88 Stock SR5 - Berkeley CA

[BerkeleySR5]

Our much loved 88 SR5 flunked the smog test and we're contemplating selling it. We hate to let this go since we bought it off the showroom in '87 and have driven it practically every day since.

It has 2 major sets of problems (bad carb, needs ring on piston 2 and valve job on piston 3) And it also has a few lesser issues which we were intending to fix.

We have the option of selling it to the State of California for $1K to retire it.

Is there any possibility that it might be worth more to someone else?

[Petros]

These cars regularly sell for $1500 to $2500 in good condition in Oregon and Washington state. It would really be a shame to have the state crush a nice example of one of these Tercels, which is getting more rare everyday. The 1988 is the most refined version of this car, it has the best seats and headlights, and a number of other minor refinements.

Please do not turn this car over to the State. It is not "green" to send a perfectly good car to the scrap yard. The emissions standards in all of the adjoining states are not nearly as severe as CA, and I know it would be an easy sell here where I live.

The carb is a relatively easy fix with a carb rebuild kit (about $30), the other two are more work, but can be done by a willing home mechanic for less than $500. Does the car run good? Sometimes if the rings and valves are just worn they are still servisable.

If we can get it here I would be willing to sell for you, I want to save as many of these great little 4wd cars as possible. And keep them out of the wrecking yard. I know it would sell for more than $1000 here if it is running okay.

Post pictures if you can.

[BerkeleySR5]

Thanks for your offer, but I don't think that I can get it to Washington at a reasonable cost. While the car certainly runs, I wouldn't chance driving it that far.

Unfortunately I don't have any competence in auto mechanics and since this is our only car we can't afford to have it sitting while I learn how to work on it. My high school class in basic auto mechanics is but a vague memory from the stone age.

I'll take and post some photos. But the body is white with a dark blue interior. The body has only one shopping cart ding. The paint is worn as it would be, never having been garaged.

It is really sad to have to say good bye to this car. We had great times driving on unpaved, rutted roads out in the country to visit friends. Our huskies were great back seat drivers. They left a lot of themselves (fur) back there.

[dlb]

try and sell it as is for $1000. if someone has a spare 3A or 4A engine they could easily swap it in. don't know if you will get that much for it but it's worth a shot and like petros says, it's far more environmental to salvage the car rather than scrap it when it is still in good condition.

[Petros]

I will be in CA in two weeks, I have round trip tickets to LA, but it is possible I could drive it back here and sell it for you. It will sell fast. There is nothing that could break along the way that I could not fix, trust me on that.

See my thread on how I rescued a $100 broken Tercel from CO last January, fixed it and drove it over 4000 miles to get it home. I have not quite finished the diary yet, the part where I replace the head gasket in a driveway in less than 4 hours has yet to be written up. It was quite an adventure. It sold the first day, to the first person that looked at it when I got back home. Check this out: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5212

[ARCHINSTL]

BerkeleySR5 -
If anyone can do this - it is Petros. Seriously.
Tom M.

[tercel4wdrules]

Blast!!... I've been looking for a car like this, but I cannot afford to add another one to the unmanageable collection. However, I do have a spare 3A-C. Hmmm...

[BerkeleySR5]

Here's some pictures of our car.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N00/5337112695/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N00/5337110099/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N00/5337721316/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N00/5337105433/

There's a noticeable ding on the left rear.

I couldn't get usable pictures of the interior because it has been very overcast and the interior colors are dark. The interior is NOT pristine given that we actually used the car for its intended purpose out in the country. It is dirty, full of Husky dog fur, and a bit torn up.

We spent today, driving around and looking at replacement cars. We're looking only at 90's Toyotas. We'd love to have a station wagon because our fold down back seats on the '88 actually get folded down and used a lot. We also have roof racks that I install when I haul lumber, pipes, sheetrock etc. We really have used this car! We're having problems locating used Toyota wagons. They seem to be fairly rare. I don't think that we're going to find a 4WD without going to a SUV which we really don't want or need. SUV type vehicles are much too big. The Tercel SR5 was perfect for our needs.

Which Toyotas from the 90's have fold down rear seats?

[tercel4wdrules]

You have about two options, either a Toyota Corolla wagon or the Camry wagon, both have rear seats that fold down. If you need 4WD, your only option is a Corolla All-Trac wagon, which are even more rare than these wagons.

[takza]

All people were buying in the '90s seemed to be SEDANS....fewer hatchbacks or wagons....Subaru for 4WD...but wagons hard to find? You might find a Nissan or Toy pickup with a 4 banger?

[fawmaine]

I am a forum member on the East coast and am interested in the car if some expenses are not too unreasonable. Can you tell me the mileage on the engine and any other issues with it not stated earlier. What are the other items of concern? I would like to share the info with my mechanic to get his feedback. I would like to have your zip code to get a shipping quote. Have you kept a file on the service history? My 1988 Terc was bought from the original owner and one of the perks was the file of service records from day one. Can you give me your phone number?
Ned Whiting

[BerkeleySR5]

Sorry for not getting back to people. We've had to spend a lot of time driving around a looking for another Toyota since we're pressed for time. We've tentatively bought a '96 Corolla Sedan with only 89k miles from a Lexus dealership pending our mechanic's inspection. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, there's enough population here that we can look around and find things fairly quickly. This isn't the car we want, but this car will do until we find a wagon.

I'll post more details about our Tercel to answer questions in a day or two.

[MootsMan]

I'd love to have it, but CA is just too far to get it back home economically.

[toughtercel]

BerkeleySR5: could you open the engine hood and take one photo shot at the label of emmision daigram at underneith of the engine hood , thanks

[BerkeleySR5]

Hi again,

We now finally have an acceptable new car that passed muster with our mechanic. ('98 Corolla with 68K miles.) The first car we took home had major problems. This one runs well though it certainly isn't what we want to keep in the long run.

So here's some info on our '88 SR5 that I've uploaded to flickr.

Smog test 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N00/5355386481/

Smog test 2
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N ... otostream/

Emission label under hood
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N ... otostream/

Timing chain change label
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N ... otostream/

Manufacturer's label
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53474394@N ... otostream/

Let me know if you have any questions.

We do need to sell the SR5 to help pay for the new car.