Summary:
Excellent, reliable, good looking car, that's fun to drive and easy to maintain
Faults:
When we first bought it, the trunk leaked. We solved the problem with some new rubber in the right areas.
The remote trunk release cable broke, but luckily it was just a small tab inside the trunk. It was easily fixed.
It needs an alignment, and maybe even a new front right axle. The CV boot split a little, which isn't good.
Most recently, the water pump decided to eat itself, so we had to replace it. The timing belt was also replaced at this time (it was about due.)
General Comments:
The wheels are quite ugly at the moment. The paint is coming off on all four, though, I have planned to repaint them for some time. They are great, almost 'vintage' looking steel wheels. I couldn't imagine anything else on the car.
The seats seem to be quite durable, as mine are obviously worn, but definitely not worn out. No holes, surprisingly.
The factory speakers in it were only 4in, so it would be pretty hard for an audio enthusiast to get great sound out of it. We get decent music coming out of a nice deck and some off-brand $8 a pair ***Mart speakers.
It isn't the tightest car - Definately no go-kart. I'd imagine some slightly shorter, harder springs may do it some good.
I just cleaned the engine not long ago.
With regular oil changes, and other maintenance, this car will easily last well past 200k miles.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 7th June, 2005
8th Jun 2005, 07:44
You should have no problems hitting the 200k mark... my sister is doing just that on her 90 Corolla Wagon. She routinely drives it many miles and performs all maintenance in a timely manner. Even after 15 years, not one spot of rust on the car. It was repainted in 2003, as the clearcoat was peeling off. The only real trouble spot on this car has been the A/C. She had it replaced and converted to R134 at around 120K. She plans on driving this car until it won't drive anymore.