I am new to Scion and have never owned a Scion or Toyota. Currently have a 2002 Jetta with a 1.8t motor. Great car and fun to drive when working well. Started looing into TC's and while not turbo, they look to be a fun and more important reliable car. I don't mind doing my own wrench work, just not every weekend like I have had on the VW.

While I know this is the choir, I would like to know known issues to look for when buying a used one, and general thoughts on the the TCs. I have already read that they have a timing chain and not a belt like VWs which is huge.

I appreciate your feedback

 

biggest issues were with the 05-07 water pumps, other than that to be honest there wasnt really any unless you had the TRD supercharger. there are quite a few members and scion owners out there with well over 100k. a few with 200k+

 

I'm on 55k with no problems. It's no race car but it is definitely fun with some braces

 

Good to know. Is the Waterpump a difficult job? I have done many on american cars. My VW was done at the time of timing belt, which I did not do.


Thanks for the input and good to know.

 

that i dont know. when they've gone out people have taken it back and had dealership done due to warranty.

 

The tC is built on the Toyota Corolla platform, that should tell you something about it's reliability.

30,000 km's on my 2013, few aftermarket stuff for power and zero issues so far. My main issue is that is doesn't have a stock 2nd 12v accessory plug in inside the cabin, only has the one.

 

the tC is not built on the Corolla platform. the first gen was built on the toyota avensis and the second gen on the toyota zelas.

 

Sorry, meant to say the drivetrain, not platform, and camry, not corolla.

"The drivetrain is also used in the Toyota Camry, that should tell you something about the reliability of it."

^^^ Thats what I meant to say.

 

Thanks all, I am hearing good things. I like the fact that it is not an interference engine and has a timing chain, not a belt. Little piece of mind after owning a Vdub, though I love driving a 1.8T.

We are still looking and have a few leads on some decent cars we think.

 

Camry.

 

The first gen was built in the Avensis platform (which itself is a more compact version of the Camry's platform). The new one is j ust a revised version of the same platform. The engine is the same as the Camry's though.

As for the car - I like it, but it has some downsides, mostly expected for a cheap car:

- bargain basement interior. It's cheap, and I mean REALLY cheap. There are some nice touches (supportive, firm seats, the nicely padded wheel), but they are high points in a sea of hard black plastic. Think GM trucks from 10 years ago in their base "work-truck" trim and you're n the right path (the interior reminds me a LOT of a Chevy S-10.

- cost-cutting when they think you won't look at it on the test drive (glove box plunks open, cubbies have no felt lining, no glovebox light, no auto-up window, etc. The unpadded center armrest is particularly unforgivable.

- loud interior. There is a lot of road noise, particularly from the cargo area.

- moonroof rattles

- its not as sporty as it could be, mostly due to the steering feel

The fact is, you're basically getting an Accord coupe at Civic coupe prices. The car is probably one of the best screaming deals around. I've had mine for a bit over two years and put 48,000 miles on it, driven coast to coast, and have zero interest in replacing it. The bargain price means that I was able to quickly pay it off and, given my past experiences with cheap Japanese 4-cylinder cars with manual transmissions, it should last until the end of time... Or at least a few hundred thousand miles, with minimal problems.

Insurance can be tricky, since the tC has been somewhat popular with the slum-apartment-dwelling spray-can ricer crowd... be sure to shop around - some insurers wanted an arm and leg ($720 with state farm, $650 with USAA.). I was able to get full coverage with Progressive for under $300/6 mos.

 

^ awesome ocean.

I agree I enjoy my tc, was loud road noise. I sound deadened it, (a lot of sweat and blood "literally, that ____ is sharp") I hated interior, so I got clazzio leather, then I put OEM audio in it, sound deadened the doors, dampened the plastic pieces so their were no rattles. I am at 10k miles and my moonroof or sunroof or whatever hasn't rattled yet. It can be a nice car.

^ As mentioned above, good idea on the felt idea. I think I am going to put felt in my glovebox and cubby to reduce noise, sounds like a sound idea personally. I put too much time into this car to trade it in, honestly i've considered it but with a 7 year 100k mile warranty that I have, I just can't do it. I'd hate to worry about a car breaking down.

Scion had my car this week and I had a camry, tell you what. That is a smooooth ride. Loved every minute of it, just hated the looks imho.

 

I cut rubber pads for the bottom of the glove box, center console tray, bottoms of all the cup holders and door pockets, also installed leather Clazzios and the leather shift-boot and armrest cover from redline goods.

 

Like already mentioned, they're reliable cars but you get what you pay for in terms of the interior. It is rather flimsy and noisey, but overall not bad. I bought my 2012 with 1 mile on it, almost at 30k now without a single issue. Drove it all along the east coast down to the south without any issues, plus mountain driving. Fun car, priced well for what you get.

 

you should make sure to look into some things if you are buying used..
i. rear shocks degrade fairly quickly
ii. excessive rear negative camber
iii. rust or rust spots

that's really all i could think of, as mentioned, the car rattles and is loud in the cabin from road noise and occasional rattles. motor wise, i have never had a problem with either my 06 tc, which i got rid of after 30000 miles, or my 11 tc2, which has 35000 miles.., from how the car feels, i'd say it will go 100k without giving me any problems..