1989 Toyota Celica Reviews, Pricing & Specs
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User reviews for 1989 Toyota Celica
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by Anonymous
Jun 29, 2012
I love this car! I purchased it myself for 1200 dollars, but since then Ive went through 4 tires on the right front end. So I took it to get aligned hoping that was the only problem. NOPE! They had a new problem I HAD TO HAVE FIXED before they would do the alignment. I took it in 3 times. I replaced the half shafts, ball joints, brakes, calipers, struts, sway bar endlinks, bearings and seals, new tires all matching tread, and my rack and pinion. This weekend I am getting her aligned and in a few weeks, replacing the back struts and brakes. All in all it has cost me 1800 dollars to replace the front end. I have put ALL of my paychecks for the past 4 months into this car. I even broke down and bought for sale signs. But i drove her after the whole front end was replaced and i put the signs away. This car is my project car and all around my pride and joy. I adore her (:Jun 29, 2012
by Case S
Mar 17, 2012
I had this car in my early twenties and it was a great vehicle to drive around in on a nice sunny day with the top down. It was great not having to fill up more than once a month. Runs great, and will make someone else very happy.Mar 17, 2012
by Anonymous
Feb 08, 2010
Great little car that is perfect for a first car or a weekend driver. Picks up very nicely and still manages to get high 20's in M.P.G despite being twenty one years old. I've had it for a year and haven't had to replace anything! Its fun to drive and whip around corners and can accelerate and decelerate faster than alot of other coupes. Feb 08, 2010
User rating:
by Anonymous
Jun 29, 2012
I love this car! I purchased it myself for 1200 dollars, but since then Ive went through 4 tires on the right front end. So I took it to get aligned hoping that was the only problem. NOPE! They had a new problem I HAD TO HAVE FIXED before they would do the alignment. I took it in 3 times. I replaced the half shafts, ball joints, brakes, calipers, struts, sway bar endlinks, bearings and seals, new tires all matching tread, and my rack and pinion. This weekend I am getting her aligned and in a few weeks, replacing the back struts and brakes. All in all it has cost me 1800 dollars to replace the front end. I have put ALL of my paychecks for the past 4 months into this car. I even broke down and bought for sale signs. But i drove her after the whole front end was replaced and i put the signs away. This car is my project car and all around my pride and joy. I adore her (:Jun 29, 2012
by Case S
Mar 17, 2012
I had this car in my early twenties and it was a great vehicle to drive around in on a nice sunny day with the top down. It was great not having to fill up more than once a month. Runs great, and will make someone else very happy.Mar 17, 2012
by Anonymous
Feb 08, 2010
Great little car that is perfect for a first car or a weekend driver. Picks up very nicely and still manages to get high 20's in M.P.G despite being twenty one years old. I've had it for a year and haven't had to replace anything! Its fun to drive and whip around corners and can accelerate and decelerate faster than alot of other coupes. Feb 08, 2010
by Kyle B
Jan 28, 2010
This was my first beater..still have it it just blew the timing belt..plan on swaping a 2.0t in it for the hell of it..make that lil beast a fun lil beast..wouldnt trade it for the world..Jan 28, 2010
by Josh S
Jan 12, 2010
fun to drive had 200k miles on it came from california was rust free and did not leak any fluids. should have never got rid of it. not as quick as my civic but was just as much of a blast to drive.Jan 12, 2010
by Tyson K
Aug 24, 2009
i love my car beause it goes hard and corners well and sounds nice.. its the best build quality and i thinks its the best sparts car ever made. the car is awesome to drive i live for my car!Aug 24, 2009
by Susan O
Jul 27, 2009
I loved it.Except that Lindsay knew how to drive in those days and she kept stealing it. Gotta Love her....lol It was a good car. Very fun to drive.A Little small but we made due.I wish I had it now. I wish I had any car right now!!!Jul 27, 2009
by Phil B
Jul 22, 2009
Speed was fantastic. The Japanese are always ahead of the times, so you did have some luxary extras. Costs are usualy low for Toyotas but I had a bad run with mine, hence I don't own one anymore. They are still beatutiful cars.Jul 22, 2009
by Josiah Thai H
Jul 06, 2009
Performance - Definitely not a true performance oriented car, more like an economy version of a sports car. Not a bad car for day to day commute.
Build Quality - Very sturdy car at speeds below 150km/h, which is all you'll ever need in this car.
Appearance - Not the best designed car, though I personally liked mine a lot.
