Should I buy a Celica?

[Shannon]

Hello, I am new to the forum and I am currently in a delima. I am car shopping and I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. My cars of interest are either a 02 Celica GT-S or a 02 WRX. What I am looking at in the cars is the styling and the power ques. The Celica (being a 2 door) is most appealing becuase I have friends who like to pile in "my" car 99.9999999 percent of the time :D and the WRX has 4 doors and seats 4, better of an excuase to say "lets take Shannon's WRX" :( OK, now I know the WRX has more power and AWD and does the 1/4 mile in the 14's that is appealing to me also... So which would you rather have in my situation? The 2 door Celica with no rear leg room and only one person able to ride with me, or turbo, AWD, family sedan... and face having to tote my friends around town?

Also about Celica's, how reliable are they? Tell me everything about these cars, whats good... whats bad... I need to know the truth (im buying at the end of the month)
Do any of you have any regrets with buying this car? Any complaints with the interior, exterior, engine, gas milage, etc?

And how much should a GT-S w/ Leather cost?

Thanks and I hope to be a real part of the forum soon...

[po9i]

i got the celica for it's looks and the fact that i don't have to be the designated driver, it's also pretty quick, and i have no major problems at all

[HilfigerCelica]

The Celica is a great car. It looks good and handles w/ the best of them. If you need to tote people around all the time, you might wanna reconsider the Celica. The Celica is meant for 2 people tops. If you put four people in a Celica it's going to be very slow due to the fact that it lacks low end torque.

Here are some commom problems w/ the Celica:
misshifts and syncros in the 6speed
interior scrathes easily ( I baby my car so I wouldn't know)
the panel inside the sunroof gets dirty
lack of aftermarket in the forced induction dept.
belt tensioner squeaks in humid weather
CD player skips ( got replaced under warranty)

That's all the common problems that I can think of right now.

As far as a WRX, I haven't driven one, but from reading posts and articles, they are cool w/ the exception of the aethetics of the car. With about $3K you can make a WRX do 13s if you're a good driver. The interior doesn't look as good, but like you said the it's roomier than a Celica. Which will help a lot when you drive friends around, which may be a good or bad thing. Have you considered waiting till the Evo VII comes out? It'll be about the same price as the WRX. Hope that helps.

[ZIGGY GTS]

Hilfiger has some nice comments...one thing i do want to add is that if u get a WRX and dont want to tote your friends around, just throw a roll cage and some race harnesses back there, and i guarrantee they wont wanna pile into it...LOL =)

[celicadriver01]

First off, I have a GTS and I love it! I have not had any problems in 8 months. Yeah people misshift in the 6-speed (which I have) but if you know what your doing and pay attention its no big problem. Personally, I think the WRX styling sucks a$$!!! I just spent 5 years in Japan and saw WRX's and EVO's (VI &VII) all the time and they look much better than the one they sell here. Plus the EVO VII kicks butt. Anyway, I love the handeling and the kick from VVTLi in the Celica.

[cam_n_scott]

I have a gts 6 spd and have not had any problems. I replaced the stock shifter with the TRD short shifter, but the stock one was fine. I think that a lot of the mis-shift problems are due to carelessness, because its not really that hard to hit the right gates (I have never had a problem anyway). I dont like the look of the WRX as much, and I hate that they discontinued the 2 door version, but I have seen some body kits that make the car look completely different. Turbo is always nice and will be upgrade-friendly, and if you live somewhere cold AWD will be great in the winter. More than once I have had to park my Celi across the street and hoof it up to my apt complex cause it doesnt do hills in the snow.

So take a test drive and see what you like best. I have yet to ride in a car that handles quite like the Celica, and thats why I love it so much. Everyone is different though...

[Arghman]

I was deciding between the same two cars when i was about to decide, but the celica was a bundle cheaper at that point and also i was worried that it was the WRX's first year, and there are always small problems...but anyways..
I love my celica, it's fun in the corner, it's quick when you need it to be and it still gets awesome mileage. The styling is top notch and I haven't had any problems at all mechanically. EVerything works the way it should and better. When I need to, I can fit 5 people in the car, but of course the girls in the back arent that big :P The storage is good too !
As for the WRX, i'm sure you could say tyhe same things, but i guess it just depends on how far you want to go with the mods and tsuff, cuz undoubtedly the WRX has way more potential. Hope this helps!

[RedNOSceli]

Originally posted by HilfigerCelica

Here are some commom problems w/ the Celica:
misshifts and syncros in the 6speed
interior scrathes easily ( I baby my car so I wouldn't know)
the panel inside the sunroof gets dirty
lack of aftermarket in the forced induction dept.
belt tensioner squeaks in humid weather
CD player skips ( got replaced under warranty)



The first 3 are user error..If you don't grind gears, you're not going to have shot syncros. Mis-shifting is all driver error. If you stick the car in the wrong gear, how is the the cars fault?

