The virtues or otherwise of corolla bangeromics

W123-80's

topic split from main bangeromics thread





Another one...
Test till Jan '14
Tax till June '13
94k miles.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4971928

166man

W123-80's wrote: »

Another one...
Test till Jan '14
Tax till June '13
94k miles.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4971928

If you got that for €700 or even the asking it's a huge amount of car for the money. It really does look mind and will probably go for another few hundred thousand miles without much work.

I like it.

L-M

A very good car it might be but I wouldnt call it a huge amount of car...

Its still Japans finest tin work at the end of the day

unkel

Very, very basic A-B motoring. Very reliable. There really isn't much more positive about it

Not particularly cheap to buy. Not very safe. Not a lot of car for the money.

I'm still quite surprised these cars are suggested here so often

Cash is king

Limerick man wrote: »

A very good car it might be but I wouldnt call it a huge amount of car...

Its still Japans finest tin work at the end of the day

Aye the current model isn't much improved than that model..

JohnBoy26

unkel wrote: »

Very, very basic A-B motoring. Very reliable. There really isn't much more positive about it

Not particularly cheap to buy. Not very safe. Not a lot of car for the money.

I'm still quite surprised these cars are suggested here so often

If you weren't such a snob and actually knew a thing or two about cars and what your average person wants from a car you would know why these cars are posted here so often.

They are simple and plain granted but are brilliantly engineered. Which means they are easy to maintain and cheap to repair in the very unlikely event that something goes wrong. That is what most people want from a car and is what bangernomics is all about imo.

As for being unsafe, They are no more unsafe than any other cars in their class at the time and are safer than many.

RidleyRider

This will end well..

JohnBoy26

Cash is king wrote: »

Aye the current model isn't much improved than that model..

The Current model is no where near as well built as the Corollas of old, the e10 along with the 4e-fe engined e11 were as good as it got for build quality.

Cash is king

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The Current model is no where near as well built as the Corollas of old, the e10 along with the 4e-fe engined e11 were as good as it got for build quality.

I agree with ya on that but I was talking more so about the blandness more so. Do you drive a Volvo btw??

W123-80's

unkel wrote: »

Very, very basic A-B motoring. Very reliable. There really isn't much more positive about it



Not particularly cheap to buy. Not very safe. Not a lot of car for the money.



I'm still quite surprised these cars are suggested here so often

To be fair to the rest of the contributors to this thread I am probably the worst culprit for posting these.! I just like them.:D

Its an interesting point you make in relation to being surprised they are posted here so often. Bangernomics, it would seem, need to meet some basic min criteria (less than €2k, test, maybe some tax) before they can join the club so to say.
After that it comes down to reputation, general reliability, safety, fit for purpose, looks, opinion, personal taste, personal experience etc.
The value placed on these issues will differ depending on the potential buyer and their specific needs.

With regard that model of Corolla, once it meets the min criteria mentioned above, looks well minded and has not travelled to the moon, I consider it bangernomics.
The car is super reliable, it is perfectly respectable to look at and has a wonderful ability to get on with its primary duty of carrying people around whilst neither upsetting nor offending anyone.!

The beauty of bangernomics, and this thread in particular, is the wide range of cars that can get posted on any given day, all offering some sort of value to a potential owner. From a fully loaded 7 series all the way down to a Fiat cinquecento.
Once a car meets the generally accepted min criteria and it can be reasonably argued that it offers some sort of value to a potential owner I wouldn't be surprised to see it posted here regardless of make/model.

ba_barabus

If a Corolla like that came up for sale in a few weeks time I'd snap their hand off to have it mainly because I could sell it for pretty much the same money in August

166man

Limerick man wrote: »

A very good car it might be but I wouldnt call it a huge amount of car...

Its still Japans finest tin work at the end of the day

Ah I meant it in terms of how many years motoring you'd get out of it! It'd probably never stop going which is all some people need!

unkel wrote: »

Very, very basic A-B motoring. Very reliable. There really isn't much more positive about it

Not particularly cheap to buy. Not very safe. Not a lot of car for the money.

I'm still quite surprised these cars are suggested here so often

Very reliable, quite economical and fairly practical as in the boot is fairly big.

Those criteria above are more than enough for the average Irish buyer, and while they aren't any of the criteria that matter to me, objectively I can see why they are so popular.

A car with fresh NCT, some tax, superb reliability, practicality, economical and it looks very clean in the photos makes it quite a bit of car for the €7-€800 you're buying it for.

