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I'm Thinking Of Buying A Celica


K19NE G
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Right, after debating for months what I was going to do regarding getting my own car or a company car I've decided to buy my own up to the value of about £4k.

I've driven lots of Toyotas as you might see in my profile and have narrowed down my search to an MR2 or a Celica but being more practical I'm swaying more in the direction of a Celica! I've seen lots of nice GT4s, but being honest I want cheaper motoring. If I had more cash and wanted a Celica I'd buy a '00 SSIII in white but hey!

So I'm looking for advice on the 2.0L GT model:

1. How do I know if it has the 173BHP 3SGE engine or the 160-odd BHP engine???

2. Do they all have a sunroof and/or aircon?

3. Any major problems I should know about

4. Where can I get a nice standard example in black or silver?

5. Can you buy the bumper corner 'spats' and fit after?

6. Are induction kits/exhausts/lowering springs/wheels readily available for this model?

7. Is there much difference between the UK and Jap spec cars (other than insurance costs! :ffs: )

Thanks in advance for your help! :thumbsup:

Gary

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Right, after debating for months what I was going to do regarding getting my own car or a company car I've decided to buy my own up to the value of about £4k.

I've driven lots of Toyotas as you might see in my profile and have narrowed down my search to an MR2 or a Celica but being more practical I'm swaying more in the direction of a Celica! I've seen lots of nice GT4s, but being honest I want cheaper motoring. If I had more cash and wanted a Celica I'd buy a '00 SSIII in white but hey!

So I'm looking for advice on the 2.0L GT model:

1. How do I know if it has the 173BHP 3SGE engine or the 160-odd BHP engine???

2. Do they all have a sunroof and/or aircon?

3. Any major problems I should know about

4. Where can I get a nice standard example in black or silver?

5. Can you buy the bumper corner 'spats' and fit after?

6. Are induction kits/exhausts/lowering springs/wheels readily available for this model?

7. Is there much difference between the UK and Jap spec cars (other than insurance costs! :ffs: )

Thanks in advance for your help! :thumbsup:

Gary

I recently got myself alovely silver 98 GT in the UK for just over £3000. I love it to bits. I assume you're interested in the gen6, so to answer questions:

1. After Sept 96 they changed down to 168 (not 160!). So mine is the 168 model, but having had a 95 GT, I can honestly say I much prefer the 98. It actually has more torque lower down, and is a little livlier. It also has much better fuel economy - I can get up to 40mpg, and usually I'll clock around 37, very seldom below it. This is *much* better than my previous GT and MR2, which struggles to get 30mpg most of the time! So Toyota have really improved the 3SGE with this model.

2. Nope. Most UK ones seem to have sunroof, but not many have aircon. Get a Japanese one for that (although they never seem to have sunroofs).

3. Make sure the owner has kept it in good nick, if possible buy from an enthusiast who has kept history. Otherwise, you better do a thorough and should know your stuff. The gearbox and clutch should be checked, and the suspension as well. Make sure the oil is good and that is isn't burning any! A thorough test drive should reveal most problems if you are familiar with these cars.

4. Try eBay. Also check the forums on celica-club.co.uk and here.

5. Yup, I've just bought myself some and will get them fitted.

6. They sure are! The GT I bought, the seller threw in a full decat exhaust. Must get round to fitting it soon...

7. Nope. The UK ones seem to have a little more rust, and a little less bhp. But other than that... they're identical. Unless you're going for a superstrut suspension - they are the Jap SS3 models (some have a beams engine as well).

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Right, after debating for months what I was going to do regarding getting my own car or a company car I've decided to buy my own up to the value of about £4k.

I've driven lots of Toyotas as you might see in my profile and have narrowed down my search to an MR2 or a Celica but being more practical I'm swaying more in the direction of a Celica! I've seen lots of nice GT4s, but being honest I want cheaper motoring. If I had more cash and wanted a Celica I'd buy a '00 SSIII in white but hey!

