I paid $1000 for my 97 but put over $2000 in parts in before I drove it after I got it home. That took several months. But I've driven 30k reliable miles so far since then, and back and forth across the country several times.

These cars may not be worth it unless you do most of the repairs yourself. They are relatively easy to work on and parts are still available.

No reason to not do preventative maintenance. That's pretty cheap. The harder decision is if there is a bigger problem like engine, trans, rust or multiple big things need repairs at the same time.

 

I paid $1000 for my 97 but put over $2000 in parts in before I drove it after I got it home. That took several months.

What year did you buy it?
How many miles were on it, when you bought it?
What did you replace?
I am assuming that you couldn't find a cheaper one in excellent condition?

 

I am not sure why you are comparing the two, I guess, there is some logic reason...
1. you have 2 proven vehicles that you know as reliable. You appear to be mechanically inclined and DIY maintenance. WHY would you pay attention to what someone else does? Of course it's a gamble. Plus registration fees plus insurance change. Never forget one thing - good cars are keepers! No one sells a good car that is in perfect condition. Those are rare and people are not willing to part with them.
2. is it worth buying a beater. Well, I bought slightly damaged 91 Civic from associate for $250 for my son. He needed any car. Radiator hose blew day 1 of driving it but we replaced it right away in school parking lot. Thereafter, he drove it for about a year and gave her back to me, as he could not stand jokes about its looks. It was pretty ugly. I drove that car for another year, doing oil changes. I tossed in about $700 in replacement parts, new stereo and maintenance on it. She was, otherwise, turn key and go anywhere. I donated it to a patient of mine, he taught his 2 daughters how to drive with it, kept it for 3 or so years and donated to his friend. I lost track of it. Just sharing a real life experience. Was it worth $250? Absolutely. Only if you dead don't care about looks, acceleration and can DIY whatever needs to be done. But I did not have beater car otherwise and my fancy one saved LOTS of miles due to that poor thing driven instead. You DO HAVE 2 good cars, so why bother?

 

I am not sure why you are comparing the two, I guess, there is some logic reason...

I started this discussion because I thought it would be very hard to buy a used car in good condition, that could be called a beater, which I'm thinking a $700 Corolla would be.

I did buy a used Honda Accord for $100, that lasted me about 5 years, with fairly minimal repairs but that was only because I knew the owner, and talked them into selling it to me for a very low price.
I believe it is very hard to buy a good car for less than $1,000, without knowing somebody.

When I bought my two 1997 Prizms one was 5 years old and the other was 8 years old with about 60kmiles on them.

Today that would be like buying between a 2011 and 2014.
A 2014 Corolla with 60k miles on it would cost about $12k+.
The 1997 Prizm costs about 12k new, so that means the car has almost doubled price to 21k? for a Corolla LE, but the price I paid for the 97 Prizm was only $2.5k.
That means that the price for the used car has gone up by four times to 10k+, for roughly the same car, looks wise.

I guess it really comes down to can you drive an older car, and not feel rejected by your friends because it being out of style?
How a car looks can be be a lot more important for many people and also for ages 18-30.

I'm wondering if there is anyone under 40 who is still driving an older Corolla and if their friend's opinions still matters to them?

 

I own 2 1997 Prizms with about 155k on each one.
They have been very reliable with almost no repairs outside of basic maintenance.
I have bought one in 2002 and the other in 2005.

My 22 year old son was suggesting that it is not worth spending any money
on either one for preventive maintenance, because a friend of his bought a Corolla for $700.

I said that a $700 Corolla could be a money pit, if it was not taken care of
or it could be an excellent deal if it was well taken care of.

An average buyer who does not know the cars history is just gambling.

What is your experience with people buying a low cost car.

When I got my first car, it was a 57 Chevy at the abandoned car auction, for $52. Pop put up half, AND I HAD A 57 CHEVY!!!!!!!!!!!

