TeamBombersports Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Hello folks! Brief introduction, I'm Adam, 22 and just finishing university. Looking for a first car, and I wanted something fairly cheap but with character and the potential for future tuning...hence how I've happened upon the Toyota Starlet! Looking from an insurance angle, the 4E-FTE turbo or any Glanza-S/Vs are out of the question. However, a 1996-99 1.3 Starlet (4E-FE?) fairly standard, looks fairly cheap to buy and insure. And perfectly for me, it looks like a good first car with potential for tuning and fun times later on However, obviously I come in knowing next to nothing about Starlets - most of my car knowledge comes from Gran Turismo games to be honest! So I was hoping to ask for advice from the various gurus here. 1) Good prices/places to look for one, and any tell-tale signs to look out for? As in, things that could potentially be deal-breakers? 2) How easy they are to modify, particularly handling-wise as for insurance purposes that is what I'd be looking at first rather than horsepower - although that can always come later ;) 3) Your experiences with them as daily drivers/general runabouts? Thanks very much folks, any advice would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Starlet-Joshy Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Welcome Mate! With out a doubt most helpful forum out there! And can't go wrong with a starlet as a first car!,If your looking for a n/a I'd partially look for a Starlet SR, with the same 4EFE, just has a better spec such as electric windows, tte spoiler, tte exhaust, and does have (depending on if there on there) starlet sr decals. There like Lego In my experience, fairly easy to work on a n/a, nothing to tricky, handling wise, put a strut brace on the front and some decent tyres on like 15' wheels and you can't really fault it! It's gonna handle better if lowered, but for then it's a cheap mod, and many a roundabout, my n/a had fucked past people lol, Great on fuel! Cheap insurance, easy to drive, easy to pick up, etc, all round decent first car in my mind, hope that's a little useful!? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TeamBombersports Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Welcome Mate!With out a doubt most helpful forum out there! And can't go wrong with a starlet as a first car!,If your looking for a n/a I'd partially look for a Starlet SR, with the same 4EFE, just has a better spec such as electric windows, tte spoiler, tte exhaust, and does have (depending on if there on there) starlet sr decals. There like Lego In my experience, fairly easy to work on a n/a, nothing to tricky, handling wise, put a strut brace on the front and some decent tyres on like 15' wheels and you can't really fault it! It's gonna handle better if lowered, but for then it's a cheap mod, and many a roundabout, my n/a had fucked past people lol,Great on fuel! Cheap insurance, easy to drive, easy to pick up, etc, all round decent first car in my mind, hope that's a little useful!? Brilliant, I saw this forum whilst browsing around for info about the Starlet and figured this would be a good place to get the lowdown Haha that's exactly the kind of mods I'm looking for. Nothing visual, I really want it to be a sleeper. Most of my friends I've told about getting a Starlet assume they're either granny cars or boy racer hot hatches - I want one which looks like the former but goes like stink ;) Is it good on fuel economy? That's an added bonus - being a skint student every bit helps! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay85 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Awesome cars! Never had an n/a myself but one thing I must warn you, if you get a starlet prepare yourself to own one on and off for the rest of your life!! They are like crack, can never leave them alone!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ro55ifumi Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Welcome to UKSO, there is loads of info available, just use the search function or ask away and someone will help. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TeamBombersports Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Awesome cars! Never had an n/a myself but one thing I must warn you, if you get a starlet prepare yourself to own one on and off for the rest of your life!! They are like crack, can never leave them alone!! I got worried for a second reading your post...then realised the 'warning' was that Starlets are addictive! Haha! I've got no complaints if that's the case. Everyone just says get a lame cheap first car and it'll do until you can afford something better, but why not have something to start that you could genuinely enjoy driving and owning? Welcome to UKSO, there is loads of info available, just use the search function or ask away and someone will help. John Awesome, I'll have a look around. Thanks! I'm particularly at the moment looking out for any common issues or stuff to look out for when looking at used Starlets, as that's exactly what I'll be doing in the coming months Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Welcome! I've run an NA most of my time at uni and it was perfect! Fun to drive with a few handling mods and very cheap to run! Check out my build thread in my sig ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TeamBombersports Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Welcome! I've run an NA most of my time at uni and it was perfect! Fun to drive with a few handling mods and very cheap to run! Check out my build thread in my sig ;) I just had a look - yours looks really tasty! I love the idea of mine being a sleeper though - round here there's loads of hot hatches and boy racers, so one that stays low and doesn't look tasty could surprise a few people I wish I'd known about the Starlet before, I've been putting off getting a car for years even though I passed at 19 because of running costs and mostly insurance. The Starlet seems to tick a lot of boxes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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