1993 Toyota Corolla Base from North America

Summary:

Reliable, inexpensive, ultra-high value!

Faults:

Paint (red) faded after a few years. The car appears almost pink now.

Distributor failed at about 100,000 miles.

Exhaust replaced at about 80,000 miles.

Burns oil at about a quart a month.

All other problems have been related to normal wear. One could even argue that the above are related to normal wear.

General Comments:

This vehicle has been remarkably reliable to own, like other Toyotas I have had. My record for maintenance is spotty at best.

The clutch still seems to have plenty of life in it after 168,000 miles of mixed driving conditions.

The interior is flawless, even the driver's seat.

The car has been great to own and operate - I have never been left stranded. It is not a performance demon, but as a commuter car it is awesome. I still use it to drive 400+ miles a week back and forth to work.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th March, 2004

1993 Toyota Corolla Executive 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Smart, well equipped and cheap to insure - get one if you need comfortable reliable transport!

Faults:

The light for the gear shifter didn't work so I had no idea what gear I was selecting at night. New bulb cost less than a pound, but it took quite a while to change once I had dismantled what felt like half the dash to get to it!

Car makes a squealing noise around 2000rpm, but it gets quieter as it warms up. The noise is coming from around the water and power steering pumps, but the belts seem tight and I can't work out exactly what is causing the noise. Does anyone have any ideas? I have heard other similar Corollas and a Carina making the same noise.

General Comments:

I bought the car for the reliability - my old one from New Zealand had old car faults, but none you couldn't live with.

Lots of electrics on the Executive model which worries me a bit if it goes wrong, but all seems OK so far.

Interior is brilliant - clear and easy to use, great ergonomics, comfy too. Very blue though - dark blue paint and dark blue interior a bit heavy. It would be much nicer if it had a Grey interior to break it up a bit!

Engine is a honey, would work better with manual box as it prefers high revs.

Handling is great for the real world - its no sports car, but I don't drive it like a nut case any more so that's not an issue. Nice comfy ride, stable and smooth on the motorway. Nice and roomy too, and the lift-back has a huge boot.

Both my Toyota's have been good cars, I will definitely be buying Toyota's again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th February, 2004

4th Jun 2004, 06:34

As a follow up to my previous review, I managed to resolve the annoying noise. One hefty dose of WD40 onto the alternator, water pump spindle and fan belt, and the noise vanished. I suspect it was the rubber on the fan belt getting hard and not gripping properly which was making the squeaking noise.

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1993 Toyota Corolla 2 liter from North America

Summary:

One of the most reliable cars ever made

Faults:

Starters were the most problem.

Toyota seemed to have this problem for a few years starting in 1993.

I replaced one at about 60,000 and again at about 110,000.

Replaced timing belt at recommended 80,000 intervals.

Usual items such as a tune up, brakes and battery were done as needed.

General Comments:

I have owned many kinds of cars.

Over the past 30 years.

Without a doubt this Toyota was the best one ever.

Gas mileage in the 30's.

Got me through every type of weather possible without a problem.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th July, 2003

8th Nov 2005, 06:41

I have a 1993 toyota corolla great car, but no it is starting by itself they cannot find the problem please help my car thanks.

1993 Toyota Corolla Standard Sedan 1.6 from North America

Summary:

Basic car, but was too high maintenance

Faults:

I changed the struts, tires, brakes when I first bought it. (138K miles)

Compressor blew up three months after I bought the car.

Transmission died at 142000 miles, changed transmission and radiator.

Steering wheel tilted to the left.

General Comments:

I bought this car from a dealer as my college car for running around between home and school.

I had the car re-aligned, changed all the belts and the tires when I first got it. I do an oil change every 3000 miles and have my mechanic do a check on my car along with the oil change for any defects or maintenance issues.

The compressor failed only after 3 months of purchase. I would like to say that this car is dependable and reliable, but not after the transmission blew up on me after about one year since I bought it. The transmission actually blew up on me twice, 3 months apart. It has come to a point that I don't have much confidence in the car anymore.

The ride and drive is actually quite comfortable and enjoyable for a basic car, but it cost me way too much to maintain this car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd June, 2003

4th May 2006, 00:45

For a car of that mileage what were you expecting? Most cars need to replace these components at much lower mileage. My advice, replace components that are faulty and keep the car. Parts are not expensive for this car and is pretty straight forward to fix. If your car is pulling to one side and don't know what's wrong, try replacing the front control arms, steering tie rods, stabilizer links and balljoints.

This car is a keeper. You might also want to replace wheels and tires.

27th Nov 2008, 01:52

Well you're lucky the car is still running. Toyotas are disposable at 140,000 miles.

3rd Aug 2009, 19:04

To the guy that's saying Toyota's are disposable at 140,000 miles. I have a 1993 Toyota Corolla 1.6L Inline4,and it has a little over 147,000 miles on it and I have not had to replace anything on it other than do regular maintenance on it. My mom took good care of the car before she gave it to me.

6th Oct 2009, 19:19

I wanted to update. My 93 Corolla no longer has 147,000. It is 200 miles away from 150,000 and it still runs great.

4th Jan 2010, 06:27

I wanted to update a second time. My 1993 Toyota Corolla now has 152,630 miles. Most cars (If you take good care of them) could last a very long time, say 200,000-400,000 miles. 400,000 if you take super great care of them.

In reply to 27th Nov 2008, 01:52

29th Jun 2012, 15:07

"Well you're lucky the car is still running. Toyotas are disposable at 140,000 miles."

Huh? Our 1990 Geo Prizm (read: Toyota Corolla) hit 163k with one $305 repair before a Ford Econoline rear-ended us at 50 MPH while we were sitting at a red light.

Yeah. Disposable.

In reply to 29th Jun 2012, 15:07

2nd Jul 2012, 21:37

Our '96 Corolla is running perfectly fine at 208,000 miles. Haven't had any serious issues with it, and it's never once left us stranded.

Disposable at 140,000 miles? Well, most of the domestic vehicles we've owned didn't make it that far, but none made it more than that (our '04 Focus was consuming oil like gasoline and had lost nearly all its compression at 138,000).

In reply to 3rd Aug 2009, 19:04

18th Mar 2019, 17:43

My Corolla has 311000 miles on it. Did the distributor thus far. Haha, best car ever. Only the 90 til 96 are like this; anything newer is s**t in comparison.