Faults:

Radiator blew at 185,000km. Replaced, which cost 350 AUD.

Then changed timing belt and water pump; $700.

Leak from the sunroof when it rains.

Engine rattles, but it's too expensive to fix.

General Comments:

This car is very reliable. It starts every time. There were some problems, but for 17 year old car, it's not too bad. I bought it 2 years ago and it broke down twice; not too bad, right? Once the radiator leaked, and I had to replace it, and the other time the water pump had a problem.

I have been reading a lot of great stories about this car, and want to see how far it will go. On 204,000km now. I hope this old time car, which was manufactured before 2000 in Japan, will show its quality more than cars produced after 2000 in other Asian countries.

Faults:

Rear left wheel bearing started failing - making lots of noise.

Burned about 500mL of oil a fortnight.

Crunched into third gear, even with the clutch fully depressed.

General Comments:

Surprisingly fun to drive, and can cop a beating. Flogged it while I owned it, smashing into the 7500rpm limiter on a daily basis, and it never missed a beat. Liked to drink some oil, but that was it. Handling was funny... turn in, it would initially hesitate, then turn and violently swing the tail end out. Made me laugh each time.

Great cheapie beater, which is what I used it for.

Faults:

Power windows have recently came out of alignment and popped off tracks and wouldn't go up. Dealer fixed promptly with no charge.

No other problems.

General Comments:

This car still drives like a dream, and as you can guess is still in excellent condition. I have never had a mechanical problem in 7 years, no body problems have evolved either.

Though I wasn't to impressed with the spare being nothing more than a rubber band on a coin.