Buying my first car - 80s and 90s easy to maintain, interesting to drive options.

[shahan]

Dear Experts,

I'm new here and would like to buy a car. Which I prefer lancer box or trad sunny. Please advise me to buy one of these due to my budget is 1.2M maximum 

What are the problems and concerns?

 

Thanks in advance 

Edited March 5 by iRage

[Twin Turbo]

Hi  and welcome to AL.

Great choice of car,.. 

Just makesure the car has working A/c.

 

TT.

[shahan]

@Twin TurboThanks can you please assist me which I asked here regard to both cars and what about Ae81?

[shahan]

@Twin TurboThanks can you please assist me which I asked here regard to both cars and what about Ae81?

[shahan]

@iRage Could you please assist me to buy lancer box, Trad sunny or Ae81?

Probs and concerns?

[matroska]

18 hours ago, shahan said:

my budget is 1.2M maximum 

First off if this is your budget - you're likely looking at the lower end of the spectrum as far as Trad Sunny is concerned. Good condition Trad's are a bit above that range. But when it comes to Lancer you can buy a relatively good specimen for the budget. If you're looking for a more of a fun-to-drive car i'd say the Lancer, but the Trad will be a bit more grown up, more comfy and the more refined car overall. But a lot needs depends on how each car has been maintained. 

18 hours ago, shahan said:

What are the problems and concerns?

Both these cars are 35 (Trad) or 40 (Lancer) years old - so corrosion will be a huge concern. Pay very good attention to corrosion. Then interiors. Interiors are tough to sort out. Pay attention to steering in the Lancer- rack related issues are a bit common. I suggest you keep around 200,000 of your budget to sort out any issues. This could be simple things like worn out break pads etc, or a carb that's messed up, or a faulty transmission that can get messy. 

These cars were relatively bullet proof in their heyday - but now require a lot of TLC and close monitoring. 

 

Edited February 12 by matroska

[shahan]

Thanks a lot @matroska which is the best choice among lancer box, trad sunny and AE81? I am going for long time use as daily runner.

[matroska]

14 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks a lot @matroska which is the best choice among lancer box, trad sunny and AE81? I am going for long time use as daily runner.

Hi The AE81 is a good alternative to the above. They are not as common as the Lancers or Sunnies but prices are comparatively reasonable so you actually have some buffer to sort out any issues. Finding body parts are going to be slightly troublesome. The AE81 comes with a 1.5L 3A engine, the AE80 with a 1.3 2A. The EE80 -  comes with a 1.3 L 2E engine - which is a solid choice given that the 2E is a fairly good engine commonly used in many later versions such as corolla wagons (EE96), Starlets etc.

Edited February 13 by matroska

[shahan]

Thanks @matroska when buying what are the aspects to be look into ?

[matroska]

12 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks @matroska when buying what are the aspects to be look into ?

well the usual. Corrosion - floor boards, rocker panels, pillars, under the wheel well in the boot. Also something common in this era of cars - and probably a bit more prevalent in Toyota's like KE74s, EP71's is stuff getting lodged inside the fender panels and eventually corroding. Do a test drive observe steering wheel behaviour, shift and see if all gears get engaged properly. oil leaks, better if you can take a trusty mechanic with you before purchase would be good. Anyway if you're buying a 80's car you need to be on good terms with a trusty mechanic who has done his carburetor homework. Note that cosmetic parts like light lenses, interior bits like AC vents etc are difficult to find now for the AE81. So try to go for something that is as complete as possible. 

[iRage]

14 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks @matroska when buying what are the aspects to be look into ?

As @matroska mentioned these cars were prone to rust. On top of that the paint and paint tech/methods were not very good. All cars of the period are so. Given this, it is very very likely that these cars would have had some sort of tinkering for rust/accident/etc..and painting done up. Make sure that they have repaired these properly. There are a lot of cars of the period that look pretty nice but upon closer inspection you realise that they are sculptured in putty/filler/catloy.

If you get any of these cars with a carb..make sure that the carb has not been screwed up by a maka baas. 

