87 Toyota Starlet - what's it worth?

commited

My neighbours are selling an 87 Toyota Starlet.

just NCT'd
3 months tax
1 elderly lady owner from new
gold
Fair few parking wounds but no visible rust
Think its a 1litre

I need a run around for a couple of months whilst I get work done to my car. Any idea what I should offer them for this car?

exactiv

€500 - €800 i'd say. Sounds like a good buy though.

maidhc

My mother had one before, sold it about 12 years ago for £6000!

It was an OK car. It had a nice engine (although I never drove it, it sounded very smooth, and had 12 valves for 3 cylinders; not bad for the time.) It used to shake like hell though above 50mph, and was really light in cross winds. Even though I was small when we had it I remember it being buffeted around.

The nicest looking starlet of them all IMO.

KTRIC

I seen one yesterday, It was an 87 Starlet GTi, fantastic sylish machine.

commited

I wont be keeping it long - no more than 2 months - should be easy enough to sell on with near 2 years nct (06/08 i think)

Just had another quick look at it and there are a fair few dents around the rear wings but I couldnt find any rust!

I'll see what they're asking anyway

Silvera

I'm not being funny but, being a 1987 model and with only one lady owner from new, etc. that Starlet could be worth hanging on to when you're finished with it.

If you have a storage area just park it up and keep it!

I know the old model (1978-84) is back wheel drive, but look at how their values have rocketed - they now sell for c.€2500+ for a good one!

Older original Irish reg cars are becoming increasingly rare nowadays.

maidhc

^^^ Very true. Once a car gets through the "banger phase" without meeting its fate at the hands of a tradesman or farmer it could be worth surprising money. Any clean car that is almost 20 years old is worth minding.

Only thing is the 1987 model starlet never suffered from rust and has lasted on the roads a long time, unlike the older rwd ones.

commited

its a horrible gold colour with a horrible interior though!

it certainly couldnt be called mint due to the dents etc. I can see why the RWD starlets are worth so much - they're a fun car. I dont think the 87 aged starlet could be called fun, could it?!

My sister turns 17 next year, it was in the back of my mind to save the car for her to learn how to drive in however (was going to buy her a cheap "bubble" Micra)...

I'm still to make an offer or test drive it, but I'll let you know how I get on

5500

commited wrote:

it certainly couldnt be called mint due to the dents etc. I can see why the RWD starlets are worth so much - they're a fun car. I dont think the 87 aged starlet could be called fun, could it?!

The RWD bug thats sweeping the country seems to be why old rwd cars value is rocketing,in saying that the 87 came in a 12v turbo too which is seriously rare and would fetch as much as its predescessor but i cant see a standard old 1 litre following in the same footsteps or being great fun to drive!

Dog Chaser

maidhc wrote:

My mother had one before, sold it about 12 years ago for £6000!

How irrelevant.....

maidhc

Dog Chaser wrote:

How irrelevant.....

Completely Can't say it is OT though

Dilbert75

I'd say if you offered them €150, they should take the hand and all off you.

commited

You reckon?

I was thinking of offering them €400 as it has 2years NCT and some tax

Dilbert75

Its nearly 20 years old, its a bit battered, its not good looking, its not particularly comfortable, its not very sturdy. Its got to be cheap, or its got nothing.

mike65

Tell her taking it off her hands is doing her a favour.

Mike.

20 Times 20 Times

I'd charge her to take it away.

commited

I'm not out to con anyone! They've been my neighbours for 15 years now, so I'll see what they want and then half it

colm_mcm

i reckon under €100.

hiscan

even the four wheels would nearly be worth 100 euro
give her 200

cantdecide

a friend of mine got a pristine '96 mazda 626 2.0 ltr for €450. how can you argue with that. a starlet that old is fit only for the scrap bin.
there is a rampant misconception in ireland that small=cheap=good. we're an island nation with a dispersed population and city cars are for non-motorway/dual carriageway use only. i don't wanna hear about tax and fuel- this is just a *minor* hurdle which allows you to release the value to be had from a superior modern saloon car. These cars are PERFECT as temporary run arounds.
in the opinion of this car fanatic- show the starlet your ass and get a mid nineties 406/ carina/ mondeo/ gallant/ 626/ passat/..........etc and when you're done with it, disose of it or give it away.

unkel

commited wrote:

I was thinking of offering them €400 as it has 2years NCT and some tax

I feel that is a fair offer. Any car with a 2 year NCT is worth at least €500 in my opinion. It'll be very easy to sell it for same in a few months time

We had a '89 1.3LX for about a year or so for my wife to learn in, but she never got around to get going. Grand little runner. We got it for free and we let it go for free. No NCT though

commited wrote:

My sister turns 17 next year, it was in the back of my mind to save the car for her to learn how to drive in however

Good idea

commited

cantdecide wrote:

a friend of mine got a pristine '96 mazda 626 2.0 ltr for €450. how can you argue with that. a starlet that old is fit only for the scrap bin.
there is a rampant misconception in ireland that small=cheap=good. we're an island nation with a dispersed population and city cars are for non-motorway/dual carriageway use only. i don't wanna hear about tax and fuel- this is just a *minor* hurdle which allows you to release the value to be had from a superior modern saloon car. These cars are PERFECT as temporary run arounds.
in the opinion of this car fanatic- show the starlet your ass and get a mid nineties 406/ carina/ mondeo/ gallant/ 626/ passat/..........etc and when you're done with it, disose of it or give it away.

