Faults:

Engine began to deteriorate as the oil had sludged up from missing a service interval. Second hand reconditioned engine was bought and fitted.

Gearbox began slipping in first and second at approx 150000 k's, then shortly after gave up and wouldn't drive in forward at all. A second hand gearbox from a wrecker was bought and fitted.

Door trim fittings have began to peel off, but are an easy fix.

The universal joints don't like too much torque when pulling away from a stop sign, turning left or right.

Seat lacks support and might not go back far enough, depending on the driver's height.

General Comments:

Overall this is an extremely reliable and capable car given its purpose - to take you from A to B.

Try to get enthusiastic or pretend you're in a Supra, and things might start to break.

The engine is built for torque, and doesn't rev high for a four cylinder - approx 5600 rpm in the auto.

However this means when driven normally around town, and even on the highway, it feels stronger than a car like this should.

It's only when you try to get enthusiastic that the engine feels soft.

The suspension and chassis layout was good in the day, and combined with the "big bore" four banger, it will actually blow off most new runabouts with 1.6's - especially at the lights.

If you want a cheap old car that won't cost heaps, all you need to remember is change the oils and go easy on the gearbox; the rest is bulletproof. Everything from the cigarette lighter to the cruise control should still work in this car.

Faults:

The rear main seal and valve cover gaskets had dried out and were leaking.

The radiator was leaking.

Two motor mounts needed to be replaced.

Outside driver's side door handle broke off.

General Comments:

This car drives like new with 163,000 miles on it.

It is fun to drive, and has all the power I need with the 6 cylinder engine.

Faults:

Head gasket blew at 530,000km, as well as the thermostat.

General Comments:

This car seems like a normal car all around. But reliability is where this car is amazing. My Father gave it to me at 500,000km. Since then all my dad has done was regular oil changes, timing belt and water pump, tires. He was the first owner. Other than that, absolutely nothing went wrong with it. Even when I drove it till 530,000km when the head gasket blew, I was still able to drive around town with no issues.

V6 was more than enough power, even with a motor with such high mileage. Did 130km/hr easily on the highway. The car was smooth.

Faults:

Regular wear and tear.

Changed water pump and timing belt at 60 to 80 K, changed oil regularly at 3 to K, changed brakes when needed.

Changed struts and changed engine mount bolts

Need to change head gasket this month (first time) and will probably go for another 100 k.

Transmission still smooth and never changed!

General Comments:

As a single mom and heavy commuter, it was my best purchase ever! Took great care of it, for the basics. Looks spotless, in-spite of kids and now grand-kids.

I have always commuted 100 miles + per day, and visit my grandchildren on the week-end, if I don't pick them up (another 130 miles minimum). Has turned into a little old lady's car, but so what?

My other car is a 1981 Mercedes 240 D running on veggie oil!

Such a delight because of a LOW maintenance record and big savings.

Faults:

This is a friends car, it was given to her by her uncle who took very good care of his cars and this was one of them. Toyota's last forever and this car is no exception to that rule. This car is still running, with a list of things that went wrong with it.

When she first got her license, we went for a drive in it, it drove very smooth for a car with so many miles on it. We cleaned the hell out of it, being so excited that she got the car. That night it rained and we had discovered that the sunroof doesn't close all the way... enough said.

No big deal though, they got that fixed and onto the next problem; the engine over heated because there was a crack in the radiator, they then got that problem taken care of.

One day, we were on our way to school when she was driving around a corner and we both noticed that the car was accelerating by itself, which was extremely scary... By the time we noticed we were going about 60 MPH and we shifted the car into neutral and it just revved until we could come to a stop and cut off the car. This was a problem no mechanic could figure out... That was one of the last time she took that car out because every time she did it would keep happening.

General Comments:

...I think I've said enough.