What a piece of CRAP. I used chicken wire and bondo on the floors. I stupidly learned how to take care of a car, JUST NOT THAT 57 CHEVY. If your son does not want to take care of your cars, sounds like he needs to abuse HIS OWN CAR. The he learns the lesson of how to take car of any car, versus running YOUR's into the ground.

Maybe he will learn without it costing him much, but he won't learn if you do the work. Either earn the right or get your own. I LEARNED QUICKLY since it was my car and my transportation. When I got a decent car I got it right and kept it right. Used to pick up mid sixties Valiants. Smokers that look like they had a bad engine but only 40k miles? Pulled the PCV valve and hose all clogged up with oil residue, clean them out and the oil consumption went from a quart in 400 to 1500+ miles. Had a lot of good times in those old Valiants and I knew them well before I changed my focus to other cars. Back then (50 years ago) you could buy a 340 Duster new for less than $3k.

 

If you are one of the earliest owner of your vehicle and you know its history, then most of the time it does not matter what anyone else says. You've seen its history and you've done its maintenance. For me, my 08 Camry is my first car and I am technically the third owner even though I have been the only one driving it since my mom bought it. The real issues I have had was self-inflicted and a warrantied engine rebuild to stop it from burning oil. Otherwise I have had little to no actual issues or accidents so this makes me want to keep it for as long as I can even when I get a new car because it has been good to me since 2010ish.

 

Your son may see them as reliable because you've taken care of yours, which falsely gives the impression they all are reliable and can be replaced for $700. Some deals are good, and some are bad. It all depends on how the care was cared for. I would do the preventative maintenance on yours because you know their history so well.

Mine is kind of a money pit and it looks like a $400 car. I paid $1,200 or so for it a few years back and learned it had been poorly maintained. I do my best to take care of my vehicles but the unexpected still happens. I had my transmission fail and I opted to get it rebuilt. Why? It failed when I was in another city 3hrs away and I had needed the car to get to work, school, etc. I reasoned that any other car's cost equal to the transmission rebuild + rental car for a few days was just as risky of a gamble. The trans was $1,800 and I couldn't afford a car payment. I've recently had the head rebuilt because it was burning oil and I was concerned I wouldn't pass emissions. Again, for the money I didn't think I would find a better vehicle that wouldn't need any extra work put into it. At one point I opted for a brand new, oem distributor because of how bad aftermarket ones are. I could have went for a junk yard one, but I wanted a new one for peace of mind. Other things have been done, but those are the big ticket items that generally exceeded the car's value and my initial purchase price.

 

A reliable car is only reliable when it's taken care of. Putting more money into a well kept car than it's worth is often worth it because it'll give you tons of trouble free miles for years to come, while finding a well kept reliable replacement for that maintenance cost + the worth of the car is likely impossible.

Your son is a bit naive, but it's unsurprising. He'll learn.

 

finding a well kept reliable replacement for that maintenance cost + the worth of the car is likely impossible.

"...finding a well kept reliable replacement for that maintenance cost + the worth of the car is likely impossible."

What do you mean?

 

I am in the 18-30 crowd. Three years ago I needed (wanted?) my own car and bought a 15 year old, 2001 Camry with 131K miles for $1,200. It needed tires and brakes and suspension bushings, nothing major. No major body damage or dents but quite a few scratches and the paint was in pretty poor condition. I chose this car because my parents had bought one new in 2001 and I knew everything about it. Previous owner had bought the car in 2004 with 39K miles, so he owned the car for the majority of its life. He didn't have any maintenance records but I took his word that he did regular oil changes, so that was a gamble, I suppose. Having owned the car for 3 years now, I've put about $2K in maintenance in it (tires ($400), brakes ($200), bushings, dogbone mount, thermostat, battery, spark plugs, front struts ($500), and fluid/oil changes). I think it's good to go for the next few years without any major repairs and I could probably sell the car for $2K easily today.

