Decisions... Celica replacement?

[hotmetal]

Hi guys. First post here so be nice.

I bought my current car new in Jan/02. It's a 2002 Toyota Celica GT, 5 spd manual with 320,000kms and counting. I still love the car despite it beginning to show its age. Motor burns 1 litre of oil every 1000kms on average, often more. Shoddy rings on that engine from 00-02... Yet it still runs fine, is a good DD and looks decent.

Here's the problem. I drove an FR-S last week.... And loved it.

I was single and 20 when I bought the Celica. I'm getting married in a month and my wife to be needs new wheels too. She drives a 2006 Pontiac G6 that I hate and has repair bills that make me cringe.

We are the kind of people that keep cars until they die, and need to be smart about the next 2 cars we get.

I'm thinking either Camry SE 4-cyl or Rav4 for her and an FR-S for me.

I'm the enthuiast, she sees cars as appliances.

Problem I have with the FRS vs. the Celica is the loss of praticality of the hatchback vs the trunk. The hatch allows me to fit hockey equipment and gear related to my work that won't fit in the FR-S. Plus I'm 6'4 and wedging any future kids that may show up in the back seems impractical on a daily basis.

So.. Just share her car right? Well she prefers automatic and would need to be able to drive the FR-S too. I think I'd miss the clutch.

Any suggestions for 2 vehicles both under 30k out the door?

We drive year round in 4 seasons. Mix of highway and weekend fun...

Decisions decisions.

[carbonBLUE]

Originally Posted by hotmetal

Hi guys. First post here so be nice.

I bought my current car new in Jan/02. It's a 2002 Toyota Celica GT, 5 spd manual with 320,000kms and counting. I still love the car despite it beginning to show its age. Motor burns 1 litre of oil every 1000kms on average, often more. Shoddy rings on that engine from 00-02... Yet it still runs fine, is a good DD and looks decent.

Here's the problem. I drove an FR-S last week.... And loved it.

I was single and 20 when I bought the Celica. I'm getting married in a month and my wife to be needs new wheels too. She drives a 2006 Pontiac G6 that I hate and has repair bills that make me cringe.

We are the kind of people that keep cars until they die, and need to be smart about the next 2 cars we get.

I'm thinking either Camry SE 4-cyl or Rav4 for her and an FR-S for me.

I'm the enthuiast, she sees cars as appliances.

Problem I have with the FRS vs. the Celica is the loss of praticality of the hatchback vs the trunk. The hatch allows me to fit hockey equipment and gear related to my work that won't fit in the FR-S. Plus I'm 6'4 and wedging any future kids that may show up in the back seems impractical on a daily basis.

So.. Just share her car right? Well she prefers automatic and would need to be able to drive the FR-S too. I think I'd miss the clutch.

Any suggestions for 2 vehicles both under 30k out the door?

We drive year round in 4 seasons. Mix of highway and weekend fun...

Decisions decisions.

Well I used to have a 2000 Celica gts carbonblue, I was the second owner and I can tell you I loved the car, I traded my ageing baby, shed a few tears and departed from her

You will miss the hatch back utility of the Celica, but the wayi see it, the Frs is what the Celica should have been all along, youll be reminded from time to time that the smile you get is very much the same as when you tossed the Celica around...

I was very happy with my decision, hope you will be aswell

My baby is in my sig

[deucethemoose]

Base 2012 4dr GTI with DSG would be my compromise on kid/storage space, automatic, and still fun to drive with plenty aftermarket support for the enthusiast.

[Sigh-on-Rice]

I have FR-S and my wife has Prius V Three.
They're both under $30k.

[hotmetal]

Also considering a WRX because of fun/practicality of hatch, bonus of AWD in winter... But like the look of the FR-S better than WRX or the GTI (which I've also driven and liked...)

Concerned a bit about long term reliability and repair costs on the VWs.

Admittedly I have a huge Toyota bias. My family has had tons with great long term reliability, low cost of ownership, high resale and the cars still drive nice and everything works...

Hard to believe but we will likely replace the G6 with 140k on it before the Celica with over double the mileage.

