1991 Toyota Tercel DX review from North America

Failed inspection soon after I bought it. Replaced entire exhaust system as it was rusted out. Barely passed inspection. Started burning oil shortly thereafter- badly. Badly, as in plumes of blue smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe whenever I was idling or stuck in traffic. A lot of smoke- big blue stinky clouds. I would slink down in my seat whenever I was stopped at a light and pray for the light to change quickly.

I purchased this car used in 2004 to have a dependable little city car. I opted for a Toyota due to the reputation for longevity and reliability, as all of these raving reviews would attest to. The previous owner was pretty up on maintainence. Long story short, after dumping $800 to get the thing to pass inspection the burning oil situation forced me to drop this car as soon as the title arrived in the mail. I remember sitting in the passenger seat as a prospective buyer test drove it when some guy on the sidewalk screamed out "Hey, whaddaya have a fire back there?!"

During the process I did some digging and found that this era Tercel has a lot of issues with the engine smoking. My bad for not doing my super-thorough research, I suppose.

It ran strong, though. Pity, because I'm sure that it could have held up for a longer period of time.