Corolla As Cheap First Car

[afton]

It seems that almost everyone agree that Corolla is ideal

as cheap first car (my budget <=A$2500)

Initially I was going to get a Saab 9000 after I

read this "bangernomics" article: http://bangernomics.tripod.com/saferban.htm

 

After asking people around I got the impression that a Saab would be

expensive to maintain. So heh I'm going Corolla :dance:

 

Looking around used car websites, with search criteria

price <=$2500 it seems that the latest Corollas I can get is

from 1985 onwards eg. this Corolla

 

Now my question is it easy to find parts from 1980s Corollas

and from your own experience is it cheap to repair these old Corollas?

[200Boy]

Short answer: yep :y: but what would you expect to hear from a rolla forum :y:

 

Although for that price you could probably do better than the model you're looking at. Also I wouldn't buy one in an automatic but thats just me. I got my 85 rolla for $600. Although it looks like I got it for that price I have tinkered with it and it runs very nicely.

There are plenty of the ae82s in wreckers so yes parts are plentiful. It was a good car to develop my manual driving in and as I already said in another thread, I would definitely recommend these cars to any inexperienced car enthusiast. Good thing about rolla's though is they come with the toyota reliability. Mine is 320000kms young and it still goes great, doesn't blow any smoke at all. I'm sure it could happily see 400,000. Also the economy of the little 1.6 is a bonus.

 

One question though, what exactly are you looking for in a car? Sounds like its for a child of yours and you're expecting them to crash it or drive it till something breaks :y: In that case a corolla is perfect. European car parts will always be rarer and pricer than common locally made cars for parts and repairs. Corollas will be reliable, can take loads of thrashing and just keep taking it. Also you have us friendly forum people to help you out with any problems you might have along the way :)

 

Good luck mate :dance:

[afton]

Thanks for replying 200Boy.

 

Also I wouldn't buy one in an automatic but thats just me.

I also actually prefer manual, I got more control that way. If I can

find a manual I'll go manual.

 

I got my 85 rolla for $600.

For real? Registered?

I probably can get ~$1000 Corollas but most of them are unregistered

or only have 1 month left. I'm looking for something that has at least

~8 months rego.

 

There are plenty of the ae82s in wreckers so yes parts are plentiful.

I don't know much about car mechanics, though I'm keen to learn, but

in the first few years I probably going to rely on a mechanic. Are these

Corollas still supported by today's mechanics?

 

 

One question though, what exactly are you looking for in a car?

To be honest, number 1 is actually (passive) safety, cos when cars crashed, it's

all that matters.

That's why I was looking at Saabs.

I was looking at Volvos too but people said Saab got better handling.

 

Other than that, good handling, fuel economy and cheap maintenance cost.

From Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla#Safety

actually 1982-1993 Corollas has "worse than average" protection, but I don't have

much budget atm so I guess I have to live with that. :y:

 

Sounds like its for a child of yours and you're expecting them to crash it or drive it till something breaks :dance:

LOL nah it's actually for me (I'm on L atm) but yeah I'm expecting to drive it until something breaks :y:

[JiP]

Keep your eyes on the forums, you can find some good cars for sale. You could also try ebay or some wreckers have whole cars that you can buy.

 

If your going to spend $2,500 on a car, what does it matter if you buy one for $1,000?? You'd still have another $1,500 to spend on rego and whatevers needed to get it onto the road. Personally, i'd go older. They are RWD, you can do alot to them and they have massive amounts of space under the bonnet.

 

What ever you decide i'm sure its going to be a great car.

[afton]

If your going to spend $2,500 on a car, what does it matter if you buy one for $1,000?? You'd still have another $1,500 to spend on rego and whatevers needed to get it onto the road.

 

I prefer not to be hassled with the rego if I don't have to :dance:

[200Boy]

My rolla had a month left. Also don't drive like a tool and you shouldn't need to worry about crashing. I think the cars are a good format for less experienced drivers, being fwd. Less fun than a rwd when they're underpowered but you're less likely to slide sideways into anything :y: I don't think you'd have to worry too much about understeer with 4ac power :dance:

Edited June 29, 2007 by 200Boy

[deri2k3]

my first car was a 1978 corolla, sure it wasn't the safest car on the road but i think it is just a right car for a young driver like me back then lol.

 

anyways, $2500 should get you a nice ae82, or even an ae92 :dance:

 

but if i could find a rear wheel drive corolla in a good-well maintaned condition, i'd go for the rear wheel drive!

good luck in getting ur corolla!

[styler]

just on another note regarding buying a corolla, its much cheaper to spend a few hundred on a overrated car than it is to spend a few grand on a cheap car fixing all the problems. look at as many cars as you can for a month or so before deciding on buying one.

 

saab... don't even go there. i had a 900 turbo for a few weeks and recouped most of the cost when i sold it, thank god and good riddance.

 

if you don't intend on fixing cars and buying parts / going to wreckers / searching forums then buy the most reliable car that you can afford, especially if you have no tools. i mean if its a second car its not a problem but most people need a reliable car for work.