Buying Tips For Cts?

[chris1712]

Evening gents, I'm looking to get a pre-facelift Corolla T-Sport within the next 2-3 months. Is there anything I should really look out for? I've got 4k to play with which seems to grab me something 02-04 with 60-80k on the clock, sounds like pretty good value to me.

I'm going to look at this one on Saturday with any luck.....

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/cars_...201002350237593

Looks like it has a bodykit on it? Is it non-standard or just an optional extra? Will need to know for insurance purposes. It does look a bit tastier than the standard TS, and looks like OEM fit to me? But I dunno.

So yeah, from my research so far there are only a few things to check on these......

Check lift engages reliably and smoothly

Check seat slides

Check heaters work, all vents both sides etc.

Thats about it! Anything else to specificaally look for? And whats your general opinion on the above advertised car? Its the first one that has cropped up within 60 miles of me so it'll be my first drive in one, but if it feels right I do fancy getting in one sooner rather than later.

Cheers for any help

Chris

[LAA69]

The side skirts and front lip are non-standard, PFL did not have any kits as standard.

Looks nicer in a 5dr IMO

[chris1712]

The side skirts and front lip are non-standard, PFL did not have any kits as standard.

Looks nicer in a 5dr IMO

Damn that sucks. Can anyone ID it? It just looked not supidly OTT so assumed it might be an OEM kit (like the Irmscher kits on astra's etc.).

I prefer the 3 door :P.

[Theorist]

hmm cruise control and electric drivers seat? not seen one with that before . looks fine though.check condition of auxilary belt. check its got pink coolant . make sure the windows go up and down smoothly without a "bonk" sound.

[chris1712]

hmm cruise control and electric drivers seat? not seen one with that before . looks fine though.check condition of auxilary belt. check its got pink coolant . make sure the windows go up and down smoothly without a "bonk" sound.

Yeah I'm assuming the advert is wrong on that. I've not seen Cruise as an option on any of the range.

What should I be 'checking' on the auxillary belt and where is it :P. Mechanics are not my thing, I'm a hardware engineer by trade!

[Norfolk n Chance]

The kit looks like the TTE mini sideskirts and front lip... not standard parts but they are genuine Toyota so you shouldn't get too many problems from insurers

[johnmaher]

look in boot for water, check you have ALL 3 keys or you will end up with a head ache like me at mo with em!!

100% GET A HPI!!!!

never heard of criuse control on any of em,

i got them skirts also but i bought them after i got the car and had them painted n fitted,

mine did look like yours but now it looks like this>>>>>>

[LAA69]

The side skirts and front lip are non-standard, PFL did not have any kits as standard.

Looks nicer in a 5dr IMO

Damn that sucks. Can anyone ID it? It just looked not supidly OTT so assumed it might be an OEM kit (like the Irmscher kits on astra's etc.).

I prefer the 3 door :P .

You must like the Van look then ... :P

Good luck with the hunt fella ..... ;)

[johnmaher]

i prefer 3 door cos of my height, im 6' 4" and on 5 doors the !Removed! door pillar gets in my side view cos i have my seat nearly all the way back.

[chris1712]

The kit looks like the TTE mini sideskirts and front lip... not standard parts but they are genuine Toyota so you shouldn't get too many problems from insurers

I thought as much, were they options from new? I know there were two optional rear spoilers, but not sure on skirts/front lip. I very much like the look of the front lip!

look in boot for water, check you have ALL 3 keys or you will end up with a head ache like me at mo with em!!

100% GET A HPI!!!!

never heard of criuse control on any of em,

THREE keys you say? Is it a spare and a 'red' key or something like Honda's? What problems am I likely to face if I don't get all three? Apart from scally finding my address and wandering off with my ride!

Best HPI check source? Preferably one I can do on the day on location.

Thanks for the help thus far gents, keep it up!

[cabcurtains]

Someone needs to lower that poor car

Pay the genuine HPI people £30 and get paperwork or £4 for a text message.

[-T- Sport]

FYI - Two normal black keys with remote open / locking and 1 grey master key.

[johnmaher]

FYI - Two normal black keys with remote open / locking and 1 grey master key.

the GREY key isnt a master key, merely a valet key.

the 2 black ones are the important ones that they use to recode.

if you havent got a BLACK key then walk away as you will be stuck if you ever lost your key!!

grey cannot be used to recode the replacement keys!!!

i have a new key on order from toyota as i got just 1 black key with mine but i can have the missing keys deleted from the ecu's memory so they cant be used to start the car.

only the 2 keys i will have in my possession will work!!

[chris1712]

Someone needs to lower that poor car

Pay the genuine HPI people £30 and get paperwork or £4 for a text message.

Yeah they do look like they're on stilts at stock. Will probably have to stay like that until insurance gets a bit tamer though.

Whats the difference between the data I'll get from those then? Huge price difference. I'm guessing text will just say there's something wrong, and the full one will actually tell me what that problem is? What do they cover? Finance/Write offs i take it?

FYI - Two normal black keys with remote open / locking and 1 grey master key.

Thanks. What's the problem if not all three are with the car? I lost the spare for my Astra ages ago .

[johnmaher]

Someone needs to lower that poor car

Pay the genuine HPI people £30 and get paperwork or £4 for a text message.

Yeah they do look like they're on stilts at stock. Will probably have to stay like that until insurance gets a bit tamer though.

Whats the difference between the data I'll get from those then? Huge price difference. I'm guessing text will just say there's something wrong, and the full one will actually tell me what that problem is? What do they cover? Finance/Write offs i take it?

