1990 toyota starlet or 1977 corolla older classic car

[somerandomguy1]

Hello,
I was going to puchase a 1990 corolla diesel

For 2k.

I like disels fuel economy.

My financial situation is not so well anymore, so my budget has gone down.

I am looking for cars in the 1100 usd and below range.

I found a toyota starlet for a 1000 usd. It has a 4 cylinder 1000 cc motor. Gets 30 mpg plus fuel economy apprently

And a 1968 corolla for 1650dollars negotiable maybe to a 1000 dollars:

Wonder what kind of fuel mileage a 68 corolla gets?

Cheers

 

[joegreen]

Where are you from and why are you looking for a car? What are your needs?

 

[PandaBear]

Toyota quality were not that great back in the 60s, but they were definitely very good in the 90s. I think I'd stay with the 90s instead of going all the way back to 60s.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

You don't see older Toyotas at all on US roads, though lots of them were sold here new. I would not want to try to find parts to keep one as a daily driver. In the US that would be more like trying to use a 1970 Chevrolet or Ford every day, but at least you can find more parts for those cars.

My mother had a 1978 Toyota Corolla 1200, and with the smaller engine a lot of other parts such as brakes were different from the 1600 Corollas. Even in the late 1980s many of those parts specific to the 1200 were drying up. That car was also starting to rust badly. I can't imagine driving it today. That vintage of Corolla is scarce today.

 

[somerandomguy1]

I live in nicaragua. I would like to have a car to go groceery shopping. I would like great fuel mileage 30 plus mpg and 4 doors.

I guess toyota in the 90s was good quality.

Parts for 60s corolla are harder to come by than a 90s corolla for sure.

 

[Dave9]

I suspect that if you get one of the $1100 cars, they will soon enough break down and you'll spend as much over the long run for an inferior vehicle, than if you just save up $2K and get something like the '90 Corolla.

It is the only sane choice to get much lifespan going forward, but of course we can only generalize and steretype these vehicles, you must inspect each one to consider mileage and how well they were taking care of. The Starlet, certainly was not taken care of, looks like it's been through WWIII already.

 

[alcyon]

Why not get a 90 corrolla with the 1.6L petrol engine

 

[skyactiv]

My wife’s first car was an old 80’s Toyota Starlet with a stick.

 

[somerandomguy1]

There is another starlet for 1600 usd maybe negotiable to 1000 usd

Its a 1992 toyota 1e 1000cc 4 cylindwr carburated enfine.wirh 4 speed stick shift.

Hmmm i like corollas because of their size, gas engines seem to be less efdicient as diesel corollas. Corollas probably have better build quality thsn starlets i would imagine.There are 2e 1300 cc gas engined carburated corollas here, though i prefer a diesel.

 

[aquariuscsm]

That 1990 Corolla looks like it's in really good shape That 68 Corolla is sweet too!

 

[somerandomguy1]

Thanks
The 90 corolla diesel is really nice with a/c
My financial situation is not he same as bedore so i cant afford it.

Here are more pics of the corolla 68

Here is a nother corolla diesel going for 1650 usd maybe negotiable down to 1000 usd

 

[2EHA]

diesel corolla is asking to have parts sourcing trouble.

get one with a gasoline A motor

 

[somerandomguy1]

I like the economy of the diesel.where i am diesel parts are not that hard to find

 

[addyguy]

That little ‘68 Corolla is a neat car, don’t see them in the rust belt very often at all!

Early 1990’ Corollas are great cars; I had a 1991 SR-5 2-door, it was a fun, super reliable car for many years.

 

[atikovi]

I'd suggest to buy the '68, bring it to the U.S. and double your money. But that example is pretty butchered and pimped.

 

[eljefino]

In the 1980s they sold diesel Toyota Camrys, Nissan Sentras, Isuzu I-marks etc in the US.

They disappeared so quickly from here. The word on the street was that they all got exported to Central America.

Ok, plausible.

I am reading that you pretty much only have 1000 USD, and have hopes of getting a couple of different $1600 cars for $1k. It would be no fun if you spent your bottom dollar then needed a little more money to get things roadworthy after you get it home.

The first car you showed, the $2000 diesel, would still be worth $1000 5-10 years from now. The others might fall apart tomorrow. Without trying to come across as lecturing "don't be poor", it's a way better place to sell a car while it's still running and then rolling that money over into a nicer vehicle.

The Starlet platform, I don't know where in the world they still sell these, or what parts availability is like. The corolla is sold worldwide.

Are there other makes you'd consider? Going only with Toyota when you have limited funds is a fallacy-- you should buy based on condition.

 

[2EHA]

In the 1980s they sold diesel Toyota Camrys, Nissan Sentras, Isuzu I-marks etc in the US.

They disappeared so quickly from here. The word on the street was that they all got exported to Central America.

the holy grail of the japanese turbodiesels is the turbodiesel (2LT) toyota pickup. absolutely terrible engines

 

[Jake_J]

I would certainly stay away from the 68 Corolla because of parts availability, and the fact that the average 60's car is going to be significantly less reliable than the average 90's car. Of the cars you listed I'd go with the most modern one in the best mechanical condition. As somebody who drives a Toyota I have to say don't just limit yourself to Toyota's. There's plenty of affordable, reliable and durable 90's cars not made by Toyota like the Civic, Sentra, etc.

 

[PandaBear]

Finding hard to get parts for a very old car is not fun. You do not want to be the guy spending $1000 buying a car and then need to buy a $300 parts and have it shipped from a junkyard in Indonesia multiple times. Cars in general are engineered to last 250k miles and about 20 years, beyond that really depends on your luck. I understand you might have some luck with older cars but Japan doesn't really build quality stuff until about the late 70s and early 80s, and they really reached the best in the 90s. In general, I would buy the most common car in your area so you know where you can buy parts and find help repairing them. Also in general things are cheaper when there are lots of parts you can pull out of another junk cars.

If you must get a cheap car but reliable one, look for something that has simple problem that you can fix yourself (i.e. windows, dent in the door, peeling paint, etc) but good condition in the engine and transmission.

I would not buy anything before 80s in the worst case.

 

[PandaBear]

I'd suggest to buy the '68, bring it to the U.S. and double your money. But that example is pretty butchered and pimped.

I hope you are not serious. In the US cars 10x better condition are crushed for scrap metal. That car would be worthed $80 when you drive it to Pick and Pull.