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Yes, the back seats don't have a lot of legroom, but I'm a single guy so I don't really care about this.
Hope this helps you!
When you slowing down from highway speed does the steering wheel shake or car pulls to the side? If not I wouldn't be worried about.
I always knew they weren't 100% perfect like some of the flamers say!
In all seriousness, I tried to remove a smell from a trunk. I used some of the "odor removal" products. They helped but never got rid of it entirely. What finally worked for me was to borrow a carpet cleaner with a handheld attachment. When you put the soap in the water, put half detergent and half Odor-X. Worked like a charm for me. (Still harder than dumping rotten milk in there)
Any car that is also displaying shake when braking points you in an additional direction - brake rotors that are warped. This generally shows up on braking only, but if it is bad enough, will also affect high speed smoothness. Again, defective tires, that is those with an internal belt defect, will also cause wobbly braking symptoms, so on a car with only 8000 miles, I would start with moving the front tires to the rear, and see if things change. If there is a sudden improvement, this suggests one of the old fronts has an internal problem, and to be safe, both should be replaced if you can't determine which is the culprit.
These kinds of tire defects can happen with any brand - best quality control comes from Michelin and Dunlop these days. Firestone is indeed one of the worst, but Goodyear may be the very worst. My mom-in-law's '98 Corolla [new generation car] has 16k miles on the Firestones, which I rotate for her religiously at 5k intervals, and it is smooth as glass and looking like they will last for at least 60k miles....so it is often the luck of the draw. Also remember to keep the tire pressures within a narrow range around 30-32 psi cold...this is a car that doesn't like them either too soft or too hard.
On premium fuel as a car ages: all of our older Toyotas developed a distinct appetite for premium as they got enough miles and enough carbon buildup within the cylinders/valves occurred. Sometimes the ping could be adjusted out, but often the path of least resistance was to just go up the octane scale until you find something that works. We have also had high-mileage cars that ran fine on regular right up to the time they were retired - again, it is the luck of the draw, and to some extent, the quality of the fuel that is used over the life of the car, often a factor over which you have little control.
On buying used rental cars: I would not, and most certainly not at the premium prices that Hertz tends to charge for their off-rental cars. These cars are driven by people who don't care about them, and maintained by people who car even less. If you plan to "flip" a car regularly, that is buy another one every couple of years, this is one way to save some new-car depreciation ; if you plan to keep it a long time,stay away from off-rental cars...too big a risk.
This board is amazing! I have been hunting for a used car and have narrowed my choice down to a few. My front runner is a 94/95 Toyota Corolla with an automatic tranny. My reading on this board indicates this might be a good choice for a reliable, moderate cost commuter car. If it is a good choice, anything I should be prepared for in terms of usual problems with this car? Thanks!!
The current Toyota Corolla sold in the USA has been around since 1997. I believe that Toyota probably within a year of replacing it with an all-new model.
From what I've read, the new Corolla will have quite a bit different and radical styling (think of it as a Prius writ large), and will likely sport a 135-140 bhp engine. It's even possible that a larger version of the Prius' electric-gasoline hybrid drive system may be available, also.
Comments?
The new North American Corolla should be a 2003 model to come out in late 2002.
P.S. I now have 1750 kms. on my Corolla... got a paint chip on the hood somewhere. Have any of you tried the new Toyota touch-up "paint pen"? If so, what did you think about it? Toyota Canada has come up with this product recently: one end of the pen has a precise nib that dispenses the paint, and the other end of the pen distributes the clear coat finish. I ordered one for my Indigo Ink Corolla *which is such a great car* but it's currently on back order.
It's already on sale in Asia and Europe. Those places are 2 years as far as Corolla engineering cycle goes (Corolla was introduced in Japan 1966, in U.S 1968).
So you can see much of what's going to come by looking at the Japanese model. However, there will be minor differences in stylingl, options and emissions.
