I’ve not heard of much going wrong on stock-tuned JZs, 3sgtes, 4agzes, etc. The only really problematic old Toyota motors seem to be certain turbodiesels. To be fair my only direct personal experience is with their rock solid US-market offerings (5VZ-FE in my 4Runner and 3MZ-FE in my old ES300).

Kind of slow? Okay it wasn’t a 911 Turbo, but seems to me it more than kept pace with Corvettes of the era (C4) and would walk any German that wasn’t said 911 Turbo.

Toyota had boatloads of turbos (and superchargers) in everything in the 80s, especially in Japan, but we got all sorts of stuff including Turbo Toyota pickups and Celicas, supercharged MR2s and supercharged Previas. Over there a single chassis had so many engine choices your head would spin. Take the venerable X80…

This was my first-gut guess, so I think to see it as the top comment confirms my suspicions.

That was the exact source of my current beater, lower mile stick shift A4 Quattro with 5 years of service records at my bro’s place for a very reasonable price.  Although I would absolutely NOT recommend such a purchase to anyone that’s not handy/DIY capable and willing to track down parts online.

Keep me out of the greys my dude, this was my initial post replying to Tom:

I agree, so the OP should ASK said friends/colleagues/neighbors to see if anyone has anything they’re considering trading in, etc.

Right on.  Just ask around family/friends/work/church/etc.  I find that anymore, CL by owner is 75% auction flippers.  Facebook marketplace is not AS bad, not yet anyways.  The NextDoor app if you use that has the best quality cars at the best prices IMO.

I agree, don’t get too hung up and specifically seeking out a Corolla at all costs. They do hold up well with age, but even at auction the prices are inflated: BHPH lots have ran the prices way up since they will always make money on the financing side, and for Toyotas in particular there is an insatiable thirst from…

Calling it like it is. This is really stretching it for content. Now, if they went and cross-shopped a few different shops to compare against the dealer quote, looked at and posted the cost of the replacement parts on rockauto, maybe discussed the validity of brake fluid flushes and TB cleanings from the dealer, that…

Seriously, it wasn’t even worth mentioning that dealer fluff. If the car really was idling a bit wonky or had poor off-idle response, do the TB cleaning yourself as you suggest.

Find an independent mechanic to put in an air con compressor with a warranty for a fraction of the dealer quote, and continue to enjoy cheap…

This is what happens when you hire people that know fuck-all about cars to write about cars. “Guys it needs the brake fluid flushed and throttle body cleaned, when do YOU just have to walk away from a car?”

Christ.

Go down to what’s left of the old Iron Triangle, don’t tell me NYC only has expensive options for car repair.  Staten Island is teeming with cheap shops as well.

This was the first “viral video” that I experienced on the internet.  Thanks for the throwback!

So, do you drive a Hyundai Accent?

“grip was never an issue trekking through dense mud that had been rained on that morning”

I’m waiting on pics of this. From the photos I see, BMW went as far as covering the course in wood chips to make sure their road-going SUV on low profile highway tread didn’t get stuck in anything truly serious or challenging.

The deck was stacked against me: I had flown into JFK from Moscow (preceded by a 4 hour flight from Novosibirsk) on very little sleep, and I had a 4 hour drive in the rain and dark to look forward to, I just wanted to hop in and go. I plug in my phone merely to charge it, I didn’t want to link anything on the…

Same. Maybe it’s because I’m a luddite that daily drives a 22 year old Toyota truck, but most recently I was somewhat befuddled by a CX5 rental with that console mounted knob setup to navigate its Ipad-glued-to-the-dash infotainment screen. Conversely I’ve had some lower-trim Altima and Optima rentals where everything…

Yeah... the only time I really rent for personal use is to do a long-haul weekend trip somewhere and I don’t want to take my 22 year old 4Runner.  A ‘06 Taurus does not sound like much of an upgrade haha

Hoo jeez, didn’t realize they were in Indy! That’s where I am!  I’m very tempted to try them out next time I’m renting for personal use.