Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This is the best car you can get when it comes to affordability. Whether you need a daily driver, commuter, or a weekend race car, this car is perfect for you. I currently own 4 Tercels, ranging in years from 1992 to 1996 and I love all of them. Other than basic maintenance, I haven't had to do ANYTHING to ANY of them and one is now at the 250k mile mark. I use one for racing (total cost less than $5k and it's FUN to drive) and I use the rest for driving around and having fun.

Faults:

Head was replaced at 200,000 km due to a few sticky valves.

Replaced converter and flex pipe, but still have problems with exhaust system.

Rocker panels rusted out.

General Comments:

This car has been nothing, but excellent. I bought this car from a friend almost two years ago, and it had 364,000km on it and I have put on another 20,000. I had to do some body work to basically re-construct the rocker panels. I also had to sure-up the frame channels on the front end. The car is getting to the point where it runs a little hot (a needle's width above half heat) and it burns a bit more oil when it's hot. I think the clutch is the original, but it shows; it tends to slip or shudder when it is wet out.

This car has done very well for it's age and the amount of kilometers on it. At 385,000 km and 15 years of age the little engine still sings and everything in this car works.

Faults:

Failed inspection soon after I bought it. Replaced entire exhaust system as it was rusted out. Barely passed inspection. Started burning oil shortly thereafter- badly. Badly, as in plumes of blue smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe whenever I was idling or stuck in traffic. A lot of smoke- big blue stinky clouds. I would slink down in my seat whenever I was stopped at a light and pray for the light to change quickly.

General Comments:

I purchased this car used in 2004 to have a dependable little city car. I opted for a Toyota due to the reputation for longevity and reliability, as all of these raving reviews would attest to. The previous owner was pretty up on maintainence. Long story short, after dumping $800 to get the thing to pass inspection the burning oil situation forced me to drop this car as soon as the title arrived in the mail. I remember sitting in the passenger seat as a prospective buyer test drove it when some guy on the sidewalk screamed out "Hey, whaddaya have a fire back there?!"

During the process I did some digging and found that this era Tercel has a lot of issues with the engine smoking. My bad for not doing my super-thorough research, I suppose.

It ran strong, though. Pity, because I'm sure that it could have held up for a longer period of time.

Faults:

Wear out parts have worn out.

General Comments:

This car is amazing. We bought it as a gas saver and now drive it as a primary car(it saves quite a bit). Our past cars have had more problems in less time that the Toyota Tercel. Go get one of these cars, you will save a ton in gas over most other 4-cyl American cars. Not to mention it runs with no problems every single day we use it.