1992 Toyota Corolla?

[Lil Freek]

I've been helping my ex find her first car. (sorry it's not a Mazda, but i can't find a general automotive area)

She doesn't want any domestics of any kind. She's only looking to spend cdn$3500 (us$2800)
We test drove a 1993 MX-3 earlier this week, but it was a total POS. Had some bad-ass rust all over and half the stuff on the car was shot (brakes, struts, clutch)... and he was asking $3400 for it (boom05)

Anyways... I've never really read THAT much into Toyotas.. From what I've read over the past while, I'm seeing that old corollas are pretty solid. Are there any areas of the car I should look at when test driving the car??
And are they prone to rust?

 

[Captain KRM P5]

i had a 90 corolla that i put 220,000 miles onto. extremely good car. look for worn front bearings/CV shafts, brakes and alternator.

 

[zmzmzm]

Any maintenance history you can learn would be helpful. Radiators and timing belts are also good things to check.

On a side note, I picked up a commuter car for myself last week - a 1987 Mazda 323 wagon for $650. I found it on auto trader's site.

Chris

 

[digitalricepape]

i have me a 1990 corolla as well .. its automatic at 160,000 miles its still goin strong! total good buy a/c died though so had to get that replaced ..

 

[xelderx]

On a side note, I picked up a commuter car for myself last week - a 1987 Mazda 323 wagon for $650. I found it on auto trader's site.

Chris

I got one of those. I think the wagons are kind of rare.

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110085

You might be able to find a 90-94 1st Gen Protege in that price range. They had the BP motor like the miatas so they were pretty tough to mess up.

 

[Lil Freek]

yeah.. i keep trying to tell her than 323 and 1st gens are the way to go... but she's not hearing it..
she's looking for something pretty - hence why she wanted an MX-3... she wants something with lines - she's not learning that for $3500, you can't find anything that's solid, rust free AND good looking.

 

[Protephile]

I have a 1992 Corolla in my driveway right now. Only 90k miles. It's in pretty good shape except it was my wife's car and she's a slob!
Look for rust or signs of repair where the front and rear bumpers meet the quarter-panels. They are prone to rust in that area where the bumpers are screwed to the metal. Also, check the CV joints. Older Toyotas tend to have a lot of problems with the rubber seals breaking. (one of the reasons mine is just sitting there looking lonely).
Other than that, they are good, reliable beaters.

 

[tyusha]

yeah.. i keep trying to tell her than 323 and 1st gens are the way to go... but she's not hearing it..
she's looking for something pretty - hence why she wanted an MX-3... she wants something with lines - she's not learning that for $3500, you can't find anything that's solid, rust free AND good looking.

Um i got my ford probe GT 1994 in 2001 for 2000 US$ with 97000miles in a very good shape. Granted that was a miracle but i know you can find those cars for very little money. Besides being a gorgeous car to this day (IMO) it's decently reliable and has some balls to top it off....

 

[Shane5425]

toyota corolla is a tough ass lil car, i had a 89 corrolla, that thing lacked power, but it was a tough ass lil car, i put it threw hell and back and it ran perfect the day i sold it

 

[Lil Freek]

cool.. we took the car for a test drive.. seemed fine.. TOTAL lack of power, but it's decent.
it was CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN... tiny little spots of rust here and there, nothing major at all.. nothing a body shop can't sand off and repaint. the guy bought brand new tires (that need to be balanced - uneven ride at 70mph)
The guy's selling it certified...but I told the ex to bring the car to a garage anyways... it's better to get an outside mechanic to certify it and make sure there's nothing wrong, as I don't trust other people's 'mechanics'. I'll probably be there with the mechanic, so i'll make sure that i check the CV joints if he doesn't.

The engine bay needs a major cleanup, though.. it's slooooooppy... CAI, Header & short shifter will go in within the first month

 

[Shane5425]

check when the last timeing belt was done, its a non interferance engine so if it goes u just put another one on, another thing, if it has an oil leak, it will be at one or all of these places, distributor o-ring, cam and crank seals , and valve cover, other than that maintance the car is pretty sound and will last 200k miles + as long as the maintance is kept up.

my dad is a toyota master tech with 23 yrs exp, i have gotten to the point i know thoose cars really well becuase the local toyota dealer sends any car that is over 5 years old to us because my dad quit there and opened his own shop, they have no one there that knows how to work on the older ones. i have done quite a few timeing belt jobs and oil leak fixes and thats the only problem we ever see on a older model toyotas..