Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior I want your opinion!

Im looking at a 2002 GTS 6 speed Leather, it has 20K MI, in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. He wants $13500 for it. He repaired a front right impact sustained by the original owner (Title states Impact). He has put 500 MI on it. Im worried that if I buy it and start modding and strap on a body kit Ill regret it later.

My other option is a 2000 GTS AUTO with 70K MI for $12K Great shape. It is being shipped from the D.C. area to Memphis for my inspection.

So what do you think 2000 or 2002?

Get the 2000. Even with the damage (i hope it's not noticable), it should be a great ride.

hell of a mileage difference for 15oo bucks

The 2002 has been repaired. It's the potential for hidden damage that is my greatest concern. I commute 80 MI one way to work and cannot afford the time to be preforming maintenance.

id get the stick if i were to do it all over again.

get the manual

i would inspect the 2002 model for any hidden damages present first..what you should mainly be concernd with is engine and suspension damage..the body shouldnt really affect your drivabilitay. i would really lean more towards the 2002 cause its a stick and has really low mileage. DO you think you might want to sell the car later on??? And how good is the repair?? Ask him if it was mostly body damage during its past accident. I got into a major accident when i 1st got my celica and it was repaird..luckly it wasnt salvaged titled. Its been 25,000k since then and everything is still perfect. Im just saying that a if a car underwent some repair dosent mean that you will have any problems..unless the repair was half assed. Try to talk him down at least another $500 or so..so that in the event something dose happen you can use that extra 5 bills to fix the problem.

I say neither because one is auto and the other one has been damaged and you don't know what kind of problems you might run into later. I say find another good GTS that's 6 speed and hasn't been in an accident.

Just my 2 cents

I'm going to take a look and see if he has before pics. Mabey I'll get lucky and get a teardown pic and see how far he had to go. I've put 180K MI on the car I'm driving now it had 3K on it 5 years ago when I bought it. I plan to put more miles on the Celica.

Just like "pfcnguyen" i think you need to look really good at the car to see were was damaged and how its been fixed.. if you don't know what to look for i can give some hints: 1. Look for the Vin# on fenders and hood, or glass,look under the window moldings if you can see the old paint or just get the car to a body shop and ask them to check the car for you for any signs of past damage. I would say if its been done right the car will look just like before the accident or even better. This is what happend after i bought and fixed my own Celica. Here is the picture when i've got the car and on the next post is how it looks now.

2005 and it looks even better than before.

Make sure and carfax the car your going to buy before you buy it bro. I would lean towards the six speed. Its a lot more fun and you have total control of the car.

MNP I'm a wrench bender not an artist, that looks great!! Ya talked me into taking a closer look. I'm going to inspect it this evening. I'll get the vin too and run a check.

I understand the need to shift - I'm driving a 2000 Beetle with a diesel engine (Don't tell anyone about the beetle - need the celica to recover my dignity) it has a stick shift. (the VW made me one heck of an auto mechanic I even bought a 2 post lift for it)

I talked the guy down to $13K on the 2002/ It has a short shifter and a carbon fiber trim kit. The test drive left a big grin on my face. I'm picking it up a noon.

Thanks for all the input everyone! - Justin

good luck with the car man...it's a sweet setup i just hope everything goes well for you. I bought a 97 eclipse GSX from a dealer (not mitsu certified)...and i checked carfax and autocheck and it was clean...got it...and found out on my own investigation that it was a flood vehicle. but anyways good luck!

^^^^ sounds like the vehicle history report that says it was never totalled but then you find out later that a wrecking ball was dropped on it at a construction site... good luck man!!!