Bought 2003 Corolla that had 87,000 miles back in 2006 for $7,300. This is my 5th Toyota in last 20 years.
It was a company given car that was driven by an airplane mechanic that back and forth between Houston and Mobile, Alabama once a week, racking up huge highway miles just in 3 years.
My daughter drove it for 3 years during the high school, and then it was passed off to my son, who's been driving it since. Both kids drove it mostly gently, but with 193,000 miles, its showing some wear and tear, with some scratches and dents here and there both in and outside.
During 10 years of our (2nd) ownership, I've kept up with basic regular maintenance (oil, filters, trans, coolant, power steering, battery, breaks, tires, alignment, PCV valve, etc.) It rattles a bit when I drive, most likely because it's still got original struts/springs, but it has always started on the first crank, idles smoothly, and gets up to 80~90 MPH pretty smoothly.
I can't recall taking this to a shop for any major service/problem. Given the high miles, likely, I probably have changed one or all of these...alternator, water pump, thermostat...but I'm not 100% sure as this car rarely needed shop work.
Just recently, I've put 4 new tires and got alignment done. Also, today, I did the following:
1) 4 new NGK spark plugs to swap out the original ones...LOL
2) Cleaned the MAF with CRC's Mass Airflow Cleaner for the first time
3) Cleaned the Throttle Body with CRC's Throttle Body Cleaner for the first time
4) Replaced the PCV for the 2nd time in 10 years
5) Charged the A/C refrigerant for the first time in 10 years
Car didn't want to start after over-spraying the throttle body cleaner. So I had to open and expose the throttle body to open air for 5 to 10 minutes to let the cleaning solution evaporate, and after couple of start and immediate shutdown, it eventually cranked up fine. With today's maintenance, the idle is steady and smooth, and acceleration improved noticeably with no hesitation when gas pedal is pushed quick.
While taking the car out for a nice 30 minute test drive, I can't help but thank Toyota and this car for the superb reliability and durability all these years, specially when considering the car is just 6 months away from reaching 200,000 miles.
In the last few years, I thought the car was too old, and I mentally prepared to lose it at any time, and periodically shopped around for other "younger" cars, but this very basic Corolla CE with manual lock and windows (LOL), just keeps on starting and running without any trouble.
Not bad for a $7,300 purchase 10 years ago, huh?
Now I'm thinking about keeping this car going as long as I can to see if it can get up to 250,000 or 300,000 miles. That would be a major milestone for me as besides this corolla, my 2002 Camry XLE that I bought brand new and drove until 172,000 miles were the only ones that that exceeded 130,000 miles as I would become too concerned about repair costs to drive them past 130,000.
Now I regret prematurely getting rid of my fully loaded 2002 Camry XLE two years ago. I could've also taken that to 200,000+ miles. I bought a new 2013 Camry SE in its place, and it has 50,000 miles already, so I'll see if I can get one of the Toyotas to ~300,000 miles. I may get tired of driving the same car that long, but this time I'm going to try. LOL...
Anyone here with 300,000+ miles on their Toyota?
What's your experience has been like?
.
It was a company given car that was driven by an airplane mechanic that back and forth between Houston and Mobile, Alabama once a week, racking up huge highway miles just in 3 years.
My daughter drove it for 3 years during the high school, and then it was passed off to my son, who's been driving it since. Both kids drove it mostly gently, but with 193,000 miles, its showing some wear and tear, with some scratches and dents here and there both in and outside.
During 10 years of our (2nd) ownership, I've kept up with basic regular maintenance (oil, filters, trans, coolant, power steering, battery, breaks, tires, alignment, PCV valve, etc.) It rattles a bit when I drive, most likely because it's still got original struts/springs, but it has always started on the first crank, idles smoothly, and gets up to 80~90 MPH pretty smoothly.
I can't recall taking this to a shop for any major service/problem. Given the high miles, likely, I probably have changed one or all of these...alternator, water pump, thermostat...but I'm not 100% sure as this car rarely needed shop work.
Just recently, I've put 4 new tires and got alignment done. Also, today, I did the following:
1) 4 new NGK spark plugs to swap out the original ones...LOL
2) Cleaned the MAF with CRC's Mass Airflow Cleaner for the first time
3) Cleaned the Throttle Body with CRC's Throttle Body Cleaner for the first time
4) Replaced the PCV for the 2nd time in 10 years
5) Charged the A/C refrigerant for the first time in 10 years
Car didn't want to start after over-spraying the throttle body cleaner. So I had to open and expose the throttle body to open air for 5 to 10 minutes to let the cleaning solution evaporate, and after couple of start and immediate shutdown, it eventually cranked up fine. With today's maintenance, the idle is steady and smooth, and acceleration improved noticeably with no hesitation when gas pedal is pushed quick.
While taking the car out for a nice 30 minute test drive, I can't help but thank Toyota and this car for the superb reliability and durability all these years, specially when considering the car is just 6 months away from reaching 200,000 miles.
In the last few years, I thought the car was too old, and I mentally prepared to lose it at any time, and periodically shopped around for other "younger" cars, but this very basic Corolla CE with manual lock and windows (LOL), just keeps on starting and running without any trouble.
Not bad for a $7,300 purchase 10 years ago, huh?
Now I'm thinking about keeping this car going as long as I can to see if it can get up to 250,000 or 300,000 miles. That would be a major milestone for me as besides this corolla, my 2002 Camry XLE that I bought brand new and drove until 172,000 miles were the only ones that that exceeded 130,000 miles as I would become too concerned about repair costs to drive them past 130,000.
Now I regret prematurely getting rid of my fully loaded 2002 Camry XLE two years ago. I could've also taken that to 200,000+ miles. I bought a new 2013 Camry SE in its place, and it has 50,000 miles already, so I'll see if I can get one of the Toyotas to ~300,000 miles. I may get tired of driving the same car that long, but this time I'm going to try. LOL...
Anyone here with 300,000+ miles on their Toyota?
What's your experience has been like?
.