So I'm looking for advice on the 2.0L GT model:

1. How do I know if it has the 173BHP 3SGE engine or the 160-odd BHP engine???

2. Do they all have a sunroof and/or aircon?

3. Any major problems I should know about

4. Where can I get a nice standard example in black or silver?

5. Can you buy the bumper corner 'spats' and fit after?

6. Are induction kits/exhausts/lowering springs/wheels readily available for this model?

7. Is there much difference between the UK and Jap spec cars (other than insurance costs! :ffs: )

Thanks in advance for your help! :thumbsup:

Gary

I recently got myself alovely silver 98 GT in the UK for just over £3000. I love it to bits. I assume you're interested in the gen6, so to answer questions:

1. After Sept 96 they changed down to 168 (not 160!). So mine is the 168 model, but having had a 95 GT, I can honestly say I much prefer the 98. It actually has more torque lower down, and is a little livlier. It also has much better fuel economy - I can get up to 40mpg, and usually I'll clock around 37, very seldom below it. This is *much* better than my previous GT and MR2, which struggles to get 30mpg most of the time! So Toyota have really improved the 3SGE with this model.

2. Nope. Most UK ones seem to have sunroof, but not many have aircon. Get a Japanese one for that (although they never seem to have sunroofs).

3. Make sure the owner has kept it in good nick, if possible buy from an enthusiast who has kept history. Otherwise, you better do a thorough and should know your stuff. The gearbox and clutch should be checked, and the suspension as well. Make sure the oil is good and that is isn't burning any! A thorough test drive should reveal most problems if you are familiar with these cars.

4. Try eBay. Also check the forums on celica-club.co.uk and here.

5. Yup, I've just bought myself some and will get them fitted.

6. They sure are! The GT I bought, the seller threw in a full decat exhaust. Must get round to fitting it soon...

7. Nope. The UK ones seem to have a little more rust, and a little less bhp. But other than that... they're identical. Unless you're going for a superstrut suspension - they are the Jap SS3 models (some have a beams engine as well).

Thanks for all that... which has now raised a few more questions! :lol:

1. Cool. Not worried about a few BHP anyway :lol: Just want a nice "runaround"!

2. Pity I've got used to aircon and it's going to be a hot summer! It's still gonna be UK spec.

3. Going to look at a '97 Gen6 with 49k and FTSH - middle aged 'gentleman' owner for last 7 yrs and only one owner before that so sounds promising. At least there's none of the superstrut problems as per other models!

4. Didn't realise there was a Celica forum so thanks for that...

5. Can you tell me where you got yours please??? - by PM is preferred...

6. I'm just worried about getting the correct parts for the specific model/engine so if you have any links it would be appreciated...

7. Well the car I'm going to look at tomorrow is based in Surrey (no sea water!), low mileage and garaged so hopefully no rust to mention :)

8. What does the GT Gen6 have that the SR and ST don't???

Cheers peeps!

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Why do you definately want a UK car? Get more for your money going the import route and a few nice extras aswell and they are generally in better condition with less miles although the car you're looking at is a low miler anyway. If you definately want a UK car then you have the 2.0 GT and the 1.8 ST - the SR is the 1.8 but with some extras. The 1.8 only has 114bhp and 0-60 in almost 10 secs so make sure you know which one it is you're buying!!

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Why do you definately want a UK car? Get more for your money going the import route and a few nice extras aswell and they are generally in better condition with less miles although the car you're looking at is a low miler anyway. If you definately want a UK car then you have the 2.0 GT and the 1.8 ST - the SR is the 1.8 but with some extras. The 1.8 only has 114bhp and 0-60 in almost 10 secs so make sure you know which one it is you're buying!!

purely for insurance reasons. I want a cheap car for work, but something a bit different! I will have some business use mileage in my policy and that counts Jap imports out as far as I know?

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I'm guessing you're wanting to do this soon. I'm thinking of selling mine in the not to distant future, so if your at JAE or ever around Newbury way, you might want to have a look. I'd be selling at the very earliest, after JAE. Once I've worked out how i'm gonna finance the purchase of my next motor... :wacko:

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have you completely discounted the ST? I had one for nearly 3 years and got an average of 34mpg in it. they're nippier than the GT around town as the 7AFE engine has more low down torque and they're generally more responsive. The GT has more top end pull and would leave the ST in a drag race, but the ST would accelerate faster. ST is cheaper to run as the insurance is lower and also the servicing costs (no idea why) are less from Mr T. Mine had 123k on it when i sold it and the engine was still absolutely spot on and sweet as a nut.

The gearbox had started to get clonky and the syncros were getting worn. Exhaust was still original as was the suspension and clutch. it only ever had replacement front calipers as they started to seize.

The GT sits a little lower, has a bigger spoiler and some have side skirts. Note the differences between pre and post face lift models too.

