$2450 might sound a bit steep for a thirty year old car. But then this is not just any old thirty year old car; it’s the best thirty year old car, period. That is, if you’re looking for reliable, cheap wheels. Of course ideally one would pick one of these up for $200, which I did a few years back. That was a great car, and after my son’s then GF didn’t want it anymore, I sold it for $600 to a guy who was working for me at the time, and he was thrilled to get it, ’cause it was a steal and he knew it. And he drove it for quite a while. I think I still see it around, or maybe another one just like it.
And this is a wagon. And I just remembered, a good friend had an automatic wagon like this that she bought from our next door neighbors. She drove it for years, almost ten. And then sold it to a kid she knew, who snapped it out of her hands.
Yes, these are the quintessential Eugene-mobiles, even if this one is in Portland.
And this one looks to be in very good shape. It’s got all of 155,551 miles on it; barely broken in. Seriously, these were as well-built, durable and reliable basic cars as were ever built. If I were a bit strapped for cash or even thriftier than I am, and needed cheap wheels, I’d be looking for one of these, maybe a bit cheaper, preferably.
But this one might well be worth the asking price, or something a bit lower. It’s got another ten years in it, easy.
I don’t find that price out of line at all, presuming that it runs and drives the way it should and that all of the accessories work. Here in the midwest, anything with a body this good would sell for a premium. It would not surprise me to see something like this selling for $3500 here. If it had a stick I might consider having you pick it up for me. No wait – I’m done with old red paint.
In my world it has become extremely hard to find anything decent for under $2500. Or maybe my standards are just too high. And once something hits 20 years old, I don’t think it matters much whether it’s 20 years old or 50. It’s all about condition.
If i lived closer, I would buy it just for the pure appreciation. I know we’d find a use for it.
Is that rear hatch borrowed from (or to) the old SR-5 hatchback? It’s a great look. This is as clean a vehicle as I can recall seeing, in one hitting 30 years of age. What a great caretaker this car has been privy to, I hope it live on for several more years.
Disclaimer- I had a boss once who had one of these, in the 4 door sedan version. Seeing that car (it was white) gave me cold shivers, as I dreaded each day working for them. Thankfully it was for just a few short, wasted years.
Send it to the great white salted North. Thirty years and no rust.
It would be gone in a heartbeat here in Ontario.
I owned a 1991 Dodge Shadow bought new as my primary daily commuter car as I routinely drove roughly 160 kms daily through much of the 90s in Eastern Ontario headed to Ottawa. It ultimately lasted until 2012, as I later drove it much less, when I sent it to the scrap yard. It was still in generally great shape. With roughly 350,000 kms on the odometer, the most significant issue was some body rust above the gas tank. An area that both holds salt spray, and is a challenge to keep clean.
Preventative maintenance, rustproofing, regular washing and consistent upkeep, and it’s possible to keep virtually any modern car on the road for decades in much of North America. If an owner wishes to.
Cars like this Toyota could have remained common well into the 2000s in many parts of Canada. But people get tired of them, or don’t want the extra effort/cost of maintaining them. Besides obsolescence. Especially when the allure of a new(er), improved car is ever present.
Absolutely would that be sold,more then likely not even get too advertising. Our local Honda dealer had one of the original Civics with stick on their website a few years back. Naturally I had too go look. Price was $2800 and if I remember correctly it was sold before I got there. Would’ve been a great city car,sorry I missed it
Quick, hide this from the autojournos before they arrive to complain about “hard plastics!”
This looks amazing, and no, really – fun, from that era of yore when cars weighed less than 3,000 lbs.
Padded vinyl upper door cards and arm rests, fabric covered lower sections, and padded dashboard. This is vastly better than modern interiors in this class that are legitimately a sea of hard plastics disguised by a bunch of gimmicky tech features.
Agreed, this interior is quite nice and reminds of some of the VW interiors of recent years. Very businesslike, sort of like commercial aircraft. But, not cheap looking.
A while back some friends of ours picked up a ’97-ish Geo equivalent with around 65,000 miles for $1700. It had belonged to the proverbial old lady since new. They knew it was a Corolla in disguise and the Geo name would repel the not so savvy prospective buyer.
Anyway, it’s worked out great for the eldest of their five sons.
Wow, nice car in a great color! The wife’s family had a white sedan of the same vintage that many years (decades?) ago I ended up driving from The OC up to Seattle in one shot to deliver to her sister at college. It earned my respect on that trip.
