Junkyard Gem: 1996 Toyota Tercel with 360,459 miles

Whereas the best plausible odometer studying I’ve ever seen on a discarded automobile throughout my junkyard travels was a 1990 Volvo 240 with 626,476 miles, I spot so many junked Toyotas with higher than 300,000 miles that I do not take into account them very noteworthy. Nevertheless, almost all of these soon-to-be-crushed 300K-plus Toyotas are Camrys and Previas, with the occasional Corolla thrown in for selection. And, after all, homeowners of the beloved 1983-1988 Tercel 4WD wagon are likely to rack up loads of miles on their automobiles. The abnormal Toyota Tercel of the Nineties, nonetheless, was a bargain-basement low-cost econo-commuter that wasn’t value sufficient to repair when it bought outdated and broke one thing costly, and you will not discover many junkyard examples with large miles (actually, simply the alternative). Right now’s Junkyard Gem is one Tercel that beat the chances and got here fairly near the 400,000-mile mark earlier than a crash ended its profession at age 24.

That is greater than 13,850 miles per 12 months through the course of this automobile’s life, or the gap of 14½ journeys across the Earth’s Equator.

It will have stored driving, too, however then it bought sideswiped (in all probability whereas parked) and a two-door sedan with half its doorways nonfunctional is a giant trouble to reside with. This injury would have been value fixing on a 1992 Lexus LS 400, however not on a lowly Tercel.

In 1996, the Tercel was obtainable as a two- or four-door sedan (the final mannequin 12 months right here for the hatchback model was 1990). The MSRP for this automobile was $10,348, or about $19,890 in 2022 {dollars}. That 12 months, you can get the miserably stripped-down Honda Civic CX hatchback for $9,890, the wretchedly tiny Geo Metro hatchback for $8,380 (its Suzuki Swift twin was $8,689), the equally tiny Ford Aspire hatchback for $8,790, a primitive Dodge/Plymouth Neon two-door for $9,495, a still-a-Colt Mitsubishi Mirage two-door for $9,989, or a generic-as-it-gets Hyundai Accent hatchback for simply $8,079. How a few Kia Sephia four-door for less than $8,895? I believe I might have purchased the Civic CX or possibly even the Accent (although it was not but clear that Hyundais have been fairly respectable automobiles by the center Nineties), however the Tercel provided a whole lot of construct high quality for the value.

I’ve owned and daily-driven a number of 1983-1988 Tercel wagons plus a 1990 hatchback, and I believed they have been no enjoyable in any respect to drive however admirably properly bolted collectively and straightforward to work on.

This one has a 1.5-liter (really simply barely over 1.45-liter, however we’ll spherical up) 5E-FE engine, rated at 92 horsepower.

An automated transmission was obtainable (for an additional 700 bucks, or $1,345 right this moment), however that looks like a frivolous expense for such an inexpensive automobile. Consider it or not, the bottom transmission within the 1996 Tercel was a four-speed guide, making it the final four-on-the-floor automobile obtainable new in america. I am undecided how a lot this five-speed improve price the unique purchaser of this automobile, but it surely could not have been a lot; it is doable that late-model-year ’96 Tercels bought a five-speed at no further price.

Consider it or not, there’s each air-con ($900, or $1,730 now) and the mixture cassette/CD participant deck (a staggering $914, or $1,755 after inflation). Why not simply get a Corolla (although it is doable that somebody swapped in junkyard-obtained audio {hardware} in a while, as I’ve performed many occasions)?

Pinstripes!

The physique filler on the hood exhibits that some proprietor cared about this automobile sufficient to get some dents repaired.

The Tercel remained obtainable in america via 1998, after which it was changed by the Echo. These are the occasions. That is the automobile.