SRs are the same as the ST but with side skirts 16" momo alloys and some carbon effect dash bits.

www.celica-club.co.uk is probably the best place for specialist advice and also cars for sale.

HTH

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Thanks for all your replies guys... I don't know why but the subtle differences in the GT bumper for example swung me in it's favour... well anyway I've gone and bought one!

It's a '97 2.0GT on an R reg, 48,900miles on the clock, full service history, just had alloys refurbed and I have to say it is as mint as it looked in the ad photo! :D A nice car for £3k me thinks... The old guy who owned it for the last 7 years (only 1 owner before that) has it parked up in his garage all week and only used it at weekends.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think? I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday.

Click here!

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looks very nice! low mileage as well.

the bumpers are the same as the ST, but yours has splitters fitted to the front corners.

enjoy!

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looks very nice! low mileage as well.

the bumpers are the same as the ST, but yours has splitters fitted to the front corners.

enjoy!

oh right! didn't realise :lol: the subtle difference and different colours make such a difference!

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have you completely discounted the ST? I had one for nearly 3 years and got an average of 34mpg in it. they're nippier than the GT around town as the 7AFE engine has more low down torque and they're generally more responsive. The GT has more top end pull and would leave the ST in a drag race, but the ST would accelerate faster. ST is cheaper to run as the insurance is lower and also the servicing costs (no idea why) are less from Mr T. Mine had 123k on it when i sold it and the engine was still absolutely spot on and sweet as a nut.

Are you sure? ACIS is designed to maximize low down torque in the 3SGE. The GT can feel relativly slow in the low revs compared to how it launches itself at 4k, but really its quite drivable. I can imagine the 3SFE might be more set up to deliver its power lower in the rev range, but I'd be really suprised if the 7AFE could deliver more power or torque at any point in the rev range.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think? I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday

Very nice!

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Nice looking celica mate.

just to add one thing, i would'nt lower it though mate, the car as standard handles supurbly well, even with rubbish tyres on, all you need is 17" wheels, with top quality tyres, i would suggest either Eagle F1's, Toyo's or Yokohama Parada spec 2's (the Yokohama's seem to suit the celica better, i've tried all three).

If you wanted to go a little further with the handling, get a ST205 GT Four Rear Strut Brace from toyota (It fits perfectly) and it'll tighten up and already tight rear end.

And then further still, get the TRD Triangular Front Strut brace from Fensport to replace the flexible standard front brace.

but to be fair this is comming from somone who is'nt really keen on lowering cars, so i am biased.

As i said before, it looks a really nice example, and at that mileage, its only just broken in, you should have many, many years of fun in it.

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have you completely discounted the ST? I had one for nearly 3 years and got an average of 34mpg in it. they're nippier than the GT around town as the 7AFE engine has more low down torque and they're generally more responsive. The GT has more top end pull and would leave the ST in a drag race, but the ST would accelerate faster. ST is cheaper to run as the insurance is lower and also the servicing costs (no idea why) are less from Mr T. Mine had 123k on it when i sold it and the engine was still absolutely spot on and sweet as a nut.

Are you sure? ACIS is designed to maximize low down torque in the 3SGE. The GT can feel relativly slow in the low revs compared to how it launches itself at 4k, but really its quite drivable. I can imagine the 3SFE might be more set up to deliver its power lower in the rev range, but I'd be really suprised if the 7AFE could deliver more power or torque at any point in the rev range.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think? I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday

Very nice!

Here we go again with the 7AFE vs 3SGE!! :rolleyes::lol::lol:

ps - K19NE G - Your New motor looks spot on! I keep thinking about selling my celica but if I'm lucky I'll get about 2k for it - what else can I buy for 2k that would be anywhere near as nice?

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Have you got a rolling road nr. you sotal? I'm getting mine done on Saturday, two graphs could put 7AFE vs 3SGE to bed :)

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Have you got a rolling road nr. you sotal? I'm getting mine done on Saturday, two graphs could put 7AFE vs 3SGE to bed :)

Not that I know of - surely someone somewhere has done a rolling road with a 7AFE?

I think that the end of the argument is that the 1.8 isn't a 'slow' car - ok it might not be as fast as the 2.0 but then again you wouldn't expect it to be and for general driving you won't notice that much between them - hammer them about and the GT should come out trumps. The 1.8 is an OK car it won't win any records but it is the entry level engine.

