I've been in the market to get a car for my son or daughter (they haven't decided on what car the want). I have two Camry's of which one will go to the kids, then I have to get another car. After an extensive and fruitless search for another Camry, I started thinking possibly Tercel or Corolla. My search for a Tercel resulted in only cars that have seen much better days.
I came across a 97 Corolla with the asking price of $2300. Although it's a little more than I had hoped to spend, it seems like a good car and certainly worth a look (I am going to see it tomorrow). It appears to be in great shape, very well maintained and an honest private owner that has basically let me know of the existing problems or age flaws. I've tried going through used car dealerships, but I'm just not patient enough to deal with the BS.
My one and only Corolla was a 84 Corolla sedan with 5 spd trans. I purchased it new, beat the crap out of it and traded it in for a Camry. I assume they have the same reputation as the Camry seeing they are the longest running model and highest selling model, bit i know virtually nothing about them.
Since it's been so long since I owned that car, can anyone or some of you provide me with anything that I should be looking for?
I would check the health of the Delco (GM) alternator, as those are all around touchy wherever they are used.
Since this is a DX, its the 1.8L, which is good. Is it the auto or manual? An auto should be fine so long as the fluid/filter have been changed at some point, and probably be fine even if it wasnt.
There is one recall for 97 which involves reprogramming the airbag computer.
Other than that i would just make sure the car doesnt burn oil, or have abnormally low gas mileage.
PS...if you give this car to your son, prepare yourself for a stereo upgrade...the 60 watt peak 'system' the car comes with leaves, well, everything to be desired.
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Toyotas in the family/next of kin:
1982 Corolla Wagon, 1989 Corolla DX, 1991 Previa LE, 1993 Previa LE,
1993 Pickup, 1994 Corolla DX, 1995 Avalon XL, 1996 Camry XLE, 1998 Avalon XL,
1998 Sienna CE, 1999 Camry XL, 2000 Camry XLE, 2002 Tundra, 2003 Tundra,
2003 ES 300, 2004 Camry XLE, 2005 Tacoma
Remember to look for wear and tear and body rust. Also remember that it's a Corolla and not a RACE CAR, the horsepower of the Corolla is SO-SO. Offer the seller CASH!!!! up front with your DEAL!
Book value is around 3K, still, for those. Snap it up. You can beat on these forever and nothing fazes them.
Even if the car DOES burn oil, it's stable in that condition, IE just keep adding a quart every so often and it'll run basically forever. Low mileage (anything below 30) is easy enough to fix with a basic tuneup--filter, plugs, wires, cap&rotor, and some Seafoam. Check coolant color and the shocks (foot on the bumper, push down hard and remove foot at all four corners, it shouldn't rebound more than once largely) and if the timing belt's been done at 90K.
The stock stereo doesn't sound too bad, actually, if you just get some decent drivers in the rear and an input source with a multi-band equalizer.
Well, she looks good in the pictures. Personally I don't care for the color (it's like a fire engine red). However, reading what you guys are telling me and the fact that I drive 80 miles a day, I'm tempted to trade the Camry (97) I'm driving with my son. I wish it were a manual tran. After a couple of weeks of car hunting I'm starting to miss driving a car with manual transmission.
I omitted to mention that it has 153K miles, but my experience has been that doesn't mean a whole lot if the car was well taken care of.
I know nothing about car stereos but this is what's in it right now.
They're comfortable enough for long trips, I generally average 500-1000 miles a week when work picks up. Gas mileage will typically range anywhere from 30 to 38, depending on how you drive.
At 153K, by and large anything that's going to go wrong will have and the rest is just maintenance. Take a look at the condition of the belts and hoses, the original stuff may be deteriorating. Depending on whether the car has been kept garaged or outside, the door seals may be starting to leak air as well, resulting in more road noise. The one concern you may have is that it's not going to come up to freeway speed as quickly as your Camry does. I have some suggestions for modifications on page 6 or thereabouts of the Cardomain page in my signature, some of that may be helpful to you.
The one concern you may have is that it's not going to come up to freeway speed as quickly as your Camry does.
I'm not too concerned about that. To be honest, I've never been overly impressed with the 4 cyl in the Camry except for the ones I've had with a manual tran. My other Camry is a 6 cyl, but isn't on the road right now. I have to replace the gas tank and I'm assuming once I start that I will find that I will be replacing the fuel lines too. The 6 cyl is a 1993 and I will probably have my daughter or son take the 4 cyl. Also have a 6 cylinder Highlander that has a lot of pep and after driving it, you are spoiled and the 4 cyl just doesn't do it for you for awhile.
