14th Mar 2007, 09:35
I just traded in my '84 Tercel hatchback a couple days ago, for a 2007 Honda Fit, and reading how great these little cars are makes me sad already. It broke down in January, dead on the side of the highway, and I didn't want to get it fixed, but I did, and as I kept driving it I forgot I wanted a new car, but then I bought the new Honda, and now I'm wondering if I made the right decision.
My Tercel only had 164,900 miles on it. I know the head gasket leaked oil, and Firestone said it needed new axles, but the suspension was replaced a couple years ago, and it was on its third alternator and regulator, fifth or sixth battery, the a/c was dead, and the stereo too (but that could easily be repaired). I know it still had a lot of life left in it and now it is going to be scrapped by the Honda dealer. Oh well, right? :)
14th Mar 2007, 16:15
09:35, Why didn't you just keep the Tercel and buy the Fit straight up? They surely couldn't have given you enough on trade-in to make it worth giving it away. Go back, give them $200, get your Tercel back, and have both cars! I had a '93 Tercel that I sold, and I miss that car far more than any other I've ever traded or sold. Oh, well, maybe it's not practical to have two cars sitting there, right?
19th Mar 2007, 08:07
Right, it's not practical to have two cars sitting around. I'd have to pay insurance and registration/tax on both. Plus, I am no mechanic, so I couldn't fix what needed to be fixed, nor could I afford to have it fixed, especially now that I have a car payment. The dealer gave me $500 for it, which seemed like a very good deal at the time. I know blue book is considerably less, yes? I'm happy with my new car, but I'll always miss the old Tercel.
2nd Oct 2009, 14:49
I have a 1984 Toyota Tercel that has a miss at idle, and between idle and 1200 rpm. After that it runs great. I changed the fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, and every time I leave in the morning or after work, I go about half-mile and it will miss and flutter for about 10 seconds, then it comes out of it and runs great.
16th Jun 2005, 20:41
I have an '84 Tercel Hatchback and I will try the higher grade fuel as the car does idle a little rough. I think that it has something to do with the carburetor adjustment. When idling the car sometimes chokes and dies. I replaced the wires, plugs rotor and distributor cap, but this did not solve the problem. It is otherwise a really good vehicle. Wonder if anyone else has gone through the same situation?