2003 corolla s question

[kercha83]

Im thinking about getting a 2003 corolla s but the milage kind of stared me away from the car. The car has 140,000 miles on the car. Should i be worried? I keep hearing that the transmission usually go out on these cars, is that true? Is the 2003 corolla s a reliable and dependable car around and above these miles. I had a 91 corolla dx before and the engine and transmission just never died and has never left me stranded. Any info would be great.

[JasonA]

The level of maintenance is key. A car with 140,000 miles that's been taken care of well has much more life in it than a car with only 80,000 miles that's been beaten on since new. I'm not all that familiar with the automatics in these cars; mine has a manual. The engine has a timing chain that never needs replacing. As long as the oil and filter have been changed regularly, and the transmission has seen a fluid change or two, the car is likely in good mechanical condition still. You'll need to check the normal stuff for a used vehicle: brakes, shocks, any fluid leaks, etc.

But being only 6 years old with 140,000 miles, it's likely seen a lot of highway miles, which are pretty easy on cars.

[impulseRED]

yeah i drive a lot my self, not in stop and go traffic or anything , but ive managed to put 15k miles per year on mine driving my car at least 3 times a day and nothing wrong yet and pretty brutal with my car

if i've learned anything, toyotas in general can take quite a beating on short run or in the long haul. but remeber ANY car will last you a long time if u service it regularly

i say take it for a test drive, give the gas a good smashing and the brakes as well. check to see if the air and heat work. personally those are the type of things i look for in a used car

also get a car fax report on it!!! dont spend the $$$ unless ur absolulty sure