1989 Daihatsu Charade Reviews - Page 5 of 5

Clutch replacement (after lots of abuse!!)

Exhaust (10 years, not bad for an original exhaust! Replaced with a Mandrel bent, free flow, stainless steel job).

Well what can you say! Working for Cosworth Technology I see a lot of exotic machinery, yet still this 1 litre Daihatsu is my favourite car... ever... Fun to drive and own, easy to tune (engine has forged internals as standard, bomb proof they are, potential for HUGE power). Easy to maintain and they are fairly exclusive (rare).

Don't be put off by the fact it's a Daihatsu, this car was designed for rallying. I went with my mate in his Golf GTI to pick my Charade up when I bought it. Had a little race on the way home, I just drove away from him!

If you find one in good condition, buy it, look after it, you'll love it!

There's nothing which looks, sounds, or drives quite like them.... RAW FUN!!!

Exhaust leak, air conditioner part (electronic).

Except for normal wear and tear, this car has had almost no repairs. It has never left me stranded. It feels much more solid than any other small car. I wish they still sold them here in the US.

The only strike against these cars is that OEM parts are harder to get, but I just looked on carparts.com and they have a lot of parts that I would not have expected to be able to get from secondary manufacturers (ie. clutch cable, all brake parts etc).

If you can find one in good shape, I would buy it, especially because they are SO cheap on the used car market.

Nothing! Even the brakes lasted 100,000 miles! Just oil changes and tires!

This was a very tough vehicle, too bad they stopped selling them here! You could drive it two weeks on 10.00 gas. High quality materials used, much better quality then any of the Korean stuff being sold in this country! Felt very solid, like a much bigger car than it was. Why did they stop selling them here? A high quality car people can afford, what a concept!

Nothing while I had it.

I bought this car from new in '89. Bought it tax-free when I was in the army and was a bit cautious, it being an unknown quantity.

Although I sold it several years ago, I had to make an entry to say that it was the most fun car I've ever owned! It was quite happy at an indicated 130mph on the german autobahn. I did 44k miles in the 3yrs I owned it and never a hiccup. I was stopped for speeding on the M1 (I was only doing 90mph) and the policeman was very surprised when I told him it was only a 1.0 litre engine. Very economical too. See, you can have your cake and eat it!

Waterpump after 53,000 miles.

Turbo rebuild after 80,000 miles.

The ultimate 1 litre car. 0-60 in 7.7 secs - reliable, economical, handles superbly and isn't too expensive to run, unless something serious happens i.e. turbo blows!

Main dealers don't know what to do with them and parts can be expensive. Find a turbo specialist to service them and change the oil every 3,000 miles!

Rather noisy engine. Vibration occurs when I turn on the air-con. I have sent it to the dealer but they are unable to guarantee that the problem will be rectified. Yet to solve this problem. Anybody who has the solution may E-mail to pgjamie@pacific.net.sg

Thanks!!!

Thought powerful for a 1.0L car but it's noisy!!!!!