Conventional wisdom, when someone asks “What kind of car should I get?”, is to answer with one brand name: Toyota. If you just need reliable transportation, you can’t go far wrong with any product from the Japanese giant. But with that reputation comes high residual values that can make secondhand Toyotas very expensive compared to other cars. Is the extra price worth it? That’s today’s question.
Yesterday, we looked at a couple of sporty cars that were originally marketed as economy cars. I expected the Honda CRX to win, despite its modifications, but to my surprise, the grubby but stock Pontiac Fiero beat it. Quite a few of you said that if the CRX had been stock, it would have won handily. That’s probably true – but it also would cost more than four grand, possibly a lot more.
I’ve always liked the Fiero, and I’m happy to throw my support behind it. I like CRXs too, but I dislike hacking up nice cars for no good reason. I’d rather have a bone-stock CRX HF with 300,000 miles on it than this monstrosity. The Fiero isn’t the right spec, but it isn’t entirely the wrong one either. It would do.
The Spanish priest and philosopher Baltasar Gracián once wrote: “Better to be cheated by the price than by the merchandise.” In other words, it’s generally a better deal to overpay for something that you know will be good than to take a chance on something of lesser quality for cheaper. Had there been cars in the 17th century, I’m betting old Baltasar would have been a Toyota man. Toyota’s reputation for building reliable and durable cars has made used examples a pricey proposition in many cases. You can still luck out and find one for cheap, but you have to be patient, and you have to accept the fact that the first digit in the odometer is going to be a two or higher.
Either that, or it’s going to be something painfully dull and not very well equipped, like the car I’m about to show you. As a counterpoint to it, I’ve found a car for less than half its price, that feels like a whole lot “more car.” But it’s not a Toyota. Is the lesser-but-nicer car worth the considerably higher price? That will be up to you.
1990 Toyota Tercel – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter OHC inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: San Jose, CA
Odometer reading: 100,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Quick! What’s the least exciting car ever built? The car that even stodgy old Consumer Reports called “dull?” Yep, that’s right – the Toyota Tercel. Through five generations, this diminutive car racked up bazillions of miles, with its little four-banger struggling to accelerate it and its skinny tires wailing in protest at even the slightest hint of spirited driving. This third-generation Tercel has had two owners and has racked up just over 100,000 miles.
This generation of Tercel has a transversely-mounted 1.5-liter four making 78 horsepower. It drives the front wheels through a three-speed automatic transmission. Bored yet? It runs and drives well, and it just passed a smog test.
One thing I have found over the years doing this job is that sellers are not always correct – or honest. The seller of this car claims it has never been smoked in, but look at the driver’s seat: that’s a cigarette burn if I ever saw one. What else are they leaving out? It doesn’t look bad inside, though. Hopefully it smells all right.
The outside looks good, with just a few dings and scrapes here and there. It’s rust-free, too. This car might not be very exciting, but there’s no reason its paint job can’t be. Imagine this car with Martini livery. Or Alitalia. Or any number of other white-based race liveries. Is it ridiculous to do that to a Tercel? Yep. Is that a reason not to do it? Hell no.
1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE – $1,450
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Tukwila, WA
Odometer reading: 169,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
It seems like everyone has a story about an N-body Pontiac Grand Am. They were so ubiquitous on American roads for so many years that nearly everyone has crossed paths with one at some point. I once changed the starter in one on a bitterly cold day in Wisconsin, and just a few weeks ago, I ragged one around a rallycross course. They’re starting to get rare, but they will never be valuable. I would imagine that the very last Grand Am ever offered for sale won’t cost more than two thousand bucks.
The Grand Am came with a few engines over the years; this one has a 2.4-liter twin-cam four-cylinder based on the old Quad 4. It drives the front wheels through a four-speed automatic. Both the engine and transmission are generally pretty reliable, in that never-say-die GM way. This one runs and drives very well, according to the seller.
You can tell the trim level of a turn-of-the-century Pontiac by counting the buttons in the interior. This is a pretty basic model; there are no buttons on the steering wheel. It does have power windows and locks, but those might have been standard by this point. It’s in good condition, and the seller says the air conditioning works fine, which is a nice bonus for a car in this price range.
It’s not the most attractive car on the road, but there is some comfort in the familiarity of it. I sometimes wonder if these came from the factory with the plastic cladding all scuffed up. Luckily, since this is a Pacific Northwest car, the cladding is unlikely to be hiding any rust, unlike midwestern examples.
Toyota reliability is no joke, but that doesn’t mean other cars won’t do just fine as well. And in this case, the other car comes with some niceties like power windows, air conditioning, and an overdrive gear, and for less than half the price. The Grand Am probably won’t be as rock-solid reliable as the Tercel, nor is it likely to last as long, but for the price, are you willing to gamble? Or are you more inclined to pay extra for a sure thing?