If I was buying one now and I had the choice between the 2.0 or the 1.8 I'd probably go for the 2.0, but the reason wouldn't be power as my journey to work is 3 miles with 2 speed cameras and 21 speed bumps. It would be down to the fact the the 2.0 is cheaper to buy - is now negligible on insurance cost as I'm getting old(er) now and the 1.8 seems to have a problem with 'losing' oil. - but that's just my opinion.

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Congrats on your purchase. You will not be disappointed!! Looks great too. Slightly off topic, MIP: can you share your RR results with us on a new thread? I'd be very happy to see what they look like for the GT.

Ben

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No worries, i've a slot at 10am on Saturday, will get it scanned in hopefully over the weekend.

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Nice looking celica mate.

just to add one thing, i would'nt lower it though mate, the car as standard handles supurbly well, even with rubbish tyres on, all you need is 17" wheels, with top quality tyres, i would suggest either Eagle F1's, Toyo's or Yokohama Parada spec 2's (the Yokohama's seem to suit the celica better, i've tried all three).

If you wanted to go a little further with the handling, get a ST205 GT Four Rear Strut Brace from toyota (It fits perfectly) and it'll tighten up and already tight rear end.

And then further still, get the TRD Triangular Front Strut brace from Fensport to replace the flexible standard front brace.

but to be fair this is comming from somone who is'nt really keen on lowering cars, so i am biased.

As i said before, it looks a really nice example, and at that mileage, its only just broken in, you should have many, many years of fun in it.

To be honest if I do lower it, it will only be minimal just to give the car a better stance as it felt quite stiff on the road already... Not sure if I'd put 17s on for the same reason but we'll see! :lol:

I'm on the lookout for a rear strut brace - so if anybody knows where I can find one second hand please let me know. I'm not in a position right now to buy lots of new parts from Toyota!

Thanks for the advice/info!

have you completely discounted the ST? I had one for nearly 3 years and got an average of 34mpg in it. they're nippier than the GT around town as the 7AFE engine has more low down torque and they're generally more responsive. The GT has more top end pull and would leave the ST in a drag race, but the ST would accelerate faster. ST is cheaper to run as the insurance is lower and also the servicing costs (no idea why) are less from Mr T. Mine had 123k on it when i sold it and the engine was still absolutely spot on and sweet as a nut.

Are you sure? ACIS is designed to maximize low down torque in the 3SGE. The GT can feel relativly slow in the low revs compared to how it launches itself at 4k, but really its quite drivable. I can imagine the 3SFE might be more set up to deliver its power lower in the rev range, but I'd be really suprised if the 7AFE could deliver more power or torque at any point in the rev range.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think? I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday

Very nice!

Here we go again with the 7AFE vs 3SGE!! :rolleyes::lol::lol:

ps - K19NE G - Your New motor looks spot on! I keep thinking about selling my celica but if I'm lucky I'll get about 2k for it - what else can I buy for 2k that would be anywhere near as nice?

Well I've had a Corolla GXi with the same 7AFE engine as the Celica and it was nice to drive as in more torquey than a Corolla GTi lower down the revs, but nowhere near as fun to drive!

And you're right about the car for the money - I don't think I could have got any other car as nice for that age and condition at that money....

Nice car for 3K !

Looks EXACTLY like my GT when i bought it :)

My advice is to do the following:

-Lower 40mm

-Fit 18" alloys

-Tint windows

and will look like this (my old GT):

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b122/adamgt84/PICT0001.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b122/adamgt84/PICT0006.jpg

Now that looks nice!!! Not sure I could live with it being that low and with 18s though... I want a fairly practical everyday coupe... what I do intend to fit are:

lowering springs (approx 25/30mm)

16/17" alloys

lightly smoked windows

clear side repeaters (first mod bought already! :lol: )

JDM late spec rear lights - has anyone got part numbers for these???

Would love the projector headlights but not sure I could afford those - any idea where to buy???

rear strut brace from GT4

Sony double din headunit (want to keep period fixtures and fittings! - had one of these in my Glanza and thought it was great!)

Possibly an exhaust - what do people think of the Mongoose system?

Lastly an induction kit - again recommendations would be good! (K&N?)

I don't want to add a mad bodykit or anything and try to keep the car as OEM looking as possible from the alloys to the headunit to the exhaust so all suggestions are welcome!

