1983 Toyota Corolla plain 1.6 from North America

Summary:

Cheap reliable car

Faults:

The wheel wells and door are rusting badly.

My head gasket blew at 230000km which was relatively cheap. This resulted in a bent distributer shaft cause the car to miss terribly at idle.

Occasionally my carburetor plugs up causing the car not being able to idle.

My drivers seat is in really bad shape. The foam is almost all gone, and the seat is ripped.

General Comments:

I have spent only about $200 (can) in repairs. This excludes maintenance.

Not very attractive. Sometimes it is almost embarrassing to drive. I get a lot of nasty comments about my car.

For a poor student I really love my car.

I would definitely buy a Toyota again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th October, 2002

14th Apr 2004, 21:17

I agree, the car is not very attractive, but I have had mine for almost a year and it runs great and I spend very little for repairs. I Recommend this car for poor students with very little money.

21st May 2004, 12:21

I had a 1983 Corolla for about a year and it was 19 years old when I bought it. I am now convinced it is immortal. I put 100,000 miles on it in the time I had it and it just smiled and kept going. I also covered it all over with stickers. I sold it to friend who needed a good reliable car and now it is 21 years old and she still drives it. I still see it every now and then and I really miss it. I drive a 1998 New Beetle now and it is phenomenal, but I want my Toyota back!!

Blake Barnhill.

16th Nov 2004, 18:19

My first car was a 1983 Corolla station wagon.. it had 185,000 miles on it when I got it from my parents (who had bought it new), and when I sold the thing it had over 240,000. In all that time, the car never once went to the shop for anything other than routine maintenance. Not. One. Repair.

10th Jan 2006, 12:46

The above comments are all great! The one stating that the purchase was for a dollar is unreal. It is unreal because I too just bought an 83 coupe SR5 for $1.00!!! With 143,000 miles and an impeccable service tract record, I am extremely thrilled. I am hoping to take the current mileage as high as it will go and as soon as something major goes wrong, it will get a larger engine and become a track car.

I bought this 01/05/06 and I took today off of work to play with it and get to know it better. I will never let this one go. :)

-Jeremy.

26th Sep 2008, 14:44

My 83 Corolla is AWESOME! I got it 5 years ago with only 67k miles and it's been running ever since. Sure, it's ugly and it smokes for the first 5 minutes of driving but no one ever tailgates me! Plus it's actually fun to drive!

1983 Toyota Corolla CS 1.3 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Still going, best first car you will come across

Faults:

Whats wrong wrong with the car? Nothing y the end of this weekend. The car has a rusty rear left door and a little around the boot and rear fenders, but its due for the final paint touch up if the weather holds up.

The seats are a bit hard, but they soften up with some seat covers.

Steering is VERY heavy, but I can't say I've driven many other cars without power steering.

It has some guts, but I seem to be flooring it a lot to keep up with the traffic resulting in large fuel consumption.

The sun visor has been disposed of and replaced.

The carpet has ripped and coming out the sides of the floor and front door meeting points.

Sits very high from the ground, not good for those quick cornering situations.

General Comments:

The paint work, even when unwashed, is still glossy with relatively solid sides and bumpers.

The interior is perfect not a crack in the dash or split in the seats.

Nice little idea of the radio molded into the dash though to keep up with todays trend a CD player was added and new rear speakers (front ones were removed after the blew).

In 19 years this little beast is still running well with no modifications and the 1.3l gives a bit of grunt considering the cars weight to engine size ratio.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th August, 2002

13th Aug 2002, 05:32

I'd have to agree. I have an 83 Toyota corolla, rear wheel drive as well, fun in the wet.

It's a little work horse, just keeps going and going.

Although rust is a bit of a problem in my car as well, I can't complain, it would probably keep going and going if I didn't take it drifting in the wet and off-road rallying.

To tell you the truth I'd say it probably will last.

7th Nov 2009, 19:52

I have a Toyota Corolla 83 CS as well, best little car ever I have to say.. Needs a new battery, but that's alright.

I don't have any issues with paint, dust is the only problem I have. When we got it, we thought it was yellow until we washed it; turns out it's white.

I am going to replace the radio because it hardly works any more. About the only station I can get is 2CA :/ LOL

Anyway, I recommend this car for anyone, whether it be a first car, a car to take to work, a paddock basher, or just a car for fun; it will serve you well. :)

8th Nov 2009, 14:41

My friend has an '83 Corolla that he bought new as his first car. He still has it, and he drives across the country twice a year, with all that driving, he now has over 600,000 miles. All the parts are original. I don't think it's ever gonna die!

1983 Toyota Corolla Liftback 1.3 from Germany

Summary:

Solid. Very solid. And very ugly

Faults:

Even though the car was 12 years old when I bought it for next to nothing, I can't remember replacing anything but oil and brakes and such (not even regularly).

Two years ago the mechanism for opening the windows crumbled away and hence I was unable to open the right window.

The seats are poor quality.

The rear door is VERY rusty.

General Comments:

Pros: I've always had very old cars, that I usually had to throw away after two years. This one was different: It just kept going. The most reliable car I've seen so far.

Cons: Consumes quite some fuel. And it is very, very ugly.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th September, 2000

1983 Toyota Corolla GL 1.3 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

A car that will never let you down

Faults:

Replaced exhaust tailpiece.

Tyres wore out - tracking was off.

Alternator brushes replaced.

General Comments:

This car just goes on and on. In the last 2 MOTs, the only thing I had to pay for was a rear brake hose.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st May, 2000