I think they're one of the best bangernomics motors out there and it easly meets all the criteria so not quite sure why you think otherwise.

You may not like them but surely you aren't going to deny that they are good bangernomics cars?

00833827

The mid-90's Toyotas (corolla, carina e, starlet) are modern Irish Classics in my opinion. They fit the criteria of many Irish Motorists, reliability being the main one. They sold so many of them that even today, going on for 20 years later they are still a common sight on the roads and parts are everywhere. If you are going the bangeronomics route for any length of time, and have a commute to do, you could do a lot worse, fuel consumption even on the petrol's is decent. Thats why they get recommended here so often I reckon.

JohnBoy26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

If you weren't such a snob and actually knew a thing or two about cars and what your average person wants from a car you would know why these cars are posted here so often.

They are simple and plain granted but are brilliantly engineered. Which means they are easy to maintain and cheap to repair in the very unlikely event that something goes wrong. That is what most people want from a car and is what bangernomics is all about imo.

As for being unsafe, They are no more unsafe than any other cars in their class at the time and are safer than many.

Well I doubt the chap is a car snob but regardless the corolla was asking €850 and it was a 1995 model, you'd get a newer 323 or Lancer/Carisma for the same price with more extras and they're just as good imo. And much better value.

shankespony

Agree with Johnboy26, will be best €800 you will spend, i have one same year only 80,000 miles and never had any problems. Found it was economical enough but i am light with the shoe..... Only problem i had was the immobiliser as there is a bracket thats prone to cutting the wire. This was a recall in the states i believe, one i sorted this no more problems and lots of cheap motoring. wear well

JohnBoy26

RoverJames wrote: »

Well I doubt the chap is a car snob

The chap might not be a snob, but he certainly is coming across as one imo

RoverJames wrote: »

Well I doubt the chap is a car snob but regardless the corolla was asking €850 and it was a 1995 model, you'd get a newer 323 or Lancer/Carisma for the same price with more extras and they're just as good imo. And much better value.

You would but none of them are as good as these Corollas though. The 323 does come close but the Corolla has the edge where build quality is concerned and has much better rust protection.

As for the Lancer and Carisma, they are no where near as good as a Corolla. The Lancer is much lighter and cheaper built than a Corolla, suffers from far more Corrosion underneath, the body gets tatty more easily due to thin sheet metal, It has a 12valve underpowered 74 bhp 1.3 unit compared to the Corolla's much livelier more economical, more refined excellent 87bhp 16 valve 4e-fe unit.

The Lancer Gets rougher much quicker aswell, things like ball joints etc seem to wear very quickly in them even at a young age and with low mileage, you would rarely see things like this gone in a Corolla even at high mileage.

As for the Carisma, well it is far cry from the Corolla, A poor effort from Mitsubishi if there ever was one, even it's baby brother the Lancer is a better car than it and nicer to drive too. They really are a horrible car in every imaginable way with poor build quality in my experience.

From the spongy and awful gear change from the Renault gearbox to it's bumpy wallowy uncomfortable ride and poor handling(I know, I know the Corolla is hardly a great handler itself, but is light years ahead in comparison.) The engines get Tappety as well and things like the wiper linkage seems to wear prematurely in them.

JohnBoy26

Cash is king wrote: »

I agree with ya on that but I was talking more so about the blandness more so. Do you drive a Volvo btw??

Nope

JohnBoy26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The chap might not be a snob, but he certainly is coming across as one imo


You would but none of them are as good as these Corollas though. The 323 does come close but the Corolla has the edge where build quality is concerned and has much better rust protection.

As for the Lancer and Carisma, they are no where near as good as a Corolla. .................

On cars that old rust protection wouldn't bother me, if they're acceptable on inspection I couldn't give a sh1te what other yokes are better protected.

lol, I'll agree the Corolla may be less sh1t than the Mitsi offerings in some regards.

I'd sooner drive a late 90s Mitsi that a 95 Corolla if I was on a budget though, to drive there's f all in it.

The Carisma is no where near as bad as you discribe but your Corolla bias has your view so distorted I expect you can't see that, anyone who calls someone a snob as they reckon a 95 Corolla for €850 asking isn't a lot of car for the money would want to step away from the keyboard imo.

I don't expect you to agree but don't worry about it

unkel

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

If you weren't such a snob

My own car is 12 years old and worth less than a grand. Hardly qualifies me being a snob, does it?

