Sheesh, the last thing in the world I need right now is another 1980's project car. So why do I have a saved eBay search for the weirdo-classic Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon? It looks so tame now, but I remember how freaky looking this thing was in the mid-80's. But with the Audi Quattro and all, 4WD cars were the wave of the future back then.
If these things ever turn up on eBay--and they're rare, probably not worth the listing fee and hassle--they're usually beat to hell. Japanese tin economy cars were not built to last 20 years. But somehow, this one has been living with a kindly old lady somewhere, who only drove it to the hairdressers on Saturdays. Or something. It's got just 37,000 miles on it. It's cheap, close by [in DC/Virginia somewhere] and really tempting.
Fortunately, the high-strung eBay seller's excessive rules, conditions, and add-on fees will save me from an impulse purchase. You may be more susceptible, though. Good luck.
1987 Toyota Tercel 37,000 Miles!!!! currently $2,025, auction ends May 20 [ebaymotors]
Wow!!! It's up to $2,500.00 now...
Had 3 of these in the family not including the Taxi my mom drove for a while as well. All of those were white my dads 83-SR5 from new, 84/85-DLX the Taxi, 86-DLX replaced the 83 after 300k miles, 87-SR5 bought with 150k on it for less than this one's going for on e-bay at the moment... Oh it was my 1st car :-}!!!
Hey I had one of those. Hated to give it up, but it got totalled by some jerk who couldn't slow down in a construction zone. It was allright, really, and got good mileage. I do miss stickshifts like that one had.
I vaguely remember riding in one of these driven by a friend's mom. IIRC, the dashboard had an incline indicator that showed how steeply it was going up or down a hill. A crucial piece of information when shuttling the kids to soccer practice in Iowa.
Ahh...
The "incline indicator" only my dads 83 had that. Since it was the SR5 it also had the upgraded seats. With these handles like the grab handles above the doors. So we would very unwisely loosen our seat-belts until we could sit on the edge of the seat & beg for my dad to put on the Tippies!!!
Ouch!!! Finished at $4,175.00+$150L&H...
That's after the seller eliminated a bidder that had no rating & didn't answer his e-mail towards the end who had a maximum bid set to $6,500.00... Makes me wonder if he made that bid himself. To keep the price moving steadily up & give confidence to the winning bidder. That his granny garaged sob story was the truth & not the rolled back mileage. That can be seen in the misaligned Odometer!!!
[huh, interesting. the guy I bought my MB from in 2001 shill bid on us, but I was the only bidder left at the end, so it only jumped $100. And it was $3000 less than what I'd offered him to end the auction early, Also, I reported him after I got the title and the car, so the karma worked out. -ed.]
i actually have this exact same car! same color and everything! All original parts! No defects and everything works! Its one of the rare cars in the world and goes for $6-8 thousand in car auctions!
Currently selling for $3,000 for a street buyer!
email: lilboz08@att.net