So how 'bout that Toyota Corolla?

[amitten]

I need to buy a new car...I've always had Hondas but I want to spend a little less this time.

Can anyone relate some Corolla stories here? Do you love yours or what?

[Phillycat]

1. I have one.

A 2001. I love it. It's the most reliable car I've ever owned.

My best friend's had nothing but Corollas since she started driving (She's in her late 30's.) She would never own another car.

[amitten]

2. Have you ever had to repair anything? Also, what about

gas mileage?

[Phillycat]

4. I've had the battery replaced and the oil changed regularly.

I got into an accident with it (my fault) and had to rebuild the front end. I did it without question, because it still only has 57K miles on it and will run for another 150K. The $2400 to get it fixed was totally worth it.

I'm trying to think. I've had a belt replaced here and there. The brake pads and rotors (I am extremely hard on brakes). That's it.

Great gas mileage, although I think I need my A/C system flushed because when I use the A/C, my gas mileage SUCKS.

[Rosemary2205]

14. Warning

While I hope you do get another 150,000 miles out of your car - please keep in mind an accident often shortens the lifespan of a car. IMHO a complicated piece of machinery like that is just never the same after a big jolt like that.

[Phillycat]

15. I know. But again, the Toyota is better in that realm as well.

Their frames are different from other cars, and they seem to "bounce back" better after an accident.

[underpants]

3. Anything Toyota has ever made is very highly rated by CR

Consumer Reports.

We bought a car a few months ago and Toyotas across the board are right top of the line in ratings and just under the Honda Accord in terms of sedans.

I know several people who have OLD Corollas and such that still run.

Let me put it this way-I was going to buy a utility truck and someone I know who is in the Special Forces interrupted me and said "Get a Toyota" I was surprised, he said "Getting our hands on a Toyota truck is one of the first things we do when we hit the ground" He then advised me to watch the news (especially anything from Afghanistan) and see what everyone drives there. They rarely break down and if they do they are very easy to fix.

[Phillycat]

5. I love the Tacomas.

They are sexy trucks.

[amitten]

6. Yeah, that is really good. I'm just torn because I've always loved

my Hondas and I'm always hearing good Honda stories...like how people have driven them for like 250,000 miles before they finally die!

I just want to make the best investment, because I'd like to just drive this car into the ground before I buy another new one.

[havocmom]

7. Bought a brand new 71. Sold it in 83 as the tranny was getting bad

It is still on the road after the kid who bought it dropped a tranny from a 71 he rolled into it.

Changed the water pump a couple times more than I would have liked, but could do it (and did do it) in the dark.

I LOVED that little car! Guessing the new ones are even better.

[derby378]

8. Used to own a '97 Corolla DX - loved it

It got totalled in a wreck, though, so now I have a Camry.

The Camry is definitely roomier and more comfortable, but the Corolla is a little zippier and gets better gas mileage.

[itsmesgd]

9. I have an 06 base model

I have had to replace gas, oil, tires, and I need to change the wiper blades. I have put 50K miles on it and the floor mats show more wear than anything else on the car. I also love the gas mileage.

[jakefrep]

10. Generally soporific to look at and drive.

Like most current Toyota products, it appears to have been beaten senseless with an ugly stick.

[Midlodemocrat]

20. I think the newer ones are very cute.

But, I agree with you about the older ones. Remember the Tercel? Now THAT was an ugly car.

[Kat45]

26. Hey! I have a Tercel!

It's a 1994 with around 50,000 miles on it. I bought it in 1995 and I generally only do local driving. Mine is a nice burgundy color and it's not ugly. If you're talking ugly, how about those...shoot, I can't think of the name of them, but it's a very ugly car that probably came out a couple of years ago. Man. I can picture it, but I can't think of the name.

[Midlodemocrat]

28. Eeek. Sorry. I was thinking about the very first versions that

came out in about 1985. I didn't think they were very cute, but what do I know? I'm on my fourth minivan.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. We just traded in a 2003 Corolla

Only because I wanted a MINI Cooper. My husband drove the Corolla and LOVED it. No problems whatsoever. They've really improved it - it's just like a smaller Camry. Highest recommendation!

[Guava Jelly]

12. I drove a 94 corolla for 10 years

It was a wonderful car when i traded it in.
The thing was in the shop only one time when i owned it.
I now drive a 2002 Toyota Tacoma

[Rosemary2205]

13. I drove my 76 corolla until 2001.

It had over 400,000 miles on it when the drunk driver squished it (and us) - Even normal maintainance was few and far between. It was more expensive to buy but cheap to own. An incredibly dependable car. Even at that advanced age I was still getting in excess of 35mpg.

My sister owns a 1997 Corolla and reports the same level of quality.

Edit to add my only real problem with it was clogged fuel filters and rust in the tire wells - but I lived in snow/salt country then and I do believe Toyota has solved that rust problem now.

[AlienAvatar]

16. Since 1980 I've had three

and I can't say enough good things about them. Change the oil, new tires every now and then, and maybe a new muffler around 80,000 miles, and that's about it. I've found them to be the ultimate in reliability.

[ForrestGump]

17. They're excellent

I've had Camrys, and loved them (wanted to buy a used one -- or an Accord, Maxima, or similar Japanese car -- recently but the Japanese cars hold their value so ridiculously well that it was more cost effective for me to buy an old Mercedes). I bought both Camrys new but they're pretty bulletproof and buying used would also likely be a good deal because of the initial depreciation, as long as you use Carfax to check out the car's history.

