I'm looking to buy a used car - please help me compare these two: 2000 Celica and 1998 Eclipse?
Question: I don't know a lot about cars so any assistance you can provide is much appreciated. I'm torn between a 2000 Toyota Celica GT from a used dealer or a private 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse from a private seller.
I have the following info:
Celica - $8900, 149000km, 2 dr., auto., fully loaded, good cond. in and out, drives excellent, cert. & E-tested, alum. wheels (all info from web ad)
Eclipse - $7800, 110000km, 2 dr., auto., fully loaded, alloy wheels, 4 cyl., rebuilt engine w/10000km on it, no rust, new altenator, needs a/c gas to be refilled, 3000 watts pioneer mp3-cd sound system wid 2 infinity subs (info from web ad and e-mail correspondence with seller)
Answer:
Celica hands down.
I made the mistake of buying a '98 Eclipse (thank god I no longer have it!). It was a piece of junk and I had nothing but problems with it (mostly electrical). In addition, it's really a "chic"-kinda car and unless you are getting the GST, the Eclipse is too slow and weak for me. I made the mistake of buying it with a lot of modifications (including the system like the one you're looking into)... I will never buy anything that was already modified because 1) they probably didn't do it right 2) you will never know exactly how they did it (half the time) and therefore can't fix anything yourself and 3) a lot of times its some young kid and he has probably dogged it out (which would also explain why the engine was already rebuilt).
I've owned a lot of Toyotas and always enjoyed them. They were all very reliable. Additionally, it sounds like it is a Toyota cetified used car, which means they have checked it out really well and is probably in good condition. I never owned that model Celica, but I test drove the GT-S (top model) and it was bad-@ss... much quicker than my Eclipse.
Good luck!
Buy the Celica. Eclipse has been dogged ( who rebuilt the engine and will you get a guarantee? ) They can put in the fancy stereo but not fix the a-c, don't buy this car. The Celica will give you much more reliability and return for your dollar.
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