1981 Toyota Tercel Standard review from North America

Fuel pump leaked.

Valve cover gasket leaked.

Was in an accident and needed a new radiator.

The seats (both front and back) have begun tearing.

Rear brakes needed replacing.

Great, cheap car. I paid $600 for it, to the FIRST owner! (he owned it for twenty years) this included a cover for it, which I seldom use, and a ski rack which I never use.

It has consistently returned 40-45mpg economy.

But is a little slow with only 60hp to move 1900lbs. of car, and can barely keep up with traffic and will be going only 35-40mph by the time it enters the highway from the on ramp, unless I rev the engine fairly hard.

The rear brakes will lock up under hard braking, but you can still maintain control, they are a little weak by today's standards as well - but the car is two decades old after all.

Until I got into an accident, the car was rattle free, after the accident the car is still relatively rattle free! - good solid construction.

Rust is beginning to show up in spots, but nothing bad, overall the paint is still in good shape and not faded at all.

For $600 it was a deal that'd be hard to beat, and with 45mpg economy it's been cheap to run - excepting a few things I had to replace due to the accident and age of the car.