Faults:

Besides the regular maintenance, nothing has failed on the vehicle.

The only thing that I thought was major at first, but ended up being maintenance was the timing belt. Being a college student, $350 is a big deal.

General Comments:

This car is so worth so much more than I paid for it. Even though it has almost no creature comforts, it feels like a luxury car to me because my last vehicles were a 1977 British Leyland hatchback and a 1984 Toyota truck.

The ride is very comfortable and low speeds and on the freeway, even at 85 mph.

The interior is roomy enough for me (5'7") and all of my stuff.

The exterior is holding up very well, no rust (even though it's a Colorado car where there is a lot of snow and salt on the road), and despite it being hit once in the front, it still drives straight and the unibody is not crooked.

The best part about this car is that it gets up and goes. Now I don't know if it has something done to the engine, because I've driven other Corollas before and was not particularly impressed with the acceleration, but this car gets to 60 in a little less than 8 sec. It was almost out do my sister's RSX to 45 mph. (Her car is an automatic, without the Type S engine)

Currently it has almost 120K on the clock and honestly, it still feels like the day I bought it. It still gets 37 mpg, it's still fast, and it makes no unusual noises. I couldn't be happier with it.

Faults:

I have owned my Corolla for a little over 8 years (140000kms) and have never had any significant problems with it.

The paint peeled a bit at the back after 3 years of owning the vehicle.

General Comments:

This is the most reliable vehicle I have owned.

I just followed regular maintenance and never had anything break on me.

Great gas mileage.

Vehicle doesn't feel safe... i.e. thin doors, small, sitting very low.

Great city car, but lacks power on highway (I am glad I have the standard version as automatic version must be sluggish on acceleration.)

Faults:

The carburetor was faulty.

Rust on front arches.

General Comments:

This really put me off buying another old Toyota.

When I purchased the car I was in desperate need for a cheap japanese vehicle which I paid 300 Pounds sterling.

It was all I could afford.

I noticed the Idle speed was around 1200rpm. It should have been around 750rpm. The owner told me after it warmed up it usually went down, but it never did.

The worst part was that the miles per gallon was around 18 on the motorway. I took the car in for a repair which was £80. Sadly it was still the same. As I could only afford a used carb.

I was devastated. And ended up losing the car to the crusher.

Faults:

Radiator leaked and had to replace at 110,000 Kilometers.

Carburettor overhaul at 110,000 Km.

Suspension was worn out at 115,000 Km.

Water body leaked at 120,000 Km.

Wind screen washer button worn out around 100,000 Km.

Starter motor burned around 110,000 Km.

Master cylinder of the braking system leaked with many small holes inside it at 120,000Km (today), and had to replace the whole cylinder.

General Comments:

I have driven Suzuki FX, Suzuki Baleno, Honda City, Honda Accord, Toyota Diesel 2D during the last 15 years. I was recommended by many friends and relatives to go for Toyota when I came here last year - reasons: Reliable, easy availability of the spare parts etc. etc. Moreover, my experience with my previous Toyota 2D Diesel Sedan was satisfactory. So, I decided to go for a second hand Toyota Corolla 1996 due to obvious reasons.

But this car proved to be a headache wrapped in a small bundle. I never got appropriate pick-up whenever needed. I tried every workshop and got the carburettor almost replaced in toto, but the car simply refuses to give me the required pick up while climbing hills etc. It simply does not climb in third gear. In hot weather, when the engine is hot and running in a city traffic, moving this car on at a green traffic signal is a real embarrassment. It simply jumps, thunders and then finally moves very slowly at a very high RPM.

Reliability is considered the most valuable characteristic and a very good quality which runs with Toyota. What happened today has in fact made me write this review about my Corolla 1996. I was coming to my office on a highway at a speed of 110 Km per hour when all of a sudden another car 600 meters ahead me had to slow down. As a result, when I pushed my brake pedal my foot simply hit the floor. There was absolutely no pressure in the braking system. You can simply imagine the situation should it be a busy highway, what would have been the result. Thank God, I was alone in the car and my wife and the kid had decided to take a day off, and I was able to stop this killing machine successfully, otherwise the cause of death in my death certificate would have been written as road accident.

The car was then taken to the workshop and there was no leak in the system anywhere. Finally the master cylinder was opened apart, and we were surprised to see many small holes and dents in the inner side of the cylinder. I spent the whole day with the mechanic, looking for the new master cylinder at various Toyota dealers in the city. The price of the master cylinder is 4 times that of other models and makes if compared.

I will never accept anyone saying that Toyota Corolla 1996 has cheap spare parts available easily. No way... this is completely wrong. Compared to other cars of the same model, spare parts are expensive and it really is a pain in the neck to try to find them with the dealers.

I will never recommend this car to anyone, and I am now trying to sell this machine as soon as possible.