I was in the local motor factors the other day when the chap at the counter next to me was buying brake discs and pads for his Celica. Let's just say I could replace three sets on my Golf GTI for only a couple of quid more than he paid for one set.

Based on a friend's experience with a 51 reg 190, the later shape Celicas, lovely as they are, are not particularly reliable or well built, and neither do they age well.

His, at 3 yrs old and 57,000 miles (when he got rid) was on its third gearbox, fourth catalytic converter, third radio/CD unit, second air-con compressor, and second alternator. It had also had most of the suspension bushes replaced at least once, and rattled and squeaked like an old truck. It also wore its tyres in the most bizarre way imaginable.

The only part of the car which seemed to deserve the Japanese reputation was the engine, which was an absolute belter from day 1, and never missed a beat.

Main dealer supplied car (3 mth old ex demo), driven hard but not abused, 80% motorway / long run use, and full Toyota S/H. Dealer was superb, Toyota GB were about as helpful and sympathetic as housebricks.

Never bought into the Jap = guaranteed reliability / low running cost thing after that, personally. In fairness though, it doesn't take much "extra" work to get a main dealer bill the wrong side of £500 on any car these days, which is why I would never use one, and certainly not on a 5 yr old car. Find a good indie.

Edited by DP on 27/05/2010 at 16:59

This was all documented with Toyota. The early 190's had issues with unburnt fuel going into the exhaust on the overrun in the aggressive cam mode. It took several engine management revisions to fix it.

The first gearbox failed (grenaded would be a more accurate description) because it was misbuilt. There was a poorly fitted circlip on one of the shafts. This was documented by Toyota who changed it under warranty. The second had a notchy quality from new and never improved. He had to fight to get it changed again.

At the end of the day, this sequence of events is real. He is a close mate of mine, who I saw regularly throughout this sorry saga.

He kept it because the warranty covered everything, and he loved the car. When it worked.

I am not saying I would never buy a Japanese car, or that they are not statistically more reliable than European cars, but if you can't accept that they can, and do go wrong, and that building an unreliable dog is something they are perfectly capable of doing, you are simply deluding yourself.

I have two reliable Volkswagens. So I must be lying, right? Get a grip.

Edited by DP on 28/05/2010 at 10:57