1988 Toyota Corolla DX review from North America

It liked to eat ignition coils about once a year for some reason, I never learned why it was doing that, but after I figured out that's what it was doing I became a pro at changing them out.

Had to put front struts on it shortly after purchase. I had most of my troubles on the drivers side front corner for some reason. I had to replace the wheel bearing and brake rotor on that side.

I also replaced the exhaust from the cat back, as well as a new starter. The starter is fairly difficult to change as it is on the back side of the motor. Not recommended for the novice mechanic.

I would likely still be driving this car if not for the fact that I am 6'4" and was sick of driving a small car.

This car is fairly reliable and most of the time easy to fix when something does break. I ran Mobile1 synthetic oil in it from day one. I'm probably the only Corolla owner on earth to put high grade oil in it. I think the extra money was definitely worth it though because the car is still running like a champ with almost 200K miles. The air always worked great even on the warmest of days.

One thing I didn't really like was having to drop the lower dash to put a new stereo head unit in.

For a four cylinder it is a fairly peppy car. On top of running Mobile1 synthetic oil I also always put premium grade fuel in it. It really isn't that much more expensive and you will see that your car runs better with better fuel.

Overall a great car for anyone on a budget or as a teens first car.