As far as interior, don't go messing around in your car with screwdrivers and cell phone clips hanging out of you pocket and there's no problem.

The Sun roof panel does get dirty, I have no clue why...just from opening and closing...but every old car that has a sun roof panel looks dirty anyway..beside, it's usually open, so I don't see the problem.

As far as the squeaky belt, I havent had an issue, nor anyone I know in Phx, and it's been raining non-stop for 2days.

The factory radio Sucks as all other factory radio's suck and you'll want to hock it anyway and get a real system.

I love my Celi!!

[Celicapexi]

I will sell you mine for 25,000 you know you want it.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid27/p037bf1a615eb8f3655fe475ec0e94c3a/fe2737f8.jpg

[Shannon]

Well I think I have made up my mind... Yes I'll admitt that the Celica is very nice, but I live in Virginia and the winters here call for a car that can go... so I think I might decide on the WRX, so i can get a turbo and AWD in the same package. Also my father works for Norfolk Southern and he can get a discount on Subaru cars (also Ford, Chevy, and some others), he was told aprox 4000 dollars off!!!

Well I'll let you all know soon... and thanks for your thoughts and opinions


Shannon

[gts24]

I used to come on here and say blah blah about driver error. I have never ever ever ever mis-shifted my Celica. My syncrho's are going out. I used to be the guy who would sit and blame user error and all that. But it is happening to me. I have never ever owned an automatic car. EVER. and I have never owned a Toyota that this has happened in. Say what you want. But everyone, please dont' diss on people having synchro issues that do know how to drive. I double clutch - rev match religiously and now all of a sudden within the last 2 days my 3rd gear is grinding on downshift. AT 6K REV MATCH. that is insane. PLEASE do not get me wrong i love my celica, but when I spent this much money on a car and it betrays me like this,,, uhg it just sucks. :(

[Elik]

another WRX to whoop:)
i have a gt
but still no regrets what so ever
since i fu(king comuting to work 100 miles both ways
the gas usage it the bomb, do not think i can get it with wrx
but it is ur money and ur decision
but u will regret getting wrx eventually when i get my turbo and will pass ya:);)

[Backroads]

I got the GTS even though I can get WRX's, and options,at cost. The WRX is an impressive car, I saw one place 8th at an SCCA rally this year. The car was STOCK! And it beat many group N and other modified cars, inlcuding Rhys Millen's EVO.
I don't think it does much better in snow than a GTS with a LSD and really good tires. Really, stopping well on ice and snow is the important thing. You'd be suprised how the GTS can do if stock with an LSD.
That said, I think it's important to really be in tune with exactly what the Celi is before buying one. I know I am saying this in a world where 80% of the car buying decision, statistically, is for it's looks. The Celica is off the Corrola platform and is small and light. IT's really well tuned and it sure makes getting to 70 fun. For me, it's not just how a car drives fast, but how it drives at all speeds.
In my view many people don't understand these subtleties and just buy for performance and looks per dollar.
That's just my 2 cents and I'm sure you'll love your new WRX for what it offers.

'01 GTS 6sp.

[SouluoS]

Shannon,

I guess you have to ask yourself what you want to have. A powerful family sedan ;) or a quick sports coupe. I bought the celica because I absolutely think it is one of the best looking cars on the road. I still do. Moreso I think it is shear fun to drive. I love driving even to the store just because the Celica is a blast to drive. Definitely a driver's car. I honestly think the WRX is ugly. Granted it has 4 doors and legroom. I have driven 3 around in the celica but being 6'4 I slide the drivers seat all the way back which makes taking 4 anywhere a mute point. So do you want to be a chauffeur (is that the spelling?) or do you want to be a driver. Don't get me wrong I am not knocking the WRX and I would definitely enjoy driving one. But when I look out the window of Taco bell or wherever I happen to be I still enjoy looking at my car.

SouluoS

Oh yeah its very reliable IMHO

[Brett]

Synchro and transmission was shot at 23k miles, just got my car back, after they put a remanufactured transmission in and the damn transmission housing cracked last night!! 2 weeks old.....Leaking oil down the street, lovly! ::sigh:: needs a new transmission, should be put in this week. I get one more problem with this car and its gone...

Honeslty I think its a 2000 model Transmission defect. Lets face it.. its too weak, it cant handle high revs. :mad:

[Supralicious]

Well Shannon, here's the best advice you're gonna hear all day: It doesn't really matter what you get because in a few years you'll probably just trade the car in anyway and you'll end up in the same predicament you're in right now; deciding what car you should get. A few years down the line you'll be asking yourself, "Hmmm, should I get the Nissan 350Z, the Skyline, the Mazda RX-8, or perhaps the new Supra?"