13 year old carolla as a first car

king size mars bar

OH has just passed her driving test and is looking to get on the road. Went to look at a 03 carolla with test till Jan 2017 , 130,000 miles. Dealer will include 3 month warranty on engine on gearbox and full valet and service before sale. Any problems we should be aware of and any other help would be great. 1.4 terra hatchback model

Ash.J.Williams

king size mars bar wrote: »

OH has just passed her driving test and is looking to get on the road. Went to look at a 03 carolla with test till Jan 2017 , 130,000 miles. Dealer will include 3 month warranty on engine on gearbox and full valet and service before sale. Any problems we should be aware of and any other help would be great. 1.4 terra hatchback model

I had a 00 vvti as a run around and I drove it as my main car for 5 years, absolutely bulletproof.

Atlantic Dawn

Your biggest problem will probably be getting insurance, ring around first and have definite quotes, some providers not covering cars 10 years old. Not much to go wrong on them, check for rust around the black upper frame on the outside of the doors, can be easily resprayed black, likely only surface rust at worst. Can be clouding on the headlights but this can be polished out, plenty of guides online how to do this.

johndaman66

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Your biggest problem will probably be getting insurance, ring around first and have definite quotes, some providers not covering cars 10 years old.

I'll concur with that. As and aside from many insurers not looking too favourably on a Corolla for a first time car due to its ''large'' engine it seems like its getting to the point where its almost impossible to get cover on cars over 10 years old. I drive a 2001 reg and didn't get one quote online for it despite having a full ncb, full license held 14 years, no accidents, claims or convictions, no penalty points or medical conditions, as clean as a whistle in every sense. before even looking at the car I'd suggest checking if you can get a quote which you reasonably afford.

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

I had a 00 vvti as a run around and I drove it as my main car for 5 years, absolutely bulletproof.

The 03' would be the newer model to the 00' but it will share much of its mechanicals. I have a 01' Avensis which too would be pretty comparable in terms of reliability and longevity. The earlier VVTI engines are known to burn oil but it should not be excessive. If you are prepared to check it say every two weeks or so or sooner if doing highish mileage and top up as necessary you should be good. You will see on online forums people say don't touch them in account of them burning excessive oil, they burn as much oil as petrol blah blah blah etc. but this is simply unwarranted scare mongering.


Mine has overall being very good to me. Its far from the most exciting car in the world but the fact that its being so reliable and relatively cheap to run totally trumps that.

king size mars bar

Quotes coming in so far at around 1200 euro not bad considering I paid 4200 13 yrs ago for a one litre starlet starting off.