Celica Forums General Discussion General 2001 or 2003?

Im saving up to get a celica but Im not sure what year I want. I heard that the 2000 and 2001 are the faster years but they might have their problems. the only problem with 2003 is it's more money and I dont know if I want a dbw. But what do you guys think? Which is the better year for the celica 2001 or 2003? Im asking for the whole package meaning looks, performance and potential problems with the year. Any help would be apreciated and yes I did look do a search but I found some conflicting ideas. Thanks again

2001

What are your reasons for a 2001?

with the redline being higher..makes it even better..cheaper than newer models..and i like how the front of the stock look better than the new ones. i have a 2000 and i haven't had any problems with it.

Cool thanks. Any one else have an opinion?

03, the refreshened stuff is nicer.

i have a 2000 and i love it and it hasnt given me ne problems ( thats toyota for ya).The only thing is that on the older models the moon roof isnt made of glass liek the newer ones soo sometimes they start to peel a little bit over time, im sure theres a way to avoid that, but i bought the car used and it came liek that soo yea, but thats about it.

2003 the darker interior is much better and the fuel cutoff is still 8350

Buy my car? 2004 Celica GT Manual?

i am al for the 03. i dont have any problems with the dbw. sure i cant get a PFC but oh well. plus what is the millage liek on the cars ur lookign at. the 03 prob has allot less so it may last you longer.

I say 2001 if you plan to mod the car and 2003 if you dont.

2000

2005, everything is refreshed. Everything should be fixed by now.
And the interior is sexay.

How about a 2002? only thing wrong is the rev limiter, which can be changed. plus most of the problems from the 2000-2001 are corrected, except for the rev limiter, and its newer than a 2001.

2003+ are difficult to mod without a better ECU due to the DBW.

i luv my 2005 .. would recommend it 2 any1 whos look 4 an amazing car!

id say 2005 for obvious reasons

if you have the money go for a 2003 or up

2000 and 2001 have the short shift gates. it will be at ur benefit if you really know how to shift and not mis-shift but shit happens.
2002 has the low rev limit with the fixed shift gates and a gas tank recall on some of them
2003- have drive by wire so you cant really modify it hardcore with powerFC and turbos. they have a better sunroof, and a neater interior.

if you really gonna mod it, then get anything lower from 03. if you dont want FC or turbo get 03 definetely cause there are minor things fixed and changed. changing the knock and ECU on the 02 will run you around 400 max approximately.

Get a 2002, last of the Celicas that have max. mod capabilities!

Its got mods and warrenty still!

Lol no thanks GT2111 Im looking for a GTS

Maybe I'll go for a 2002 then, I rarely drive a stick and I wouldnt want to blow the motor becuase of a stupid mistake. I do plan on moding the car so I want to stay below the 2003 then. I have to see what I kind find I guess if I can find a good 2002 for a low price then I'll get it and get a powerFC right away. But Im not going to race it or anything right when I get it so its not a big problem. For the 2000 - 2001 if I get replace the tranny will it have the wider gear gates or no?

I dont care much for the interror becuase I will probably get new seats and such.
The main reason why I wanted to stay away from the 2002 is the rev limiter but if its not that expensive to change then I might look for one.

Thanks for all the help

the power fc will run you about $1,000 not countin tuning. don't mislead yourself into thinkin its cheap just because we all suggest it and a lot of us have em

I've spent easily $800 on tuning already with the various projects I've worked on.

I'd say expect to pay a total of around $2k for a properly running power fc.

Didnt realize it was that much but I'll see what I can find thanks

drive by wire isn't like a bad thing, its a good thing so you shouldn't base ur choice on buying a car because of DBW i'd go with the 2003

id go for the 2003

there are many small changes that you wont regret.

and you would probably regret if you get 2001 instead of 2003+

the dark interior pieces are so much nicer...and plus if you go for 2003+, you can probably get HID.

personally, id save up and get a 2003+...

Hmm well I know the 2003 interior looks nicer and they "refreshed" the car but I want to mod it out, not all at first but slowly I want to and if the dbw wont let me get the most out of the car then I don't think I want to drive it. Unless I'm not understanding it correctly. But that interior is nice.

if i am correct, the gts is the only one with dbw in 2003, the gt doesn't and the gt already has lower compression pistons. I had a 2000 auto and now a 2003 manual and my 2003 is sooo much better..plus if you know how to drive a manual, they are usually faster.

Shoot Im still confused, I am going to get a manual and I am going to get a gts but I can see a lot of you are pushing for the 2003, it does have a nicer interior... But I still have to wait a few more months so I can get a higher down payment. If I think about this too much Im going to kill myself wanting one. Thanks for all the help

i saw get an 03 becsaue, hey normally newer is better except for the whoel DBW thing so you cant get a PFC. In the end its up to u. 03 may last you longer, even if it is only liek 2 years, could be an important 2 years

Its very easy to mis-shift on the 2000/01 models, some people on this board have messed up there engines because its easy to go from 5th gear to 2nd gear by accident when you downshift. '03s don't have that problem. And '03 have much nicer interiors, not only the seats, but the dash and door plastic is of much higher grade & quality.

But if you going to mod it like hell: 2000/01 is the answer.

Get a GT

get a 2002 gts since the shift gates are fixed and that drive by wire will not go good with a turbo or s/c so plan to stay n/a with 2003 up--you can fix that little rev limiter problem no big deal then you have the best of both worlds

...get the 03 and the c-one power ecu...

u can still mod the 03 with DBW, the only thing is the power FC wont work on it, but its fairly new car still, so you never know what will be coming out in the future