I suppose plenty of people in this country are easily pleased with a very basic car for their bangernomics money. I guess I'm not one of them

Don't get me wrong though, if my budget was the tiniest possible, I too would buy a basic A-B reliable (probably Jap) car. Not a Toyota 1.3 though, it would be much cheaper and more reliable to own a 1.0 Micra

Cheensbo

unkel wrote: »

My own car is 12 years old and worth less than a grand. Hardly qualifies me being a snob, does it?

I suppose plenty of people in this country are easily pleased with a very basic car for their bangernomics money. I guess I'm not one of them

Don't get me wrong though, if my budget was the tiniest possible, I too would buy a basic A-B reliable (probably Jap) car. Not a Toyota 1.3 though, it would be much cheaper and more reliable to own a 1.0 Micra

In my experience,

You don't get much better cheapness than a toyota 1.3,

I got a 93 1.3 corolla saloon in 2011 with a years test on it, with a shade over 100k miles on it, I bought it for 450e

In the time i owned it, i did nearly 25,000 trouble free miles, i changed the oil once and left it well alone after that, oh actually, a tyre perished because it was 12 years old.

I sold it with no test in 2012 for: 450e, it passed for the new owner straight off.

If that aint the definition of bangernomics I really dont know what is.

I will say: it was not comfortable, it was noisy, it was basic.. but it cost me nothing to run, tax was feck all (0 :pac:) and it never wanted for anything.. 4 doors for more ****es, will do 40mpg, 20 year old design that still doesn't look out of place..

So I really don't think the e10 saloon can be beaten as a bangernomic..

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4964657

unkel

Nice one, I love it when people manage to get zero depreciation

€450 was a great price for it with a years test. Some people seem to be paying the guts of a grand for one. Not such a good deal. I bet they won't see their money back!

Cheensbo

unkel wrote: »

Nice one, I love it when people manage to get zero depreciation

€450 was a great price for it with a years test. Some people seem to be paying the guts of a grand for one. Not such a good deal. I bet they won't see their money back!

In a way it was but,

To be honest they're worth not much more than that, I wouldn't give 600 for the one i linked, was just using it as an example,

Cars that old don't depreciate, they've lost all their money already.. basically when you're in this territory what you're paying for is the yellow disc in the window.

So I dont see why they should lose value just because theres another owner on the book.. If a decent bangernomic is looked after, it should be able to sell for very close to whats paid for it, or else traded for 150 quid from hammond lane.

Jimdagym

Personally, I wouldnt call €450 "slightly above the limit"
Thats 20%

unkel

Jimdagym wrote: »

Personally, I wouldnt call €450 "slightly above the limit"
Thats 20%

I'm not really sure what the concensus / rule is here. Sure the limit is €2,000, but is that the asking price or what it will likely / realistically sell for?

If the latter, then I reckon that Peugeot will sell for below €2k, so it deserves to be here

Cheensbo

Cheensbo wrote: »

In my experience,

You don't get much better cheapness than a toyota 1.3,

I got a 93 1.3 corolla saloon in 2011 with a years test on it, with a shade over 100k miles on it, I bought it for 450e

In the time i owned it, i did nearly 25,000 trouble free miles, i changed the oil once and left it well alone after that, oh actually, a tyre perished because it was 12 years old.

I sold it with no test in 2012 for: 450e, it passed for the new owner straight off.

If that aint the definition of bangernomics I really dont know what is.

I will say: it was not comfortable, it was noisy, it was basic.. but it cost me nothing to run, tax was feck all (0 :pac:) and it never wanted for anything.. 4 doors for more ****es, will do 40mpg, 20 year old design that still doesn't look out of place..

So I really don't think the e10 saloon can be beaten as a bangernomic..

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4964657

Spot on. I think the issue is people creaming themselves over a 95 corolla asking 850, its simply not a bargain, not value and certainly not a lot of car for the money.

If in here is anything to go by there's no shortage of people willing to pay over the odds for one though.

166man

RoverJames wrote: »

Spot on. I think the issue is people creaming themselves over a 95 corolla asking 850, its simply not a bargain, not value and certainly not a lot of car for the money.

If in here is anything to go by there's no shortage of people willing to pay over the odds for one though.

If you could stop focusing on the year of the car I think it is value for money. Asking €850, realistically taking €700-€750 for a car that could provide 10+ years of reliable motoring at feck all cost to the owner is value to me.

