| Author |
Message |
Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 JZZ30 Soarer, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package
Posts: 60
Reg: 02-2006
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Hello all,
I've always been keen to buy a Celsior but nothing has come up available in Western Australia with the right trim and colour.
During the weekend, I found a used car dealer in Perth offering a 1990 Toyota Celsior, Silver/Grey with Velour Trim, and an odometre reading of only 34,438km (highly questionable).
The currently selling price is AU$13,995 plus AU$285 for 6 months' registration.
The price of AU$13,995 had been reduced from AU$15,495 --> to AU$14,995 --> then to AU$14,495 --> and now to AU$13,995. The reason being that the dealer wants to sell stock.
I haven't physically seen the car as the dealer is a good hour and a half drive from where I live, and for the time being, correspondence has only been made electronically, i.e. e-mail, for the past two days.
I seek all of those owners or past owners of a Celsior and whom have experienced the buying process of a Celsior, and what problems they have encountered.
I realise that a common problem in the UCF11 Celsior is a leaking LCD screen for the air-conditioning Climate Control Panel - as yet I have to find out and see the car myself.
Comparing with those Celsior vehicles on sale on carsales.com.au and carpoint.com.au, AU$13,995 for a 1990 Celsior with NON-leather trim interior seems high. I have yet to negotiate the price to further push it down.
From seeing the photos sent to me by the dealer, what are your opinions? Should I go and continue with this Celsior, or are better alternatives available, considering that the Australian Government has closed the doors for the importation of vehicles which are 15 years or older?
Let me know, I welcome all opinions - good and back. Cheers!
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Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 JZZ30 Soarer, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package
Posts: 61
Reg: 02-2006
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Mike Beck
TryHard
New Zeland
Honda
Posts: 325
Reg: 11-2005
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Its probably more like 134,000kms. Looks like a good one at those kind of kms but 34,000kms? Not really has a used look in some pictures... that current milage reading must be incorrect.
Still looks like a nice celsior at 13k. Be nicer if it was leather tho, That velour stuff is a let down. What kind of luxury car has no leather!? |
Justin Leafe
Tinkerer
Queensland
Celsior
Posts: 37
Reg: 09-2005
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Most dealers will be negotiable, it looks fairly clean.
Go and take a look, if you like it, then get an inspection done, it cost me $320 to get a Celsior inspected when I was looking ( 2 of them) but they found alot of stuff that would have ended up costing me big money. So it is worth it.
As far as signing a contract and having the inspection as a condition of purchase, if you think the dealer wont sell the car if you have a contract on it, you are dead wrong. The contract is only to lock YOU into the sale, not the dealer. |
Steve Petkos
Tinkerer
Vic
Celsior V8
Posts: 27
Reg: 02-2006
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You'll be able to find better for that price.
Offer him $10,000 |
Geoffrey Williams
TryHard
Victoria
UZZ31 V8 Soarer and LS400 Lexus V8
Posts: 121
Reg: 07-2005
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Which model is it? If it's the basic pack, the price is way,way too high.
If it's a C-F pack, the price is still on the high side through a dealer. In the case of a private sale, the price should be $2-3000 cheaper than a dealer price.
With all Celsiors, remember to carefully check the air suspension. |
Dave Hart
TryHard
Waikato
UZZ32
Posts: 386
Reg: 08-2005
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The end of the financial year is always a good time to buy and not just cars.
Haggle like hell if the car is still ok after the inspection. |
Brendon O'Loughlin
Tinkerer
NSW
2.5 GTT
Posts: 83
Reg: 07-2005
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Paul,
I just recently purchased one from QLD, and im in Syd. THanks to Dave Cassells on here who went for a drive and looked at it for me i was able to get pictures of any little marks on the car (ie if sunroof guard removal has left marks etc)
Mine was a black C Sedan with sunroof and leather. i got it for 11.5 then had to get rego etc and shipping down to syd.
i was lucky that becasue i bought it from a dealer i got a 3 month statutory warranty which covers everything on the car because my drivers front air sus airbag decided to die. The 12month dealer warranty doesn't cover suspension but the statutory one did, so just over 1k later at no expense to me i have a brand new airbag sus at the front drivers side thanks to toyota and govt.
As for the price he has given you...
"Tell him he's dreaming...."
If he doesn't want to sell it for around 11 then tell him thats the reason why he hasn't sold it yet, after all he would have got it for about 8k, so either way he is making a profit. |
Byron Platel
Newbie
WA
Celsior
Posts: 1
Reg: 03-2006
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Paul,
I know your frustration at trying to get a good Celsior in WA. I just picked up mine after looking for the best part of 3 months.
I looked at one Celsior at this dealer (opposite the RE Store Leederville), and it was one of the worst I've seen. It wasn't the one you are looking at as I was only looking at leather packs. The yard gave me the impression of being full of 15 year old bunkys (R32's, 300zx's, Legacys, etc). Most looked in really average condition.
I am happy to drop by and have a quick once over if you want as I live quite close to the yard. Let me know.
I got my Celsior from Distinctive Car Imports in Wangara, and I know that he has at least 5 left (as of a few weeks ago), some complied, some not. The ones he has were personally selected by them in Japan, so they are in decent condition. Suggest you call Regan (93095211) next time you are coming to Perth and check them out. Unfortunately he doesn't have them on his website as they specialise in Soarers and these few Celsiors were a little experiment.
Good luck, and don't forget "Good things come to those who wait".
Byron. |
Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 JZZ30 Soarer, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package
Posts: 62
Reg: 02-2006
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Hi Bryon,
This silver-1990 Celsior car is for sale at Leederville Motors, with the dealer principal / owner by the name of Ron Wasley.
