Toyota Corolla Forum : “toyota corolla 1990. with 196000km”

Hi, I am not a mechanic or anything but these are reportedly one of the most reliable cars out there. However, with any car it depends on the upkeep of the car on how much you spend in the future. I own a 98 corolla LE, and so far I haven't spent too much on it. However, I drove it through 4 ft. of water when it was around 4 years old, and I think that is why I am having problems now. I realize this was super stupid, but I was young at the time and my ex boyfriend was the one who said "go ahead and drive through it". Now I am looking at replacing the struts at $600, loose front wheel bearings at $600, the compressor went out a year after the water incident and that's rebuilt; now the air cond. doesn't work as well. Recently the brake line rusted and leaked brake fluid and I replaced that at $250. So it depends on the history of the car. I have friends who own 1999 corollas and they drive like they are new. So that's my opinion. I am looking at getting a new car in 2 years so I don't know if I will fix this one fully.

-Amanda

I have a 1989 Corolla GTS that I bought from the original over about 2 years ago.  The odometer has over 200,000 miles on it and no
longer works so the car probably has closer to 300,000 miles.  The motor is still VERY strong and it has never given me an issue yet.  
As long as you regularly maintain the motor (check the fluids, change the oil etc. a toyota will last incredibly long.  My dad has an
1986 Toyota pickup that has seen over 1 million miles with 3 motors, each of which got about 400,000 miles.  Regular maintenance
does wonders.  Plus parts for the older corollas are not very expensive when compared to their honda counterparts.  And if your motor
should die (knock on wood) the price for a replacement motor for a base level 1990 corolla is only a $400-$600 (USD).