2011 Scion tC. Good car?

[gregk24]

My sister is looking to go the route of a car loan to get into a new vehicle as her 2012 Accord coupe was totaled. I found this 2011 Scion tC with 119K listed for $8,999. This seems like a fair price, but I don't know much about these. I assume it is a Camry drivetrain? I see it has a 2.5 which if I remember correctly have been known to be oil burners for certain model years.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DuckRyder]

This is a somewhat uncommon car that I would not consider high production. Parts availability for anything not common to others might be spotty... and yes they were prone to copious oil consumption... There is a special policy (recall?) on some of them. If you put on your special BITOG issue Toyota rose colored glasses I am sure it will be a fantastic car... take them off and it will probably be just another oil burning lump from a now defunct sub brand aimed at the young crowd...

I would keep looking if I were her.

 

[Owen Lucas]

My sister is looking to go the route of a car loan to get into a new vehicle as her 2012 Accord coupe was totaled. I found this 2011 Scion tC with 119K listed for $8,999. This seems like a fair price, but I don't know much about these. I assume it is a Camry drivetrain? I see it has a 2.5 which if I remember correctly have been known to be oil burners for certain model years.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have an 05 tC. Bought it brand new off the lot and has served me well for 16 years. 179K miles and running strong. Only parts I ever had to replace, other than maintenance items, was the AC compressor, master cylinder, headlights (faded) and will be replacing rear calipers soon. Fortunately I have the tools for HVAC so it only cost me $300 for OE. Flushed the trans at 80k and it shifts great.

The 2006 - 2008, had issues with the pistons rings and or oil pressure sensor IIRC. This resulted in a lot of spun bearings since the engine burned oil and with a malfunctioning oil pressure sensor, the oil light did not come on to alert the driver. If you were to get an 06 - 08 just make sure its low mileage and maintained regularly.

The 05 has the Camry drivetrain as does the second gen 2011 + tC.

I think $8999 is a little much for a the tC you are looking at. KBB is coming in at $6351 - $8420, but negotiating in todays market might be a little difficult. If you are not in a hurry to buy, tell the dealer you'll pay $7500 and see where it goes.

The tC is a great reliable car that served me well for 16 years. I am sure a second gen will do the same

2011 Scion tC Test Drive

The new Scion tCa sort of 40th Anniversary Edition Toyota Celicais a compelling alternative to the Ford Mustang.

www.popularmechanics.com

"The tC's new 2.5-liter engine is virtually identical to the four-cylinder engine offered in the 2010 Toyota Camry SE. It's all aluminum with dual overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, sequential fuel injection, dual variable valve timing and a 10.4:1 compression ratio. The Camry SE's engine is rated at 179 horsepower at 6000 rpm, with 171 lb-ft of peak torque at 4100 rpm. Thanks to slightly different engine-control computer programming and different intake and exhaust systems, the tC develops one extra horsepower at 6000 rpm and two more lb-ft of torque at 4100 rpm.

That may be a negligible advantage over the Camry SE, but it's a whopping improvement of 19 horsepower and 11 lb-ft of torque over the 2.4-liter four in last year's tC. Moreover, a new six-speed manual and automatic transmissions take advantage of the new engine's muscle. The automatic carries the same gear ratios and final drive as the four-cylinder Camry's transaxle, while the manual transmission has slightly tighter ratios than the Camry's, with both fifth and sixth overdrives."

 

[JMJNet]

The 2.5L Toyota engine should not have oil consumption problem.

 

[bilibako2]

My sister had 2008 scion XD around 100k no issue's except water pump free replacement after 1 year old then,routine maintainnance from what I hear.

 

[Andrew1972]

Has she priced out full coverage car insurance as I presume she is young. It might be an expensive vehicle between high interest on older car loan and full coverage including comprehensive and collision.

 

[supton]

"The tC's new 2.5-liter engine is virtually identical to the four-cylinder engine offered in the 2010 Toyota Camry SE. It's all aluminum with dual overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, sequential fuel injection, dual variable valve timing and a 10.4:1 compression ratio. The Camry SE's engine is rated at 179 horsepower at 6000 rpm, with 171 lb-ft of peak torque at 4100 rpm. Thanks to slightly different engine-control computer programming and different intake and exhaust systems, the tC develops one extra horsepower at 6000 rpm and two more lb-ft of torque at 4100 rpm.

That may be a negligible advantage over the Camry SE, but it's a whopping improvement of 19 horsepower and 11 lb-ft of torque over the 2.4-liter four in last year's tC. Moreover, a new six-speed manual and automatic transmissions take advantage of the new engine's muscle. The automatic carries the same gear ratios and final drive as the four-cylinder Camry's transaxle, while the manual transmission has slightly tighter ratios than the Camry's, with both fifth and sixth overdrives."

