Here’s something you don’t see every day on Barn Finds, or ever. We’ve shown quite a few “vintage” (hey, this one is 31 years old, that’s older than a decent percentage of Barn Finds readers!) Japanese cars here, but never a 1994 Toyota Corolla DX Wagon. The seller has this little survivor posted here on craigslist in Pinellas Park, Florida and they’re asking $4,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Mitchell G. for the tip!
This car is from the melted bar of soap era, back before the crazed sharp-edged origami phase that we just went through. I wonder what’s next. The seventh-generation Corolla was known as the E100 and we got them in North America from 1993 through 1997.
We’ve seen a couple of AWD Corolla wagons here on Barn Finds, and half-dozen other regular 1970s Corolla wagons, and one that was both 4WD and a diesel right-hand version. This is about the most “normal” one, if you can call a somewhat modern Toyota Corolla wagon normal. The gas filler door appears to be a shade darker than Pebble Beige, but that could very well be a shadow. The seller doesn’t say much about this car other than it’s had two owners.
This is really the only overall interior photo, which is strange. They show the headliner and the left rear door panel, and also a closeup of the controls to show a new stereo in the dash, but that’s about it. There are none showing the most important part, the rear cargo space. Sigh. The dash cover and steering wheel cover are sometimes protecting perfect parts, or not, we don’t know in this case. They refer to this car as an “antique”, but that just alienated all of the 31-year-old Barn Finds readers.
One thing the seller did was to provide the VIN, so kudos to them for doing that! That’s very rare for a craigslist ad. The engine, according to the VIN, is Toyota’s 1.6-liter DOHC fuel-injected inline-four with around 105 horsepower and 120 lb-ft of torque. It spins through an automatic transmission to the front wheels and they say it’s an awesome daily driver. It may not be a classic roadster or vintage muscle car, but I bet you’d have the only one at a Cars & Coffee gathering. A five-speed manual would put this car over the top. Have any of you owned a Corolla of this era?
I have to admit. At first I thought, a ’94 Toyota Corolla wagon? These things are everywhere they’re every day cars. Then I stopped and realized when I read what Scotty said, its 31 years old. These are not everyday cars any more. And truth be told, these cars were used as everyday transportation, used up, and sold off down the road. You really don’t see these any more. It’s in impressive condition for what it is. And I do hope it gets taken care of down the road with the next owner.
I had 1994 wagon a red one drove into the ground couple hundred thousand miles.Nice car wish I still had it. From New Hampshire concord
Located near St Petersburg which took the brunt of Hurricane Milton last October. Just a thought.
Coming from Houston, TX, I know exactly what you’re thinking. I go through the same worry process each time I get interested in a local used car.
I do in fact own a ‘94 Corolla DX wagon. Except mine is a 5 speed manual. It’s my daily driver and still gets 37 mpg on the highway. Great little car.
There’s a reason why these don’t show up here, or any sellers site often, they rarely come up for sale. In 2021, Toyota celebrated its 50 MILLIONth Corolla. That’s TEN times the number of Model As. I know they blend in with all the other jellybeans today, but there are at least 3 in my parking lot alone. About as exciting as a chess match, but if you drive a lot, these can’t be beat. Just have to put up with the sore rear end, is all.
Well to be fair , if Ford continued naming a car “Model A ” for nearly 60 years , its numbers would be high too.
I had a sister car to this – a 93 Geo Prism, but with the 1.8 engine with overdrive. Huge difference from the 1.6!
3 thoughts
1- This looks like it is in great shape for a car this old. 300,000 miles should be doable on this with few issues.
but-
2. Listing states 118000 miles or something while the picture of the odometer shows 89000.
3. Location would have me worried as well. Has this been underwater at some point?
Great utilitarian cars though. Price seems not crazy.
odometer now shows 83870 miles
and is stuck at 78 MPH
I wish these guys would quit popping up the subscribe window every time I look at a vehicle here.
I agree with you, mike! 👍🏻
Had the Geo sedan version, a 1996 LSi with the 1.8L. Truly an fantastic car.
my kinda car~
nevah owned 1…
This car has a 1.8 L engine NOT a 1.6. All DX’s had the larger engine. Carfax supports this.