Corolla won't get a larger engine, but will get a stronger engine. It's a newer version of the current 1.8 liter 1ZZ-FE engine with VVt-i. It's upgraded to make 136 hp for Corolla currently selling in Japan. However, U.S has a stricter emission requirement, and consumers also consider low emission an important factor, so expect the engine to have somewhat less of an output for the U.S version. A safe bet will be 130 hp (up 5 hp), it's also the official engine power listed for the upcoming Toyota Matrix, which is based on the next corolla platform.
The car is considerably larger. It's over 5" longer, over 3.5" taller, and over 1" wider. The Japanese Corolla's trunk holds 14 cu ft of cargo, which we normally would see on a midsize car in the U.S.
The Japanese market has a 4WD version of the Corolla. Whether we will get it remains to be seen, but it's rather unlikely. Also, they have a 190 hp Toyota Corolla Fielder wagon. We probably won't get this either, since we are getting a 180 hp Toyota Matrix wagon/SUV hybrid.
The normal 2WD version has modified struts for suspension front and rear, with the 4WD version having a double wishbone suspension in the rear.
The interior has been spiced up, with more luxury looking material, and use of fake wood pannels. So we won't be just looking at plastic and fabric. Again, styling and design is subject to market changes, and we won't know just exactly how it looks.
Safety features, besides the usual, include side airbag, and whiplash reducing head rest, and of course the bigger over all size of the car will help.
You can check out some of the export models for other Asian countries as well. here is a link.
http://automobile.mweb.co.th/new/new_00676.html
I rather like the interior of the car, with the flowing dashboard (instead of the vertical drop) and all the fake wood trims. Of course, the extra added fog lights are a nice addition.
First, the color doesn't match perfectly (different batch of paint, bleaching of the old paint by the sun?).
Second, the applied paint doesn't have the smooth appearance of the original paint.
In any case, good luck with your corolla and let us know how the "paint pen" works out.
I believe that the touch-up paint pen is available for all 1999 Toyota models or newer, but I guess if your color is considered as classic it wouldn't matter. It basically looks like a regular pen or one of those highlighters that have nibs on both ends of the pen. Naturally, it's a bit larger than a highlighter to make room for the paint. There's also a built-in mixer to mix the paint well before applying it. It sells for about $10 in Canada (roughly 5 cents in the US... hehe!). I've tried the demo at the dealership and it's great: the usual brush included with the touch-up paint bottle isn't really precise, and you could wind up with a bigger mess if you're not careful. The paint pen, however, works the same way as a felt pen would, so there are fewer chances of you creating a mess or putting too much paint on the car. The clearcoat finish is already mixed in with the regular touch-up paint bottle, but it's separate for the pen. Anyway, I'll stop now before I sound like I'm selling the stuff or have shares in the company...
I hope this gives you more info Britton! The pen is still on back order, so the annoying paint chip is still on my hood.
Also, this might've been discussed before, but what car wax do you recommend? I'm using a car wax that has Teflon as one of its ingredients, but I was wondering if there were some better ones out there (since I'm wondering if Teflon actually does something to the car's finish, other than being able to cook eggs on the car). And finally, have any of you here heard that paste waxes (in the actual round tins) are better than liquid waxes (bottled)? I used the liquid version of my car wax because it's easier to buff off with my buffer.
Try it you'll like it.
Geeeeezzzzzz, talk about sounding like a salesman!!!
with no major problems. The radio is not factory, but was installed when we bought
it and has never caused problems before. Last week my son drove the car and told
me that the radio kept going off. I dismissed it because I had been driving the car
and had not had any problems. The next day we were 60 miles from home, the radio
went off, the air conditioned went off, everything stopped, and we managed to get off
of the interstate. Car would not start, had to be towed home. My mechanic could
find nothing wrong except for corrosion on the battery. He cleaned it and charged
and the car ran fine all week, going to and from work, approximately 12 miles one
way. However, today I was about 20 miles from home and the radio cut off, several
times. I got home okay, but needless to say I am afraid to venture far from home
any time soon. Has anyone else had a problem like this, I really would love some
feedback, I need to get this fixed. Thanks.
Britton: I haven't waxed my car yet since they did it at the dealership. What color is your Corolla again?