The Japanese automaker Toyota has an impeccable track record for manufacturing cars that last for years beyond what most people think. Toyotas have been known to last for 20 years or more with the proper maintenance, and one of the best selling cars the automaker has ever made is the Toyota Starlet. You can pick up a cheap Starlet used car if you are lucky in the United States, but the car is going to be an older model with probably a lot of miles on it.
The Toyota Starlet was the forefather of the Toyota Tercel and it was an extremely popular car in the United States between 1981 and 1984. Toyota massed produced the car which sold throughout the rest of the world from 1973 to 1999, making it one of the companyﾕs longest selling models in its fifty plus year history. When it was originally released, the Starlet was a rear wheel drive vehicle. In 1984, Toyota switched the Starlet to front wheel drive and continued manufacturing. It was discontinued in the United States when the Toyota Tercel took its place, but the Starlet was still being sold around the rest of the world.
Even though the used Starlet has been in production since 1973, it was called the Publica 40 until the new 60 series was released in 1978 and the company changed the cars name to Starlet. The car was a four cylinder with a 1.0, 1.2, and 1.3 liter engine in it and was released as either a two or a four door hatchback. Some of the Starlets were even released in a four door wagon style, although production was very limited. At the time, the Starlet was getting 38 miles per gallon city and 52 miles per gallon highway driving and was considered easy to care for and reliable. The Starlet was always a five speed stick shift with rack and pinion steering, air conditioning, reclining bucket seats, rear wiper, rear seat heating ducts and stereo radio or cassette deck all included.
In 1999 Toyota discontinued making the Starlet, replacing that model year with the new Echo. You can still purchase a cheap Starlet through used car dealers in Japan and you will probably get a newer model year than what was available in the States by doing so. You can usually find 1996 to 1998 model years in Japan and if you use a reliable exporter like PicknBuy24 you will only spend between $1,150 and $4,950 for the car. Check to make sure the price includes all shipping fees and warranties in the price you are quoted as some exporters quote them separately.