Just Bought A 2000 Corolla 1.4 Vvti Gs

[mattinahat99]

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[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Matt - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

[avensisd4d786]

have a look at this

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/toyota/corolla-1997/?section=good

Vibration from engine compartment may be the plastic double skins of the inlet manifold sparating and rubbing against itself. Tends to happen after 6 - 7 years. Costs £300 to replace.

Luckily the one we have has had this done,

we have had it in the family coming up a year 1.4 60,000 51 plate, it had a misfire not long ago- changed the spark plugs (NGK) and its been fine since.

These are chain driven so regular oil changes are a must to be honest with you these cars are very easy to maintain and service, there is a guy on youtube peter finn who mainly does videos on petrol Toyota's.

[oldcodger]

You really want to get a handbook on the car.

Do you have the original Toyota Owners Handbook and Toyota Service book ? they contain all the elementary details like oils,tyre pressures , fuses and bulb types.

If you want something with a bit more practical info, then the Haynes manual is probably the best bet, available from Halfords and other car shops etc.

http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=15109&langId=-1

Though it appears full of heavy mechanical detail they do have sections for the everyday motorist and detail what weekly checks etc you should be doing.

If its just had a MOT , would assume its just had its full 12 month service at the same time ? - if so, not too much to do for another 12 months.

[mattinahat99]

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[oldcodger]

For the age of the car cannot see any reason you Have to take it to a Toyota dealer, but worth checking what prices they charge and also checking what other recommended garages in your area would cost.

Afraid have no idea of such costs as I have always done all my own servicing and repairs apart from paying for one clutch to be fitted.

As mentioned that Haynes manual does detail all basic checks and all details of what should be serviced at what mileage /age, so it money well spent imho.

Assumes as a none diyer you have joined a breakdown recovery in case of any problems ? though one thing you might want to buy in the car is Jump Start Battery unit combined with a tyre inflator, saved me on more than one occassion.

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/jump-start-910-cw-12v-compressor?da=1&TC=SRC-jump%20starter

That also is one thing to check on the receipts as to how old your Battery is, they do not last forever so if over 5 years old might be worth checking partic if you do a lot of short journeys.

[ZaphodB]

Congratulations on your new purchase! I wish I could help you look out for problems - but over 6 years and over 70,000 miles (taking it to a total of 130,00) I didn't have many...

What went wrong with my 1.6 2001 VVTI model:

Front wiper motor broke at 110,000 miles (replaced for £180).

Alternator died at 120,000 miles (replaced for £200). The one and only time it failed to start, ever.

Battery died at 125,00 miles (replaced for £30).

Exhaust finally fell off due to rust at 129,000 miles (replaced for £140). At this point it was 14 years old and covered in road salt, so fair enough.

That's a total of £550 over 6 years for failed parts, and not one of those in the first 50,000 miles after I bought it. Many people I know have spent that much on other cars within the first 2 years of owning them. And if I'd shopped around for the parts or done the work myself it would've been cheaper. Otherwise it was just the usual consumables - tyres, wipers and bulbs.

It did indeed burn oil at a significant rate; every 3 months or so I would have to top it up. I considered this a very minor expense and inconvenience given the almost complete lack of other problems with the car - just something to keep an eye on occasionally. Other than that I did virtually no maintenance other than checking tyre pressures and giving it the occasional clean, then each year got it serviced at an independent garage and only ever had one MOT advisory (for advance notice of the rust on the exhaust). You could take it to a Toyota specialist if you like, but these are fairly simple cars and there are millions of them around so any decent mechanic should be able to work on them.

In terms of reliability it was bombproof - almost literally; in a Mad Max style post-apocalyptic world if I couldn't find a Hilux I would get another Corolla. I may have just been lucky, but if you take care of yours then I hope you'll have as many miles and years of trouble-free motoring as I did.

[mattinahat99]

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