2008 Corolla CE

[sw99]

A few yeas ago I sold my 2001 Corolla LE. I have always missed that car. I wanted another one and have been looking from some time now. I specifically wanted the 2003-2008 model year. Seems like Toyota has paint peeling issues on the 2003-2005 so I stumbled on the 2008.

I took a chance on this one as it has a rebuilt from salvage title. Car is clean as can be for the age and appears to be very well taken care of. 93K miles and all fluids look fantastic. Oil fill hole shows nice clean shiny internals so that is a positive also. My 2001 had lots of yellow varnish as was pretty common for those years. I believe in 2003 they fixed the oil consumption issues. I bought this because I was looking for a simple reliable platform that gets me from A-B. I love the fact that it has roll up windows and that was one requirement I had for the corolla. The salvage title was supposedly due to a small hit to the passenger front wheel that bent the control arm. With the minor damage and the age, the bank wrote it off. I have looked it over very closely and it all looks legit. Zero frame issues and no damage to any of the structure at all. All body panels have the OEM vin stickers that all match. A small crease in the front passenger fender and some pain peeling on the crease. Similar Corollas in my area in this condition are easily going for 6k all day long. I picked this up for 3K and so far so good.

Current plan is plugs (Denso OEM iridium), front brake pads, maybe a transmission drain and fill. Oil looks good so I added some Kreen that I'll run for 1k or so and then a fresh oil change.

Any other things too look for or potential issues with these cars?

 

[bullwinkle]

Other than some WP leakage seepage issues, the 1.8s in my family have all been solid ('06 Matrix, '07 Matrix, '07 Corolla). I agree on the ATF drain & fill, 93K is plenty long enough.

 

[supton]

Want to say this is the era of bad 5MT's, although at least one Toyota forum is of the opinion that not changing the trans oil was the cause of the bearing problem. One of the few cars where the automatic was more reliable than the manual. Only other issue I'm aware of is nodding off while driving--it's a Corolla, after all.

Good luck, although I'm not sure you need it--Corolla and all.

 

[panthermike]

I've always said if i was in the market for a commuter, I would absolutely pick up another 03-08 Corolla. They're just so hard to beat. Your plan is a good one! I would add; maybe do an ATF drain/fill 3 times or so spread out. Coolant maybe to? I remember it was also quite easy on my old '03.

 

[sw99]

Thanks folks. I'm pretty sure the atf has been maintained. It's a nice cherry red and looks new. I'm still planning on doing a couple drain and fills with some maxlife and call it good. I had great luck with it in my last one. I specially wanted the 4 speed auto since many are still working great with 2-300k on them.

 

[sw99]

I also should probably do a few drain and fills on the coolant just to be safe. I was thinking just get some zerix red Asian and call it a day. I love the simplicity of this car. Thanks for the input folks.

 

[csandste]

Had this and the next gen as rentals. IMO this is an example of a manufacturer actually backing up. Liked this car much better than the one that followed.

 

[sw99]

On a trip to AZ we rented a 2014 and it seemed pretty decent. The cvt was ok but the fake shift pours were a bit strange. Didn't get too much time in it but it seemed pretty good for the most part. Just from my research alone this 2003-2008 seemed like a solid reliable platform all around. Hopefully this car can get me by for a few years. Heck if it's that reliable, I'd love to hang on to it and run it for 300k.

Another note I probably need some new headlights. These are dull and cloudy.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I had an 03 some time ago and it was bullet proof. The Corolla's are awesome cars as far as reliability and low cost are concerned. I would put some alloy wheels on it if you have the steelies and hubcaps.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by sw99
I also should probably do a few drain and fills on the coolant just to be safe. I was thinking just get some zerix red Asian and call it a day. I love the simplicity of this car. Thanks for the input folks.

I haven't brought myself to use non-OEM coolant in mine (I run non-TGMO and Maxlife ATF, and Walmart brake fluid, but refuse to use non-OEM coolant--no, I can't explain why). I think coolant from the dealer is like $20 for a gallon. Pink or red? I'm thinking red, which means you'd need to fix, but they you'd have 2 gallons. Which I think is good for two drain and fills. Pink is premixed though.

I don't mess with draining the block, a drain and fill is all I see being needed every 2 years or so. I figure, too many go 10+ years to worry much about it, just renewing it should keep all the corrosion inhibitors up to snuff.

 

[sw99]

Originally Posted by joekingcorvette
I had an 03 some time ago and it was bullet proof. The Corolla's are awesome cars as far as reliability and low cost are concerned. I would put some alloy wheels on it if you have the steelies and hubcaps.



Funny you mentioned that. It has steel wheels with some snow tires that have a date code of mid 2012 production and some crummy aftermarket hubcaps. Last night I picked up some 17" alloy wheels from a 2008 Toyota Matrix with some very nice 80% tread all season radials. Adds a much nicer look to the overall look of the car.

 

[Supersonic]

Timing chain tension sometimes leaks oil, '99 Prism timing chain grumbled till I changed it. Washer fluid pumps if in the rust belt (Matrix has one for the rear window). Transmission filter is easy too. I prefer the 15 inch steel wheels for more sidewall, less air leaks in the winter. Congratulation, might be the best car in the world.

 

[Corollaman]

If you had to name one car whether you liked it or not that would be reliable and inexpensive to own I think everyone (critics included) would agree the Corolla is that vehicle. Despite my forum name "corollaman" I'll admit it's not for everyone, if you enjoy the random "surprise" repair or are worried about a 0 to 60 time the Corolla is not for you. An "appliance" that is reliable that will last a long time and that has good resale value is a good car. There is a reason you see one on every street corner, Toyota tries to make them "sporty" but they have the same 1.8 that they've had for years tried and true. The "old four speed" is a good unit and will last forever with little mantaince.

 

[Elkins45]

I had a 2007 with the 5 speed. I sold it last year with 178K miles and it was still running like the day it left the showroom. The only non-routine thing I ever did was the intake manifold gasket. The original black ones would lose flex in extremely cold weather so I installed the $7 red replacement part when mine finally leaked enough in -5° temps to throw a code.

This model was probably part of the ECM recall and the airbag recall too. Make sure both of those get done.