Why Toyota should make everything!
Back in December 2002, I bought a 1994 (M) Toyota Carina E GLi automatic estate car for £1750.
It was a real bargain at the time, as apart from fairly high mileage (132,000), it was in great condition and all those miles, pretty much, were “up to temperature” motorway miles.
Since then I have serviced it myself – simply changing the oil, filters and from time to time the spark plugs and it’s now done 168,500 odd miles. At first there were a few problems, not with the car itself but with a cheap set of tyres fitted by the previous owner – after two explosive punctures I replaced the lot with a better known make.
So, since I bought the car, the only things that have gone wrong, excluding consumables, are:
- Water pump failure
- Front shock absorbers worn out
- Cracked front number plate
- One rear electric window mechanism broken
- Two CV joint boots split
- Sunroof leak
I reckon the total repair cost has been just over £1000 which equates to about £200 per annum! and today, apart from a CV boot (and that’s being fixed tomorrow) it passed it’s MOT again for the 6th time!
The Carina E GLi, whilst not the most exciting, is certainly the best car I have ever owned, thank you Toyota!
Filed under: Cars, Hardware, Techie
