Faults:

Rust, mostly under exterior plastic trim, and on lower corners of side panels. (Plastic trim was a mistake)

Front quarter panels filling with debris (e.g. leaves) falling in from openings at the base of windshield - it is hard to remove this debris.

Air heater control lever got stuck and broke.

Most major parts replaced were the clutch master cylinder at 150,000 and a rusty oil pan.

Just normal old car stuff.

General Comments:

Was a very zippy highway car at 130,000 miles, but lost most of its zip soon after.

Still a tight runner. Doesn't use much oil. Has enough speed and power to comfortably compete with urban traffic. 30-40 mpg, depending on usage.

A lot of room in a small car - I'll never understand why hatchbacks went out of fashion.

Faults:

The car was burning a ton of oil when I first got it. I had to replace the entire engine beacause it was cheaper that way, it only cost me 180 dollars. After the easy engine swap it ran perfect and still is to this day. This car is the most dependable car I have ever owned. Nothing has since broken or needed replacement except the usual scheduled parts.

General Comments:

This car is the 4 door sedan and not the GT-S hatch version. It is meant for a family on a budget. It has average handling and good power. I would say if you are looking for the ultimate beater this one is hands down "THE" car to get. Just to let you know how dependable this car is, my mother-in-law has one also and it has 290,000 miles on it. She has the original engine and tranny. She hasn't changed her oil in 7 months. Her shocks have been dead for 2 years. The car runs absolutely great! I think the car will run up to 450k miles if everything on her car gets tuned up.

Faults:

There is very bad rust on bottoms of doors and around wheel holes. It can no longer pass Massachusetts safety standards.

I kept all my repair records.

The total repairs cost was $13019 - about 10 cents per mile.

The worst year was 1999 as the car passed the 200K milestone. Major overhaul was needed ($3900) including all brake components, wheel bearings, rebuilt differential, etc.

General Comments:

Purchased for $4000!.

The seller told me that the price was so low because no one else would touch it because of the high mileage!!

The car had every possible option and was wonderfully maintained. The father of the seller owned a Toyota dealership.

It was fun to drive. Up there with my first car, a 1962 Triumph TR3. But the GT-S was warm in the winter.

I got 130K miles over 10 years. and every one was a pleasure. It was such a responsive car. Very adequate power and torque.

Probably I should have junked the car at that point rather than investing more money.

But I loved it and felt that it deserved another chance at life since I was only driving it about 6K miles per year.

I am very sad to see it go.