If you paid €750 now and needed a motor to tide you over fore two or three years you'd probably get most of that back come resale time. Seems like a bargain to me especially seeing as the one in question looks so clean and has low mileage.

Just my opinion of course.

dgt

166man wrote: »

If you could stop focusing on the year of the car I think it is value for money. Asking €850, realistically taking €700-€750 for a car that could provide 10+ years of reliable motoring at feck all cost to the owner is value to me.

If you paid €750 now and needed a motor to tide you over fore two or three years you'd probably get most of that back come resale time. Seems like a bargain to me especially seeing as the one in question looks so clean and has low mileage.

Just my opinion of course.

500 yes. 800 no. Way too overpriced, all the deluded biased folk that are too thick to look around at anything else will shout and ram their opinion down everyone else's throat that is's fantastic value. Which it isn't

But considering what it is, I'd rather walk....

My 2 cents

NCT till April, 1100

Taxed till June

166man

166man wrote: »

If you could stop focusing on the year of the car I think it is value for money.............

I've no doubt you do think it's value for money, I simply disagree, another poster has already commented how he purchased a similar car for half that price two years ago Having owned one he also reckons they are not comfortable, it was noisy, it was basic. Doesn't seem great value for close to €800 imo.

The age of a car is merely one thing I consider when putting a price on a car

I mentioned how a 323 can be gotten for the similar money, with more extras and not as old, so too offerings from Mitsubishi. Even the Toyota obsessed chap reckons a 323 is nearly as good as the Corolla, in real terms there's f all in it and the 323 will be more modern and better specced, the interior of a 95 Corolla is a fairly terrible place to be.

That €850 asking price includes quite a lot of NCT premium, only gnomes are happy to pay that and put it under the value umbrella.


I was considering price, spec, age, relaibility etc etc, not merely focussing on the year of the car, perhaps you should focus on more than the badge on the bonnet

To apply your own logic you've never owned a toyota so perhaps you should.... .... :pac:

dgt wrote: »

............. all the deluded biased folk that are too thick to look around at anything else will shout and ram their opinion down everyone else's throat that is's fantastic value. Which it isn't

.....................

Very well said, I didn't want to phrase it like that as some of the deluded biased folk can get a tad irate on here I find

JohnBoy26

RoverJames wrote: »

On cars that old rust protection wouldn't bother me, if they're acceptable on inspection I couldn't give a sh1te what other yokes are better protected.

Well you are more likely to get a good rust free example of a car with good rust protection than one that has poor rust protection. Different cars I know but A late 90's Micra and a late 90's Yaris are prime examples of this. You can still pick up old rust free Yaris's easily enough but rust free Micra's on the otherhand are few and far between at this stage.

RoverJames wrote: »

lol, I'll agree the Corolla may be less sh1t than the Mitsi offerings in some regards.

In every regard it is better than the Mitsubishi offerings, that's not me being bias either, it's a fact.

RoverJames wrote: »

;)I'd sooner drive a late 90s Mitsi that a 95 Corolla if I was on a budget though, to drive there's f all in it.

Again the Corolla is the better car all around even a 95 model is a better car than what mitsubishi was offering into the early 00's , to drive there is more than just ''f all in it'', Don't get me wrong the Corolla is no fun car to drive or anything like that but it has far better performance than the equivalent lancer which is as dead as a dodo to drive, it is also more economical and also has more competent road manners than ''a late 90's Mitsi''.

RoverJames wrote: »

;)The Carisma is no where near as bad as you discribe but your Corolla bias has your view so distorted I expect you can't see that,

They are as bad as I described though, From experience they are a dreadful car, it has nothing to do with a ''Corolla bias'' I can name other cars in that class that are a better car also and they aren't a ''Corolla'' or a Toyota for that matter.

RoverJames wrote: »

anyone who calls someone a snob as they reckon a 95 Corolla for €850 asking isn't a lot of car for the money would want to step away from the keyboard imo.

I don't expect you to agree but don't worry about it

And anyone who doesn't read posts properly before replying would want to step away from the keyboard imo. That wasn't the reason why I called him a snob.;)

unkel wrote: »

I'm still quite surprised these cars are suggested here so often

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

If you weren't such a snob and actually knew a thing or two about cars and what your average person wants from a car you would know why these cars are posted here so often.

