1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

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duhamel@charter.net
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

I'm selling my Brown/Gold '85 SR5 Wagon. I'm the original owner. Also, I lost some eyesight 30 years ago and only driven in town. So the car only has 150,000 miles on it. It has several minor dents (all in the rear) and the windshield is cracked (passenger side) and should be replaced. But the interior is in good and the engine and mechanicals are excellent. Yes, it may rev a bit high when started. But it goes anywhere. The sale includes extra studded snow tires on rims (8 tires & rims) and a Quick-and-Easy roof top canoe carrier (that can carry other things, too).

Does anyone have any idea what my SR5 might be worth, or know someone who might value the car as much as I have? Thanks for suggestions!
duhamel@charter.net
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

I'm in Wenatchee, Washington
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duragauge
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My tercel:: 1986 Tercel 4WD SR5
Location: Willamette Valley

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duragauge »

Welcome to the forum! Good to hear of another Tercel alive here in the PNW. You'll find that there are a number of members from Washington, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few reach out to you.

As far as pricing, I've been tracking Craigslist ads for a few months and you could use those as a comparison to your SR5. Here are my most recent posts

March 24: https://www.tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15481

Feb 19: https://www.tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15443

I'm not by any means an expert evaluator, but from what I've seen asking prices are generally in these ranges:

$500+ non running parts car
$1500+ running car in poor condition
$2500+ running car in good condition
$5000+ running car in excellent condition
$10000+ everyone will laugh at you unless it is a factory fresh time capsule

Post some pictures if you can!
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duragauge
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My tercel:: 1986 Tercel 4WD SR5
Location: Willamette Valley

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duragauge »

Also, don't worry about being out in Wenatchee. Folks who are interested in these have been known to travel long distances for the right deal.
duhamel@charter.net
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Posts: 8
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

Thanks, Duragage! Photos are attached. I hope they help. The last two show a right-side rear rear fender dent and the cracked windshield. The rear door & right fender also have very minor bumps. I didn't take a photo of my User's Manual. It's all there - but a bit scruffy. I double checked the mileage - it's 147,000. If anyone's interested, the VIN is JT2AL35W5F0160516.

Thanks so much for your thoughts on my car, what it's worth, and a good home!.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by Petros »

welcome to the forum!

despite the dents, that is a very nice example of a stock Tercel4wd. hard to know, but good daily driver sell for over $3000. yours I would say is good for between $3600 t0 $4500. you might try listing it for $4300 and see what you can get for it.

in the PNW, these little wagons have almost achieved cult status, almost every time I drive mine into Seattle people stop me to tell me what a cool car and ask if I want to sell it. and mine is not even in as good a condition as yours.

Good luck!
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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dlb
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My tercel:: '87 sr5, '83 dlx parts car
Location: bc, canada

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by dlb »

You can always aim high and see if it sells for that. When I sell cars and people send me offers, I don't respond to them. That way if I am unable to get the price i want for the car, I can go back to those offers later and say "your email was in my junk folder, just found it, yes I'll take that if you're still interested." It's a decent way to hedge your bets.

Personally, with the body damage I imagine your car will sell for closer to $3000 but who knows. There are a lot of factors that dictate what a car ultimately sells for.
duhamel@charter.net
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

This advice is all extremely helpful! The comments about random admirers is hilarious. I get "street offers" fairly often, too. Next time someone asks, maybe send them my way? Ha! And thanks for the price estimates. I wonder how much it would cost to replace the passenger side rear fender, assuming I could find a match .
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ALiveSR5
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My tercel:: Was a stock 1985, SR5, 4WD, 6-speed manual, Wagon.
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by ALiveSR5 »

duhamel@charter.net wrote: Tue Apr 13, 2021 12:09 am I wonder how much it would cost to replace the passenger side rear fender, assuming I could find a match .
Depending on how motivated you are, the front fenders come off fairly easily and you could probably pop the dent out somewhat, from the inside, with a little ingenuity, or take it to a body shop or technical school. Otherwise, the dent is not that bad to be too concerned about it. The rear fenders are part of the body and cannot be replaced as a bolt-on unit.

Best wishes with selling it for an acceptable price.
Last edited by ALiveSR5 on Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
No other vehicle that I have ever owned had a heart and soul like my 1985 Tercel SR5 4WD Wagon. :D
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by Petros »

actually the rear fenders do not come off at all, they are integral with the body/frame. it can be cut off and a new one welded on (you would need to find a clean body to cut it off from). but frankly that is far more work for such a small dent than it is worth. I have fixed dents in that location using blocks of wood, rods and hammers to pound them out to shape, and than filled and repaired it with matching paint.

but on classic cars, sometimes it is better to just leave it so a potential buyer can see what they are getting. lest they think you are hiding repairs from a bad collision that can affect alignment, tracking, tire wear, etc. body shops are remarkably cavalier when it comes to verify the suspension pick up points are pulled back to proper location. I have owned more than a few used cars that had supposed "expert" body repairs done, only to find after we bought it that they could not get the alignment correct because the frame was just tweaked enough that it could not be made correct. nothing to do but live with it, usually it was not out enough to be a worry, but it really maddens me that a shlock body shops took insurance money to fix it and did not even bother to check the mechanical issues that can be affected by an accident. incompetent crooks. make it look pretty and leave it. on my mother in laws honda, I saw on the paper work where they charged her insurance company for new plastic fender liners and splash pan as part of the repair, and never even installed them. crooks.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
duhamel@charter.net
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Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:56 am
My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

I just listed the car on Craigslist for $4000. The rear end body damage doesn't affect the way the car drives - but repair is way more than I can handle. This car was my wife's drive to her job as Alpine Lookout and took me down every back road to my favorite fishing lakes. I'll miss it.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by Petros »

you should provide a link to the listing, there may be some lurking here that are looking to buy one.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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NWMO
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Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by NWMO »

https://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/d/ ... 33297.html

duhamel - Your title list the price at $4,000, while the body of your ad indicates $4,200. I assume the front passenger fender has a little damage based on previous posts, you might add a picture that shows that for clarity. Good luck!

Chris
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duhamel@charter.net
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

Wow, I didn't realize selling would be so emotional. Look at all those mistakes. The ad even said the odometer had rolled over. Not the case. Or maybe it's psychological and I just don't want to sell. Anyway, here's the ad:

https://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/d/ ... 33297.html

I can upload body ding photos upon request. Besides the right rear fender (see photo), there are smaller dents on the right front fender (as everyone is pointing out to me), rear door, and driver's side rear fender. My Tercel is pretty to me - but I'm rating the outside "fair" for pricing.

Let me know soon if anyone is interested in this car. I have one offer already and two shoppers looking this morning. Bout would rather keep it a the Tercel-loving-family.
duhamel@charter.net
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My tercel:: 1985 Wagon SR5

Re: 1985 Toyota Tercel Wagon SR5 forsale

Post by duhamel@charter.net »

Forgot to say, "Thank you, Chris."

As a side comment, have any PNW members visited Stehekin, Wa, or is the person who owns the Tercel located there a member? Stehekin is a tiny community at the end of a 2 1/2 hour boat ride up Lake Chelan, in North Cascades National Park. There's a 1985 Bronze SR5 there identical to mine that I'm guessing is the $10,000 Tercel. My jaw drops whenever I see it.
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