Both are AWFULLLLLLLL!!!!!!
In PA, all the Tercels had rusted away by the time I was of driving age. Those Grand Ams were everywhere then, and then they all left the road at seemingly the same time. Grand Am is a bargain way to reconnect with my past herd idling in a Rust Belt Wawa
I had friends with that generation of Tercel, and it poisoned my impression of Toyota for a decade. They were cheap, flimsy, unremarkable rattletraps that happened to be mechanically reliable. The good was interred with the bones there. The plastic sweated a greasy film, the interior (door handles especially included) had the structural integrity of a Triscuit, and 40mph on a thoroughfare felt like 140 in a German car on a poorly maintained freeway. Toyota has made a bunch of fantastic cars. These Tercels don’t share that halo.
Thumbs-up to the Toyota for a miles-eating economical commuter for someone who needs one. It’s also a good car for new driver to get around in. If only new cars had such terrific visibility all around. A girlfriend of mine, many years ago, had a Tercel hatchback and we had many good memories in that car… and it was as dependable as Toyotas are reputed to be.
This one is good for at least another hundred thousand miles. Talk the seller down to 3 grand even and you have your money’s worth.
I’d take the Toyota if it was a stick, but these Grand Ams were good looking and decent driving cars. If they were both stick I’d still take the Pontiac.
Pfft. Gimme the Toyota.
I will say exactly one good thing about this generation of Tercel: I always liked how the character line wrapped around into the taillights, a simple but slightly weird move.
The photo of the Grand-Am’s interior has an actual odor.
Neither. Yuck. Two penalty boxes. One likely smoked inside (I see a burn on the back seat too), the other a heap of poo that I spent far too much time renting back in the day. One nearly killed me due to brake fade in the Black Hills back then.
Not even with a gun to my head am I picking either of these. If the Toyota had a stick, maybe, but it would have to be a big gun. Being that reliable means stuck with the thing that much longer.
Tercels are reliable, but I won’t subject myself ever again to drive an old, slow, unsafe and on top of that expensive penalty box as long as I have means to avoid doing so.
There is a reason the Tercel never got near the sales numbers as the Corolla despite also being reliable…
The Grand Am is more than half the price. Looks much better (IMHO) and is a better color. The Tercel can get classic plates in many places and looks like they apply.
Grand Slam all the way.
Soap and water and the Grand Am is ready to roll. If you’re taking any trip longer than 10 miles, you’ll appreciate the Grand Am. It will eat up highway miles, probably get 30MPG, and any mechanic in any town anywhere can probably fix it with a coat hanger, duct tape, and some paper clips. This is what GM is good at.
I was set to say Grand Am until I opened the article and got down to that 90’s GM interior. I’ll stick with the Tercel.
and the correct livery for it would be the Celica Castrol Rally Car one.
I had one and you’ll be shocked to learn that most of what you see is soft touch.
Not that much to go wrong on the Pontiac. Plus it’s a little bigger, a little heavier, and has an airbag, so I’d feel slightly less unsafe driving it. And 4-doors to boot. This is probably the only Toyota I’d decline over a Grand Am though.
Those Grand Ams ate head gaskets like they were nobody’s business. Had a few passed around the family in the 90s and they were maintenance nightmares. Gimme the Tercel. They’re bulletproof, but would definitely lose the stoplight drag next to the Grand Am.
You’re thinking of the 3.1 V6 eating intake gaskets. The 2.4 Twin Cam was the Saturn S Series engine, very reliable. And even with the intake gasket failing, mine managed to get to 200k miles. If you’re willing to upgrade the gasket, the 60 degree V6 is actually a very stout engine.
That wedgy little coupe just does it for me (moreso, anyway), but it was close.
California is such a magical place, where cars like that Tercel can still exist and be useful. In New England, the last of that generation likely returned to the earth a good two decades ago. I cannot remember the last time I saw one of those, two doors or four. I think I had a 4-door version as a driver’s ed car, circa 1995. The school had a fleet of those, with over 200K miles, which was a great endorsement of their reliability. I remember this one girl I’d often have lessons with that never met a curb she didn’t hit.
That said, I’m taking the Grand Am. I have a soft spot for Pontiacs having owned a series of FBodies, and that Quad 4 has plenty of power even compared to modern cars. With ABS and airbags, IMO that’s still a useful and relatively safe daily driver. If that were near me, I’d pick it up as a commuter.
Im moved here 30 years ago. Yes. Still have the now-30 year old truck I bought before I moved here. All of the 90’s Tacomas rusted away a long time ago elsewhere.