Below is a shot of the newest Corolla’s wagon version from the Toyota MegaWeb showroom area.
The dash has some large GM-esque cracks in it and the floor could use some cleaning, but overall not in bad shape for its age. I would worry about parts availability. The oldest Corolla at my local pick a part is 2 generations newer.
Wow, nice find. I’d pay that price in a heartbeat for that Toyota. I didn’t really appreciate these cars when they were new, but I long for something like this today. A basic good car, with only the essentials, but built with top quality and excellent durability. Unfortunately, these cars have long, left the roads here. I haven’t seen one of this vintage on the road for about 15 years or so.
If I could have one of these for my wife’s primary car, and a ’90 Caprice sedan (9C1 please) as my primary car, I’d probably be more satisfied than our modern vehicles we have. Of course, there is that whole 30 years in safety advances that rears its head and brings me back to reality.
The interior is simple but looks so inviting. Wow, cloth that looks, feels and IS durable! Carpeting with actual pile! Great car. Built to last. All the cameras and Bluetooth in the world doesn’t make up for the lack of quality in some car interiors now : cloth – either shiny or of felt like texture and gets stained from water spilling on it and carpeting that looks like some kind of sound deadening material. It seems like the high water mark for material quality was 20 – 25 years ago.
The biggest limiting factor of anything made after about 1980 or so,is the array of parts that are, or will soon be, unobtainable in a usable condition. My concern with this Corolla is that some plastic/electronic gizmo would let go, rendering the remainder useless without exceptional effort. Having to stalk parts can be fun when they are for a hobby car, not so much when they are for your daily driver.
To my way of thinking, the best beater cars are those that you can still pick up wear and tear components at any normal automotive store, cheaply and quickly. As an example, there is a Grand Marquis on CL this morning, one owner with 36,000 original miles, asking $3500. sure there is about a 10 mpg delta between the Corolla and the Grand Marquis, but when the transmission goes out, etc, I know what I would be betting on to get back on the road.
If that were within 200 miles of me, I’d be seriously tempted to buy it.
Love it! I owned a ’91 Corolla sedan that went to 280K miles, and was still running great when I sold it. If it was a wagon like this one, I might still be driving it. These really were great cars.
A little goo gone on the front bumper and a fresh pair of headlight housings this thing would practically be showroom new. I can’t remember the last time I saw one with factory wheel covers attached!
No argument from me, this era was peak Toyota.
Those wheel covers are from the pep boys factory
Wish this person made at least one of the license plates visible so I could see how long the registration stickers are good for. Since this car is so nearby I will let a friend know, thanks for sharing.
I had a 1988 sedan loved the car until some drunk hit my family and I in it
No airbags and it folded up like a soda can
The car that hit us was a mazda 929 a much bigger car . the sheet metal on these cars was super thin
Probably a fair price. If I didn’t already have my ‘92 Prizm, I’d be interested in this little red wagon. The biggest drawback for this car would have to be the lack of airbags.
That interior is in amazingly great shape, save for the cracks on the dash! Probably speaks well of the materials they used back then (and compared with the hard plastics of today’s cars).
I had one, a ’92 4 door with a stick, couldn’t beat it in the winter, never gave me trouble. but i had problems finding parts for it, (gas tank and straps) and rust was taking its toll.
Would of loved to find the 2 door hatch version of it.
That is about the right price for it and I would be tempted. If it were a manual I wouldn’t have to think as I would have Paul reserve it for me after a wire transfer.
Couple of cracks on the dash pad but the seats look great. One thing about Japanese cars back in that time, whether Honda, Toyota, or Mazda, their fabrics were pretty bullet proof like the Mercedes MB-Tex vinyl I remember from the 80s.
I picked one up a few years ago for $500 koshered it up with new WOF and rego and sold it on for 1k a 5door XL model not wagon though 1300cc with 5 speed local assembly model with the wider rims/tyrres and stiffer suspension it drove pretty well for what it was they are rare now parts like lights and glass hard to source used and expensive new they just get scrapped at WOF time.
Our neighbor drove one of these for years, manual, then upgraded to a slightly newer Corolla sedan that he inherited from his dad. He was going to pass the wagon on to one of his kids but I think they didn’t want a stick.
It is in wonderful shape. Great that it’s still around and doing its thing. These didn’t survive well here in Saltland. It is the perfect example a survivor/everyday car. And I kinda hate it. Here’s why.
