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?
If you get one that was actually sold new where you live there’s a reasonable prospect that most parts are available. I have a Japanese-market car in Canada and for most non-unique parts I can just tell the parts guy it’s a 1995 Celica GT 2.2L or a 1995 MR2 2.0L Turbo and they’ll have it or be able to get it. If you’re handy with research then you can often find that Toyota used the same part on a ton of different cars which also makes things easier, especially buying on eBay or other sites.
Unfortunately body parts will be hard to come by and for some of these cars you’ll probably want a parts car. There will be a lot of stuff on its way out just due to age; an AE86 is around 40 years old so even a well-maintained one will have issues that a new-ish Toyota won’t. And since body parts, trim etc can be really tough to find if they’re damaged they are not that hard to total if you make an insurance claim.
The cars are usually super reliable for their time periods but it’s also worth remembering that (despite internet grumbling to the contrary) new cars tend to be more reliable, even if they’re more complex. In the 1960s a car was only expected to last 60k miles, 100k if you’re lucky. If a modern Toyota only lasted 100k it would be a fluke.