Nice Corolla with so-so body...

[JeffKeryk]

Every panel is damaged, it's not getting fixed for $3k.

I've got a great guy; his own small shop; no overhead. Amazing work. Alex works on all the exotics in town for the dealers. He's really good.
The Great Auto Paint

And yeah, he told me to get a better car. Ha!

Last time I was there he had this 'bird. I believe he was redoing the hard top.

 

[CKN]

I drove it and checked it over. It has newer, cheapo rubber. A decent set of rubber and this thing would be fine. You wouldn't believe the engine bay. Freakin' spotless.

The asking price is $3,500. It will easily get close to that around here, I hate to say...

OK-somebody cleaned the motor. Otherwise it's couldn't be ultra clean with 150,000 miles on it.

 

[JeffKeryk]

OK-somebody cleaned the motor. Otherwise it's couldn't be ultra clean with 150,000 miles on it.

Tough crowd... Ha!

 

[LDM]

Considering how most teens are on vehicles, I'd say the body damage is just flavor added. Its been 25+ years since my teen years but my first car was an 85 Turbo 2.2L Lebaron 4 door that looked like it had already been through more than its fair share of dings and dents. My father paid $1500 for it but unfortunately the engine and turbo was junk. The hard oil lines had been replaced at some point with rubber and one day I was driving it from school to work and it blew every line. Car wasn't worth fixing at that point and went to a scrap yard.

Ended up buying an 84 Camaro Z28 with the LG4 5.0 after that. Bit rusty on the body panels but the engine and transmission were still in great shape. Lasted until a girl pulled out in front of me and I smashed up the front end running into her as the only other option was to go off the road and that would have been a much worse choice. Again, not worth fixing, only paid $2250 for it.

If the mechanical portions of the car are in decent shape, I'd say its worth it. If she causes damage to it, no big deal. Keep driving it until it isn't worth driving anymore. When I didn't have money I'd take function over pretty every day. Glad I don't need to worry about that anymore these days.

 

[supton]

Don’t think it is worth fixing, but that seems to be the new price for scratch and dent specials. Myself, I’d drive, or give it to the kids, and run it until in a better spot in life.

 

[DuckRyder]

Suspect its was totaled from the sideswipe.... is it on a salvage title?


Id look for better if i wanted it straight, for a beater it might be fine. Cheap tires are a red flag though...

 

[skyactiv]

“Nice Corolla with a so-so body”? That doesn’t look like a nice Corolla to me.

 

[Astro14]

“Nice Corolla with a so-so body”? That doesn’t look like a nice Corolla to me.

I think he’s saying, “It has a wonderful personality…”

 

[Kira]

Those were called "battle wagons" when first I drove.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My cowboy friend Vernon used to tell me, "When enough people say 'Horse', it's time to giddy up."

I have a soft spot for rough cars, but this deal is over. I appreciate all the sound advice.

 

[SatinSilver]

Maybe look for an 07-08 Corolla/Matrix which were the final years of that generation. Autotrader.com seems to work pretty well for finding cars.

 

[earthbound]

for the ones saying this is a heap for 3k...all I can tell you is I'd pay 3k in a heartbeat for a rust-free set of wheels in Iowa....you lack of winter climate garbage folks are so lucky....

 

[JeffKeryk]

2005 Corolla S, 130K, clean. $6500. Done.

 

[pcf]

That’s an alcoholic’s or pill popper’s car.

Never meet a pothole or curb it didn’t greet with a front tire either. It will have been maintained as well as that person took care of their own body.

 

[dogememe]

My aunt had the same gen Corolla. Started burning oil and by the time she traded it in at 250k or so she was carrying a case of oil in the trunk, adding a quart every gas fill up, and was on the 3rd catalytic converter? Pass on that car!

 

[JeffKeryk]

That’s an alcoholic’s or pill popper’s car.

Never meet a pothole or curb it didn’t greet with a front tire either. It will have been maintained as well as that person took care of their own body.

Does this look like an alcoholic's car to you?

 

[supton]

Does this look like an alcoholic's car to you?

'cept you're a recovering alcoholic--that first car was someone maybe not in rehab. [Although I wouldn't go that far, bad drivers abound, as well as just being unlucky.]

for the ones saying this is a heap for 3k...all I can tell you is I'd pay 3k in a heartbeat for a rust-free set of wheels in Iowa....you lack of winter climate garbage folks are so lucky....

No kidding. I mean, the maintenance tends to follow how clean it is, but boy, that's almost worth the plane ticket to get.

 

[bullwinkle]

My aunt had the same gen Corolla. Started burning oil and by the time she traded it in at 250k or so she was carrying a case of oil in the trunk, adding a quart every gas fill up, and was on the 3rd catalytic converter? Pass on that car!

But, in my driveway is an ‘07, same motor (manual transmission) with 170K on its’ original cat, using ZERO oil (exc. for the common 1.8 front cover seepage), and there are multiple 1.8 Matrixes in the family, none of them burn oil either. It’s all in the timely oil changes, preferably with synthetic (cheap syn is OK)!

 

[Ursatdx]

OK-somebody cleaned the motor. Otherwise it's couldn't be ultra clean with 150,000 miles on it.

My truck has 130k and is 12 years old.
Engine bay is spotless. It gets addressed every time I wash the truck.
Clean happens.

 

[grisby]

My wife's Aunt who is in her 90's gave this to my wife last yr because she can't drive anymore. 2006 Corolla which now has 37k on it!! Wife prefers to drive the Yukon. One small dent on passenger door and wife won't get rid of it since she uses it to pick up her Aunt to take to doctor appointments. I maintained it since new and always changed oil at 3k which equated to about once every 2 yrs at the time.

I did replace tires due to dry rot and drained antifreeze and such when wife got it.