hi all,should i get a starlet???

T

thatbigbloke

Fresh Recruit
hi everyone
first off i must admit i dont curently own a starlet but want to
i curently drive an MG ZR 1.8 16v
but fancey a change. ive wanted a Gt turbo for a while now
but now i can aford to insure one so im gettin one, no matter what the girlfriend says.

when i go to buy one, what do i need to look for, common faults etc etc
there is a guy on pistonheads.com whos up for doing a swap for my ZR

he has a 95 black quad lamp, a few bits done to it,exhaust springs dump valve and so on, 85000 klm on it
6 months t&T, full black leather retrim, looks nice

but ive heard storys, storys of starlets being unreliable and crap
i dont want to belive them, please tell me otherwise
cheers
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
you buy a crap one that has been abused and modded badly and it will be crap. there are getting more and more crap ones about.

best bet would be to get a nice standardish one. that way you should be fine unless your unlucky.
you have to remember they are getting old now
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
Welcome to the site and you won't be disapointed with a Starlet, they are far from unreliable and crap, it all depends on what steps you take to ensure things are done correctly and safely when modifying! if anything was to go wrong your on the right site, everyone heres really helpful and the mods are a great bunch!

This should help with a few bits


http://www.toyotagtturbo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1435
 
kieran.s gt

kieran.s gt

Member +
welcome to the site
starlets are far from crap once you by one that modded properly or a standard one and thats not abused there very good
 
T

thatbigbloke

Fresh Recruit
well ive driven mg rovers for 2 years so starlets are going to be alot better
no matter how bad they are :haha:
so there arnt any common faults i should be aware of
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
thatbigbloke said:
well ive driven mg rovers for 2 years so starlets are going to be alot better
no matter how bad they are :haha:
so there arnt any common faults i should be aware of
Click to expand...

Let the car warm up make sure it don't overheat etc, Make sure theres no smoke eg blue when left to idle means turbo's knackered usualy, if your do 30 in 5th and put ur foot down if alot of smoke comes out also indicates turbo! and then check everything else you would if you were buying any car!
 
Dan3SGTE

Dan3SGTE

Member +
yeah i wouldnt listen to alot of people out there...

Starlets are great little cars in the right hands. And served me alot of realiability and much fun even in stock form.
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
turbo seals, valve stem oil seals. normal strange noises and knocking. rear brakes seized. smoke, leaking rear main seal. knackered cv joints. gearbox problems (crunching etc). window motors sometimes pack up.
check its not a crashed one, lots of those about. 90% have had some accident repairs so dont be put off as long as its been done to a decent standard.

fading paintowrk, especially on older starlets on the roof.

lots of other little bits and peices really. do a search and have a look and you should get an idea of what the main problems tend to be
 
T

thatbigbloke

Fresh Recruit
here ya go ive copy n pasted the email he sent me with the full spec

1995 quad light black starlet gt turbo. It has a > rebuilt turbo, Blitz FMIC, Blitz De-cat, Full 2.5" system> > with a 3.5" box, air impulse version II air filter straight from > japan, 15" rota grids with lots of tyre left, koni dampers> with trd springs, trd shortshifter, full leather and suede retrim> Turbo timer,dump valve ,on dash boost gauge, everytime i have > driven it a have always made sure i let it warm up,> still limited but i have the de-limited dials that go to 180mph > which you could have, 6months tax 6 months mot,> loads of paperwork including parts from and in japan
and it only 1.3 on the log book mate, so very cheap to insurance, and it is very quick car

the mileage is about 85k but still in KM tought, about 4 owners since import back to 2004
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
lingl9z said:
ask for receipts and fsh or ssh!
Click to expand...

i have no service history as such with mine as ive done everything myself so the service history parts isnt 100% necassary. have a tonne of receipts though ;)

also just see whos you are buying from, if they seem like a chav type who just go on about how it beats scoobys and boosts to 20bar etc then i would steer clear.
try and buy from an enthusiast. may cost a bit more but should be worth it in the long run
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
thatbigbloke said:
here ya go ive copy n pasted the email he sent me with the full spec

1995 quad light black starlet gt turbo. It has a > rebuilt turbo, Blitz FMIC, Blitz De-cat, Full 2.5" system> > with a 3.5" box, air impulse version II air filter straight from > japan, 15" rota grids with lots of tyre left, koni dampers> with trd springs, trd shortshifter, full leather and suede retrim> Turbo timer,dump valve ,on dash boost gauge, everytime i have > driven it a have always made sure i let it warm up,> still limited but i have the de-limited dials that go to 180mph > which you could have, 6months tax 6 months mot,> loads of paperwork including parts from and in japan
and it only 1.3 on the log book mate, so very cheap to insurance, and it is very quick car

the mileage is about 85k but still in KM tought, about 4 owners since import back to 2004
Click to expand...

really pisses me off when people say its only a 1.3 on the logbook. they obviously insure it as a normal 1.3 starlet, twat
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
dac69er said:
i have no service history as such with mine as ive done everything myself so the service history parts isnt 100% necassary. have a tonne of receipts though ;)

also just see whos you are buying from, if they seem like a chav type who just go on about how it beats scoobys and boosts to 20bar etc then i would steer clear.
try and buy from an enthusiast. may cost a bit more but should be worth it in the long run
Click to expand...

i see reciepts as serive history tbh!
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
dac69er said:
really pisses me off when people say its only a 1.3 on the logbook. they obviously insure it as a normal 1.3 starlet, twat
Click to expand...

x2 make sure you insure it properly and if its down as a 1.3N/a on log book get it changed! but thats quiet a nice spec list, dunno how much ur rovers worth but the parts alone tally up! but still check the usual out and what dac69er said! check that link i gave too.
 
dac69er

dac69er

Super Moderator
mine says 1.3 on the logbook. it also says its an import. it doesnt have to state its a turbo on there but you may as well not be insured if your just going to insure it as a 1.3 n/a
 
lingl9z

lingl9z

Member +
dac69er said:
mine says 1.3 on the logbook. it also says its an import. it doesnt have to state its a turbo on there but you may as well not be insured if your just going to insure it as a 1.3 n/a
Click to expand...

good point, although when i got pulled the queried why it was 1.3na on log book so i got it changed to advoid the hassle!
 
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