93 Toyota Corolla

[Raven 10+ year member]

Yeah, I start too many threads asking for advice buying a car. Anyway, long story short I was out car shopping and one place happened to have a 1993 Toyota Corolla. It was red, automatic, stock everything, 4 banger, NICE interior, a hint of rust, 178K miles, and no price tag. Maybe I'm old before my time, but I value reliability, economy, and cost of ownership over the "fun to drive" factor.

Anyway, if you were in my position, what would you consider a reasonable price? $1000, $2000, $3000? If it's under $1000, I'll definitely pick it up. If it's higher, where would you draw the line?

EDIT: After Christmas I'll have a cheap digicam that I can take pics of my finds with. Until then, sorry. =\

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[netherland24 5,000+ posts]

well on a 93 corolla alot has to be determind

-miliage

- condition

- motor

if its over 120K roughly 1k with rust

under 120K 1.5 with rust

 

[Safe-N-Sound215 10+ year member]

I value reliability, economy, and cost of ownership over the "fun to drive" factor.

1)The cars about to hit 14yrs. old

2)It has almost 180k on it(That's not just on the engine. That's on the *****, body, frame, suspension, etc.....)

3)It's not a lot of vehicle

4)This is the most important. Think about what you have stated above about cost of ownership. With a vehicle this old and this many miles on it there is a high probabilty that something will fail/need replacing in the near future. You can't just look at the upfront cost with a vehicle that is this used.

I know from experience. Back in Philadelphia me and some of my friends/family would buy cars from auctions for cheap and throw a couple hundred bucks at them and resell them quick to make some money. Cars like the one you have described above were the easiest to get rid of. You can get them for cheap and resell them quick.

I wouldn't recommend spending >900 on that car. Imo the current owner got the majority of the life out of it and now they want to sell it because they know it's on it's last leg.

EDIT: And one other thing. Imo blue book values have gotten so far off in the past couple years it's a joke. A vehicle can have 200k+ on it be ten years old etc.... and the blue book can still be like $10-12000. And I'm not talking about a bmw or something. I'm talking pickup's and suv's.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the input. Much Haven't heard from you in a while.

It's actually at a dealership that doubles as a junkyard, and cars can be found there dirt cheap. I plan on returning Monday to ask about the car. Like SAFE-N-SOUND sugguested, I'm going to try and pick it up for less than a grand. If I can't I'll just not buy it. If I can I'm going to buy it and put possible another $500 into it for the sake of longevity. Perhaps an entire engine overhaul if needed. Otherwise intake / headers / exhaust, new belts, grind out the rust, etc.

Who am I kidding? I won't even wash it or change the oil, I'll just put gas in it and drive it until the frame gives out, then I'll drive it to the scrapyard draggin' whatever's fallen off. How's THAT for low cost of ownership? =D

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

Any thought of buying it has been crushed by the test drive. Needed work on the front suspension, brakes, door handles, and it had that rough feel to the idle that only comes from an straight 4 cylinder engine.

My Taurus may not have a lot of power, get 17 MPG, and not even have front speakers at the moment, but the engine runs so smooth you rolls a penny down the hood with it revving and it won't tip over. The doors work, the brakes work, it doesn't stray to one side of the road or the other, and she's quiet.