I didn't buy the Corolla back when I was first car shopping, in 1990, because it was too small for me -- physically too small for my height (ditto the Sentra, and that little Geo car and Acura Integra I couldn't even get into on the driver's side). The Corolla, like other cars, has since grown in size and I have driven hundreds of miles in Corollas since.

I'm happy with my Mercedes -- Germans really know how to make cars -- but for a regular car (i.e., not some Italian sporty thing, that'd be sorta cool to try even though I've got my motorcycle for when I really want performance) I'd still probably pick a Japanese-designed car over just about everything else. Toyotas have always been my favorite, ever since we had a Toyota Corona when I was a kid (I also grew up in areas where Toyota Landcruisers were de rigeur for utilitarian purposes and the men of the land thereabouts were convinced they were the best thing since the creation of the internal combustion engine), and I think they're hard to beat (I see Hondas as exactly parallel in all of this) for reliability and features that assist everyday use.

Test drive it and see how it feels, but you really can't go wrong with a Corolla, or with any Toyota.

The dealerships can be another story, though. Our first Camry, in California, was the result of a nice and clean transaction. Our second, in a southern state, took us to massive dealerships with predatory, unethical salesmen on the job (we ended up going to a smaller dealer where all was cool), and I later discovered that the biggest dealership has a very bad record in terms of how they do business. They sell a lot of cars but they generate a lot of hate...that's something I've heard of quite a few dealers, especially some of the more massive ones, and it's a shame because they sell some of the best vehicles out there.

[pitohui]

18. it's great been thru the mill and doesn't bat an eye

we bought a honda civic at the same time, the honda is long gone and we won't get another, the corolla blows it away in my opinion

camrys are good too and maybe a little more upscale

i'm too shy to say how old my corolla is but it's old

[Midlodemocrat]

19. A lot of folks here are buying them as cars for their teens to use.

I couldn't because she didn't want to copy her friend... , but they are great cars and extremely reliable.

I would check out CarMax if there is one nearby. It seems people got the best deals there.

[CottonBear]

21. I love my '93 Corolla! It's a great car and highly rated for non-rollover in an accident.

I was sent off the road by a car that pulled into my interstate lane at 60+ MPH and that little Corolla saved my life. The newer ones are really nice. The only problem with them (at least the older ones) is that tparts like the plastic door handles and knobs may start to break after 150,000 miles or so. Toyotas are awesome, easy to maintain and the parts and labor costs for repair are minimal. I'd buy a new one today! They get great gas mileage and especially good gas mileage if you drive carefully (no sudden starts and stops).

[deepthought42]

22. I love my Corolla...

2003, Corolla S, blue. It is spiffy, and I love it!

[SacredCow]

23. I had a 1988 Corolla for about 11 years...

And it was pretty much bullet-proof. No major repairs other than a small accident. When I traded it in, it needed a brake job, the paint was fading, and new tires would have been nice, but otherwise it was sound. For the money, they're a hell of a car.

But I hear that the Matrix is a disappointment pretty regularly.

[jmowreader]

24. Why you want a Corolla

In most cars, breaking a timing belt means pulling the head, having all the valves replaced, maybe replacing a piston or two that have holes in the tops...

This is because most cars with timing belts have "interference" engines--the valves "interfere" with the pistons. IIRC you're supposed to get more power out of an interference engine.

The Corolla contains a "non-interference" engine. Last summer my wife broke the timing belt in her car a block from Home Depot. I shoved the car to the Tool Rental end of the building and replaced the belt...then drove home in the car. We're talking a $50 repair (one belt, one bolt because I had to grind the head off to get it out) instead of a $500 one (engine from a junkyard). We're also talking a few hours instead of a few days.

[bertha katzenengel]

25. You absolutely can't go wrong.

Poorly-maintained Toyotas go and go and go. They're like maltreated dogs -- they still love you. But well-maintained Toyotas will go forever.

We bought a new one in February almost two years ago. LOVE it!

I don't know stats but I'd bet the Corolla is absolutely one of the most economical + most reliable cars on the road. You can't go wrong.

And if you buy used, buy "certified" from a dealer. Really. I bought my 95 Tercel "certified" used. It rocks.

[tbyg52]

27. I liked my '99 Corolla

It has unfortunately been totalled, but I was not hurt at all even though the bumper was shoved into the back seat. (I was minding my own business, waiting for a break in traffic to turn right, when a big truck plowed into me like I wasn't even there.)

I wasn't able to get a Corolla for my current car because it bugs me not to be able to see the end of the hood when I'm driving, and you can't on the newer models. (Nor on Civics either.)

I tried to get a Camry SE, but all the places I tried to deal with either were total jerks or didn't have one to sell me (leave it to me to decide on a popular model). So I wound up with a V6 Accord that I got for a pretty good price on year-end closeout. (I'd rather have had used, but I was worried about getting stuck with a lemon or, especially, a flooded one.)

Acceleration is as good as my old Corolla, which means a lot to me as a safety issue when entering freeways, but I had to go to a V6 to get that (so of course the mileage isn't as good).

It's certainly a fancier car than I set out to get. I wanted a Corolla or a Civic and would recommend either (I had a Civic wagon that I drove for 18 years)--I just can't hack driving them with the way the hoods slope down.

I am *super* annoyed at the money I had to lay out because that jerk in the truck ruined a perfectly good car that had at *least* five years left in it.

[Flaxbee]

29. I had the snazzy, kinda souped up version of the '87 Corolla

XF-16... LOVED IT! Was a fabulous car, ran like a dream, never had any problems. It was a gem of a car.