83' Tercel SR5 4wd $2000 (Marysville, WA)

[Romulux]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/4030672457.html

Looks pretty nice. Stupid grenade painted on the hood is stupid, the stickers suck, and the trim that's falling off or painted on or something looks really poorly done, but I like the two tone. Looks pretty bad ass with the super dark (possibly illegal?) tint on the back windows too.

[dlb]

wow, if not for the high school stickers and grenade on the hood, i'd say it looks great. even the 'toyota' logo on the hatch appears to be in good shape. the stickers come off pretty easily and it would be easy enough to just flat black the hood. i wonder how many miles are on it.

[Mark]

"Best offer" always annoys me. Is there a closing date for this "auction"? I'm always suspicious that no matter what you offer, they'll mention that someone else is offering more to try and get you to increase your bid.

[Petros]

make him an offer and find out, the starting point is $2000. looks like it is owned by a teenager, but otherwise looks in good condition, it should also have the inclinometer, though he does not show any interior pictures. Could be a good deal, but I have seen where a nice paint job (and stickers) can often cover up a lot of issues with CV axles, ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc. Who knows how abused the brakes and clutch have been. It does not mean it is not a bad buy, but buyer be wary. I have bought cars that the seller said "all it needs is A, B and C, and it will be a great car" and after fixing those, and D, E, F, G, H, I and J, just to make it safe to drive, was a great car. Many people do not always know what else is wrong with their car.

Marysville is the next town over from where I live, and I drive through it regularly, I have never seen this car. Kind of odd since with a paint job like that I would never have missed it. I wonder how long he has had it if more than a year or two, I would be surprised I have never seen it.

[Romulux]

make him an offer and find out, the starting point is $2000. looks like it is owned by a teenager, but otherwise looks in good condition, it should also have the inclinometer, though he does not show any interior pictures. Could be a good deal, but I have seen where a nice paint job (and stickers) can often cover up a lot of issues with CV axles, ball joints, tie-rod ends, etc. Who knows how abused the brakes and clutch have been. It does not mean it is not a bad buy, but buyer be wary. I have bought cars that the seller said "all it needs is A, B and C, and it will be a great car" and after fixing those, and D, E, F, G, H, I and J, just to make it safe to drive, was a great car. Many people do not always know what else is wrong with their car.

Marysville is the next town over from where I live, and I drive through it regularly, I have never seen this car. Kind of odd since with a paint job like that I would never have missed it. I wonder how long he has had it if more than a year or two, I would be surprised I have never seen it.

The red grenade goes with the red flags. I hope someone picks this up and it ends up being awesome.

[ARCHINSTL]

Any idea on the small gold-colored cylinder with a red wire coming out each end? It's mounted on the firewall just above the brake booster.
My '83 did not have this.
That sure is a clean engine bay!
Tom M.

[dlb]

Any idea on the small gold-colored cylinder with a red wire coming out each end? It's mounted on the firewall just above the brake booster.

you're showing your age here, tom. that's a fuse for the power wire that runs from the battery to an amp which then powers a sub-woofer.

[ARCHINSTL]

Any idea on the small gold-colored cylinder with a red wire coming out each end? It's mounted on the firewall just above the brake booster.

you're showing your age here, tom. that's a fuse for the power wire that runs from the battery to an amp which then powers a sub-woofer.

OHHH...
My 8-track does not need one of those...
Tom M.

[the_hat_guy]