By the photos it looks great and all, but again like most of the other forum members they've said that used cars from caryards may have hidden problems.
I'm not going to push myself in signing for a non-leather Celsior for above AU$8,000 - which I am taking as a ball-mark Australian-market price figure for a non-leather 1990 built Celsior.
Bryon, if you're close-by to Leederville Motors - 238-246 Oxford Street, Leederville - I would be happy for you to take a look when you have time and possibly take a few photos to post up on this forum for others to comment on.
A clear indication that this car hasn't been driven hard is the lack of steering wheel rim damage, as I've seen on other Celsior vehicles. There's another 1989 Celsior, Blue with Velour interior and 140,000km, going for AU$13,990 - that is on sale on a import caryard on North Lake Road in Melville (Demitri is the dealer principal, forgot the dealer name but it used to be "Melville Auto Imports") - which I wouldn't look into again. The car hasn't been looked after, and the steering wheel looks like it's been bitten by a dog or something!
Apparently used non-leather trimmed Celsior's in Western Australia are common with a price exceed the AU$13,000-mark. Could be something to do with a lack of supply or the higher Stamp Duty rate compared to Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Many thanks,
Paul. |
Byron Platel
Newbie
WA
Celsior
Posts: 2
Reg: 03-2006
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Paul,
Happy to swing by the yard - maybe even tonight. You are out of luck as far as photos goes, as I don't have a digital camera. Was thinking that I would just give you my general impression of the overall condition of the car and whether the kms look genuine.
I saw one when I was looking that showed 55000 on the odo, but the leather interior especially the steering wheel and gear selector looked like it had done at least 150000.
Will let you know my findings.
Byron. |
Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 JZZ30 Soarer, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package
Posts: 63
Reg: 02-2006
|
Thanks Bryon,
Sure, a general impression will be excellent!
I'm not too sure of the specifications on the car, would you mind looking what it has featured on the vehicle?
Thanks again,
Paul. |
Byron Platel
Newbie
WA
Celsior
Posts: 3
Reg: 03-2006
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Paul,
Had a look at the car last night.
I would rate it as Average - OK condition.
COSMETIC:
The cloth seats are very grubby. There is quite a noticable difference in colour when I pulled down the rear arm rest. A good detail should be able to get rid of the grime though.
The paint is starting to fade in some areas. Top of the rear bumper. Top of the doors (below the window line). There is cracked paint on the top of the rear bumper on the drivers side. It looks like it has taken a small knock. Enough to craze the paint, but the bumper has popped back out and doesn't show any damage. Also has some large scratches on the very front of the drivers side front fender, right on the point where it meets the headlight.
As you can see from one of your photos, the drivers seat is missing the tilt assembly lever.
The car is a standard C spec.
MECHANICAL:
Here's where this car kind of worries me.
There are a couple of stickers on top of the fuse box (just outside the engine photo) and it looks to me like the writing (kilometers) has been rubbed off.
The front tyres are Yokohamas in good condition, but the rears are Ceploo(?) brand which will need to be changed as they are barely legal and have a fair bit of cracking in the sidewalls.
OVERALL:
I don't think that this car is good value for money. The kilometers don't appear genuine, so you don't know when and how often maintenance has been done.
If I were buying it, here's what I would want to do before I was comfortable driving it;
1: Detail ($100-150) (could do yourself)
2: Immobiliser/Alarm ($50-whatever)
3: At least 2 tyres (~$200)
4: Full service including changing all fluids and drive belt (~$600-800)
5: Change timing belt (~$700?)
6: Tint (~$300)
7: Machine brake disks and replace pads (~500)
Car is unregistered and looks like it hasn't had compliance yet either (no child anchorage points), so I take it that he is going to slug you for rego as well.
Having said all that, I saw much, much worse when I was looking for mine, so you might want to check it out if you are coming to Perth because it might be OK value if you could knock him down a fair bit.
Hope this helps,
Byron |
Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 JZZ30 Soarer, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package
Posts: 65
Reg: 02-2006
|
Bryon,
You wouldn't be a car inspector by profession? Thank you for your thorough detailed report of the car, and having you saying that the car due to no child anchorage points, it may cost more than other Celsior vehicles bought interstate.
I didn't realise that the Driver Seat Tilt button was missing, thanks for picking that up - you've a sharp eye for detail.
Regarding the grubby seats, that would be a more fair indication of the condition and mileage of the above mentioned Celsior.
It's a bit unbelievable to see that this Celsior has only 34,438km - as advertised by the dealer himself. Come on, it's a 16 year old car, and only 34,438km? That's averaging 2,152.37km a year!
When I have time I'll pop by to have a look at Leederville Motors. I'm not that desperate, and if there's another alternative Celsior or better still, a later-year Lexus LS400 (Australian Delivered), it may be a wiser option.
I'll be in touch Bryon. Thank you!
Much appreciated,
Paul |
Richard Baird
TryHard
Perth, WA
Toyota Echo
Posts: 127
Reg: 07-2005
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Paul i know of a Celsior arriving soon in Perth and it may interest you?? |
Richard Baird
TryHard
Perth, WA
Toyota Echo
Posts: 128
Reg: 07-2005
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Paul Susanto
Tinkerer
Western Australia
1996 Soarer TT JZZ30, 2001 Harrier 3.0FOUR G-Package MCU15W
Posts: 66
Reg: 02-2006
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Isn't this the Celsior imported by Geoff of Prestige Motorsport? |
Richard Baird
TryHard
Perth, WA
Toyota Echo
Posts: 129
Reg: 07-2005
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Yup it's been sold and heading to our driveway...
but alas everything is for sale at the right price....  |
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