1982 Toyota Corolla CS 1.3L from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

This is a car that people should look at buying!

Faults:

Warped Head due to the it was driven.

Timing chain at 185,000. It was 23yrs old.

Rear wheel bearings when bought it. Easy/cheap to fix.

Only real problem was rust in the rear quarters and around the boot.

General Comments:

Car handles really well in corners, but sways around at speeds around 130km. Wider tyres would have helped.

Real easy to drive. Perfect first car.

Cheap to run and reliable.

Parts cheap and easy to get hold of.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th May, 2005

1982 Toyota Corolla DX Wagon 1.3 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

You just can't kill these cars

Faults:

Leaking Heater Core.

General Comments:

Great car. Very economical. Most reliable car I have ever owned. No matter what you did to it, it would not die. You could drive it until the oil light came on, pull over and put 3 and a half liters of oil in the engine and be off again, with no ill effects on the engine. Only ever saw a workshop of a new oil filter twice in my ownership.

Performance was nothing great, but still good for a car pushing 20 years old. Handling and brakes where comparable for cars of this era.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th October, 2004

1982 Toyota Corolla CS KE70 1.3L Unleaded from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Good, Reliable First Car

Faults:

Only minor problems like fuel pump needing to be replaced and ballast resistor but no other real problems.

General Comments:

Very reliable car.

Not too much in way of features with only a AM/FM radio and no air conditioning, but gets the job done.

Performance is not too bad considering the 1.3l engine, but don't expect to get up to 100km/h (60mph) too quickly.

Quite fun to drive especially as it is quite light.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th December, 2003

1982 Toyota Corolla SR 5 1.8 litre from North America

Summary:

Unbelievably Reliable

Faults:

All repairs due to old age and wear and tear.

No major repairs needed, I have only had to replace altenator, starter, belts and hoses.

The only down side is the rust factor

Had major rust through out body.

General Comments:

Good power

Excellent reliability

Very low maintenance.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st July, 2003

13th Sep 2005, 14:05

Yes, rust was a severe problem with my SR5. I put a lot of Bondo and fiberglass into it to keep it looking half decent.

16th Feb 2008, 17:20

This is still my favorite car of all I've ever driven--good gas mileage, fun to drive, and reliable as anything. I had the usual minor stuff from wear and tear, but it was remarkably easy to work on--unlike any I've owned in the years since.

27th Mar 2008, 05:34

Toyota 1982 SR-5 1.8 3tc - now 2TG Twin Cam. I bought the car 20 years ago, and still have it, not a daily driver any more, but have lots of fun when I drive it. It is amazing how reliable and strong these cars are. Want to see it? http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2131008/1982-toyota-corolla

1982 Toyota Corolla DX 1.5L from North America

Summary:

The most reliable for college years

Faults:

Rusted rear body at bumper line when I got it for FREE from my cousin's auto shop because one of my other cars keep breaking down (dodge ram mini pickup).

Drive shaft fell off in the middle of traffic at 130000miles. Embarrassing...

Radio busted since stone-age.

General Comments:

Still. This car made a permanent impression in me of how reliable car should be after it took all the beating and abusing of my years in college... like skipping oil lube schedule and water-for-coolant treatments... and never replaced air filter.

It ran and ran at the turn of the key EVERY time!

Then one cold morning after I climbed to San Francisco from San Jose... the engine gave up its first cylinder valves as it broke with springs and parts flying inside the head. I did not realize the weird noise and unstable idle speed when it happened at start up... as it was still a very cold morning in San Francisco.

I ran it home to San Jose anyway...and days to months later that I noticed one of the cylinder isn't firing. Opened up the head cover and discovered the exhaust vales and springs had broken to pieces inside the engine. I picked out the parts the best I could and covered up the engine and the car still kept on running muhahahaha... it was invincible! Then later when I got another car, I ditched it. The most incredible car that I've seen.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st February, 2003