They tend to clog up for some unknown reason. It’s bad enough that my local dealer keeps 4 in stock.
Bought a 2005 Toyota Corolla
- Thread starter The Critic
- Start date
Very good deal for $3k.
My sister picked up the car yesterday. We decided to postpone a few items, such as the struts, alignment, HVAC bulbs, slightly warped rear drums, etc. Overall, I think the car should serve its purpose as a weekend car for her until she decides to upgrade.
Here is a summary on the costs and the list of parts used:
Here is a summary on the costs and the list of parts used:
| Item | Cost |
| Smog Inspection | $58.20 |
| Tires (Michelin Defender T+H) | $462.08 |
| Battery (Kirkland AGM) | $172.49 |
| Wiper Blades (NWB) | $28.21 |
| Throttle Body Gasket (Kibi Gaskets) | $4.39 |
| Purge Valve (OE) | $58.49 |
| HPL Engine Cleaner (Additive) | $15.48 |
| Brake Fluid (Prestone DOT3 Max) | $12.06 |
| Power Steering Fluid (ST Dex VI) | $9.68 |
| Air Filter (Denso) | $11.06 |
| Cabin Air Filter (API) | $5.04 |
| Fuel Injector Cleaning (Sublet) | $120.00 |
| Fuel Injector O-Ring (Stone) | $6.72 |
| Fuel Injector Cush Ring (Stone) | $9.66 |
| Radiator (Koyo) | $67.70 |
| Drive Belt (Bando) | $23.12 |
| Drive Belt Tensioner (INA) | $84.98 |
| Drive Belt Tensioner Lower Bolt (OE) | $6.26 |
| Water Pump (Aisin) | $43.49 |
| Driver Side Mirror Assembly (Dorman) | $38.49 |
| Plastic Razor Blades | $10.86 |
| Brake Cleaner, 2 cans | $6.46 |
| Gasket Remover, Ford #ZC-30A | $10.32 |
| FIPG Black for Timing Cover | $17.56 |
| Crankshaft Oil Seal (OE) | $8.67 |
| Valve Cover Gasket (OE) | $27.85 |
| Valve Cover Bolt Seal (OE) | $2.41 |
| Timing Chain Tensioner O-Ring (OE) | $3.38 |
| Thermostat Gasket (OE) | $5.48 |
| Thermostat (OE) | $21.95 |
| Coolant (ST Asian 50/50) | $12.23 |
| Floor Mats (OE) | $83.42 |
| Exhaust Donut Gasket (OE) | $39.76 |
| Exhaust Bolt Springs (OE) | $10.05 |
| Passenger Side Engine Mount (OE) | $168.30 |
| Gas Cap (OE) | $24.81 |
| Sony XAV-AX150 Radio | $278.87 |
| Back-Up Camera and Hardware | $113.05 |
| Seat and Carpet Cleaning (sublet) | $70.00 |
| 3M Headlight Clearcoat Kit | $10.45 |
| Exhaust Repair (sublet) | $20.00 |
| RTV for Exhaust Repair | $9.87 |
| Total | $2,193.35 |
Michael, it was very kind of you to do all that labor, giving your sister a perfect run around. I'm sure she will love it and get a ton of use out of that Corolla.
My sister called and said one of the brake light bulbs burned out. 
I should tell her to deal with it herself.
I should tell her to deal with it herself.
your post made me chuckle...when I did all that work to my sister's car the first thing she said when I dropped it off (after thanking me) was that she remembered the shift console was lit when she got it...I never saw the console lit and it wasn't a total pain to change out the bulb but...
continued success!
Bill
continued success!
Bill
Gotta love it!My sister called and said one of the brake light bulbs burned out.
I should tell her to deal with it herself.
2K update.
- Replaced both taillight bulbs that were burnt out. $9 from AZ.
- For some miraculous reason, the mickey-mouse exhaust repair continues to hold up.
- My sister was not a fan of the burned-out bulbs in the center stack and asked for a resolution.
After some teardown, I found that one of the green bulbs had burnt out and the bulb behind the hazard switch had also died.
I went ahead and replaced both green bulbs, the hazard switch bulb and the shifter bulb (it worked intermittently?). $30 for all from the dealer.
- Center knob for the HVAC controls decided to break off. No idea how/why. New one from the dealer was $15.
- Someone decided to vandalize the hood while the vehicle was parked. Body shop quoted $2600 for a new hood and to blend into the adjacent fenders. Plan of action is TBD.
-
- I also performed a 1500 mile oil change to drain out the HPL Engine Cleaner.
Overall, the car continues to be reliable and serve its purpose as basic transportation.
- Replaced both taillight bulbs that were burnt out. $9 from AZ.
- For some miraculous reason, the mickey-mouse exhaust repair continues to hold up.
- My sister was not a fan of the burned-out bulbs in the center stack and asked for a resolution.
After some teardown, I found that one of the green bulbs had burnt out and the bulb behind the hazard switch had also died.
I went ahead and replaced both green bulbs, the hazard switch bulb and the shifter bulb (it worked intermittently?). $30 for all from the dealer.
- Center knob for the HVAC controls decided to break off. No idea how/why. New one from the dealer was $15.
- Someone decided to vandalize the hood while the vehicle was parked. Body shop quoted $2600 for a new hood and to blend into the adjacent fenders. Plan of action is TBD.
-
- I also performed a 1500 mile oil change to drain out the HPL Engine Cleaner.
Overall, the car continues to be reliable and serve its purpose as basic transportation.
“Here’s a bus pass, or you can walk, is that acceptable?”
I might not have been that generous if it was me…
Family asks you for car help and you tell them to take the bus?
It is my sister’s first car and she is a young white-collared professional living in a major city. So, her standards for “basic” might be a bit different than a more understanding car enthusiast.
I do not understand vandals. Why? But that looks like a good paintless dent repair guy could fix that for a couple of hundred dollars.
My PDR guy looked at the pictures and has already declined.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Those little Toyota bulbs seem to burn out often. My climate control in the Camry has one burned out and the gear selector display on the instrument cluster has Drive burned out. Makes sense, took like 220k miles with it being on to burn out. My ‘97 Camry did that too.
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Half of mine are out too, but they aren't required for it to go down the road so I don't care.
I'm impressed you can get little parts like a HVAC knob from the dealer. As for the hood, autowreckers? Even if it doesn't match perfectly, I doubt a non-car person would notice, and a car-person wouldn't care.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I'd find a PDR guy and just say "do what you can do"
Over a light bulb in the center stack? Its not the light behind the speedometer.
I guess I don’t get it. Around here that car would have three wheels in the grave. I guess if you enjoy tearing into things it makes sense, but it just takes one thing to break in the process and now the hvac knob stops working—and now you are in a worse place than when you started.
Yeah, if my family asked for help fixing a burnt-out bulb in the center stack, I'd help them.
No reason not to have the car functioning properly. It's clear that this car has several years left in it.