I test drove an almost-new ’90 in the summer of ’91. I was with my girlfriend (now/still wife, poor lady😀) and decided to see how these FWD Corollas drove. I had owned an ’85 Corolla SR5 until the previous fall when I rolled it on a farm road in the fog with my friend Dave.
(That whole story I wrote in a comment on the posting “What Was Your First Accident?” Sorry, I don’t know how to link…By far my best posting.)
So, I was already a Toyota advocate, and was trying to upgrade from my current car, a ’79 Accord LX bought with the money from the crashed SR5, as I did not have full coverage on it. (I was 18 and great at it!)
So we test drove a dark red sedan. Nice color on it. I put the AC on and took it for a drive around the neighborhood of the Toyota dealer.
My first impression was smallness. The Accord was a 2-door hatch, but somehow seemed bigger probably because of the doors.
My second impression was discomfort. The seats in the Honda were big and plush, with a terrycloth-like softness. The Corolla seats were hard and thinly padded.
My third impression was a better one, of solidity. Upon us closing the doors at the same time, our ears popped from the air pressure. So that was impressive. My SR5 was that airtight before the crash, so it wasn’t too surprising. The Honda would never do that.
My fourth impression was unbelievable slowness. Just completely gutless with the AC on. I turned it off and it much improved, but it reminded me of an old Escort power-wise with the air on. Admittedly, it was an automatic but so was my SR5 and the AC didn’t drain the power like this. The Accord was a manual, a crisp 5-speed, which probably helped a lot with power. But still, the difference in power between the two was dramatic.
My next impression was of mushy understeer. It felt so different from the Accord which felt much more agile. And a universe apart from the SR5 which had RWD and handled extremely precise and lightly. It was so unfun I couldn’t believe it was made by the same manufacturer. And basically new! This was class-leading? Blah.
Of course it was very quiet except for the taxed motor trying to get up to speed. And solid. And the stereo was okay.
But I politely returned the car to the nice man at the dealership. It felt so good to be back in the Honda. Back to the velvety seats, the peppy motor that could power the car and the AC at the same time. Back to normal.
That Honda had 186,000 miles on it and was so much better to drive than the newer car with 15,000. I really expected to like the Corolla but I still remember the feeling of “Ugh!” regarding the test drive.
So my feelings regarding it are old and almost certainly unfair, but such are the impressions of it then which are still with me now.
That is too much money for it as well. Around here that’s very-clean-Camry money or pretty-decent-Avalon money. Too much for a penalty-box, even in attractive wagon form.
Also, I keep thinking “dried-out timing belt rubber” on an old Toyota even with lower miles.
But I paid less than that for my ’03 Avalon, which has lots of power, supreme comfort and will also still pop your ears if all the doors close at once. And gets 30 mpg on the highway. Oh, and BIG inside.
To each their own. Now the $200 beater Corolla that Paul acquired is more like it!
Please excuse the long comment. The ads have stopped covering the typing box and I’m making up for lost types.
In Dublin, Ireland, there are still a significant number of corollas and starlets from 1989 around. You see them with old people in them who have obviously owned them for decades.
In fact 1985 starlets are famous autotest cars, where the race around car parks and through cones etc. Unbreakable and light. Not owned by their original owners.
Can you please es a se call me at 6153068274
I’m not going to call you, as this was posted in 2019. You’re a few years too late. 🙂
This article is from 2019.. Is this car still on the market? I have a 1990 Toyota Corolla DX Wagon, 5-Speed tranny. Someone ran into my rear end while I was at a complete stop at a red light. They tell me the rear hatch cannot be fixed, only replaced. Does anyone know where I might find one? I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. I love my car, am its original owner, and this will be the last car of this lifetime for me. I am a disabled senior citizen and this car fits me, and my transport devices, perfectly. She has never failed her emissions test in 32 years. Over 180,000 miles, and her engine still sounds like a new car! When I bought her, the head mechanic told me I was getting one of the best engines he’d ever seen. He said he’d be very surprised if I had any major engine problems before 350,000 miles.. And.. So Far.. He’s been right! My goal is to make her body and interior look new again.
Hey Paul!! I actually came into ownership of this exact wagon years later!! Figured I’d update you with how it looks now. It’s been 5 speed manual swapped, and is currently getting a 4AFE engine from a 1997 corolla. She he’s tons of life left in her!
Thanks for the update. Wow; that looks great! I never imagined it would get this much love.