Yes, I bought it. Finders keepers losers weepers. Nananana. Well that's the attitude the car kind of gives off with the stickers, but I'm gonna take those off. I never even knew about a 4wd toyota car until I saw this thing on CL. I live in lake stevens, WA, and this is my story of the car as I heard it. It was his father's, and he was obviously a mechanic, because it has new gaskets and seals everywhere I glanced at. Inside, it kind of smelled, and could use a more thorough cleaning, and a new drivers seat, in addition to the back cover missing from the hatchback part. The engine was immaculate, and the guy is going to give me some parts he's collected. I am only posting here, because I have asperger's, and I thoroughly research loads of things that most people would not bother with. Often with a goal of information in mind, I find another thing of interest. This time, I found a posting, about the car that i had bought at about 1 am. I am so glad I got it. I'm not a great mechanic or anything, I only follow directions that are written down, with a lot of guesswork involved, but I can tell a well maintained 30 year old engine from a rebuilt old one, and and old one that hasn't yet bit the bullet. I heard no squeaking, the 4wd worked perfectly, and my only complaint is that you fools were skeptical because he painted some shit on the hood. Ok here's the deal, You might see me around, delivering pizza in it, in marysville, today, tomorrow, and probably Monday, maybe forever. Idk, this car will last me many many miles before it tanks, and it already has 221k. 221k and it will go 80 down the freeway without a problem. 221k and I won't get stuck no matter where I end up. And my experience with vehicles telling me that this one is just broken in, with a life of driving elsewhere ahead of it. In my research, I found a tercel that was auctioned off that was the same year, same model, and over a million miles. This engine? Well this engine had new seals, new gaskets, a new belt, brand new tires, and it's going to get me to your house with pizza. Mmmmmmm, yummy yummy pizza, and a cool old tercel bringing it to your door while I figure out that damned starter issue with my golf. :/ I'm starting to think about selling my golf now. I've seen videos of these cars, and they're practically indestructible unless you don't take care of the maintenance, and this one, this one has sat for a couple years, but before that, it was obviously meticulously maintained, and it was well worth every penny. If it gets me better tips, I might just repair it when something costly happens, if it happens, lol. I'm sorry for laughing at you guys, but you missed out on some cool stuff by redflagging this. I suppose it's a great analogy for how much people miss out on when they red flag me because I'm a bit different. I'm glad that someone will always reap the rewards of being the guy that buys the car that is probably gonna last a long, long time with minimal repairs, and a cool vintage feel that makes you want to do the robot. I am so gonna dream about j5 popping out of the back of this radical old car that I quickly fell in love with. I feel you guys, NO DISASSEMBLE! Ok it's official, I'm a dork, with nothing to do but talk about this car, but it was truly love at first sight. I saw the picture, and fell in love with it's unique character that is so representative of my own. I'm so glad that I'm able to see a diamond in the ruff, where other's see the piece of crap vehicle for 20 grand and drool for it. Why would I do that when I can find good vehicle that will only cost at most, a few thousand? This car has a combination of utility, gas mileage, longevity, character, and sheer ability to go places where other's can't into one tight little package that cost me a fraction of the costs because I have read that the tercel has mostly only the cost of replacing the break pads, tires, and that stuff. Why wouldn't I buy this car? Because it has a few minor things wrong with it cosmetically? My god, you guys really missed out, but that's ok, because you have another tercel freak on board. How many miles do you guys think before anything at all will go wrong with this car? I'm betting forty to sixty thousand miles. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing outlives me, and it's older than I am. I'm gonna clean up the interior a bit, and inspect the bearings and whatnot, replace the pads, we'll see what this thing is really made of in a moment, but damn guys, I'm already seeing a good car, and the dude told me that an engine for this thing is like 1 grand. I believe it cuz it's so small I could life it and put it on my workbench. I see nothing that could possibly tell me that this vehicle has not been very, very well cared for, before it came to sit for a little while. Which is the precisely story the guy had. I'm being a little verbose, and probably pedantic as well, so I will stop here. I wonder what matters more, that you missed out on a great car and I swiped it up, and then found you and laughed about it, or that another toyota tercel fan was made in a person who can appreciate the utility and plain awesomeness of said vehicle? You should probably be cursing about now, because I'm going to probably have a question or two in the future. Maybe some new friends? It is so hard to make friends sometimes It's funny, I got this car, and it got me XXXX (Ed.), in like an hour from then. I only got this car because I wanted another vehicle while I fixed mine, since I'm not yet old enough for a rental, and I needed a car to deliver pizza with at my new job. And destiny brought me to this car that will love me like I love it, because it's pevious owners showed it great compassion into maturity. Ah, I really wish you guys could see this. For a thirty year old car, it does everything the way it is supposed to, and it is very clean. I feel like I can drive it around on the back roads for years and sell it for what I paid for it. You really, really missed out. I was on the ball, and now I have this freaking awesome car, and even if others dont l;ike it, I can see how awesome it is, because I see things for what they are, when most people see them for appearances. This car doesn't have a great appearance to everone, but for all of the things that it does, and how cheap it's upkeep (supposedly) is, I'm dancing a jig and reading and reading everything I can about this car, and man, some of these videos, these people wail on these cars and they keep going, these things are tough! My god, I have fallen in love. The subaru has nothing on this. Six speed, one of which is so low I can walk faster. 4wd, and man, does this thing go, like anywhere, It started raining today, and I had to drive through a river. it was in the road in everett, like almost two feet deep, well, i didn't half to, but I did anyways, and I drove it through this river and passed thge other cares like they were standing still, because THEY WERE! I so freaking love this car and you guys totally missed out, but you gained a new person in your group to talk incessently about the asolute freaking awesomeness of this car. It takes a person who needs the utility, or a person who can recognize true value to appreciate this car, and I'm so glad I discovered it before you guys that already own like three of them. Maybe someday I will be able to do the same, but for now, my mom is kinda pissed at me for turning her "yard into a junkyard" she just doesn't understand, few, very very few do, but you guys, you guys can see value. This car has value beyond money, because they don't make cars that get 35 mpg, can drive up a mountain with four flat tires, and drive through a verifiable river of water, and get me laid within an hour of buying it, and turning heads with it's cool looks, and driving on roads that a lot of trucks couldn't (ofc, not everyone is an awesome driver like me,) and it gets the pizza to your door, my god, you guys are going to freaking flip if you see in this hood, so clean. I am so lucky to discover this super awesome car, I wish I could describe how elated I feel, because now I have a good car for driving in the mountains with. I could drive this thing to alaska and sell it for four grand, easy. 30 dollars fills the tank, and it will go near 300 miles on a tank from all appearances. I could fill a bunch of containers full of gass and drive to the moon if there was a road there, even if it looks like some four by four course. People are blind, this car is probably more awesome than a lot of new one, and I certainly count on it costing me less, and getting me further. HAHAHAHA, ok, I'm grazy. A little too much pot? maybe. But until I find something else to look into, the tercel is freaking awesome.

