Faults:

Routine maintenance, timing belt changed, drivers door out of alignment, driver door window difficult to close.

General Comments:

Remarkable gas mileage, 35-40 mph mixed city/highway. Quite a high level of quality fit and finish for such a cheap car. Manual transmission is very busy, requires frequent shifting in city and stop'n'go traffic, and a 5th speed would have been a welcome addition. Acceleration is barely adequate. Handling is okay, though lack of power steering shows at low speeds.

Faults:

Very little past normal wear.

Worn control arm bushings at 100000

Stuck brake caliper at 120000

Cracked CV joint boots at 130000 (L side) & 150000 (R side) requiring shaft replacement.

General Comments:

Incredibly reliable/dependable car. Has required little maintenance and has held up very well to my unusually high travel rate (2000-3500 miles per month). Has never failed to start, regardless of weather conditions. Still gets approx 35-38 MPG at 178000 miles after putting almost 100000 miles on car in 2 years. My only complaint is the uncomfortable front seats, especially if you spent a lot of time in them.

Faults:

Not much! I've had to replace the O2 sensor once and needed a new fuel pump about 7 months ago. Other than that, it's been pretty much standard stuff like replacing belts or needing an oil change.

Not long ago, some kids stomped my front bumper and shredded the metal parts (I'm not very auto-literate) that held it together, so I'm looking for a new bumper.

In October my Tercel was smacked from the right side by an uninsured driver. I was able to get just enough money to fix the rear axle and get a new wheel, so I am debating whether to replace the panels with my own money still.

It looks ugly, but it still takes me from point A to B.

General Comments:

This little car is great. It may not be exactly the quickest little bugger, and you can really tell when you hit a hill -- but I've been able to outperform and out-accelerate 'higher end' junk like the newer Ford Mustangs when I have my Tercel well-tuned.

It corners well, and the engine response is alright for an under 100 horsepower 10 year old car. In seasonal weather this car seems to handle pretty well. I've never fishtailed, or slid in ice or snow (and I'm not sure if it's mostly the tires I'm using, or just the compactness of the Tercel, so take with a grain of salt!).

The A/C and heat kicks in quick. Maybe a little too quick, because the one small gripe I have is that my windshield fogs up very easily.

Parking is fun.

Faults:

In seven years:

Power steering belt (2)

Alternator bearings.

Leaky trunk (from an accident where I was rear-ended)

Brakes (twice)

One new set of tires.

One hubcap needed replacing.

General Comments:

I inherited my Toyota Tercel DX from my Dad when I was sixteen; it had been his work car for years, but he really wanted to upgrade. So I inherited the car that I would later refer to as Grumpy. Grumpy was incredibly fuel efficient and reliable. My crappy jobs as a burger flipper, sandwich maker, and library page more than paid for his gas and repairs. According to my parents, this was a remarkable feat. Rare was the day that Grumpy was in the shop.

I owned Grumpy (Tercel) for almost seven years. In that time, I found that he would do just fine in blizzards so bad you could not see the road, he could drive on some gravel roads, and Grumpy could get up to speed remarkably fast. I ultimately did not get rid of Grumpy; he was totaled by someone who drove their car into a six lane road in an attempt to get to a side street on the other side. I didn’t have enough time to stop; Grumpy was totaled. Grumpy had an excellent radio and with a cassette adapter played my ipod just fine. In fact, Grumpy’s stereo system is better than that of the Saturn I now drive. I really do miss my Toyota Tercel DX, it would run forever on one tank of gas, go through the most horrible of conditions, including ice covered roads, and it was hardly ever in the shop.