Cost of ownership - So long as everything is in good shape, cost of ownership is very affordable for a student like I was when I had one.
Fun Factor - This was a good car to mess around in. The 2.0L DOHC 135hp gave it a good kick for a car that's supposed to be used for the commute to school and work.Jul 06, 2009
by Dan H
Dec 22, 2008
performance - right now it has a 3s-ge with a spun rod bearing and the block only has 100,000 on it so
it went through a beating , but once i have the money im hoping to put a 3s-gte mr2 turbo engine in,
the car recently got a new rack and pinion and axles
so im hoping i wont have to buy stronger axles.
new tires
build quality - strong car verry reliable but old celicas are known for rusting so i have the usual quarter panel rust but i know auto body so i can rebuild the 1/4 panel
appearance - red with gt-s spoiler and lips and such , no damage ugly 2 tip exhaust .allmost mint interior
cost of ownership - well because i am doing the swap
im doing some reinforcement so the car can handle the power .
fun factor - ive driven it once and i barely made it to third gear and the clutch is gone so it took a couple second to get into gear ...... but hey i only payed 200$ for the car so its money well spent
Dec 22, 2008
by Matt B
Sep 15, 2008
Love this baby. They dont make um this good anymore. Very solid car overall. The performance is still astounding and it still beats those 'new' cars off the line and at 40 rolls. Toyota just doesnt make um like thye did, this thing is built to last for the long run.Sep 15, 2008
by Steve M
Jul 31, 2008
Unbelieveable car, the Celica GT-4 is no longer made (shame because it dominated the WRC until it stopped production) was fantastic, 2 litre turbo engine with 4 wheel drive system kept it on the road, it was extremely fast but you had to keep the revs up to keep the turbo in which meant that the mpg wasn't too high ;-)Jul 31, 2008
by Rob P
Jul 07, 2008
Enjoyable to drive. Head turner. Pop up headlights. Plenty of acceleration and excellent handling. McPherson struts. Twin cam 2.0L engine.Jul 07, 2008
by Matt G
Jun 20, 2008
Love the fact that not many ppl know what it is... except rally fans.Jun 20, 2008
by Yomar M
Jun 15, 2008
Es uno de los carros mas comodos de manejarJun 15, 2008
by Anonymous
Jun 15, 2008
I just got this toyota and really like itJun 15, 2008
by LeeAnne S
Jun 11, 2008
This car was so amazing to drive. Jun 11, 2008
by Gordon C
May 04, 2008
Love it to bit's, want to know more ask me.May 04, 2008
by Audrey M
Apr 06, 2008
it had excellent handling, excellent pick-up.Apr 06, 2008
by Todd H
Mar 31, 2008
The celica is overall a good car... haha my looks like crap... but runs good...Mar 31, 2008
by Rick V
Mar 29, 2008
I bought the car for a hundred bucks, it has 251,000 miles on it and still runs, needs alot of work and some tlc but it gets me around, total life saver!!Mar 29, 2008
by Jad Z
Mar 28, 2008
I built custom door panels out of fiberglass to fit 6and1/2 separates with crossovers.
My custom amp rack holds 2 mtx amps( 3401 and 3202) one for my speakers and one for the subs.
In the trunk, iv got three 10" (4500) mtx subwoofers.
Nice sounding mufflerMar 28, 2008
by Michael S
Mar 18, 2008
for a car that was made in 1988/9 this was great 150bhp out of the 2.0 ok brakes, good on the bend's and would top out at about 145mph ish. i would have another one anyday.Mar 18, 2008
by Orkut K
Mar 13, 2008
2.0L
HP 115 @ 5200 RPMMar 13, 2008
by Cris G
Feb 21, 2008
An exciting car to drive. Light and fast. Cloth interior and alloys as standard. They come with sunroof and/or AC. FWD so traction's good. Lots of fun if you can find one now.Feb 21, 2008
by Orin M
Jan 12, 2008
fun to drift, loves to pull and make noise, sneaky car because the headlights turn off while driving at nightJan 12, 2008
by Anonymous
Dec 05, 2007
Had it a short time but seems to be comfortable and handles well.Dec 05, 2007
by Chris S
Dec 02, 2007
Imported GTR 4WS. didn't break down much but when it did i had to import parts - expensive.
