Which year Celica should I buy -- or what years do I avoid?

To tell you the truth if you want a sporty used car that won't break the budget pick up an imported skyline v35. They come in semi auto and manual and mine which is a semi auto had a legit 37000km on the clock from japan (had the computer diagnostically checked for tamper and it had the stock tyres still on the car which is a good indication). It was only 12900 AUD and it is even cheaper in the US. they have a pretty hefty 2.5L, 3.0L or 3.5L engine and consume a bit more petrol than a celica would but a ton more power. 0- 100km in my 300gt (3.0L) is around 5.8-6.0 seconds with the quarter mile being about 14. They handle like a dream however you should be aware that the radiator should be changed at or before 70,000km as the internal plastic walls break down causing oil and coolant to mix. This is fixed for about 400 dollars by installing a metal replacement before it occurs. Overall they have heaps of space and a luxurious feel. If you are concerned about the radio just get an FM expander installed and you will be right. I use a fm transmitter in my car and have all my songs on USB. Good luck with finding a car. If you decide on getting the celica instead though have an examination done on it before buying as I went to buy the one with the popup lights from a dealer on parra road, I think it was a 1991 model and the engineer that examined it said it was a chop job. Basically they wanted $7000 for that celica and the engineer said it was worth more like $1000. So watch out what you are getting.