FYI - Two normal black keys with remote open / locking and 1 grey master key.

Thanks. What's the problem if not all three are with the car? I lost the spare for my Astra ages ago .

they use the black key recode the new keys and if you havent got them the job cant be done as the immob is in the ecu!! very expensive to put right according to toyota near me.

as long as you have 1 black key then you'll be ok, try n make the dealer to supply you with another key,

there bout £100 from toyota.

i get my new one tomorow.

[cabcurtains]

Someone needs to lower that poor car

Pay the genuine HPI people £30 and get paperwork or £4 for a text message.

Yeah they do look like they're on stilts at stock. Will probably have to stay like that until insurance gets a bit tamer though.

Whats the difference between the data I'll get from those then? Huge price difference. I'm guessing text will just say there's something wrong, and the full one will actually tell me what that problem is? What do they cover? Finance/Write offs i take it?

You get certificates that come with the £30 quider you get come back by form of compo if the data is wrong, you do also see more info.

[Avanzato]

....

[eddieinvader]

Check the seats if they are cloth as the piping on them can pull and it makes them look as if they have white flecks, thats why I had the leather the cloth seats were crap.

[chris1712]

I'm intending to part exchange my Astra 1.8 SXi towards one so needs to be a dealer instead of private :(.

[Avanzato]

....

[chris1712]

The price range on these things seems ridonkulous.

Out of interest I'm going to look at two locally tomorrow......

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...8&logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...8&logcode=p

Both up at 5k, which looking elsewhere seems 1k+ overpriced!? There are plenty of T-Sports from 02-04 with 60k+ on them going for 4k or less, what are these dealers doing? There's no chance of me buying one at 5k, so if they're good and I feel comfortable I need to demonstrate how overpriced they are, but I feel kind of cheeky doing so. You can get a facelift for 5k now for gods sake!

[LAA69]

They are taking the P155 without a doubt.

I wouldn't pay more than 4k for a PFL 3dr, as you say, 5k is entering FL territory...

[chris1712]

They are taking the P155 without a doubt.

I wouldn't pay more than 4k for a PFL 3dr, as you say, 5k is entering FL territory...

What do you reckon my bargaining chips are? Glass's says my Astra is worth £1400px, I am hoping for £2k plus my car tbh. I figure, the T-Sport (if its been px'd, as most seem to of been) will of been taken at a value of 2800-3200 max, and then they lop there £1000 or so margin on that. I know for a fact that T-Sports have been languishing on forecourts for months (seen the same 15 or so on autotrader since November) so the sellers market is not great. I feel my car can be turned around and sold quicker than a T-Sport, at around 2300-2600 from a dealer. Its a perfect first car imo, and the low mileage and me being only the second owner from new should make it easy to shift to an eager young'un.

My head says to me, try and get the dealer down below his 1000 margin including my trade. Then push further.

Is my logic correct? This will be my first time really bartering with a trader so I'd like to get as much background knowledge as I can.

[steeve24]

Hi Chris,

I have been looking for a T-Sport for a while and have been doing the research like you, I am pleased to say I brought mine yesterday, a very nice 54 T-Sport with 43k on the clock, I paid more than you are looking at but I hadn't decided to go for the pre or post facelift until I saw the car I've got which made up my mind, basically wanted the newest, lowest mileage one I could get, but the extras the facelift brought won me over!!

If it helps I have viewed two of the cars you are looking at:

Blenheim Cars - Oxon - 2002 02 Reg

and the

A1 Sports & Performance - Bristol, Avon - 2003 (53 reg)

Impressions:

Blenheim Cars:

Although 64k it looked good, general condition outside was good (front drivers side fog light lens broken), although the wet overcast day I saw it didn't make it easy to see any issues, inside again wasn't bad, (but I can't understand why dealers try to sell car which is filthy inside, the outside I can understand as its open to the elements, but displaying it without a good clean baffles me) anyway yes it was dirty inside, but nothing a good clean wouldn't solve! I didn't test drive it mainly because it wouldn't start, the Battery was dead and they didn't have a starter pack (just a note if you haven't been there, the lot is a strip of land about 150m long & 20m deep, there are not facilities onsite, no office or garage, they said (and it looks like it) that they are having a showroom built behind the lot, the groundwork is prepared and piles of sand and grave sit about, waiting for builders, they said they usually take the cars to the 'house' for showing where they do the paperwork etc. It most likely wouldn't be a problem, but thought I'd mention it!

A1 Sports & Performance

Ok, I went there with the intention of making it a backup car in case the one I have now didn't work out, (older with more miles, but cheaper so a compromise) the pictures on the website make it look good, but not impressed at all. For a start the T-Sport Badge on the back was missing (is on in the pictures) and there is a 2-3" crack on the front bumper to the right of the grill (can't see it in the pictures, so don't know is its happened after the pics were taken). Inside it put me of with some noticeable scratches on the centre console above & to the right of the fan power switch, and the stowage compartment lid was very loose, very loose. These issues put me off, so didn't go for a test drive. Saying all that, I might have been a bit harsh, the Badge could have been replaced, money off for the bumper, scratched panel either replaced (don't know how easy or costly this would be) or money off, and the stowage lid could have needed a few screws tightening! Could have just been damaged by yobs while on the forecourt and not a sign of a hard life, BUT all these items together was enough for me to walk away.

But go and have a look yourself, everyone looks for different things when they are buying...

If I can be of any help, please let me know :)

Steve

EDIT: Fixed Links

[steeve24]

Oh, another one, in-case you missed it:

Autodeals of stroud 2003 - 59k

EDIT: Fixed link