1986 Toyota Tercel Liftback from North America - Comments

Toyotas are superior cars. Neon shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence!

Neons they are referring to must be Matchbox cars.

I had a 1980 Tercel and it was one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. My sister had a 1995 Neon and it fell apart weekly, absolute junk.

And if several posters on this site have mentioned how Toyota took apart a Neon and were shocked at how shoddily built it was, and that they could never build at car using such low standards.

Even a Toyota with high mileage will encounter problems if it isn't properly maintained. Just don't mention this particular model in the same breath with a Neon. There's simply no comparison.

120,000 miles high for a Toyota? come on.. that's pretty darn low. and as to the person with the Neon. the Neon would be a better buy I think over a Toyota, but that's just me.

I have been driving a 1986 Tercel since 1989. The thing just won't stop running. I do everything I can to abuse it. It has never seen a garage. I have used it to carry tons of firewood from the mountains, to my house. I have hauled 16-ft lumber on top of the car (using a bike rack). My neighbor backed into the side of it once, creating a moment of optimism. But, alas, the damage was only cosmetic. I still get over 30 MPG in the city. The car has required almost no major repairs over it's 20 year life. If anyone has any suggestions on how I might be able to do this car in, please let me know!

I have a 1983 Toyota Tercel that is still running happy at 245,000 miles. I believe that the Toyota Tercel is an excellent car. If you take good care of it. It will take care of you.

My 95 tercel is the best car ever 200k!!! too bad not made anymore from japan.

I have a 1986 tercel sedan deluxe great little car bought car in 2001 still going strong in 2007 no complaints not enough money to buy it from me. If you beat your daily driver then you get what you got my car is always babed.

Here's a good Tercel story; my neighbor bought one in '93 and gave it to his son for college some years back. They are finally selling it. They don't even have a garage, driveway kept for 14 years. It has more than 350,000 miles on it and has had absolutely nothing replaced other than brakes, tires, and motor oil and antifreeze. Never replaced any of the gear oil, believe it or not, not even a belt or hose. Incredible cars. Oh, and it's still running fine. They bought him a new Corolla. The Tercel is still on the road.

I've had my 86 Tercel for 8 years. I got it for 750.00 with 40,000 miles, and it now has 186,000 miles on it. For the last 2 years I've been using it for lawn maintenance. I have a lawnmower, 2 weed eaters, leaf blowers, vacuum cleaner, a 6 gallon water jug, countless tools. I drive it 200 to 300 miles a day with about 30 mpg totally overloaded and up mountains. Just last week I finally had to work on it after 8 years. The clutch went.

These are the cars that built the Toyota reputation. I have never had a car that I trust like this thing, and probably never will. Really it's a curse, because it fails to fail. I envision myself 60 years old driving this thing. Best car I've ever had.

I still have one that's only ever had the starter, alternator and a big coolant flush ever done to it, not counting oil changes, fuel filter etc. It has 400,000 km on it. My mechanic said he'd seen one with over a million km.