1990 Toyota Corolla from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

All up in the 9 months of owning this car I had to fix:

# CV joints $500 approx.

# Timing belt etc. $1200.

# Fuel lines done. With timing belt.

# Master cylinder, $700, and because of rear brake problems, the front brakes have overheated... the mechanic has told me it will cost $700 to fix front brakes.

# Had to replace rims due to a crack.

# I have spent around $3500 on the car all up, which is a heart break considering I bought the car cheaper.

# Fuel pump is very noisy when there is less than 1/4 of a tank.

# I have had electrical problems, which when you go around a corner, the car feels like its has stalled, then runs like crap for the next few kms. Have also had problems with turning the car on, alternator won't even turn over, but the car will start if you put it in neutral.

# I can't open the front passenger door with the key.

# I can't open the boot with key either.

# Driver's door doesn't shut properly... many flat batteries over this and many problems getting out!

# Interior light works when it wants to.

# A few mechanics have told me the previous owner has done some very dodgy wiring etc trying to make short cuts including for some reason pulling out the fan.

# Rear shocks need to be replaced.

Great first car if you buy it off the right person...

Try to buy the car completely stock...

Fun car to drive; excellent response once you tweak it a bit.

Cheap on fuel, but seems to lose fuel economy if you're heavy footed.

I had the same car, more or less, a 1989 model. I agree that it's important to buy a stock example, or if a modified one, then it has to be one where there was no expense spared.

My modified corolla cost me about 2 grand to fix up in the first year of ownership, then after that the mechanicals kept functioning while the rest of the car (interior, accessories, etc) sort of stopped working or fell apart.

They are a 20 year old car, after all - even Toyota's have use-by dates.