Toyota Corolla: Eternal consumer goods
For Toyota Corolla, reliability is not an empty sound. Toyota cars do not need any special presentation. This brand has long been considered the most reliable in the world, and no one is surprised that Japanese cars break less often than famous German cars. One of the most successful models of Toyota can rightly be called the Corolla. For the first time this name appeared almost 38 years ago.
Today its ninth generation is already being produced, but on the secondary market, the previous eighth generation from 1997 to 2002 is much more common.
It should be immediately noted that in the second-hand market one can see two dissimilar cars of the eighth generation Corolla. One of them had a rather unusual appearance with four front round headlights. There are most of them in Russia, as they were intended mainly for Europe. But in the US market sold a model with a more traditional design. It is this car, brought to Russia from the United States, and is shown in the photographs. Not only that: in America they released a model called the Chevrolet Prizm, made on the basis of the Corolla. However, from a technical point of view, all these cars are not much different from each other. Yes, and their salons are also very similar.
We can immediately say about the prices for spare parts (this question concerns almost everyone who first decides to buy Japanese cars). Of course, they are more expensive than for many similar “Europeans” – no one argues with this. But the price difference is not that big. It is also true that some parts cannot be repaired for them and are sold only as an assembly, which significantly increases their price. However, all these disadvantages are compensated by really high reliability.
And spare parts can be bought not only from official dealers (cheating from them, to put it mildly, rather big), but also in regular stores. In addition, it is not necessary to take the original parts, because there are several proven Japanese companies whose spare parts are not inferior in quality to those sold in the box labeled “Toyota” (for example, the company Nipparts). Their price is much lower.
Buying a Toyota Corolla, in addition to choosing the origin of the car will have to think about the shape of the body: after all, the car was produced in the form of a sedan, 3-and 5-door hatchback and station wagon. Most often in our secondary market there are 5-door hatchback and sedan. Also on the basis of the Corolla did the Spacio minivan, but its “Toyota” did not export, and such a model can be brought only from Japan.
Even if the car got into an accident, but after that it was restored on a competent service, then there should be no problems with the Corolla body. According to the masters, the iron of this car can withstand about twenty years, and only then have to do the first anti-corrosion treatment. By the way, the hood and the lower part of the doors were also given additional anti-gravel coating at the factory and then painted. In this way, the problem of chipping paint and the formation of small foci of corrosion in their place is eliminated, which sometimes some very famous European models sin. However, not all Corolla owners agree to do repairs at the company service station, as it costs a lot of money. That is why often after an accident the car is restored using the “left” iron. You don’t need to be surprised, because even in case of a not too serious accident, it’s possible to “get money”. This is due to the fact that Toyota has very responsibly approached the safety of the driver and passengers. As a result, in the event of a collision, the front part of the car usually “stacks” and thereby quenches the impact energy. This is great for human health, but it’s just awful for a wallet: often the hood, bumper, fenders, headlights, etc. are damaged when you hit the “muzzle”. A single hood on a company service station costs about $ 300–400, and wings and headlights cost $ 200–300 and so on. So in total, taking into account the work of official dealers can tear for the restoration of the body more than $ 5000.
It is worth noting that Toyota Corolla has never been famous for some elegant equipment, and in the market you can even find European versions with mechanical front windows. But cars intended for the Japanese or American market have at least electric windows and mirrors. And most often – also air conditioning. The last claim to the work is extremely rare, but if the car is equipped with a small engine, then the “condition” will take away a certain amount of “horses” from it, which is quite noticeable when driving actively.
When buying a used Toyota Corolla, you need to check the operation of all devices, electric drives, retractable cup holders and so on. But not because they often break down or are unreliable in nature, there are no problems with that. Usually poorly working “bells and whistles” indicate that the car got into a serious accident and was then restored by a cheap option.
