Here it is – we’ve finally tracked down one of the oldest British-built Toyota Carina E models still on the road in the UK!
Our search for the earliest running example of the first model made at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK factory in Derbyshire gained huge exposure – and after chasing down leads, we’ve located the one of the earliest Carina Es still on the road.
Mike Hoyland’s Toyota Carina E was registered in July 1993, and was built during our Burnaston factory’s early months.
It’s testament to the quality and reliability of Toyota’s UK manufacturing effort that the oldest Toyota Carina E (that we can locate) has remained on the road ever since.
December 16, 1992 was a groundbreaking day for Toyota. It marked the first day of Carina E production in the company’s state-of-the-art factory in Burnaston, near Derby. Not bad, considering the decision to build here was taken just three years before, with Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK) being set-up in December 1989.
It’s an ongoing success story more than 20 years on, with TMUK’s investment now topping £1.4 billion. In 2012, 109,502 Avensis and Auris models were built there by a dedicated and expert workforce.
The Carina E was launched in the UK and Europe in March 1992, but for the first nine months, cars sold here were actually imported in from Japan. Despite that, Toyota called it the ‘E’ to denote that it had been tuned to appeal to European tastes, and to reflect its eventual UK production.
Once on sale, the Carina E soon started selling strongly – both on the back of the memorable advertising campaign (that featured Enya’s Book of Days), and the brilliant strapline, ‘the car in front is a Toyota.’ 20 years on, people still say that.
It’s possible that Mike Hoyland was humming that Enya song when he walked into his local Toyota dealership with a view to buying one. It was July 1993, and he decided that he wanted a new car to replace his trusty Honda Accord.
He’d worked hard for it, too: ‘I had taught chemistry for 30 odd years, and decided to buy one using my redundancy money,’ he says.
The car Mike went for was a Carina E GL four-door saloon, which came up to the princely sum of £13,175.00. ‘I still have the original invoice, and I let a friend adopt the Honda, so there was no trade-in against the Carina.,’ Mike smiles. Needless to say, Mike took delivery on 1 August – L-registration day – in order to maximise that new car experience.
And coming up to 20 years on, Mike still has that Carina E. And he loves it. ‘It has been absolutely reliable, he says. ‘It runs almost silently, and the exhaust has only been replaced once. At 32,000 miles, the Lambda sensor packed up, but I was advised to contact Toyota GB headquarters in Redhill, which I did. And without any query, they agreed to stand the cost.’ Other consumables have included one starter motor, a shock absorber, and a couple of radiators.
‘But that’s all not bad for 20 years and 153,000 miles, eh,’ Mike smiles.
Other than that, the oldest Toyota Carina E has run like clockwork, proving that the Toyota’s British workers can build a car to the same exacting quality standards as their Japanese counterparts. There was one other issue, but that’s hardly the car’s fault: ‘The remote locking has failed partly due to someone taking a screwdriver to the lock,’ Mike says. ‘They didn’t get in, but the lock had to be changed.’
Mike’s Carina E is your typical family hack, and gets used properly – it’s no cossetted museum piece. ‘There’s a bit of rust on the front wings,’ he adds. But it is has been perfect. ‘It has taken the family all over without a blip; we have carried my son’s bicycle and goods to and from Nottingham University when he was a student, and it is easy to carry 5m lengths of timber through the sunroof – and that was standard fit in 1993.’
Did Mike buy the car because it was made in the UK, or because it was a Toyota? ‘I hadn’t realised it was one of the earliest of the cars made here, although there was a small label to that effect somewhere at the top of the windscreen,’ he confirms.
And is Mike a car fan? ‘Oh yes, I like cars, and I take an interest in what’s on the road,’ he smiles. ‘I read reports, but don’t think that they are as unbiased as they would like to appear. The Carina “wasn’t inspiring” they said, but how many cars can compare with mine without special treatment?’
He’s also a Toyota fan. ‘The company is supportive of its cars and the customers. My favourite cars are the final-shape MR2, the old Celica and the new GT86. Back to reality, the Yaris Trend looks great, and what I’ve heard concerning the Auris is also good. But if money is object, then a Lexus GS would fit the bill perfectly,’ Mike says.
And would he have another Toyota? ‘Certainly! But the Carina E looks like it’s going on forever, and you can’t just walk away from a best pal can you?’
Hi Alasdair
Thanks for your post and history regarding your Carina E.