Secondly....electronics...make sure they are not screwed up by a makabaas Cars of this period didnt have much fancy electronics but people loved to fix stereos and lights and stuff which resulted in wire harnesses getting screwed up. Also..after nearly 40 years the wires and connectors might have gotten spoilt. People who fixed them might have taken the cheap, easy way out by doing hack jobs.

[matroska]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

lights and stuff which resulted in wire harnesses getting screwed up.

Oh yes! One of my friends had a situation where his Tercel had the habit of switching it's light on in the middle of the night  

[shahan]

Thanks @matroska @iRage for the answers and guidance. 

May I know how the heating issues bceos I have seen some advertisement that saying long run vechile and no heating issues means? If so is that can be sorted? And how ? 

[iRage]

6 hours ago, shahan said:

May I know how the heating issues bceos I have seen some advertisement that saying long run vechile and no heating issues means? If so is that can be sorted? And how ? 

This is a general response and applies to any car...especially older ones. If and when not properly maintained and with time..the cooling system will lose efficiency and at times develop issues like rust in water lines, water hoses getting weak, radiator getting spoilt, thermostats going bad, etc.... With older cars this might be a bigger issue as until the late 90s or so we Sri Lankans had a habit of using plain water in the radiator (water + metal = not a good situation). So the cooling issues were more likely...and if things were really worst if the engine overheats it could have even gone to the extent of cracking the head, warping, etc...Also, when you look at vehicles like Corollas and Sunnys they were bought by people looking for a cheap run around. So...on one hand they were more likely to use water as a coolant or a bad quality coolant and if things went bad fix it using substandard parts.

[shahan]

Thanks @iRage for the clarification 👍 

[matroska]

21 hours ago, shahan said:

May I know how the heating issues bceos I have seen some advertisement that saying long run vechile and no heating issues means? If so is that can be sorted? And how ? 

As irage mentioned  - it's a valid concern with cars of this age. Due to negligence and various reasons cooling sytems can be in bad shape. And on many instances (not always - there are many Trad sunnies lancers that are daily drivers)  cars of these vintage are not always daily runners - many of them are weekend runners and grocery getters used in parallel with another vehicle that does the longer trips and heavy traffic/city office runs. So how the cooling works on long 2-3 hour drives are actually untested. 

A good idea would be to monitor the heating once you buy and if there are issue sort them out. 

[shahan]

@iRage @matroska  how about HB11, Isuzu Gemini and toyota AT170 ?

I am confused to take a decision to invest 1.2M which is hard earned money. 😐 

[matroska]

13 hours ago, shahan said:

@iRage @matroska  how about HB11, Isuzu Gemini and toyota AT170 ?

I am confused to take a decision to invest 1.2M which is hard earned money. 😐 

Well - unless you're a buy-and-sell fellow and someone who actually wants to use the car you won't see a car as an investment specially cars in this budget range. 

as for the other cars you have mentioned

HB11 - is a bit of a bland/joyless choice. But it's a bit of a safe bet. It's a very common car - Front wheel drive, carbureted, the later models would have power steering (I don't think the 1982/83 models do)  The 1.3L B11 is more common but if you're going for one suggest the 1.5 L HB11. You're looking at the higher end of the spectrum at this budget since B11's are relatively cheap (compared to other cars) 

isuzu Gemini - Almost exclusively Turbo-diesel. What I have heard is that these cars a a blast to drive. The engines are relatively trouble free despite the age but body parts are extremely rare which would contribute to the lower market price. A garage owner I know has one: the car runs like a charm but body parts etc are extremely difficult to source.  For instance he is missing door handles on the rear doors on an otherwise perfect-looking car. 

AT170 : Corona's and Carina's - these are slightly expensive and probably 1.2 will not get you a good specimen. These come with either the 5A carb or the 5A EFI engine. Again reasonable comfortable slightly larger cars. 

Out of the 3 you mentioned - you will probably not get a good AT170 for your budget. Gemini's are a bit of a risk. The 'safer' bet is the HB11 - from current prices I'd say you can get a reasonably good HB11 for around 1M which leaves you about 200K to sort out any issues. What exactly is your requirement? Are you looking for a daily or a weekend driver?