Not fastest car ever but handled amazing.Dec 02, 2007
by Anonymous
Nov 24, 2007
I have had for years with very few problems. Nov 24, 2007
by Anonymous
Sep 06, 2007
good gas milelageSep 06, 2007
by Anonymous
Jul 25, 2007
Well, it is mid-summer and I have been putting a lot of miles on the Toyota. The rear brakes finally went metal to metal last month...in the middle of a rainstorm in rush-hour traffic. I pulled into the nearby Firestone and they did a bang-up job in only one hour. I got new shoes and drums and life is good once more. I was caught in a hailstorm and suffered some slight dents in the roof and trunk lid. The rain leak around the tail light assemblies was fixed with some silicone. The cassette player stopped working.
But the engine still pulls strongly and I still get 28 MPG despite frequent stop & go driving and lots of 80 MPH sprints on the interstate.
The car still looks good when it is washed and shined up. I still love it, and even though I will probably get a new car soon I hesitate to trade the Celica in. It is fun to drive, it scoots through traffic like a go-cart
Jul 25, 2007
by Anonymous
Apr 10, 2007
OK, here is the latest update on the maintenance of my Celica.
In order to have my front-end aligned (after I bought new tires at PEP Boys) I was told I needed new tie-rod ends and a CV joint. This was more money than I had at the time so I waited a couple of months and had a second opinion at Firestone. The news was even worse there. I also needed new motor mounts and disk brake pads!
I had to drive the car to Oklahoma the next day, so I bit the bullet and had the work done. I also had the alignment done and oil changed and a new air filter installed. It cost me $970.00 But they did it in one day and with minimal complications.
It is hard to believe how differently the car drives. The drivetrain noise is gone. The drivetrain snatch is gone. The clutch engagement is smoother and overall the ride is much quieter and the handling is tighter. On smooth roads you might think it had an electric motor.
Those repairs took 20 years off the car, and I am very pleased with the results (despite the high cost).
Since the engine is in great shape and the interior and body are in good condition, I plan to hold on to the car for a long time. I will have more work done as I can afford it and continue to drive it on into my geezer years. I suspect that it will prove to be a rare model and a worthy investment over time.
Apr 10, 2007
by Anonymous
Mar 30, 2007
I submitted my first review (the oldest one listed here) before I knew to do it under my login. The photos, however are mine.
Here is an update:
As of 03/30/2007 my 1989 Toyota Celica ST Coupe is still humming along! I put new tires on it and it needs a CV joint and tie-rod ends. I also found out that the trunk has a rain leak but I don't know where exactly. I had to pull the rubber drain plugs out to keep it dry. The water drips on the driver's side taillight bulbs and causes them to blow out. I covered the tail light assembly with plastic and I think that will be a temporary fix.
The engine runs as strong as ever at 203K miles! Toyota builds a great engine.
The cruise control is jerky when it cuts in at highway speeds.
I still love the car and I am surprised that there are so few on the road. If I ever save enough money I would like to do a complete restoration
Mar 30, 2007
by Anonymous
Feb 27, 2007
I was given this car in 2002 and since then I have done many things to it. I blew the engine in 2004 and have replaced it with a JDM engine out of LA. The newer engine was much more powerful and runs smooother. I have replaced the entire cooling system, igniton system, clutch, tires,cv axles, and the car runs great. I drive on average about 75 miles a day and the car runs reliably. The only problems are the body has some body damage from the previous owner and the paint is beginning to fade.Feb 27, 2007
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1989 Toyota Celica Pricing
Original MSRP
$12,120 to $21,190Price range
N/AAverage price on CG
N/AYoY price change
N/ATrims & specs
Audio System
AM/FM radio
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt-only
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt-adjustable
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: power
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: leather
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt-adjustable
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: power
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: leather
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Brakes
ABS: 4-wheel
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt and telescopic
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: power
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: sport bucket · Upholstery: leather
Tires and Rims
Wheel type: aluminum alloy
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Brakes
ABS: 4-wheel
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt and telescopic
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: heated
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: sport bucket · Upholstery: leather
Tires and Rims
Wheel type: aluminum alloy
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Brakes
ABS: 4-wheel
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt-adjustable
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: power
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent
Audio System
Antenna Type: power · Single disc in-Dash CD · AM/FM radio
Brakes
ABS: 4-wheel
Comfort Features
Steering wheel trim: leather
Convenience Features
Steering wheel: tilt and telescopic
Mirrors
Exterior mirrors: power
Roof
Sunroof: power glass
Seats
Front seat type: sport bucket · Upholstery: leather
Tires and Rims
Wheel type: aluminum alloy
Windows
Front wipers: intermittent