Many of my friends drive newer cars because they share cars with their parents. This, to me, is inconvenient. Some others are taking out loans for cars they cannot afford. I'm sure they do look down on my older Camry, but it's my money, not theirs. Sure, they might not want to drive an 18 year old Camry, that's their choice. But if they are going to be so embarrassed riding in my car with me, simply because it looks old, then we probably shouldn't be friends to begin with. I like to think that I am friends with sensible people. Like what Old Mechanic said, don't fall into the debt trap.

Partly I arrived at this decision on my own, and partly from the influence of my parents. They are Chinese immigrants and keep things until they are entirely used up. My dad thinks that all used cars are lemons because he, himself, would never sell a car unless something was wrong with it. They taught me to not purchase anything that you couldn't pay cash for (besides a house). What they really meant is that I shouldn't be buying a car yet, because I couldn't afford a new one. But they taught me well and I did not buy a car I could not afford.

Your son is not wrong that you can buy a $700 Corolla and have it turn out fine, but you will likely need to spend ~$1K to get it "road trip reliable" pretty much right away.

A lot of people my age, or your son's age, don't realize how much things cost until they start paying for things themselves. Where I live, the car is not the expensive part - it's the insurance. I doubt many of my friends could afford the insurance plus depreciation, maintenance, etc. costs of their cars if they weren't being "subsidized" by their parents.

 

All they gotta do is get credit card debt along with those car payments and insurance rates and maybe they can understand. Don't forget to include tuition. Then you can add on apartment bills, electric bills, internet bills, phone bill, food bills, gasoline, etc. For me, I know I have no money so even if I wanted to I can't get a newer vehicle but I am lucky that my mom gave me my 08 Camry because "most kids my age" in 2012 are not gonna be driving in a "new car". If they did, well... their parents have money. The car has been under my name since 2018 and was paid off prior, she bought (financed) it around 2010.

 

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/d/norfolk-1999-toyota-corolla/6999420703.html
Not quite $700 but interesting but I am not an auto tranny fan.

 

https://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/d/norfolk-1999-toyota-corolla/6999420703.html
Not quite $700 but interesting but I am not an auto tranny fan.

Not a bad candidate for under $1k. Unless they lived near the beach, I think its fine either way.

 

I guess it really comes down to can you drive an older car, and not feel rejected by your friends because it being out of style?
How a car looks can be be a lot more important for many people and also for ages 18-30.

I'm wondering if there is anyone under 40 who is still driving an older Corolla and if their friend's opinions still matters to them?

I have some time yet before 40 and my father gave me my then-barely-running Corolla that he bought new as my first car, probably expecting I'd blow it up for good. It had been through 2 big collisions at that point and was pretty much on its last legs. I've always loved that little Corolla though, so I dove headfirst into textbooks and repair manuals and probably funded some Toyota chairman son's college tuition in the process with all the overpriced OEM parts I've bought.

That was a little under 10 years ago. Here's a photo I took yesterday morning of the Corolla among other cars when I was getting coffee. I think it looks fine. The people in my life get a kick out of my car, or they don't care. I'm from a relatively upscale area, so the two-decade-old+ Corolla with the tape deck and roll-down windows is more of a fun curiosity than anything else for most people. It's still an elegant little car IMO. I always get compliments, from friends and strangers alike.

In short, only you can decide what a car is worth to you. I wouldn't have done what I did if I didn't like the Corolla.

Don't sell your son short, it takes a "special" type of person to drive one of these around and "sell it," so to speak, especially when you're young. If he'll be happier with a more expensive/fancy car, it might be worth it. Also, no one I know my age still has their first car, they've all been wrecked or just moved on.

 

I have some time yet before 40 and my father gave me my then-barely-running Corolla that he bought new as my first car, probably expecting I'd blow it up for good. It had been through 2 big collisions at that point and was pretty much on its last legs. I've always loved that little Corolla though, so I dove headfirst into textbooks and repair manuals and probably funded some Toyota chairman son's college tuition in the process with all the overpriced OEM parts I've bought.