Edited February 17 by matroska

[iRage]

15 hours ago, shahan said:

HB11, Isuzu Gemini and toyota AT170

The HB11 has the poorest suspension of all the FWD cars of the period and its class. 60s, 70s the Sunny was the class leader (at least in the Japanese market) followed by the Lancer. The Corolla was a cjeap econbox trying to catch up to the Sunny and Lancer which had much better performance, build and tech. The B11 was the first time the Sunny became the worst and gave way to the Corolla taking the lead. The engine...decent...nothing to write to home about. Features/accessories/comfort : Nissan tried to spec it out in such a way that it would appeal to different market segments at different price points. To be honest,it worked,you get high-end variants like the Laurel Spirit and basic ones. In SL most of the ones are basic. Which meant things like the seats, etc are also not very comfortable. 

Now here is the biggest problem...the suspension. They used a reverse A arm for the independent rear suspension. This works for RWD cars but not for FWD cars. As a result...when going over bumps or on bad roads the rear end literally bounces up. The ride is bad and also the rear loses traction. If you want we can talk about how reverse A arm systems work and why it makes the rear end so bad..but that is a different topic for another day.

Isuzu Gemini....nice solid cars for its time. They were quite well built...almost like a truck (hmmm..ownder why that is). But also like other cars of its time they did rust. All fine for what kind of cars you are looking at. Issue is the mechanical condition of the vehicle around these days. Both mechanical and body parts have always been hard to find. As a result a lot of these cars were fixed in the typical mana baas way by trying to adapt different types of parts. So the good remaining cars are hard to come by and if you do find them it probably will exhaust your budget. They are cars the average person does not want to buy and the ones who have good examples don't mind holding on to them either (as a nothing lost nothing gained sort of way).

T170..Carina or Corona ?  Either way, the pre-facelift came with a 5A-F engine and facelift the 5A-FE EFI engine. So try to get a facelift if you can. There are a few T170 Coronas that were imported by the agent (mostly for the UN offices) that had a 1600cc 4A-F (carb) engine. The 2C diesels were somewhat popular as permit imports. Compared to a E80/E90 Corolla/Sprinter and even the T150 Carina/Corona the car feels a bit bulky due to its weight. However it also made the car more comfortable. Sadly we don't have the nicer grades with velour seats and stuff. Only the mid level grades. Again...as with all cars of this era, especially Toyota, the electronics got a bit hokey with age. It was a time the manufacturers were starting to put electronic features into the cars and they didn't have everything at a very high level of quality and resilience when it came to build. So check the electronics (but then these cars will run just fine mechanically even if you rip all the electronics out). Also...body parts for these cars are hard to find. It is the same for cars like the E80 Corolla, B11 Sunny, etc...as well. But the Carina/Corona is a bit harder.  I would say the Carina would be the hardest as the Corona, Corolla, Sunny still have aftermarket parts from Taiwan, Thailand, etc...

Out of the three your better choice would be the T170 Carina/Corona. But might be over your budget. So personally I think the best options would be 

[shahan]

@iRage @matroska  Thanks again.

As mentioned earlier budget is 1.2M but I need a car for daily run and weekend long trips. 

Suggest me a good model where I can move to 1.5M maximum.

It should be a best car in terms of long terms uses.

Sedan, Comfortable, Reliable and affordable 

Please advise 

 

 

 

[fiat fan]

45 minutes ago, shahan said:

@iRage @matroska  Thanks again.

As mentioned earlier budget is 1.2M but I need a car for daily run and weekend long trips. 

Suggest me a good model where I can move to 1.5M maximum.

It should be a best car in terms of long terms uses.

Sedan, Comfortable, Reliable and affordable 

Please advise 

 

 

 

If you are ok with slightly higher repair costs. The best car for 1.5Mil is probably the Peugeot 406 D8.

Looks good,drives good,good market, fuel is also very decent. Comfy,safe and has some class to it also.

You can bargain a good example under 16. Find a honest technician and you will be good to go. Please find a good car with all repairs done,or you will hate everything about Peugeot.

Or if you can go for 2.5Mil, you can get a nice D9 406 with sunroof,leather,cruise control, electric,heated seats yada yada. Can be sold in a week. Really good car. 
 