They are simple and plain granted but are brilliantly engineered. Which means they are easy to maintain and cheap to repair in the very unlikely event that something goes wrong. That is what most people want from a car and is what bangernomics is all about imo.

JohnBoy26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

....bla bla bla................

1995 Corolla value at €800 ish???

Yes or No


Bias is like addiction, most folks with it won't admit it btw.

I never said the Carisma was best in class old boy. They are no where as bad as you reckon though, fact. I know that from personal experience, I'd trust my own views more than yours too of course.

unkel

RoverJames wrote: »

1995 Corolla value at €800 ish???

Yes or No

To paraphrase JohnBoy: to the undemanding Irish masses who love their Toyotas: Yes great value

For some other folk: no thanks

JohnBoy26

unkel wrote: »

My own car is 12 years old and worth less than a grand. Hardly qualifies me being a snob, does it?

The age of your own car is irrelevant, You come across as being a badge snob towards Japanese cars, particularly towards Toyota imo.

unkel wrote: »

I suppose plenty of people in this country are easily pleased with a very basic car for their bangernomics money. I guess I'm not one of them

Don't get me wrong though, if my budget was the tiniest possible, I too would buy a basic A-B reliable (probably Jap) car. Not a Toyota 1.3 though, it would be much cheaper and more reliable to own a 1.0 Micra

Apart from being cheaper to tax I would disagree that a Micra ''would be much cheaper'' to own. An Irish version of a Micra is actually less reliable than a 1.3 Corolla.

unkel

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

The age of your own car is irrelevant, You come across as being a badge snob towards Japanese cars, particularly towards Toyota imo.


Apart from being cheaper to tax I would disagree that a Micra ''would be much cheaper'' to own. An Irish version of a Micra is actually less reliable than a 1.3 Corolla.

You're contradicting yourself there in what you reckon I think about Japanese cars

And as I said, if I was really stuck and needed the cheapest possible car to own, I'd buy a Japanese car

Micra is of course much cheaper to own than a Corolla:

1. Costs less to buy
2. Costs less to fuel
3. Costs less to tax
4. Costs less to maintain. I agree, both cars should be nearly maintenance fee except regular servicing and tyres, but the Nissan has a timing chain, not an inferior cheapo belt as in the Corolla

JohnBoy26

RoverJames wrote: »

1995 Corolla value at €800 ish???

Yes or No

If a car even an old car is going to be highly reliable and undemanding for years to come with little and cheap maintenance, then yes 800 ish is good value and a small price to pay for that, would you agree?

Tbh your argument about the price is silly imo as 850 is hardly a lot of money in the first place and most cars that age in that condition will be in or around that money.

RoverJames wrote: »

Bias is like addiction, most folks with it won't admit it btw.

I never said the Carisma was best in class old boy. They are no where as bad as you reckon though, fact. I know that from personal experience, I'd trust my own views more than yours too of course.

I never said you did, You said they are every bit as good as a Corolla which they are not, If you had ''personal experience'' of both cars and worked on both cars you would know this. It's fair enough if you think other wise that's your opinion, Im just telling it how it is, nothing to do with being bias as I am a Honda fan at heart .

JohnBoy26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

If a car even an old car is going to be highly reliable and undemanding for years to come with little and cheap maintenance, then yes 800 ish is good value and a small price to pay for that, would you agree? .............

Not when a more modern civic or 323 can be gotten for the same money and be "highly reliable and undemanding for years to come with little and cheap maintenance".

End of the day a 95 Corolla is rank compared to other stuff that can be bought for the same money.

I have personal experience of both Carisma and corollas so I am more than able to form an opinion on them.

RidleyRider

Lads, ye'll never agree so please agree to disagree!!!!!!!

RidleyRider

RidleyRider wrote: »

Lads, ye'll never agree so please agree to disagree!!!!!!!

I'll reply to any post directed at me as I see fit

JohnBoy26

RoverJames wrote: »

Not when a more modern civic or 323 can be gotten for the same money and be "highly reliable and undemanding for years to come with little and cheap maintenance".

A Corolla will be cheaper to run and will age better than a 323, I agree with you on a Civic though, they are as good if not better than a Corolla.

RoverJames wrote: »

End of the day a 95 Corolla is rank compared to other stuff that can be bought for the same money.

I have personal experience of both Carisma and corollas so I am more than able to form an opinion on them.

What other stuff like a Carisma? Tbh I don't think you have any proper experience of both cars if you think a Carisma is a good car and is as good as a Corolla.