That was a little under 10 years ago. Here's a photo I took yesterday morning of the Corolla among other cars when I was getting coffee. I think it looks fine. The people in my life get a kick out of my car, or they don't care. I'm from a relatively upscale area, so the two-decade-old+ Corolla with the tape deck and roll-down windows is more of a fun curiosity than anything else for most people. It's still an elegant little car IMO. I always get compliments, from friends and strangers alike.

In short, only you can decide what a car is worth to you. I wouldn't have done what I did if I didn't like the Corolla.

Don't sell your son short though, it takes a "special" type of person to drive one of these around and "sell it," so to speak, especially when you're young. If he'll be happier with a more expensive/fancy car, it might be worth it. Also, no one I know my age still has their first car, they've all been wrecked or just moved on.

One day I want to see the CEO of some huge company drive to work in some ricey 90's Honda Civic. To me, there is a sort of... expectation in what you drive depending on where you work. Easy example being I am one of the few 2008 Camry's with a relatively loud exhaust in a business parking lot.

• Construction worker
  • Pick-up truck
• High salary businessman
  • Lexus, BMW, etc.
• Low wage worker
  • What's a car?
• The President
  • Armored GM limo
• etc. etc. etc.

 

To sum up what others have already alluded to in this thread: What matters is not the purchase price of the car, but the total cost of ownership.

$700 plus you need to pay a mechanic every time it breaks down and it gets expensive and very frustrating, quickly.

$700 and you're mechanically inclined, willing to spend time and some money on preventive maintenance and you're in a lot better shape. But the real total cost of ownership likely still far exceeds $700.

I also fundamentally disagree with the "run it until it breaks" philosophy that many "beater car drivers" employ. Yes, I may drive an old beater, but that's no excuse to not take care of it. I am not willing to risk getting stranded or cause a traffic accident due to shoddy maintenance on my behalf. As such I don't have any heartburn over regularly spending money on good tires, brake parts, timing belt etc. even as the car itself is "worthless". I also wash and wax it regularly, not because it's a source of pride but because it's basic "car hygiene" and rust prevention.

 

two principles I try to live by>
1.a car that you already own and know the history of which is also reliable is a keeper.
2.preventive maintenance is the number one determinant of car survival. I never stint on this (although I am aggressive about DIY).

also, I take perverse pleasure when people kid me about my beater. I'm driving very cheaply and reliably and they cannot say the same.

 

I try to think this, in twenty years whose car is still gonna be running?

 

In 20 years, it will still be running unless the rust got to it first.

 

our 1989 corolla with carb lasted 385,000 miles,,,,, only went through one clutch and one set of struts... and a couple timing belts, etc... 5 speed stick. Was still running, when we got $1,500 California old car buyback.

 

The plugs are actually somewhat standard. I believe there is a US standard and Tesla comes with an adapter out the box... factory with this adapter so you can charge at regular EV stations. Now Supercharger networks are the issue I guess.

 

Stuff like that is what I sorta mean. If we can have 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, Diesel, Kerosene, Natural Gas(?) almost all use the same type of pump (aside from the last three), then all chargers should be similar. I guess you can charge on the charge rate ?‍♂ . Wanna leave faster? Pay more? Got time to spare? Pay less. Though honestly that sounds stupid and we would be better off with one type of charger.

Enjoy! Part 1

• Apple 30 pin
• Samsung 30 pin
• Mini-USB
• Micro-USB
• USB-A
• USB 1.0
• USB 2.0
• USB 3.0
• USB 3.1
• USB-C
• USB-C Gen 2
• Apple Lighting
• Printer cable
• Another USB 3.0
• Another micro USB 3.0
• etc. etc. etc.

