1988 Toyota Starlet GL review from UK and Ireland

I got the car from a friend for free as he had crashed it, to get it road worthy I had to replace:

Both front bumper mounting brackets.

Front bumper, (including indicators)

Left hand wing.

Left hand side light.

Left hand head light.

Grill.

Overall the car is very reliable, however if something does go wrong parts are hard to find, and parts from Toyota main dealers are ridiculously expensive! For example I had to inquire about a new indicator resistor, and was told it would cost over £40!

Performance and handling are a little off, for such a light car it lacks acceleration in a big way. Handling can be a little bit of a handful at times, cornering at the same speed I did in my old car (a 1988 VW Polo 1ltr) in the wet I find that the car tends to slide and its very easy to get the back end out for some tail happy fun. This can be entertaining at times, but when tired and at night it can really take you by surprise if you're not expecting it, and even in the dry i find the Starlet to be much less forgiving than the Polo.

Overall I have a great belief in German and Japanese cars (esp. VW and Toyota) and the only faults I can find with the car are negligible, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this car, or Toyota to anyone looking.