JohnBoy26

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

.......


What other stuff .........

Eh did you not see posts about 323s and Civics in this thread

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

.. Tbh I don't think you have any proper experience of both cars if you think a Carisma is a good car and is as good as a Corolla.

Tbh if you think a Carisma is as sh1t as you say I'm struggling to fathom how you have any experience with cars .

cabb8ge

Toyota toyota toyota.
avensis recommend for me in here, ok some sense but 1995 Corolla 800 euro :eek: Oh my of God !!!!

It last for more years yes but 800 euro go so much better.

No electric windows, no locking central remote.

W123-80's

RoverJames wrote: »

Spot on. I think the issue is people creaming themselves over a 95 corolla asking 850, its simply not a bargain, not value and certainly not a lot of car for the money.

If in here is anything to go by there's no shortage of people willing to pay over the odds for one though.

I agree that particular corolla for €800ish is not abargain. I disagree however that it is not value for money.

My understanding of bangernomics is that they don’t always necessarily have to be a bargain. The brother is out of work at the moment, two young kids, wife, mortgage etc.. needed something reliable to ferry the crew around with little or no trouble. Picked himself up one of these for €750. Years test, decent nick.

6 months later, no trouble. Now the car wasn’t a bargain by any means, but the value for money it is offering my bro is massive.

As for a lot of car for the money. I agree, it’s not.

This debate has degenerated into horse trading at this stage. I read one post stating that at €500 it’s a good buy and at €800 it’s not. Why not split the difference, and say anywhere between €600 & 700 is fine. But then maybe €700 is too expensve. Can we agree that €578.99 is a fair price?

In relation to the passive/aggressive insults flying about (irate deluded fanboys/guys creamingthemselves) as a result of people posting a car and stating an opinion. Idon’t think they add anything to the spirit of the thread.

BTW; I promise I’ll never post another one unless it’s under €500. Not worth the hassle.!

He'd have gotten more value for money in a civic, potentially. Just as reliable, much nicer design and much nicer to drive imo

It was the lot of car for the money drivel that prompted my comment, other drivel was than directed at me so I replied

You seem not to think the snob comment was an insult? One way street us it?

W123-80's

RoverJames wrote: »

He'd have gotten more value for money in a civic, potentially. Just as reliable, much nicer design and much nicer to drive imo

It was the lot of car for the money drivel that prompted my comment, other drivel was than directed at me so I replied

You seem not to think the snob comment was an insult? One way street us it?

Fair point on the snob comment. No call for that either.

I'm going to tip toe away from this debate now.. and get back to picking out some dodgy bangers.!

colm_mcm

topic split....

Frankie Lee

RoverJames wrote: »

He'd have gotten more value for money in a civic, potentially. Just as reliable, much nicer design and much nicer to drive imo

It was the lot of car for the money drivel that prompted my comment, other drivel was than directed at me so I replied

You seem not to think the snob comment was an insult? One way street us it?

Very hard to find a Civic that hasn't been raped by boy racers unfortunately. Any that are in good condition are being sold for a bigger premium than the Corolla too.

Cee-Jay-Cee

unkel wrote: »

Not particularly cheap to buy. Not very safe. Not a lot of car for the money.

Explain how they're not very safe? They have brakes and airbags and so long as the tyres are brake pads/discs are in good order they're a perfectly safe car. They may not have 5 star encap rating or side impact beams but that doesn't make them an unsafe car.

colm_mcm

They don't have airbags, abs, or anything safety related

ba_barabus

colm_mcm wrote: »

They don't have airbags

Later ones did

BrianD3

Crash safety of 1990s C segment cars based on offset testing by Auto Motor und Sport. Anywhere you see "rot" in the below table, it's bad news.
http://www.autocrashtest.de/unterseiten/am_fr_55_untere.htm

As can be seen an airbagged Corolla (which most Irish ones weren't) is rated worse than most rivals at the time such as the Golf, Astra, ZX, Renault 19, facelift Escort etc.

It should be said that even the best early nineties cars in this table have rubbish safety by modern standards however some like the Corolla and Civic are worse again.

colm_mcm

ba_barabus wrote: »

Later ones did

For like 18 months

Mycroft H

I sold a 96 starlet with a fresh nct for 900 not so long ago. Was great, Irish People love their Toyotas.

They are stupidly reliable though. Nothing can kill the 4E-FE