[Primo86]

I had a black '05 Celica GT with a bunch of mods.. I loved it more then most love cars... thhe handling was amazing and the practically was also great- it was a looker too.

The Celica DNA changed over the years for the worst unfortunately however.. it went from all-trac and Supras to front-wheel-drive and under powered. The FR-S is exactly what the Celica would be today iif they still made it and brought it back to its motorsport roots.

The FR-S is small... it even surprised me. Its an amazing car in many ways.. sadly it doesn't do much for a family or people who need a lot of room....the car was not designed for both (thankfully in my opinion.)

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Celicadude]

I'm having the same problem. I love my gts too much. I might just keep it since its paid off and buy the brz in addition too it. My wife will think im crazy though.

[Saber_TRD]

I've decided I can't give up my '03 Celica GT-S TRD for an FR-S, at least not as they are now. Aside from my stubborn "must be Toyota branding", I see the FR-S as a car that is on par with my now almost 10 year old Celica and I expect more advancements than that after 10 years.

The interior and features are lacking on the FR-S compared to the Celica but from what I hear, the handling on the FR-S is better, plus rear wheel drive > front.

They have similar power to weight ratios.

Even without the hatch, from what I've seen the FR-S can hold a lot of stuff with the seats down in that trunk.

For me though, I see it as a lateral move, some things getting better while others get worse. I personally won't pull the trigger until I see a definitive upgrade. If the Toyota GT 86 Limited were available in N.A. I'd have been first in line to get one. Seriously, I canceled my "pre-order" (I started the list of "those who are interested" at my local dealership, before they would take down payments.) but the second I found out it was a Scion and no Toyota version in N.A. I had myself removed. But that was my brand loyalty speaking, I didn't know features then. I do now and I'm glad I still canceled out.

[Septic]

Welcome to the forums hotmetal.

I bought my Celica GT new in May 2001 - one week after graduating college. Eleven years and just over 188,000 miles later - I will be trading it in for the FR-S. It will be hard to part with it since it still runs and looks great. Decided that I would get the FRS now, and by the time it is paid off, wife will probably be ready for a new SUV since it gets a lot more abuse (kids and driving on the beach during the summers).

One possibility concerning your situation (IMHO) - get rid of the G6 for either the Camry or RAV4. Depending on your family situation in the future, maybe the time your Celica is unreliable, the kids may be old enough to be in front facing seats and more options / resolved intro year defects for the FRS.

Just curious, any reason your future wife is looking at RAV4 versus Camry? Does she 4WD? Styling? Gas consumption a consideration? Regardless - can't go wrong with a Toyota.

Best of luck in your search

[michaelahess]

I had a 2001 GT Carbon Blue, this is not nearly as versitile. I have two children, 6 and 9, they can get in and out fairly well, but it's not an every day sorta thing. That's why I have my Sentra still. If I had to choose between the Celi and the BRZ/FRS, I'd stick with the Celi, even though I wouldn't like that idea as much.

I'd just ditch the G6 for the FRS, then get a RAV4 for winter, brother in law has one and loves it. I assume the Celi is well beyond paid off, so trading it in would be a complete waste of a good car IMHO.

[moniz]

Originally Posted by hotmetal

Concerned a bit about long term reliability and repair costs on the VWs.

.

And right you should be concerned with the VW's if you're a drive-it-till-it-dies person like me. Leased a GTI DSG back in 2007. Loved the way it drove(it's no FR-S though that's for sure). It was fine for the life of the lease, but long term, following all the GTI forum news and TSB that were coming out since that generation had been for sale in Europe since late 2004, I'm glad I leased and got out since I was considering buying it out. The cam follower issue alone that some people were experiencing and VW's lackluster response pretty much swore me off VW for life. When they go, they go and boy do they cost to repair, with very little goodwill from VW.

[kappaknight]

Originally Posted by Saber_TRD

For me though, I see it as a lateral move, some things getting better while others get worse. I personally won't pull the trigger until I see a definitive upgrade. If the Toyota GT 86 Limited were available in N.A. I'd have been first in line to get one. Seriously, I canceled my "pre-order" (I started the list of "those who are interested" at my local dealership, before they would take down payments.) but the second I found out it was a Scion and no Toyota version in N.A. I had myself removed. But that was my brand loyalty speaking, I didn't know features then. I do now and I'm glad I still canceled out.