I've seen this Seafoam mentioned a lot on the forum, never heard of it until I started reading the posts. Seems like everyone swears by it, I guess I will need to pick some up. I don't recall seeing it at any auto store or the auto section of the bigger stores. I guess since I wasn't looking for it I wasn't apt to notice it.
Hey, Piloter and the rest of you guys, I want to thank you for the comments and suggestions. I will keep you posted on the outcome.
Well, I purchased the car for $2K. It was not garaged, but surprisingly it has no rust except little rust specs where the hood is chipped from freeway driving. The one thing about sitting outside is the paint is faded or oxidized. I've been looking for a good cleaner that is a little less work than rubbing compound. I also found a couple of websites that state to stay away from rubbing compounds. One recommended product is 3M IMPERIAL HAND GLAZE. Anyone have recommendations on products for cleaning the paint?
This car runs good on the side streets and freeway. Everything seems to work, no shaking, no strange noises. It does need new breaks and oil change (this weekend activity). The one thing that I can't figure out is that it was advertised as a DX, yet I cannot find anything on the car to designate that. Someone that use to work at a Toyota dealer said that there is no designation on the 97 and that it has the smaller engine. Since I'm not familiar with Corolla's, I really can't tell what engine it has and again there is no designation - any help here is certainly appreciated.
The car isn't something that I would want to drive every day only because of the color and lack of options, but it appears to be a good little car and I think I got a decent deal. The main thing is both my kids love it and my daughter has already traded the Camry I was going to give her for the Corolla (she's always wanted her first car to be red).
Look at the stickers under the hood, there should be mention of 7A-FE or 4A-FE, also see if you can see the sticker on the timing belt cover, that'll tell you as well. If there are no stickers visible, see if you can see the oil pan. The 7A-FE has a very uneven pan, with a big 'hump' downward on the side opposite the transmission where it can clear the crossmember. The 4A-FE has an even pan across, because the deck height is shorter and it doesn't need to get clearance from the crossmember. Hope this helps.
Look at the stickers under the hood, there should be mention of 7A-FE or 4A-FE, also see if you can see the sticker on the timing belt cover, that'll tell you as well. If there are no stickers visible, see if you can see the oil pan. The 7A-FE has a very uneven pan, with a big 'hump' downward on the side opposite the transmission where it can clear the crossmember. The 4A-FE has an even pan across, because the deck height is shorter and it doesn't need to get clearance from the crossmember. Hope this helps.
I spent part of the day putting drums and brake shoes on the back. I have never experienced wheels that were so difficult to remove. Removing the wheels took almost as long as it did to replace the shoes, the damn things seemed to be welded to the drums and I couldn't get them to budge. I'll probably replace the pads on the front tomorrow. I prefer working on on disc brakes a lot more than break shoes.
After completing the brakes, I started polishing and waxing the car (the oxidation was driving me nuts). Although the car belongs to the kids, I'm the one trying to make it look as good as possible.
I took it on the freeway for a longer drive today and had it up to 85 with no shaking. I wouldn't want to drive it at that speed for any great distance, but I wanted to see how stable it would be at that speed. It drives real smooth at 65 to 70 and seems to do so with little effort.
My wife and I talked about getting a used Camry when the lease is up on our Highlander, but we are now considering a newer Corolla. I noticed a lot of Corolla's today and when we were in a parking lot that had a newer Corolla parked in it, I would check them out. I've been a big fan of Camry's, but I just might be a convert.
The newer Corollas had a new engine and gained in both horsepower and mileage, however some have said that after the generation you have the overall build quality started to slip and the general impression started to go from warm and eager to a more sterile appliance-like piece of transportation.
For the pads, see if you can dig up some ceramics. They're quiet, essentially dust-free, and deliver a very surprising amount of braking force.
Well, I purchased the 97 Corolla last August and just last month my son was in an accident. No one hurt and it's repairable. The car runs great and after I'm done fighting with the insurance company I'll have it as good as used.
I liked it so much I bought another one, only a 1996. 205K on it and the engine is as quiet as a new car. Runs smooth and good transportation. The car was confiscated by the police for driving with a suspended license. The woman had a few DWI's and couldn't judge distance, so it does have scratches, but nothing too serious. I picked it up for $1,500 and gave it to my daughter. She had a break line problem tonight, but more about that in a new thread.
This post is just to say "I love these Corolla's" - Now my wife wants a used one when the Highlander lease expires in January.
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, i had a 1992 camry before my 97 corolla and i miss the camry... alot...
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