Hey all,
New to Celicas, but not to Toyotas or cars in general. I'm a 50-something looking at a 2003 GTS locally. I will summarize the good and bad and try to get a feel from you folks as to whether the price is decent, what else to look for, etc.
2003 Celica GTS - 6spd. White, all options except leather seats, including Action Pkg. 1 owner. 170k miles. Female 50-something owned/driven. Husband has done any/all work on it, so Carfax shows nothing. Asking price is $6500.
Good - Engine seems to run strong, lift engages. Trans shifts well, no grinding or popping out of gear. AC blows cold. Recent clutch, brakes, struts all around. No visible body damage/issues. Just passed emissions for registration.
Bad - Has always been outside, not garaged, so has taken some UV damage. Skirts of body kit aren't tight against body - can they be salvaged or has the sun sagged them too far (maybe 1/8 to 1/4" gap at the rear raised section). Interior is grimy, full of dog hair. Looks to have had minimal cleaning/upkeep. Needs driver's door lock solenoid replaced. Husband says he didn't want to put the Toyota struts on them since they were 3x the price. Clutch and struts, he can't remember what brand other than he got them online. Says tires are 1yr old, but date codes are 2016/17, so again, sketch. Minor rock chips, dog chew marks on the front bumper. Carfax says there was minor front end damage but no information. Owner says it's never had any accidents or had any bodywork, etc. Doesn't know why the carfax says that.
I just am not sure that I trust the work that's been done (or avoided being done) by owner. The car seems very solid and straight, but I just need to figure out how much it's actually worth. I'm not afraid of working on it, but would not like to get into engine,trans if I can avoid it. I want to get it to a fun, relatively reliable (for 20yr. old) car.
What's it really worth? What else can I inspect? If I hook up my laptop with Techstream, what, if any, useful info can be gleaned? Will be taking it to our local shop (at my cost) for a pre-purchase inspection to get another opinion on it.
I've had project cars before and I don't want a garage anchor! I really like the car but don't want to have emotions play too much into the decision, but I would like to 'rescue' this car.
Sorry this is long and disjointed, but just getting all the thoughts down. Thanks!