I don't mean for this to come as a flame, but that's a pretty ______ POV. It's one thing to choose Toyota over VW or BMW as your preference but to omit yourself from having fun because Toyota decides to ship this under a different badge just doesn't make sense to me. If I had my eye on a hot chick, I certainly wouldn't lose interest overnight if she dyed her hair a different but still sexy color.

The two companies teamed up to make something better than both can do alone and in the end, you'd still be filling Toyota's pockets with cash. I just don't get how this equals brand loyalty.

[hotmetal]

Originally Posted by michaelahess

I had a 2001 GT Carbon Blue, this is not nearly as versitile. I have two children, 6 and 9, they can get in and out fairly well, but it's not an every day sorta thing. That's why I have my Sentra still. If I had to choose between the Celi and the BRZ/FRS, I'd stick with the Celi, even though I wouldn't like that idea as much.

I'd just ditch the G6 for the FRS, then get a RAV4 for winter, brother in law has one and loves it. I assume the Celi is well beyond paid off, so trading it in would be a complete waste of a good car IMHO.

The Celi has been paid off for 8 years. Any payment is gonna suck hahaha.

To address the Rav4 comments vs. Camry to accompany an FRS, I'm leaning that way primarily for storage and versatility.. Hockey gear, dog, strollers etc. all fit better in a Rav than a Camry. The 4 cyl Rav gets decent mileage and has enough power.... Plus 4WD in winter is a nice bonus.

I'm also thinking of keeping the Celica even if we get a pair of new vehicles, use it as winter beater etc. but we have a 2 car garage and it seems silly to own 3 cars knowing one of them is outside and in the way or facing the elements. Hmmmm.

[denverizzles]

Originally Posted by Saber_TRD

I've decided I can't give up my '03 Celica GT-S TRD for an FR-S, at least not as they are now. Aside from my stubborn "must be Toyota branding", I see the FR-S as a car that is on par with my now almost 10 year old Celica and I expect more advancements than that after 10 years.

The interior and features are lacking on the FR-S compared to the Celica but from what I hear, the handling on the FR-S is better, plus rear wheel drive > front.

They have similar power to weight ratios.

Even without the hatch, from what I've seen the FR-S can hold a lot of stuff with the seats down in that trunk.

For me though, I see it as a lateral move, some things getting better while others get worse. I personally won't pull the trigger until I see a definitive upgrade. If the Toyota GT 86 Limited were available in N.A. I'd have been first in line to get one. Seriously, I canceled my "pre-order" (I started the list of "those who are interested" at my local dealership, before they would take down payments.) but the second I found out it was a Scion and no Toyota version in N.A. I had myself removed. But that was my brand loyalty speaking, I didn't know features then. I do now and I'm glad I still canceled out.

I'm not really sure you giving an apples to apples comparison. The celica is obviously FWD and the FR-S is RWD. The attributes and the reason why it was built are two different beings and genres. The celica was not built to drift or be a track car. It was meant to be a good looking sports cars. When the celica was made it was and still is a great car, but it wasn't built the same way the FR-S was built. Now this is DEFINITELY not a flame to the celica as many of my friends owned and still own one and it's a wonderful car, but as i said i don't believe it's an apples to apples comparison.

You only say that you expect more advancements in 10 years? i'm not sure what you were expecting? for example, lets look at the BMW m3. the late 90's M3 had roughly 240ish hp with a 3.2 inline 6 (if i remember), the next model had 330hp with a 3.2 inline 6 with 330hp, the current model pushes over 450 with a 4.0 v8.

You don't see much engine improvement aside from a bigger engine. You see technology improvements with the e36 to e92 models because of the hp difference, but how many stock cars do you know, pushes more than 100hp per liter of displacement?

So my question to you is what were you expecting from a car that was built to be light weight, controllable, and have a racing spirit?

again, the celica is an awesome car lol...it was my first car ever (albeit it was a 1990) (god bless it's soul)