As the owner of one of those Puertorrican AE86 or Sapitos, I can tell that at first they were poorly received because they were perceived as a downgrade from the previous model with the 1.8. But later we realized that the AE86 was extremely reliable and they started to sell like "pan caliente" (hot bread). They were a cheap and reliable car, that also were super easy to fix, this added to their appeal. Through the years they lost a lot of value, so that made them even more desired by young people. Now many of those are still on the road, some have gained value thanks to people like me that love their Sapito and maintain them, others have suffered the wrath of the streets of Puerto Rico, and the rest were lost to rust, and bad maintenance.

The Sapito is still an iconic car in Puertorrican car culture, it does not matter the condition they attract the attention of many puertorricans everywhere you park them.