Insurance would absolutely hve a field day with me on anything more than a 1.6 and I'm not buying a car that size with only a 1.6 engine.

I'm a car fanatic - dont get me wrong - I just need a temporary driver whilst I get a few jobs done to my pride and joy.

However, I certainly wouldn't put a carina, 406, galant or passat in the list of cars worth being fanatical over!

cantdecide

i was once the proud owner of a low mileage punto. i had found myself in a lousy financial position and i thought. cheap motoring.
i was wrong. i had been mis advised.
check out the insurance on a 1.6 primera. i'll eat my hat if they say something outlandish. probably have all mod cons too.

colm_mcm

cantdecide wrote:

i was once the proud owner of a low mileage punto. i had found myself in a lousy financial position and i thought. cheap motoring.
i was wrong. i had been mis advised.
check out the insurance on a 1.6 primera. i'll eat my hat if they say something outlandish. probably have all mod cons too.

I can see a theme developing through your posts



You're flogging a dead horse.

Squirrel

colm_mcm wrote:

I can see a theme developing through your posts



You're flogging a dead horse.

I'm seeing that too. Give 'em a couple of hundred quid and see if they'll half fill it with petrol

cr1spy

I have a '89 1.0L model now, bought it just to learn to drive a year ago, and I reckon for a first car its basically perfect.

Got it for €600, NCT'd for 2 years, only 80k miles, and two careful lady owners. Car was absolutely mint, no rust, stains on the interior, and everything worked apart from the rear window heater - big deal.
Very easy to drive, easy to park and manoveur, the lack of power steering isn't a big deal cos the cars so light. Engine is nice and revvy, my model only was four gears

The only downside is an absymal lack of power, depsite the fact its so light it really is slow. Acceleration isn't its stron point. For city/town driving its fine, but on motorways it won't do more than 60mph comfortably. I've taken it up 85mph, and it was a pretty scary experience!

The only problem I've had with it was the (original) alternator went, cost €100 to get repaired. Another bonus is that it is very cheap and easy to mantain yourself, I've replaced brake pads myself for 20 Euro.

All in all I'm very pleased with it. I know its not the coolest car ever, but it was the cheapest way to learn to drive, and gave me no problems at all.

cantdecide

crap cars are crap cars no matter what the motivation. you're defending the indefensible. they all cost the same more or less. only an idiot would say a micra is in any way superior to a full sized car. the only defense people have is Small=Cheap

cr1spy

I don't think its a better car than a more expensive model, things are more expensive for a reason. Has anyone actually said a "Micra is in any way superior to a full sized car"? These kind of cars fit a purpose.

Especially in my case were I was been given ridicolous quotes for anything bigger. Now I have my license, I'm definetly getting something bigger and better (thinking '94 3-Series Coupe, any comments?)

The argument that small = cheap is a pretty strong one anyway, for some people money is a major factor

commited

cantdecide wrote:

i was once the proud owner of a low mileage punto. i had found myself in a lousy financial position and i thought. cheap motoring.
i was wrong. i had been mis advised.
check out the insurance on a 1.6 primera. i'll eat my hat if they say something outlandish. probably have all mod cons too.

What's the point if I'm going to have the car for 1 month, maybe 2?

You seem to have it in your head that I am buying this car as my next car. I'm not. I'm buying it simply as a stop gap to take the pressure off whilst I do some repair work to my car. Believe me - if I was buying a car to keep, a gold 87 starlet would pretty much be at the bottom of my list. However - a 1.6 primera would be right down there too - woeful cars with a ridiculously underpowered engine (as is the 1l starlet ). I can insure a 1.6 205 GTI for the same price as a 1.6 mondeo - I know which I'd rather have!

cr1spy wrote:

I have a '89 1.0L model now, bought it just to learn to drive a year ago, and I reckon for a first car its basically perfect.

Got it for €600, NCT'd for 2 years, only 80k miles, and two careful lady owners. Car was absolutely mint, no rust, stains on the interior, and everything worked apart from the rear window heater - big deal.
Very easy to drive, easy to park and manoveur, the lack of power steering isn't a big deal cos the cars so light. Engine is nice and revvy, my model only was four gears

The only downside is an absymal lack of power, depsite the fact its so light it really is slow. Acceleration isn't its stron point. For city/town driving its fine, but on motorways it won't do more than 60mph comfortably. I've taken it up 85mph, and it was a pretty scary experience!

The only problem I've had with it was the (original) alternator went, cost €100 to get repaired. Another bonus is that it is very cheap and easy to mantain yourself, I've replaced brake pads myself for 20 Euro.

All in all I'm very pleased with it. I know its not the coolest car ever, but it was the cheapest way to learn to drive, and gave me no problems at all.

Cheers for your informative post
I have no power steering now, so that doesnt bother me, in fact I dont really like power steering on small cars! I have 4 gears now too

I'd only be using it as a run around hopefully - I have access to a few other cars that I can use for long journeys! I do all my own work on my cars so handy to hear that it's cheap on parts!