1983 Toyota Corolla plain 1.6 from North America
Summary:
Cheap reliable car
Faults:
The wheel wells and door are rusting badly.
My head gasket blew at 230000km which was relatively cheap. This resulted in a bent distributer shaft cause the car to miss terribly at idle.
Occasionally my carburetor plugs up causing the car not being able to idle.
My drivers seat is in really bad shape. The foam is almost all gone, and the seat is ripped.
General Comments:
I have spent only about $200 (can) in repairs. This excludes maintenance.
Not very attractive. Sometimes it is almost embarrassing to drive. I get a lot of nasty comments about my car.
For a poor student I really love my car.
I would definitely buy a Toyota again.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 30th October, 2002
21st May 2004, 12:21
I had a 1983 Corolla for about a year and it was 19 years old when I bought it. I am now convinced it is immortal. I put 100,000 miles on it in the time I had it and it just smiled and kept going. I also covered it all over with stickers. I sold it to friend who needed a good reliable car and now it is 21 years old and she still drives it. I still see it every now and then and I really miss it. I drive a 1998 New Beetle now and it is phenomenal, but I want my Toyota back!!
Blake Barnhill.
16th Nov 2004, 18:19
My first car was a 1983 Corolla station wagon.. it had 185,000 miles on it when I got it from my parents (who had bought it new), and when I sold the thing it had over 240,000. In all that time, the car never once went to the shop for anything other than routine maintenance. Not. One. Repair.
10th Jan 2006, 12:46
The above comments are all great! The one stating that the purchase was for a dollar is unreal. It is unreal because I too just bought an 83 coupe SR5 for $1.00!!! With 143,000 miles and an impeccable service tract record, I am extremely thrilled. I am hoping to take the current mileage as high as it will go and as soon as something major goes wrong, it will get a larger engine and become a track car.
I bought this 01/05/06 and I took today off of work to play with it and get to know it better. I will never let this one go. :)
-Jeremy.
26th Sep 2008, 14:44
My 83 Corolla is AWESOME! I got it 5 years ago with only 67k miles and it's been running ever since. Sure, it's ugly and it smokes for the first 5 minutes of driving but no one ever tailgates me! Plus it's actually fun to drive!
14th Apr 2004, 21:17
I agree, the car is not very attractive, but I have had mine for almost a year and it runs great and I spend very little for repairs. I Recommend this car for poor students with very little money.