Taking an AW11 for a test drive - what should i look out for

[FXGTV]

As the subject states i am taking an aw11 out for a test drive in a couple of days and was wondering what i should look out for - eg those little things that go wrong in every make of car. Its an auto, non supercharged with 140k's on the clock and looks to be in excon from the pics i have seen.

[HELBND]

rust, rust, and you should probably also check for rust

usual places are the rear wheel arches, front guards, in the frunk, around the front/rear windscreens, possibly underneath the sideskirts, bottom of the door frames, and at the base of the rear pillar. And probably everywhere else

what year is it? facelift? targa? sunroof? and why on earth would you buy a car like an AW in auto?

more details means more info, if youre in aucks, im more than happy to have a look at it for you

[Adamal]

The main thing is rust.

[Leon]

Everything except the tires and the glass will rust.

[Jazza]

Even the plastic interior trims

[Leon]

and the valve stem caps. Even the oil will rust.

[Quint]

If its old, and toyota, it will rust.

[bluemaumau]

lol, after all this would anyone consider buying a AW?

[Leon]

Well, I loved my AW, it was a brilliant little car to drive, but unfortunately despite spending $1000 on rust work to get it on the road, it continued to need rust work constantly. Thus I gave up on it after a year or so. Don't get me wrong, it was an absolutely superb car on the race track (other than cooking the brakes in two laps, and the clutch in three), and totally owned the MX5 that cost me five times as much

If I could find a rust free example, and later model to get bigger brakes, I'd own one in an instant.

Not an auto admittedly though. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole, as it'd be almost impossible to sell when you wanted rid of it. Plus of course a car that changes gear *when it feels like it* mid corner with the mid engine tendency to spin .... well, you do the maths.

[Dell'Orto]

Just check the engine isnt smokey, have it compression tested if yo're deadset on it...the headgaskets dont like being overheated, and the AW cooling system is generally full of, you guessed it, rust

[Dragger_Dan]

rust, rust, and you should probably also check for rust

usual places are the rear wheel arches, front guards, in the frunk, around the front/rear windscreens, possibly underneath the sideskirts, bottom of the door frames, and at the base of the rear pillar. And probably everywhere else

The seam in the firewall in the frunk can be a cause for concern, as can the firewall itself. This is probably one of the more difficult places to fix so if it is rusting here and you don't want to fix rust, well... . Check the firewall in the frunk behind the drivers side strut tower and the same place under the wiper motor on the passenger side. These are the hardest bits to get at when trying to fix.

If it has sideskirts you need to check for rust under those, particually at the front of the rear guards ... reach you hand behind where the big triangle part of the sideskirt is and feel for rust there.

If it has mudguards on the back then check round where they mount to the guard for rust.

Check for rust under the quaterlite windows and at the bottom of the rear pillar where the plastic trim goes down to. The plastic trim has a tendancy to hold water there and rust out round that pillar.

All round the door frames is an absolute must to check. Also along the bottoms of the doors.

Lie on the ground in front of the car and check the big steel piece behind the plastic of the front bumper. This is most likely rusted - they all are - but the extent of the rust could be just surface rust or the entire beam could be rusted out.

If possible, check round the inside of the front firewall and on the floorpan. Water builds up in the intakes for the heater/aircon and can rust pretty bad, causing the car to leak. A wet floor/carpet or water stains in the carpet can suggest it is leaking from there.

If it's a targa or sunroof those are notorious for leaking, but can be fixed.


Engine wise it is usually fairly obvous when rings or valve stem seals are needed because a 4AGE will blow smoke like crazy either on startup or when reved if there is a problem. Also check for any noise from the bearings.

Cooling system is a big thing. Firstly check if the overflow bottle has anything in it. If the cooling system is not filled properly it will drain the overflow every time it cools down, this would suggest that the current owner doesn't know how to fill up the coolant properly. Take off the radiator cap and then squeeze the radiator hose that goes forward from the tube that has the cap in it. If bubbles come out, then the coolant isn't full. The whole point of this is that if the coolant isn't done properly, the 16v 4age can easily do in a head gasket.

Oh, and the auto is good. Unless you realy badly want a manual, an AW11 is still an AW11, the auto is just a bit slower.

EDIT: Also, don't worry if the handbrake is pretty slack. They are all like that, often just need adjusting. At worst you will need rear pads or another cable.

[no_8wire]

Just drive it...not much can go wrong, not easy to over heat, unless it has blocked coolant lines...I mean how many cars have 13L of coolant in them?

But yeah rust is the big thing...real concern is if its in the rear quarter panels/ mudflaps as then it can cost $$$ to fit...other panels though are mostly bolt on, so rust isnt a issue if you dont mind your aw11 looking like HELBNDs...

[Dragger_Dan]

Just drive it...not much can go wrong, not easy to over heat, unless it has blocked coolant lines...I mean how many cars have 13L of coolant in them?

Yeah, IF somebody has actually put 13 litres in.

[DJ]

Rust rust rust rust rust better than sw20 rust rust rust.

[HELBND]

other panels though are mostly bolt on, so rust isnt a issue if you dont mind your aw11 looking like HELBNDs...

the ONLY panel i replaced with white that had a TINY bit of rust was the bonnet. the rest was either an upgrade (engine lid/side vent) or easily swappable. i figured its easier to paint white panels white than red panels white

[FXGTV]

So rust huh? I have been keen on an aw11 for a while now, trouble is finding a good condition, low ks manual one. Here is the one im looking at - http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... d=60224126 (feck knows how to do the tags)
I know its an auto...but really, if i'm not caning it, does it really matter?

[RomanV]

[Dragger_Dan]

That guy is asking $3000 for that thing. I guess it's in pretty good nick but it still sound like too much. Perhaps see how much he wants for it without the 17s, unless you want them.

[Adamal]

better than sw20

Just out of curiosity, are you going by your experience with both cars, or by what other people tell you?

I say that, because there has been a lengthy period where you had an AE85 between your SW and your AW

[DJ]

Im just fooling around.

But yeah it has been a while between them, still not sure what one was best overall, if it was the turbo version I had maybe... but I think overall I enjoy my AW better even if its old and creeky, its dam fun.