miles a year mainly driving to work) which would you buy?

Are there any other things I should consider when making the call between these two?

Thanks very much guys, help is appreciated, I look forward to being a celica owner and look forward to being an active forum member :-)

Cheers

Andy :-)

[DefiantFrog]

I would hang on to my money for a while longer if I were you, maybe save another grand if you can, and keep looking. Neither of the cars below fill me with optimism.

If I absolutely had to have one of them, it'd probably be the 2001 one as long as the history checked out ok. Run it on a thinner oil (5w-30), and check it regularly. You'll probably be ok, although expect to be topping it up every now and again. If you can save up a bit more for a lower milage Post-Facelift, then do so.

And welcome along to the club - we're a nice bunch around here! :D

[PaulT]

Why aren't you leaping at the chance to buy my 93k-mile blue Gen 7 for £3990

Paul.