Cheers! :thumbsup:

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I'm on the lookout for a rear strut brace - so if anybody knows where I can find one second hand please let me know. I'm not in a position right now to buy lots of new parts from Toyota!

You will struggle to find a place to supply you with one to be honest mate, i tried for ages and all i could find was a cusco rear brace, £130ish with a 4-6 week waiting/shipping time.

You could check eBay, i've seen two in the last 2 years..... unfortunatly.

I bought mine from toyota, £60 including VAT, brand new with no discount. (and a further £15 for the optional strut covers to fit around the brace)

Like i said before, nice car

Tony

Note,

Get a K&N Panel Filter, the induction set-up on the GT is very good, i've tried Induction kits and i found the panel filter to be better, if you want the induction noise louder, remove the resinator box (it's the small box next to the air box, and bung up) but if you do want an induction kit, i'd suggest a BMC, less heat soak as the 3S-GE is quite a hot engine.

The Mongoose exhuast as i'm aware is pretty good, i do know that the mongoose for the Pulsar GTiR is pretty much the best you can get, easily anyway.

Late Spec Rear Lights, Fensport (About £60ish Pounds Each)

Projector Front lights, are about £500 from Fensport, needing wiring in and i think they are illegal over here, but i'm not sure.

Fensport's website - www.fensport.co.uk

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I'm on the lookout for a rear strut brace - so if anybody knows where I can find one second hand please let me know. I'm not in a position right now to buy lots of new parts from Toyota!

You will struggle to find a place to supply you with one to be honest mate, i tried for ages and all i could find was a cusco rear brace, £130ish with a 4-6 week waiting/shipping time.

You could check eBay, i've seen two in the last 2 years..... unfortunatly.

I bought mine from toyota, £60 including VAT, brand new with no discount. (and a further £15 for the optional strut covers to fit around the brace)

Like i said before, nice car

Tony

Cheers mate! The price doesn't sound too bad actually... do you have the part numbers for the brace and covers?

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Not to hand, but it's easy enough for the people in toyota to find, just ask them to look at the ST205 parts not the ST202.

I'll have a search and let you know,

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Now that looks nice!!! Not sure I could live with it being that low and with 18s though... I want a fairly practical

that was the most practical car ive ever owned :lol:

seriously tho, it being that low on 18s was fine, no problems on speed bumps etc and it wasnt a harsh ride! B)

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I know it is not much help but last w/e I found a scrappy with a Celi that had a rear strut brace and late spec JDMs. Got the lot for £40!! They are extremely hard to find, but they do exist. Both items highly recommended and probably worth the full price. If my GT4 has them when I get one, these will be for sale.

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Thanks for all your replies guys... I don't know why but the subtle differences in the GT bumper for example swung me in it's favour... well anyway I've gone and bought one!

It's a '97 2.0GT on an R reg, 48,900miles on the clock, full service history, just had alloys refurbed and I have to say it is as mint as it looked in the ad photo! :D A nice car for £3k me thinks... The old guy who owned it for the last 7 years (only 1 owner before that) has it parked up in his garage all week and only used it at weekends.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think? I can't wait to pick it up on Thursday.

Click here!

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/style_i...mages/image.gif

Insert Image

I would just like to add to that and say well to wear!! The car looks beautiful and sounds like a great bargain - just the kind of car I'd get if I was in the market for one again. I'm sure you'll have amazing driving with it, and they are the best cars you can get for the price... heck, even if I was a millionaire, I reckon my Celica would still top of the list in the car department :)

Like Adam's was, my GT is lowered on 18s, and I quite like it, but I'm not sure I'd reccomend it. I mean, it looks amazing but the handling was better on my old 94 standard GT, and it was much less harsh on the bumpy Irish roads! The lad I nought it off lived in London, so I reckon he didn't suffer as much with the bumps as me... in the last 3 months this car has gone through hell on our terrible roads, and I woudn't be surprised if the standard suspension gives up soon.. so I'll have to decide whether to get a custom suspension, or maybe just higher it a bit to give some relief to the standard suspension. But... I'll say it again, the car really looks amazing when lowered on 18s.. so I guess you can weigh it up :)

My next investments will be panel filter and a full decat which I got with the car.

My machine:

celicagt013hu6.th.jpg celicagt019rg9.th.jpg celicagt026tf3.th.jpg

Interior

celicagt037fc8.th.jpg celicagt038ev7.th.jpg

Cross Drilled Brakes

celicagt010vw6.th.jpg

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