[ARCHINSTL]

Welcome to the Club...
But PLEASE - paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs - and no stream of consciousness style - you ain't James Joyce or Jack Kerouac.
Your enthusiasm is commendable.
Tom M.

[the_hat_guy]

I might sell it to my mother for her to use at her property I'm sorry for my oddly enthusiastic, lengthy, diatribe,

[Petros]

welcome to the forum Hat Guy!

Glad you picked up the car, sounds like it went to a good home. Hope it all works out for you, the car might be in great shape, the problem is that it was hard to tell based on the advertisement. There have been more than a few advertized at a relatively high price that had a long list or repairs to do, and others that were great buys for much less. A high price for a car in great shape is always a good buy, you just do not know until someone gives a detailed once over.

I would love to see your Tercel4wd. I have several Aspi friends, no problem there, perhaps we can get together some time soon. I get to Lake Stevens once or twice a week anyway, let me know when a good time to drop by would be (PM me your number or address). We can meet and I can go over your new car with you, and see if I can help you with what it needs, if anything. Of course this forum is a also a great place to find information on how to check, repair and even upgrade you Tercel.

[Romulux]

Welcome to the Club...
But PLEASE - paragraphs, paragraphs, paragraphs - and no stream of consciousness style - you ain't James Joyce or Jack Kerouac.
Your enthusiasm is commendable.
Tom M.

I agree on all counts. I want to read your post, the_hat_guy, but walls of text literally make my eyes hurt.

That said, I'm so glad you found this thread and joined this forum! Like I said earlier, I was hoping someone would get this and it would be awesome, and it sounds like it is. Good job on the purchase. I used to deliver pizza in Seattle with a $1000 '95 Corolla that I (and the hills of queen anne/downtown) treated horribly, and it never failed on me. I wish you the same luck, and hopefully you take better care of your Terc than I did my Corolla. It's a nice little gem no matter what anyone thinks of the hood. I think if you can rock it you should wear it.

[dlb]

romulux, massive props on your profile pic. SF2 is one of my faves. zangief rules.

[Romulux]

Yes, I bought it.

So, I read your whole post and I feel you man. I have a lot of the same thoughts that you put down here, and I totally get where you're coming from. I'm also new to these cars, and although I don't have one yet, I know when I find the right one it will be amazing. I also plan on taking mine all over the PNW, so you should hit me up some time! I won't be able to get my car till a couple months from now because I also just started a new job, but when I do it will be a glorious time had by all.

romulux, massive props on your profile pic. SF2 is one of my faves. zangief rules.

Thanks dlb! SSF2 was my first favorite game, and Blanka was my first favorite character, so he has stuck with me for a long time. Zangief is also a boss. UURARU!!