Piston Slap: Ter-Sell or Not Ter-Sell?

by Sajeev Mehta

Updated: May 16th, 2014 Published: December 5th, 2012

TTAC Commentator Ryoku75 writes:

Thanks for your response on my question on modern car grilles, you make a good point on modern cars being a bit taller up-front than needed. Now, I own an ’89 Toyota Tercel that needs a rear wheel bearing and exhaust (muffler, piping), otherwise it works fine and has 125k.

Unless if I fix the bearings and exhaust it won’t pass inspection. To fix them it would be $600 for both at my local garage.Should I fix it or sell it for $1500 and get something else?

If I should sell it, what should I get? My Criteria is:

1. Reliable

2. Long-Lasting

3. Cheap to fix (Parts, Labor, ease of work)

4. Not a Nissan Juke (I can take ugly, but this is something else)

If you suggest a “Panther” I’d go with it, they seem like good cars from what I’ve heard.

Sajeev answers:

Come on, Son! If you’re even remotely considering a Panther, you know that I’m In It To Win It!

Just like the perfect license plate on a fat (non-beancounted) Panther. Ahem, now where were we?

Then again, your Tercel sounds pretty sweet, only needing a few hundred in repairs to make it a decent runner. Definitely don’t sell it, unless you want something newer. Do you want something newer? I hope not. But I’d love to see you with a Panther and a Tercel. You’ll have a (very) poor man’s S-class Benz for when you want to relax, and a proper miser (from the over-engineered era of Japanese cars) for the rest of the time. Can’t swing that way? Just be honest in your assessment of the Tercel’s future repairs.

If ye olde Tercel needs a few hundred in repairs every year, who cares? Does your job demand you have a 100% reliable ride so you will always be 15 minutes early in the office? Must you have a fully functional vehicle all the time, or are items like a fubar A/C not a deal breaker in the short-term?

Answer those questions honestly and you’ll have your answer. And if you wind up with a Panther, well, it’s all good.

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry.

#Exhaust #PantherLove #Tercel #Toyota #WheelBearing

Sajeev Mehta

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6 of 38 comments

Krhodes1 on Dec 06, 2012

Having just spent a week in a Crown Brictoria courtesy of Hertz' completely twacked concept of what constitutes an "upgrade", I repeat again - I DON'T GET IT! They are absolute dinosaurs. Completely unfit for purpose by 2012 standards. HUGE on the outside, tiny on the inside. I whacked my knee on the end of the dash about 5x getting in the miserable thing. Wretched seats. Cheap and nasty everywhere you look inside with ZERO comfort or convenience features. If you think they ride nicely, well, obviously you have never ridden in anything but 10ton trucks or schoolbusses with bad shocks. They handle like the Lusitania, and are about as handy to park. All the grip of a banana on an oiled linoleum floor. The directional stability of an arrow fired backwards. 19mpg but slow as a glacier. Not particularly quiet. Shall I go on?? They are obviously the perfect cop car or taxi cab, but who in Gods name wants to drive a cop car or a cab unless you are, in fact, a cop or a cabbie?!? At least you would be getting PAID to drive the POS! If it hadn't been 2:30AM when I arrived at SFO, I would have chopped it in for anything else. I would rather drive a Kia Rio - Just as cheap and nasty but a lot easier to park! At least the OP went to a Volvo, - which is a Panther done properly.

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- Ryoku75 on Dec 06, 2012
  
  I'm glad that you posted here, it was your past posts that inspired me to consider Volvos, 940s in particular. That and their global appeal. I chose the 240 for its better retail, its low mileage, and if I'm honest its styling. The old Marquis that I drove felt soft but perhaps that was the bodyroll, it gave the impression of good size thanks to its width, but its head room and rear legroom should've been better. I do agree on the handling, driving that thing felt like playing Roulette with how the steering wheel was. The brakes were junk, but this was an old car. I didn't like the bodyroll combined with the bench seats. Seeing out of the side was hard because of the width and the Brougham roof, ugh Brougham roofs suck. I really think that Panthers have their merits, but questionable quality shortcomings are what put me off. That and transmissions that seem to always last 90k-100k no matter the year. But yes, please do go on your Panther rant. Your point on cabs and taxis should be told to the many people that rave about the Panthers durability, and then point to their fleet use.
  
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- Roberto Esponja on Dec 07, 2012
  
  @Ryoku75 My father has owned about six Panthers, the last one being a Grand Marquis Ultimate. I can see their merits, but every time I drive my dad's car I can't get past that the damn car doesn't have a left foot rest. It truly annoys me after driving it a while, and I can't understand why they would be so cheap as to not put one on this car. That, plus I can attest to the gradual cheapening of the interior since the first one he had. This last one's leather feels like it's made of plastic-coated recycled paper.
  
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- Ryoku75 on Dec 07, 2012
  
  @Ryoku75 At Roberto: If my Tercel had any pleasing extra features, it was a left foot rest that was simple rubber attached with screws, it did its job. My Volvo doesn't have a foot rest but the higher seating position makes up for that, I never understood the Panthers low front bench seat.
  
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Threeer on Dec 06, 2012

My sister bought a 1997 Tercel with 120k on the clock back about six years ago. After some serious detailing, I sent it down to her in Florida, where she drove it for two years...rather enjoying the near 40 MPG she got with it. It was then sent back to me, and I drove it for about two years...also rather enjoying the mileage. We then sent the little scooter out to Colorado for my son to use in his last two years at the Academy. His graduation is coming up next May, and the fight is on between my sister and I as to who gets the Tercel back (I doubt that my up-and-coming pilot/son wants to show up to fighter training in a Tercel). Why are we fighting over a near 200k, 97-hp, manual tranny, crank window car? Because we've never owned a more reliable car. Period. A fresh paint job and some basic PM and we're pretty sure to get several more years of faithful service out of it. I'm bummed that I'll be transiting to Saudi Arabia shortly after, so it looks like my sister wins... Yeah...keep the Tercel! The interior of our '97 is a much higher quality than just about any new Toyota...sadly.

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- Ryoku75 on Dec 06, 2012
  
  Those new Tercels had the obvious issues of the '89 worked out, like the crummy 3-speed transmissions and the useless factory carburetor.
  
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