@AVANTE is the resident 406 expert.

[shahan]

Thanks @fiat fan @AVANTE need your assistance here 🤔

[AVANTE]

2 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks @fiat fan @AVANTE need your assistance here 🤔

Great car but keep in mind parts are relatively expensive. Alot of hacked cars out there too.

plenty of information on 406 has been shared in this forum. Do search up and if any specific questions are there, do feel free to PM me!

[matroska]

On 2/17/2024 at 10:13 PM, shahan said:

As mentioned earlier budget is 1.2M but I need a car for daily run and weekend long trips. 

Suggest me a good model where I can move to 1.5M maximum.

at 1.5 You could move into an AT170 from your previous list (a diesel for sure)  andddddd The Trad Sunny from your original two cars. 1.5 should fetch you a fairly OK Trad Sunny. (and needless to say a rather good Lancer Box) 

Also 1.5 M is a ripe budget for numerous Jap diesel Sedans from the 90's . But tread carefully old diesels are a bit of a lottery. So I wouldn't suggest a diesel for a first car or for someone on a tight budget. 1.5 Should fetch you a slightly hard working Sunny SB13(Doctor Sunny-Diesel), Corolla CE90, Camry/Vista CV30 or a Bluebird SU13 The catch is people bought these when diesel was half the price of petrol and were used mostly as commercial vehicles (hauling stuff I kid you not - Specially these bigger sedans  with the larger boot space was a cheap reliable option for someone in Chilaw to haul coconuts) so these have been treated like someone treats a piaggio diesel tuk tuk . But I have limited experience with diesels of this era maybe @iRage can add more info on them. 

I'm not going to confuse you further by adding Mazda's to the mix  (but yes I dare say BG series Mazda's are in your budget of 1.5) 

It's always better to target something in the higher end of a lower price band than go for a bottom of the barrel specimen of a higher price band. (for instance a Trad Sunny for 1.3 M would be probably a better condition than an AT170 corona for 1.3M) 

 

 

On 2/17/2024 at 11:03 PM, fiat fan said:

The best car for 1.5Mil is probably the Peugeot 406 D8.

Are you sure 406's are available for that price? I'd be a bit cautious about 406's below 2Mill - chances are those are hacked and/or having something like a Nissan GA15 engine powering them.  BTW  there was a 306 doing the rounds on FB  for 1.6M  - it seemed to be good. 

 

Edited February 19 by matroska
we forgot all about the original cars :-P

[shahan]

Thanks @fiat fan

12 hours ago, matroska said:

at 1.5 You could move into an AT170 from your previous list (a diesel for sure)  andddddd The Trad Sunny from your original two cars. 1.5 should fetch you a fairly OK Trad Sunny. (and needless to say a rather good Lancer Box) 

Also 1.5 M is a ripe budget for numerous Jap diesel Sedans from the 90's . But tread carefully old diesels are a bit of a lottery. So I wouldn't suggest a diesel for a first car or for someone on a tight budget. 1.5 Should fetch you a slightly hard working Sunny SB13(Doctor Sunny-Diesel), Corolla CE90, Camry/Vista CV30 or a Bluebird SU13 The catch is people bought these when diesel was half the price of petrol and were used mostly as commercial vehicles (hauling stuff I kid you not - Specially these bigger sedans  with the larger boot space was a cheap reliable option for someone in Chilaw to haul coconuts) so these have been treated like someone treats a piaggio diesel tuk tuk . But I have limited experience with diesels of this era maybe @iRage can add more info on them. 

I'm not going to confuse you further by adding Mazda's to the mix  (but yes I dare say BG series Mazda's are in your budget of 1.5) 

It's always better to target something in the higher end of a lower price band than go for a bottom of the barrel specimen of a higher price band. (for instance a Trad Sunny for 1.3 M would be probably a better condition than an AT170 corona for 1.3M) 

 

 

Are you sure 406's are available for that price? I'd be a bit cautious about 406's below 2Mill - chances are those are hacked and/or having something like a Nissan GA15 engine powering them.  BTW  there was a 306 doing the rounds on FB  for 1.6M  - it seemed to be good. 

 

 @AVANTE