Hi Todd,
You're in luck! I have a Red 2000 Celica GT-S 6-speed, the first year of the latest re-design. You can see some photos of my Empeg, amp, and subwoofer installation on the second page of the Installation section...I bought every option except the side air bags, which weren't available yet when I bought my car back in March 2000. I get about 26-28 mpg during normal driving, and have achieved as much as 33-35 mpg on freeway-type vacation driving.

As far as reliability goes, I would say that this car rates very high. It's my second Celica and third toyota since 1976 (I had a 1976 Celica and then a 1985 MR-2 for 15 years).

Currently, I have about 32,000 miles on it (pretty low by many standards). Since I live in Southern California, the weather exposure has been fairly mild. The car has been garaged the whole time as well. In 5 years of service, besides the usual oil and filter changes and a battery replacement, the only thing I've had fail on the car is the mass air sensor. The symptom for this was sluggish engine power and acceleration in the first 5-10 minutes of a cold startup. I replaced the sensor myself (troubleshooting courtesy of Google) and it was about $125.

There have been two recalls on the car. The first one was with the master brake cylinder and a potential leak (I wasn't affected). The second one had to do with a change they wanted to make with the daytime running lights (I think that was due to some new law).

There are two quality-type issues that come to mind with the car, although some will consider them minor, etc. First is the paint on the hood. Like I said, this is the third Toyota I've had, and I never had any issues with hood paint on the first two. On this car, maybe it's the angle of the hood, maybe the quality of the paint, etc., but it is much more prone to chipping that my other cars. I'm driving the same commute, mostly city streets but a few miles of freeway every day. Other Celica owners report similar issues on the various Celica BBS's. I have the car detailed every year or so and the guy that does it is a master with the touch-up paint, so he can usually make the chips completely disappear. In fact, it's about time to get it done again.

The second issue is the sunroof. It works fine, no leaks, etc. But the "glass" that is visible on the outside of the car is either some type of plexiglass or is regular glass with some type of coating on the outside of it. It is now starting to crystalize a bit around the edges and wash away. Every time I wash the car (by hand!), a little more of the glazing goes away. Maybe it'll completely disappear and look fine, but right now it doesn't look that good. Overall, minor quibbles on a car that has provided great service...

I hope I was able to help. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the car....

Thanks, Randy