Need opinion on a used 02 ce corolla price paid

[costeffectivelylive]

hi, i live in LA, US. i recently purchased a 02 corolla ce in excellent condition with 30159 miles on it from private party. carfax showing it was a coporate lease car then transfer to 1 personal title and it is 8 year and 2 months old. paid $7k exactly. Kelly blue book estimate a private party price at $8.5k. now this car is the cheapest model that hos no power lock, no power seat and no power windows. I want to know in your personal opinion, did I get a good deal? thank you for your time. FYI, i don't care much about looks or horsepower. just a economic car that is reliable.

[costeffectivelylive]

ALso, since i am a new driver in 20s. is there special trick to maintentaining such vehicle. if i park such vehicle outside along the roadside. anything I should pay attention to keep the paint in shape. i willing to invest a bit into this vehicle if it is deem worthy. any advice is welcome.

[costeffectivelylive]

ALSO, the car has 4 new tires with new battery. wheel alignment done 15k miles ago.

[mr1114]

I would say it was an OK price seeing as its a newer model and has very low miles. However, $7000 would have also easily gotten you a fully loaded LE model. Or possibly even a 03 or newer if you like that body style. Its nice to find a low mileage vehicle, but if a car has been maintained and I see it after I do a check-over, high miles means nothing to me.

I tend to buy cars that still have glossy shiny paint. I wax about every six months, or whenever water does not bead as much anymore, and wash weekly. I'd also recommend using a claybar before the wax job.

In between wax jobs I'll also use that spray-on detailer to get rid of any bug marks or water spots.

[Mashettiwar]

I bought that model for $3000 with about 100,000 miles on it.