For more years than I would care to remember the Toyota Corolla has seen duty as the first car for young people. They are easy to drive, easy to park, extremely economical and will handle the sort of abuse, both intentional and unintentional, that an inexperienced driver can inflict upon a car. This little Corolla is listed for sale here on eBay. Located in New Lebanon, New York, it comes with a clear title. Bidding has been very spirited on this Corolla, and at the time of writing there had been 69 bids which has taken the price to $3,452.50.
I have to admit that it has been a while since I’ve seen a Corolla of this vintage in this sort of condition. The seller claims that this Corolla has traveled a mere 59,584 miles, and the general condition of the car seems to make that claim entirely feasible. I suspect that it may have had a hit in the front, but I can’t be entirely certain on that. The only thing that raises this suspicion is that there appears to be what could be a small amount of over-spray on the hood safety catch, the radiator support panel and one of the bolts on the passenger side of the support panel. However this could also be a trick of the light.
The interior of this Toyota presents really well. One of the absolute give-away signs of high mileage on Toyotas of this era is wear on the steering wheel and the shifter knob. The grey coloring on those is only a surface coat and constant use will usually result in that coat wearing through to the black base color. Neither the wheel or shifter knob exhibit any such wear. The dash and all of the interior trim is immaculate, and the car retains its original radio/cassette player. The only real wear that is visible is some slight scuffing of the carpet near the door frame, but this is quite common (even on low mileage examples) because of the way the floor curves up to meet the frame.
The trunk on this Corolla is pretty well spotless. This grey matting will become dirty and stained easily over time. I can detect one small mark on the matting, but otherwise it is near perfect.
Under the hood is the 1.6 liter twin-cam engine coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission. This combination is virtually bullet-proof and can handle an enormous amount of abuse. This one looks really clean and gives the impression of a car that has been well cared for. The car features air conditioning that blows nice and cold. It has also been fitted with new front brake rotors and pads, and a new muffler and tail-pipe. In this photo you can see the issue that I referred to earlier about possible over-spray.
The Corolla name has been with us continuously since 1966, and in 2013 Toyota produced its forty-millionth Corolla. You simply don’t achieve those sorts of milestones unless the product that you are producing is first-rate. I look at this 27 year old Corolla and even today I see a car that would be the perfect first car for a young person who has just obtained their license. If it checks out as well in person as it seems to in the photos then this is a really good little car that potentially has a lot of years of service ahead of it. It will be very interesting to see how high the bidding goes on this one.
Bidding on eBay is currently at $3,553 and the Reserve is OFF so it will sell. Looks like a screaming bargain to me at this price and in this condition but I am sure that the bidding will go significantly higher ($5k+?) before the Auction is over.
Uh – 56,000 miles? My mom’s Camry of the same era had 300k on the original clutch and two or three water pumps and one set of front brake pads.
Boring but terrific car. What else could you get you can drive another 200k with minimal work for that entire time for this kind of $
Can I ask why this is on here when you can find these cars just about everywhere?
This site should be for cars that are harder to find as space here is at a premium.
Web space is effectively free. What’s the premium?
There is only so much space on this site to present cars and time the editors have to list said cars.
Cars like this that can be found in good condition literally everywhere, should be relegated to Craigslist.
If it sounds harsh, I am sorry, but I would rather see interesting rare cars.
This car is better than literally anything new on the market. Especially with the 5 speed!
I had a 1995 Corolla that was purchased at 2 yrs old and daily driven (often abusively) for the next decade.
Though it was the next generation’s bodystyle it had the exact same drivetrain as this ’91 (4A-FE 1.6L DOHC 4cyl backed with a 5 spd).
It received oil changes religiously every 3,000 or 3,500 miles. At 12 yrs old it got traded in on an SUV because our family grew to necessitating more space.
The little ‘Rolla had in excess of 437k miles on it when traded, still easy saw 30mpg in town and the a/c still blew cold.
It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t pretty. Cloth seats rather than vinyl and the inclusion of the aforementioned air con was all that kept it from being a zero option base model.
THE best car I’ve ever owned, hands down.
The featured econobox ought to have tons of life left in it if maintained. Drab and boring, to be sure, but reliable as an oak tree.
I hate to agree, but the fit and finish of my brother’s ‘02 with this set up is undeniable. At 230k, the factory-installed battery is still starting it! It is a shame that (say, “Plymouth”) couldn’t figure out how to manufacture this combination of reliability, quality and price and sell it.
You talking about the oil burning piece of junk ’02 Corolla worse beer of that car
Just because the name of the site is Barn Finds doesn’t mean we can’t show other vehicles. This is a creampuff of a car that would otherwise be abused beyond recognition by now. I would rather see this than another 4 door ’57 or trashed Porsche.
I agree – the variety is what makes this such an interesting place to be.
I’d love to see more Corollas, Neons, any Kia or Hyundai, and throw in a bunch of PT Cruisers and Chevy HHRs for that vintage vibe.
Just kidding. Enough of the Craigslist specials.
Daily driver not collectible
Oughta pick this up fir my SIL. This car
has everything she said she wants in a
car. That azzhole of an estranged husband took her car and gave it to his
new girlfriend! I really don’t want her
going to a used car lot to buy a car in
this area due to the astronomical prices
they charge for a used up piece of junk.
We went to one such lot in Orlando
where we looked at a ’98 Neon SXT.
The car had 378K miles on it and this
jerk wanted 3K down and $650 a month
for 36 months! If you’re going to pay
that much for a car, buy a new one!
As for Miguel’s comment regarding
the pisting of newer cars on this site,
I feel your pain pal, but there are a lot
of younger folks out there that want to
see their generation’s cars shown here
too–no matter how bad they were. After all, the web is a mighty big place so we’ve
got room for young and old cars alike.
As for this ‘un here, I’ll show to Sis and
see how she likes it.
Bought my uncle’s 88 Corolla very smooth running vibration less at idle but put your foot into it and the engine sounded like it was coming through the firewall
Got hit by a kid in a Mazda 929 and it folded up like a soda can very thin sheet metal
Mom bought a 89 Corolla 5 speed when I was 17. It was light, fast and bulletproof. I loved that car. I would buy another one of that era as a daily driver in a flash. But not at $5655.
Miguel, this IS an interesting car! Despite the make, in Illinois, any car over 25 is considered a classic, and cars like this that are normally run to the ground, to appear here in this kind of condition, bring them on!
My grandmother bought a new 91 Corolla, only brand new car she ever owned, and it was in the family for 20 years. Great reliable car but I’m shocked this went for the price it did.
I for one love to see cars like this on Barn Finds. I’ve long since stopped reading articles on Chevelles, Trans Ams, Corvettes, Grand Nationals….blah blah blah. Cars like this keep me coming back to barn finds. I love this site and hope to read about a Chevette or Escort soon…