Big Bear

Dear all ,
The old man who is now a pensioner, is thinking of buying a GT4 . Anyone on the list got any comments as to the reliability of the engine/gearbox or the fuel consumption or anything else about the car befor he has his heart set on buying one?
Cheers Dave

fender

I owned a Celica GT4 Carlos Sainz for a while. (The STi85 not the later model - i.e not the newly released and not the one before that, if that makes sense)

I had absolutely no problems with reliability - nothing went wrong during the two years I had it. I kept it serviced properly though.

I cannot remember the fuel consumption but believe it was around 28.

I found it a nice car although the interior was a bit boring. Great for 2 but not so good if you were putting real people in the back.

There are many websites you can visit. try

IWatkins

Big Bear,

I run an ST165 GT4 (old, old shape) and I know many people who run ST185s (pop-up lights, bonnet scoop) and ST205s (twin lights, bonnet vent).

Any particular info. you are after ? I guess we are not after tuning potential here ?

Basically all three models (plus the Jap Spec) share the same enigne/drivetrain. Just tweaked a bit each model release.

Gearbox and engine are basically bomb-proof to about 320 - 350 bhp. After that you need to do some piston and headwork. They don't tend to suffer from bottom end problems that I belive affect the Scoobies.

If the car in question is destined to stay stock I doubt there will ever be problems as long as it is serviced according to the book.

Cheers

Ian Watkins (GT4)

Leon

I had a '91 H reg GT4, pop up lights bonnet scoop etc. Great car,ran it for a year, no problems then one day it just stopped. Turned out - some bloke had left his volvo in front of me at a round-about, don't you just hate that!
Seriously though, can't compare with Scooby £9k - £20k ? 2 other cars and a whole lot of driving experience in between.
Keep in mind - Expensive to service
Clutch and Fly wheel - £1000
Parts not kept in stock by main dealers, I found Toyota UK to be very complaisant / arrogant - 2-4 weeks wait for standard items (engine hoses etc).

Fuel consumption
easy drivin' 25 mpg
Fun ! 17 /18 mpg

Hope this helps

IWatkins

Big Bear,

In that case he is after the ST205 model. 220bhp UK spec. and the Jap Spec is quoted at 255ps (note, ps note bhp).

I friend of mine is currently modifying his UK spec ST205 and once out of rebuild will be good for 320 - 360 bhp depending on setup.

First thing to know about owning a GT4 in the UK. NEVER go to a Toyota Dealer for servicing. Nine times out of ten they haven't got a clue what it is. I have spent many an hour trying to explain to dealers that, yes, it does in fact have a turbo and did come from the facotry with 4-wheel drive. I have heard of no problems going to them with a Jap Import.

Only time I go to a dealer now is to pick up parts you cannot get from an independent. Fensport based in Cambs. can supply most parts quickly and usually about 30 - 60 % cheaper then your local Toyota dealer. The owner of Fensport is ex-TTE and he knows his GT4's. His current car is a 1.6 Corolla (new shape) with an ST205 engine under the bonnet. Yesterday saw 297 bhp on the rolling road and it is only FWD :-)

If your old man does go for the car and needs some contacts for parts/tuning/advice, he could do worse than to joing the GT4 list on OneList. He can also contact me through you, or via email etc. I would be happy to help him out.

Cheers

Ian Watkins (GT4)

Big Bear

The GT4 he is looking at is a 1995 model with the twin lights and the large spoiler on the back. Knowing the old man he will probably want to play with the original specs by adding an exhaust ,filter and prosably a chip . He saw the car while I was picking up my STI2 last thursday . Main question is what are the specs for an import GT4 and are they different to the UK models ,ie lower ratio gear boxes as in the WRX`s, and will toyota dealers service the thing .
Cheers Dave

TonyNesta

I had a UK Carlos Sainz GT4 from 23k miles to 86k miles and I had no significant problems at all. Fuel consumption was pretty similar to the Scoob, but servicing did cost more, though not unreasonably so. I found my main agent Toyota dealer (warranty, see) to be very knowledgeable about the car, and gave me discount on parts and servicing.

DazW

iTrader: (1)

I'm currently own a GT4 (st 205), Its only done 17K miles but I've had no problems at all apart from the fact that main Toyata Dealers wont touch touch them, but smaller franchise's will. Be careful of import dealers cars- with the strengthening of the yen they're buying lower 'grade' cars and keeping forecourt prices the same (there are some very shoddy examples outthere!)Best bet would be to go for a private car, a pristine '96 P plate should go for about 16/17 K which isn't bad considering they would have cost 21K this time last year, oh and 31K when new!!!