Hi everyone,
I enjoy looking at old toyota markets and researching prices. Especially for iconic cars like the AE86, for example, or the MR2. These cars, or similar ones, have had a wide variety of model years.
What I’m wondering is, if you buy one of these, are maintenance costs more like you’re taking care of an exotic car, or more like a typical recent Toyota? As in for example, is it cheaper to maintain and keep an AE86, or a 2014 Corolla?
Are there any models or model years to avoid because parts are no longer available easily? Anything else to know about owning these things in terms of after-purchase costs?
I have two old Toyotas, 2005 Sequoia and a 2005 Tundra. I’ve had to replace the back driver’s side wheel bearing twice in the Sequoia over the past 10 years. I replaced the Tundra’s same side, same wheel about 5 years ago. The Tundra just had a timing belt service because the water pump was bad and if you have to replace the water pump you might as well do the timing belt service since it’s timing belt driven. The Sequoia has about 225k miles and is the family vacation car…any place, any time…she’s ready to roll! Even after sitting weeks to months in the driveway, we drive other cars daily, it’s always ready!
So if the vehicle has had regular maintenance I’d say less expensive. Really if you don’t count the regular service I’ve only spent $2800 over 17 years and that was in wheel bearing repairs. I still haven’t learned why that same bearing on both failed, began roaring. I think the first bearing on the Sequoia was not properly installed because it “failed” again about 5 years later. The same shop did the Tundra’s bearing too and it’s been in 5 years exactly. No issues so far. I don’t think Toyota builds cars like they use to!
but the thing is - an AE86 might be just as reliable as it was back then (whether “reliable” is by toyota’s standards back then, or contemporary manufacturers back then, or the toyotas of today) - but you still have to consider the decades of time acting on every single/component/service, and what you consider to be “reasonable” maintenance
“maintaining” an AE86 might mean having to replace rubber/polymer seals, bushings, balls, etc that will dry out/crack/disintegrate over time, which is reasonable given the age
it could also mean having to get panels of the car (or the whole thing) repainted to return it to its original color, which costs $$$, but also reasonable, given the skilled labor & time + cost of high quality paint
you might not like interior trim pieces having cracks, worn down, wrinkled, faded, turned sticky, etc - so you might have to find someone who does restoration on those
thats assuming the previous owner did their part in maintaining the car - not letting it sit for too long, keeping it garaged, keeping intervals, etc
just the other day, i saw a gorgeous AE86 (either paint restored or detailed) driving by - it mustve taken an incredible amt of time and/or $$ to get it to look that good - the car looked like it came off the production line yesterday, and the owner just had it professionally detailed