Hello everyone. I recently started looking at the Facebook marketplace for a used car. I came across a private owner selling a 2003 Toyota Celica GT with 186K prices at $2,000. In the pictures the seller posted, you can see the check engine light on. I haven't contacted the seller about the car yet. I'm just wondering if it's even worth buying a Celica with that mileage. Thank you for your time and advice.
I'm just wondering if it's even worth buying a Celica with that mileage.
In the pictures the seller posted, you can see the check engine light on.
Cool name, Thrust.
Fool name, Creud.
The only way to know if it is worth buying is to see the car, test drive it and take it to a qualified mechanic to have a pre-purchase inspection performed. The check engine light could be something simple like an O2 sensor or it could be something something major, or it could be showing because the seller turned the key in the ignition switch in order to illuminate the odometer.
Even then, with that high mileage you would need to know if the car has been properly maintained according the Toyota recommended maintenance schedule, and that may be difficult to determine/verify on a 20 year old car. Has the oil and filter been changed every 5,000 miles using the correct oil and filter, has the transmission been properly serviced, timing belt, spark plugs, air filter changes, coolant flushes, etc.
I am not a mechanic, but as a consumer with 51 years experience of driving, purchasing and maintaining cars my initial thought regarding any "sports" car is; how was it driven? Typically someone buys a car like a Celica GT to race around in which usually involves frequent high engine revs which wears the engine and transmission more quickly.
But if properly maintained and driven, it may be a decent car for $2,000.
Facetube marketplace is full of scammers, you must be cautious. Even though the car is 20 years old and has relatively high mileage the asking price is suspiciously low for current market conditions. It might be OK or it might be a disaster needing thousands of dollars poured into it. It might even be stolen or have a salvage title. If you decide to check it out be sure to have a qualified mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection and make sure the title is clean and the name on it matches the driver's license of the seller. It's as important for the paperwork to be in good condition as the car itself.
https://www.automoblog.net/vehicle-title-fraud/
https://www.aura.com/learn/car-title-scams