The engine is nice but if the 6MT is like the one I have, it's nothing to write home about. It's really a 5MT: I use 5th if I'm puttering around 60mph on back roads, or skip 5th to go into 6th when driving faster. And 2nd gear syncro has never been very good. And the clutch is as vague as the steering. It's a manual transmission, it has that much going for it--but nothing else.

Seems like a decent motor though, this 2AR-FE. I have heard of water pump problems but I don't know if that is more of a RAV4 problem?

As madRiver indicates, make sure to price out all the details.

 

[zzyzzx]

Given the type of person who bought these cars new, I would expect that these cars used are a poor value due to the driving habits of their owners.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My sister is looking to go the route of a car loan to get into a new vehicle as her 2012 Accord coupe was totaled. I found this 2011 Scion tC with 119K listed for $8,999. This seems like a fair price, but I don't know much about these. I assume it is a Camry drivetrain? I see it has a 2.5 which if I remember correctly have been known to be oil burners for certain model years.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Yikes! ten year old car that was 16K new for 9 grand. Maybe 3 grand.
I recall noisy, slow and uninspiring Like most toyotas. Same with the xB

Remember the disastrous celebrity races with these when toyoda san was building the scion brand?

Too bad no 139 a month Jetta leases like I had a couple years ago. That's cheap roller skates.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Given the type of person who bought these cars new, I would expect that these cars used are a poor value due to the driving habits of their owners.

I think that’s the main reason for the tC’s bad reputation and some legitimately so because of disturbing modifications and abuse. I don’t think they are a poor value unless you get a real beater, like with any car. If you find one that has been taken care of, unmodified, one owner private sale, you can do very well because it’s basically a 2 door Camry. These cars can do 250K easy and any BITOG member can probably get these to 400k.

 

[gregk24]

I think that’s the main reason for the tC’s bad reputation and some legitimately so because of disturbing modifications and abuse. I don’t think they are a poor value unless you get a real beater, like with any car. If you find one that has been taken care of, unmodified, one owner private sale, you can do very well because it’s basically a 2 door Camry. These cars can do 250K easy and any BITOG member can probably get these to 400k.

That was my thought. A solid drivetrain for a better price than a "real" Toyota.

 

[Supersonic]

Probably a fun little car, this just came up on one of the YouTube channels I watch. I like the Camry drive train and haven't heard any terrible things about the transmission though in the 3.5 V6 configuration around this era the planetary gear set was heavy and the case warped around the bearing and it can abnormally spin completely once it gets warmed up, learned from YouTube transmission video's as I recall. My buddy didn't like his 2012. but I don't think he understood this was meant to be a lightweight sports car, not as solid like a Camry.

And priced like a more desirable sports car, though made in Japan is a plus usually, at ~$9k to me, this is more a luxury than a practical transportation investment. I'd guide the purchase toward a $3500 to $6500 budget, something with less enthusiastic appeal, though nearly as reliable and well built with a shorter horizon payment.

 

[miden851]

it is a Toyota Celica of 2013

just avoid models prior to 2011 and you should be fine

 

[aquariuscsm]

Was Scion a Toyota "Budget brand"?

 

[dishdude]

Was Scion a Toyota "Budget brand"?

I thought it was the "youthful" brand even though I mostly saw old people driving xBs and xDs.

 

[gregk24]

Was Scion a Toyota "Budget brand"?

I recall it being marketed toward the younger generations. Not necessarily budget vehicles. I can tell you we have plenty of older Scions running the roads here in FL.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Was Scion a Toyota "Budget brand"?

This was Toyotas way of introducing 1st time buyers into their brand using youthful marketing with the hopes of introducing a new generation to Toyota and eventually Lexus. The 2008 recession slowed things down for the brand and eventually was shuttered in 2016 due to slow sales.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The 2008 recession

I'd forgotten about that. I remember premium unleaded being almost $5 a gallon here!!

 

[zzyzzx]

Even The Car Wizard agrees with me that these cars are beat upon!

 

[GMBoy]

A friend just bought a used 2007 Tc for her young new driver daughter. I warned her about the oil useage problem even showed her and the daughter how to check the oil and add properly. This car DID use a lot of oil to the tune a 1qt in around 800 miles. Everything went fine for about 2 months - then the daughter stopped checking oil and burned the motor up. I mean it is LOCKED up solid. It's at my place now for a motor replacement. Sad because she paid 4500 for this car and now the motor will run her about 1200+labor for a pretty crappy car overall.