Enjoy! Part 2

• Flash drive
• Flash drive USB-C
• Memory Stick Duo
• M2 memory card
• SD card
• MicroSD card
• CD (and everything else that comes with CDs)

 

Currently, the infrastructure isn't there for enough charging stations. At the last few places I worked at, they have less than 6 plug-in stations for ev's.

Tesla's do work here, but I do recall they had to use an adapter to increase the chargers output for the Tesla.

Of course, the supercharger is an exclusive deal with Tesla. Gotta increase the bottom line by charging a fee to use.

 

Looks like a 1980s Caprice. It is the boxy one. The earlier '70s models were a little larger, and had more curves.

 

I posted this thread 3 years ago about a 93 Corolla that went at auction for $1700 and was listed on craigslist for $2700 shortly afterward, but then lowered in price a little. I don't know what it actually sold for. It looked pretty clean mechanically but had a salvage title and the mileage was suspicious. So, I guess you can find them from $500 to $3000 depending on condition.

Opinion on this 93 Corolla that was auctioned

I thought this might be overpriced. What do you think? This 1993 Corolla went up for auction a week ago. It had a 7A-FE with 4-speed automatic, and the AC worked. It got bid up to $1507, plus the buyer pays a $125 transaction fee + 8.6% tax ($129.60). Grand total of $1761.60...

www.toyotanation.com

Before I bought my 97 I was considering one for $500 that needed a water pump and had been sitting. I never went to look at it. I was actually going to buy it to fix for a friend that needed a car.

 

I have a friend who bought a 1993 Corolla LE brand new in September of 93 when she moved to the US. She loved that car, since it was her first car, I think it needed an ECU or something in 2010 and her husband (a Lexus tech) convinced her to buy a new 2010 Rav4. But after they bought the Rav4, she asked her husband to fix the Corolla so she could keep driving it. They kept it for 20 years and 190K miles and sold it to a friend in 2013. I think the friend still has it, and it's up to 230K+ now. This Corolla was the car that showed me how long cars could last if they were properly maintained.

I think 1993 was the year that the Corolla became a "modern" car. The jump from 92-93 was pretty significant IMO. Each generation since has become more substantial & safe than the last, but I think that was the biggest single gen improvement in terms of safety, modern features, & also rustproofing.

 

In what way(s) is the 1993 the first Corolla with modern features? I always thought that it's 1996 due to OBD-ii and, at least in Tercels, distributorless ignitions (1995?).

 

The 7th gens are a lot 'cushier' than the 6th gens. I had a '90, a '93, and now a '97.

The 7th gens are more luxurious, but I think that the 6th gens are a better, more-durable, car.

Distributors disappeared in 1998, with the 8th gens, as far as I know.

 

In shop class, there's a 1997 Camry with a distributor on it. I'm trying to find it to practice evaluating it.

I had a 1995 Corolla with 70k (verified and working odometer) that I bought from a craigslist flipper/scammer (didn't know at the time of purchase) that only needed a clutch job and wheel cylinders. It was really cheap to maintain ($515 per year and would have been cheaper had I known how to do clutch and wheel cylinders), but got totaled in an accident.

I stupidly didn't change the thermostat (had no maintenance records), and have an engine overheat. Fortunately, I caught it in time, R/R the thermostat, and passed the next smog test.

I would rather have a 1996-1997 because of the convenience of OBD-ii to help with diagnoses, abundance in junkyards, and this bulletin board's recommendation. I hate the flashing OBD-i.

I suppose that a bit of luck and the low mileage were what made the Corolla cheap to maintain?

 

Sounds like my '90. It was a POS. I owned it for two and a half years and nearly 50,000 miles, but all I ever did to it was brakes, axles, the alternator, and oil changes. I seriously had the radiator cap off less than five times! Every time I opened it, I saw green coolant to the top, and I put the cap back on!

I think I got that car in a good cycle of maintenance, and never had any real problems from the car. It had 206,000 when I got it, and like 252,000 when I drove it to the junk yard - rust ate that car up!!!