We have run this query past our technical team who have suggested taking this to your nearest Toyota dealer for diagnosis. In terms of suggestions for you though, they would recommend inspecting the catalytic converter on your car. They have also mentioned that a drop in fuel consumption can also be attributed to engine wear over the years.
Hope this helps.
We have a white one registered August 1993 with 88000 on the clock still runs great.
Thanks Jim.
Great to hear about your Carina E.
I have a 1992 k reg!!
Thanks for your post and it’s great to hear of your ’92 Carina.
You can check if your Carina was British built by looking at its 17-character VIN plate, more details as to how you can locate your vehicle’s VIN can be found here: http://po.st/Sk47Ee. If its VIN starts with ‘SB…’ your vehicle was built in Burnaston, UK.
We’d love to hear more, it certainly sounds like your Carina could be one of the oldest British built!
Ours is older registered 31st march 1993. Still in regular use. Sb153abk002703.
I own 1993 Carina e 85,000 miles in Kampala. Love it and is still great save for big sound and 1000 rpm idling revs. Can anyone kindly advise tip to correct high idling rev problem ?.
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your post.
We’ve passed this by our technical team and as we’re sure you will appreciate, it’s very difficult to diagnose this problem online.
The best thing we can suggest is to visit your local Dealer who will be happy to investigate the issue for you. Your nearest Dealer can be found using this link: http://po.st/hgeMjF
Hope this helps and sorry we couldn’t be of further assistance.
Easy. Just done mine. You need to remove and clean the Throttle body and IAC Valve. I got some Wynn’s Carb Cleaner from Euro Car Parts. Common fault on these. Mine was idling at 1200, as soon as I cleaned the Unit and added new gasket and ring, back down to 850.
I also have a Toyota Carina E 1994 still on the road and has yet done 80.00 miles
I bought the car as new in May 1994 and have been the sole owner since then.
I am more than pleased with the service that it has given.over the past twenty years.
John Blackwood Esses
Hi John
Thanks for your post and for taking the time to tell us about your Carina E. It is quite a story being the sole owner since 1994 and we are delighted that you have been pleased with the service and your Carina E over the years. The earliest UK built car we found was on an L plate and was still going strong and we hope that all is ok with yours. Feel free to post a pic of the car on our Facebook page so we can check it out. In the meantime thanks again for letting us know.
Just came buy this buy chance and when reading about reg no a 11 eec I remember that car if not mistaken it was a light blue should really know the colour name and paint code as it was my job to refurbished all the Toyota cars and vans that came to us cma Leeds for the electronic auction 1995 ish must have driven worked on 5000 plus
Fantastic cars even Being a 18 year old petrol head having a vauxhall cavalier Sri 130 still very much liked the Carina e ESPN in gti and the upmarket executive. Only the pain in the back side with them was the alarm systems when battery when flat and even with new battery on it was still locked out unable to start. In the end had to be trained by I think scorpion alarms to be shown how to fix and by pass the system .can still remember that new distinctive Toyota smell. So Yer still a fantastic car
Thanks for your post Andy and great to hear your experiences about working on Toyota cars.
Once a petrol head always a petrol head!
Came across this site whilst looking for a valuation for a Toyota Carina E XI registered in May 1994.
My mother-in-law has the Carina and at the age of 80 with some health problems she is unable to drive the car and has offered it to my 23 year old daughter. Unfortunately the insurance for the car is what I would think is several time more than the car is worth. Additionally, the car is a little large for what my daughter would like, hence why we are looking to sell the car on behalf of my wife’s mother.
The car is in good condition, an MOT for 10 months and serviced regularly, has 66K miles on the clock.
Could anyone suggest where we should look to sell the car? The car is in Leeds and has been in the same family for the last 20 years.
Hi Paul
Thanks for your post.
It was great to hear about the Carina E which has been in your family for the past 20 years and we hope it has served you well.
In terms of advice of where to sell, it may be worthwhile talking to your local Toyota dealer in case they are aware of anyone ion the area who is looking for a Carina E. Other options might be contacting the Toyota Enthusiasts Club in view of the long standing history of this car. They may also have further contacts for you. Finally you do have the option of several large second hand car websites if the above two suggestions do not come up trumps. By the sound of it though it could sell quite quickly.
We hope this helps but do let us know if you have any further questions or queries
My dad has an all reg carina E with under 100k on the clock. Still a good runner