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

[shahan]

Thanks @matroska @iRage I met one of my friend and he told me that his father's friend using a toyota KE72 wagon for more than 10 years and it is a reliable ones. 

 

any suggestions and outputs?

[matroska]

9 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks @matroska @iRage I met one of my friend and he told me that his father's friend using a toyota KE72 wagon for more than 10 years and it is a reliable ones. 

 

any suggestions and outputs?

I thought you were focused on Sedans?

Anyway the KE72(or 74 and rarely 73)was a very popular car back in the day. It seems Toyota's local popularity rose with this model  The most common is the KE72 that comes with the 4K 1.3 L engine followed by the KE74 which has the 1.5L 5K engine. You will find  a few KE73's which is actually the 'wagon' version - the Ke72 and KE74 (you will notice the vin numbers have 'V' at the end ) are actually vans i.e delivery vehicles. Compared to Lancers, Trad Sunnies and Corona/Carina's these will be less comfortable - these were after all delivery vehicles. Very basic cars but drive train is usually very reliable. The KE74 in particular is a joy to drive the 5K is more than enough power and torque for that light car. These wagon's are relatively affordable so you will probably be able to get a decent car for your budget between 1.2-1.3 million. Of course you'll have to be vary of corrosion and body condition with cars of this age. Mechanicals are usually simple and can be fixed. Try to find something that has been with a single user for a considerable time. Cars on open book would have changed hands multiple times - the problem is people on a tight budget buy them and when they find out they can't afford the maintenance skip on maintenance and sell it off to someone else and the process repeats. These cars can take a lot of abuse but there's always a limit - your friends' car would be a good example of the type of car to buy. 

Also suggest reading this thread - as we are more or less talking about the same requirement 

 

[iRage]

15 hours ago, shahan said:

Thanks @matroska @iRage I met one of my friend and he told me that his father's friend using a toyota KE72 wagon for more than 10 years and it is a reliable ones. 

 

any suggestions and outputs?

KE72..okay..although Sri Lankans call it "wagon" it is actually a van. Which means it was the variant made for commercial use. We only have a very few wagon variants in the country (KE73). KE72 is the commercial variant with the 1.3L engine and a 4Spd gearbox. KE74 is the commercial variant with a 1.5L engine with either a 4spd or 5spd manual.

Before going any further....a E70 Corolla van is not going to come anywhere close to a Lancer Box, Trad Sunny, E80 Corolla or a Lancer of that period in terms of refinement or comfort. Even something like a Starlet or Charade will be nicer.

They are hardy cars. The simplicity of it in a light-weight body with a RWD drive-train makes it somewhat of a hoot to drive. The engine and other mechanicals are quite simple. Comfort wise...nothing to write home about. Rear seats are bench seats and since the rear suspension has leaf springs it is not the most comfortable. It is not bad...just that it is not as nice as the other cars we talked about. Even if you get a late 80s KE72, remember you are technically buying a car from the late 70s. Because the Corolla range was going FWD Toyota didn't have resources to design and build (retool factory) to make a FWD Corolla wagon in the late to mid 80s. So they kept using the van/wagon from the 70s with minor updates to the body.

As I said...car is simple. Mechanical parts can be found quite freely and even a monkey with a hammer can fix it. This is also its downfall. Sometime in its life these cars were bought up by people who were first time car owners (I see the irony here) or those looking for a budget car to run cheaply. There was also a time where getting a DX wagon and putting boku alloys and fixing weird body kits, lifting them up were the modification trend in SL. Same goes for fixing body panels too. Therefore 99% of these cars were not taken care of properly, repaired properly or serviced properly. While some had the misfortune of going through a stage of unholy modifications. Also, parts are getting hard to find (as with most other cars of the 80s...).

So..if you find a good well-maintained car it will last 10 years or more. If you find a lemon, you will be running to garages every other weekend. Which is more or less the same with every other car. 

[Twin Turbo]

On 2/12/2024 at 12:30 AM, shahan said:

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 

I've seen nissan's have more pwerful aircons.

[shahan]

On 2/19/2024 at 8:02 AM, 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. 

 

 

[shahan]

Just now, shahan said:

 

Hi guys,,

@iRage @matroska I have gone through some of toyota AA60, how is the car?

[iRage]

22 hours ago, shahan said:

Hi guys,,

@iRage @matroska I have gone through some of toyota AA60, how is the car?

Mechanically simple...comfortable...and quite a nimble little car to drive. Not the fastest thing on the planet but for its time was pretty decent. Since the mechanicals are simple, parts are easy to find. Body parts on the other hand is a different story. Really hard to come by and when you do its as expensive as parts for like a 2000s car.

As with any cars of the period..rust is an issue. Electricals get mucked up because of after market muckery. Body panels, tinkering owrk can be iffy. On one hand a lot of them were improperly fixed where it was turned in to a putty sculpture and/or fitted with incorrect lights, bumpers, etc...as they were hard to find.

Again...as with any other car from the period, find a good car it will be trouble free (apart from properly attending to age related part replacements).

[fiat fan]

On 2/19/2024 at 8:02 AM, 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. 

 

The D8 406 is anyway under 2 million. Only the D9 goes over 2 million.

[matroska]

On 2/24/2024 at 8:43 AM, shahan said:

toyota AA60, how is the car?

It's a pretty good car - not as commonly found as the Corollas, Sunnies, Lancers of the Era - therefore body parts are a bit of a nightmare. We did a bit of a hunt for one of my friends -most were mechanically sound but had small cosmetic issues due to lack of parts (winder handles, interior switches, lights, lenses etc)  if you notice even in the classifieds most of these have the front turn indicator lenses missing. (TBH I had this issue even with my Starlet EP71 - so not just a Carina thing : parts for 80's Toyotas barring the KE wagons are not as easily found as for Nissans and Mitsus of the same era)  Fine a complete car and you're good to go. 