 

Other than rust eating it up, it sounded great, so why was it a POS?

 

As a current owner of both a 6th and 7th gen I'll say when people see my 6th gen they think it's really old. The styling of the body of the 7th gen tricks people into thinking it may not be as old. It doesn't look much different than the 8th gens, so it appears at least 10 years newer than the 6th gen. My 6th gen's paint looks old and I don't wax it, but the white paint on my 7th gen looks really nice, so that makes a big difference in appearance also. It's pretty obvious that it's more that 10 years old since newer cars seem to all have different looking headlights now. And I guess in the Phoenix area where rust isn't a concern you still see cars that are a bit older than other areas, so the 7th gen blends in more.


I find the 6th gen fun to drive. It doesn't have stabilizer bars so the wheels move a bit more independently over bumps, speed humps/bumps, etc. which allows me to drive a bit faster. The 7th gen feels more rigid and I do feel safer in it. It's better for highway driving with the 4-speed auto compared to my 3-speed 1990. Even though the engine revs high on the 3-speed at current highway speed limits I feel like the engine can handle. This really isn't a 6th/7th gen difference since both could have the 4A-FE & 3-speed combo.

As far as being cheap to maintain, Toyota stuck with what works. The 4A was used across 6th and 7th gens. The A131L 3-speed trans was used for something like 18 years across many markets. Toyota kept the suspension, steering and brakes about the same on 6th and 7th and probably 8th gens or newer. And Toyota just seems to design with maintenance and repairs in mind.

 

I don't think the rust made it worse. Just gotta get used to the idea of stopping the Corolla with 2 feet. Haha!

 

I have the perfect example to reinforce the "value" of a car versus the "value" of maintaining the car. I drive rental cars every week. Have for years. Recently I got assigned a $36,000 MSRP 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T while traveling. Drove it in the rain, and the darned wipers were totally worn out, making it an absolutely miserable experience. Flew back home, picked up my twenty-five-years-older pocket-change-valued Corolla, drove that through a rain storm. 100% better experience.... Why? Because I maintain it, so my wipers were working flawlessly.

"Wait a minute!" one might argue - "All you'd have to do to the Challenger is change the wiper blades and your value equation shifts back - your Corolla still sucks". True, but the point is my Corolla's wipers were working WHEN I NEEDED THEM THE MOST. Right there and then that makes all the difference in the world, and that's why maintenance matters. It makes you able to depend on the car when you need to the most.... and that's... well... invaluable in my book.

 

I have the perfect example to reinforce the "value" of a car versus the "value" of maintaining the car. I drive rental cars every week. Have for years. Recently I got assigned a $36,000 MSRP 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T while traveling. Drove it in the rain, and the darned wipers were totally worn out, making it an absolutely miserable experience. Flew back home, picked up my twenty-five-years-older pocket-change-valued Corolla, drove that through a rain storm. 100% better experience.... Why? Because I maintain it, so my wipers were working flawlessly.

"Wait a minute!" one might argue - "All you'd have to do to the Challenger is change the wiper blades and your value equation shifts back - your Corolla still sucks". True, but the point is my Corolla's wipers were working WHEN I NEEDED THEM THE MOST. Right there and then that makes all the difference in the world, and that's why maintenance matters. It makes you able to depend on the car when you need to the most.... and that's... well... invaluable in my book.

If the car likes you, you will know it. Keep her happy and she will keep you happy.

 

After more pondering, I came up with this.

A $700 Corolla is only worth $700 as a shell or a donor car if the PO treated as such without maintenance.

The money used to bring the Corolla back to life is worth more if doing most of the work yourself.

Remember way back when, there's a car you may have found on the side of the road for sale and it cost $50. All it needed was a fan belt. The same is as today. Many owners have gotten the use out of their Corolla and decided that it's time to move on from the Corolla for something newer. But, it still has life left.

Choose wisely and stay thirsty! ?