1981 Toyota Tercel 3 Door review from North America
"Good performance for the price"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The seats have worn through in places.
All front bearings have been replaced.
Carb has been rebuilt.
Rear shocks and mounts have been replaced.
Timing belt was replaced.
Now starting to rust on the rear wheel wells.
Back hatch glass needed to be replaced.
Struts for the back hatch glass replaced.
General comments?
For a $200 beater, It still starts every morning, and I now rarely have any problems since replacing all the old parts.
The engine still has over 170 compression when cold, and 195 compression when hot.
Steering isn't bad, but it could use thicker sway bars, or thicker springs.
I keep finding that a lot of people are surprised that my car is a 3-A engine with a automatic transmission. It came from the factory that way and everybody I see says that the factory only made around 600 of these cars.
Recommended reviews
| I'd own it again if I could.. tough little car |
|
| A great aging economy car! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1981 |
| First year of ownership | 2004 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 3-A Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 267089 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 321010 kilometres |
| Date of Entry | 5th May, 2004 |