[shahan]

<Sorry I had to remove the link. You cannot put links to outside sites such as the quick site, vehicle shelter, etc.. - iRage>

 

@iRage @matroska please advise advises this original auto ? And please assist abot this car and model

Edited March 1 by iRage

[iRage]

9 hours ago, shahan said:

<Sorry I had to remove the link. You cannot put links to outside sites such as the quick site, vehicle shelter, etc.. - iRage>

 

@iRage @matroska please advise advises this original auto ? And please assist abot this car and model

Well..it is pretty much a Sunny B12 <i.e. a trad sunny>. The difference is the body in the rear which means rear lights, glasses, etc..are different. Engine and interior and (forward) exterior components are the same. The California is a bit rare so finding the rear lights, etc.. might be a bit hard if you ever need to replace them.

As for whether its an original Auto...depending on the market and trim level the car came with either a 4speed or 5 speed manual or a 3 speed automatic. The only way to say if it is a factory installed automatic is by looking at the ID plate.. It has the transmission model and from that you can figure out whether it is an auto or manual. Things like mismatching interior trim around the gear lever, holes for clutch pedals, etc..can always be rectified if one was willing to invest enough time, money and care)

By the looks of it...it seems like it is stock automatic from the factory. It is either that or someone did a REALLY REALLY good conversion job <which most Sri Lankans don't do for cars like this>. 

[matroska]

13 hours ago, shahan said:

<Sorry I had to remove the link. You cannot put links to outside sites such as the quick site, vehicle shelter, etc.. - iRage>

 

@iRage @matroska please advise advises this original auto ? And please assist abot this car and model

Well I think I found the car you posted and had the link removed - white one in Piliyandala?

Well it does look like it came out the factory as an Auto.  Compared to other models there are a few B12 original Auto's in the country. I came across one in 2019 (sedan)  (made me ask this question on the reparability of old Auto gear systems. 

The California - personally I find it really nice to look at.  A nice set of alloys goes a long way on these. Not very common so stuff like the rear glass panels and lights and lenses (rear - the front is the same as the sedan) will be a bit difficult to source. Cool and distinct cars that screams 80's. 

[matroska]

Merged Threads.

[shahan]

On 2/25/2024 at 7:00 AM, iRage said:

Mechanically simple...comfortable...and quite a nimble little car to drive. Not the fastest thing on the planet but for its time was pretty decent. Since the mechanicals are simple, parts are easy to find. Body parts on the other hand is a different story. Really hard to come by and when you do its as expensive as parts for like a 2000s car.

As with any cars of the period..rust is an issue. Electricals get mucked up because of after market muckery. Body panels, tinkering owrk can be iffy. On one hand a lot of them were improperly fixed where it was turned in to a putty sculpture and/or fitted with incorrect lights, bumpers, etc...as they were hard to find.

Again...as with any other car from the period, find a good car it will be trouble free (apart from properly attending to age related part replacements).

 

[shahan]

Yes the same in piliyandala car, is that good one ? @iRage @matroska please let me know I'm planning to buy

[shahan]

How to check ot with the plate ? 

[iRage]

On 3/1/2024 at 10:41 PM, shahan said:

How to check ot with the plate ? 

Even if you look at the ID plate you are not going ot know what it is as I am pretty sure you do not know transmission models and codes for Nissans.

Just get the car inspected professionally, e.g. car ch**ks, they can tell you if it has been converted. But it is very unlikely that a MANUAL was converted to an AUTOMATIC. These cars were brought down during a time Sri Lankans were afraid of automatics. So while it was common to convert automatic cars in to manual, it was unheard of converting a manual in to automatic. Especially to such a high finish.

[harshansenadhir]

Let me also add Lancer C11/12 into the equation. Highly underrated yet FWD modern car in affordable price range. 

[shahan]

Guys I found SB12 please assist me! @iRage 

[matroska]

I had to merge threads again. You have to stop creating a thread for each model  ...

well the SB12 - does the plate on the car say SB12, and the CR? Back in the 90's it was common to swap diesel engines to petrol cars. Anyway originally the SB12 comes with the CD17 diesel engine -same found on the Diesel SB13 which is a very common car. Of course older diesel engined cars are not the most sought after for various reasons and the Nissan Diesel engines of that era - CD17/CD20's are not as bulletproof as 1C/2C from Toyota.  The CD17 in particular is known to be economical but rather sluggish (on the SB13)

We had a Diesel SB13 for a while about 20 years  ago it was ok the car pulled ok not that fast, sounded like a lorry, it was easy to drive (specially for a noob - diesel manuals are easier) but that was a 10 year old car back then  -now it's a 30+ year old car. 

Diesels are not bad originally but based on how they have been taken care of depends a lot on how they work now. A messed up diesel engine can be a lot more troublesome to fix than a petrol. 

The other problem with slightly lesser popular diesel engines like CD17's and 1N(toyota)'s are diesels were not very common globally. Popular in SL since diesel went at 50 Rs when petrol was 100 Rs. So parts for older diesel engines are a bit rare now (compared for petrols) for instance if you take a car like the Toyota Starlet P90 series you can easily find engine parts for the 4EFE engine (there are dozens of 4EFE engines for sale sent from yards from Japan, while parts are super rare for it's diesel variant the 1N) 

If you are going for this - check if the previous owners have done an engine rebuild in recent times. And importantly take along a diesel-competent mechanic with you, despite all that keep aside a few lakhs for repairs. 

Edited March 11 by matroska
forgot to add about diesel engines