Faults:

A/C coolant pipe wore through from rubbing on underside of bonnet.

Transmission bands failed at approx 160000k.

General Comments:

This car was the best car I have ever had and I've owned far more expensive and prestigious makes.

It had terrific power/weight ratio, very quick 5M engine, excellent handling, comfortable and beautifully built.

Despite the trans. failure it cost me very little over the years I owned it and started first go every time.

Mine must have been one of the very first MX 62 in Australia (plated 1/81).

Sadly it was smashed to pieces in a hail storm that hit Sydney in the early nineties (with me in it),but it was sold locally and went on to clock up an incredible mileage despite it's battering

Above all, I loved the black rubber bumpers which forgave your parking mistakes and protected the car from others.

Faults:

1993: When I bought the car, the tank-meter wasn't working. Typical for this car - and I never bothered to do anything with it. In the 9 years I owned it, I only ran out of diesel once (but I had an "emergency" can with 5 liters of diesel in the trunk, so...)

1996: I changed the engine from the original 2.2liters to a newer 2.4liters after 330.000km because of high oil consumption (see below).

1997: I welded some rust to make the car last longer. Around the wheels and in the bottom of the trunk.

2001: I changed the ball bearings on one of the wheels.

General Comments:

Two big faults with this car:

1. The original 2.2 diesel engine lasts only 2-300'km. A few years later Toyota made the famous (at least in Norway) 2.4 diesel engine, an engine that lasts "forever". The good thing : the 2.4 is practically bolt-on, so changing the engine is relatively easy.

2. Rust! You get it around the wheels, in the trunk and on the doors.

I never changed any springs or dampers, so driving a bending road could make you seasick. The top speed was less between 150-160km/t, but going faster than 120km/t felt like a gamble with ones life.

Winter : The rear is a bit light, so in the winter it improves a lot if you put a sand bag in the trunk (common to do in Norway). The engine starts immediately even when temperature drops down to -30 Celsius (it has two batteries).

The driving position was good as it gave good leg support and good view in all directions. But the seats were a bit uncomfortable, as I would feel exhausted after riding the 500km home to my parents house.

These European model had hardly any electrical stuff that could fail, no aircondition, no electrical adjustable windows/seats/mirrors/etc.

Regular maintenance : oil change, timing belt, breaks.

I never changed : clutch, springs, dampers, etc.

The Cressida was my first car and I had it for 9years, riding it 138000km. I gave 29000Nkr for it when I bought it and got 5000Nkr when I sold it this year (2002). In those years it has been to the garage only once. By Norwegian standards I have had the cheapest cars possible.