info wanted on buying a gen8 rolla - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

andycam06 · 12-15-2011, 09:23 PM

hi guys, think i will be getting a gen8 rolla, havent picked an actual car yet but the 7 is too rusty and 9 is too dear for me.
what are common problems, what do i need to look out for and so on.

now i have a gen9 back home in ireland and i deal with toyotas daay in day out back home so i know the usual bits to go wrong with toyotas or any car for that matter but is there anything spific to the gen8 rolla over here ?
i heard the oil pump gives alot of hassle in the celicas and i assume its the same engine so do the corolla engines have the same issue?
also its the LE model iam after so are the electrics usually ok on them?

thanks

gold94corolla · 12-15-2011, 09:29 PM

Well, if you do enough reading on TN, you'll see that these cars have tons of problems and throw lots of check-engine lights. Depends on how many miles and how the maintenance has been done.

andycam06 · 12-16-2011, 10:03 AM

yeah i seen that alright, but are these costly things?
are they from lack of general repair or just not a great car from toyota?
i dont have time to look through each thread and just need a quick 'what to watch out for' guide.
i have been searching for a car for 4 weeks now and cant find anything i really like.
well actually i found a few weeks back and viewed it the other day and it was a mess, 7 gen rolla with way more rust than the owner told me about.......it was the perfect car otherwise......

leakyseals · 12-16-2011, 10:55 AM

Check my recent posts, seems to be the main and most costly issue in these years. Be sure its not for sale because its an excessive oil burner!

gold94corolla · 12-16-2011, 08:07 PM

Yeah, you can't get a car that has rust. Or burning oil. Both of which killed my Corolla. Since you are in Canada, I think every old car (10+ years old) is gonna have a rust problem.

Isophorone · 12-18-2011, 06:56 AM

We have a 1999 Corolla CE with over 175K miles on it and maintain it religiously. The car has been absolutely reliable and never has burned a drop of oil, never leaked coolant, and never lost transmission fluid. (I know, I shouldn't tempt fate here.) Recently, we had issues with broken rear struts and the vapor canister. That and the radio has been a bit goofy (see recent separate post). It can be a bit cramped for a car pool, but it's good basic transportation. We may have fewer rust problems (DC area) than other parts of the country.