Sounds like a disaster, and at 5k how much more are you willing to sink into it chasing problems?

 

Sounds like a whole lot of problems. Doesn’t seem like a real XRS if it’s missing a simple strut bar.


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Seems odd I’m not sure what could cause that but learning manual with a sticky pedal and the risk of being stuck dead in the middle of an intersection seems scary, he wants $5000CAD and it’s got 240000km thanks!

 

I would stay away from this vehicle.....those older models had an issue with scoring of the throttle body. I see you are in Canada.....on the west coast you can find some real jems at a very good price.

 

Put your runners on, and run away.

 

Just like asking if that prostitute walking the streets would be a good wife. Trouble trouble and trouble.

 

Here’s my take on it.

IACV is shot. Likely a P0505 and kick down cable is too tight or about to break if it’s sticking. Starter is stuck or it’s a bad aftermarket part. Battery terminals are likely shot to hell with corrosion. A missing strut bar isn’t a deal breaker.

You’ll be able to tell if it’s a true xrs. The seats will be a bluish grey and sport buckets. Look at the label inside the drivers side door jamb. Transmission should be c60. On the vin, only the corolla xrs was manufactured in the Cambridge auto plant. If it’s 1MXBR = Fremont, Ca. J vin is Japan. At that point, it’s not a true corolla xrs.

 

Here’s my take on it.

IACV is shot. Likely a P0505 and kick down cable is too tight or about to break if it’s sticking. Starter is stuck or it’s a bad aftermarket part. Battery terminals are likely shot to hell with corrosion. A missing strut bar isn’t a deal breaker.

You’ll be able to tell if it’s a true xrs. The seats will be a bluish grey and sport buckets. Look at the label inside the drivers side door jamb. Transmission should be c60. On the vin, only the corolla xrs was manufactured in the Cambridge auto plant. If it’s 1MXBR = Fremont, Ca. J vin is Japan. At that point, it’s not a true corolla xrs.

It is a true xrs, it’s just strange it will fire up no problem but the moment it stops then starts quickly it will not start it just cranks but waiting 30 seconds to a minute it will start. My guess is the engine computer can’t restart properly or clear a fault something like that so it needs to be fully powered down to start I have no idea honestly.

 

I'm from Canada and.....................no way at that price with all those issues!

 

Used prices are ridiculous these days. They sell as much as they were new.

 

Is this only on cold starts?

 

No the engine was warmed up, he gave me the keys and it fired up right away, I let it warm up and then drove it fine, then because of the stiff pedal I stalled it at an intersection, then stalled again because I suck. Anyways the third time it straight up died and he said it happened last Wednesday where it will crank but nothing happens, then after a minute or two of waiting around it fires right up again

 

Stay away, are you sure it's an XRS? Double checked the VIN? A lot of cars driving around with badges and other swapped out parts so they look like another trim. I had a supercharged 04 Corolla S with an XRS strut bar, others swapped out the entire interior and swapped in rear disc brakes, the 9th gen corolla following was pretty huge when it first came out. If it is an XRS, the missing strut bar could indicate a bad front end collision that collapsed/tweaked the bar; check the paint matching and under the hood carefully for stress marks. He could have done some some back yard frame straightening, non-capa parts and had a cousin paint it. The starting issue sounds like a botched car alarm install or removal, I had an 89 Celica back in HS with the same issue and it was a jenky T-harness. The pedal problem sounds like a sticking cable. It's almost impossible to find a 9th gen XRS or 7th Gen Celica GT-S in good or even decent condition, be patient and squirrel away some money because when a nice one does pop up it will be more than $5000CAD. Keep an eye on sites like carsandbids.com and bringatrailer.com, you can set up alerts for specific cars so when an XRS (or anything else your looking for) pops up you're immediately notified. Best of luck.

 

STOP. You're looking at buying trouble.
Sit tight and keep your eyes open, and you'll find a decent deal on a similar car in good condition .... and with more reasonable mileage. Good deals are always out there, you just need to be able to recognize them, and to act reasonably quickly.

 

When I started looking for a corolla xrs, there weren’t many available to buy on the used market back in 2015/2016. Took me close to a year to find one.

When I went to check it out, I drove 2 hours to see it. The good, it was a one owner with 68k miles. Originally purchased at Camp LeJune. There was not a speck of rust on the chassis. 😅

In 2016 money, spent $7100 for the car. It was a smooth runner and daily. Drove it until 143k. PO installed some HID, DRL delete and rest was stock. I added the Progress rear sway bar, DC2 front strut bar and TRD axle back muffler.

Sadly, it was totalled in 2021. I am trying to get back into another corolla xrs myself. Will I find a unicorn? Who knows, but I’m pretty patient.

Good luck on your search and please don’t settle for the first one you lay eyes on.

I did come close to buying one after the previous one was totalled. At the beginning of Covid, the owner of the one I went to see was a complete ass hat. He claimed full oem stock. Found out that one of the fenders was replaced and had a dent. It idled fine, but owner didn’t allow test drive. Some owners are this way. Max money these days.

 

Didn't allow drive test???
Did he have a straight jacket on haha.
I would have laughed, questioned him then walked away with a friendly "take care".

 

Only if price is really good and your able and willing to work on it.
Every used vehicle ive gotten had some kind of issue. This ones got too many flags to me.

 

I’d rather buy something that is dirty versus cleaned up. The clean engine could be hiding something sinisterly wrong. A dirty engine bay, shows that there’s problems, but it’s not hidden.

 

Did you end up finding one?