New ride- 2005 Corolla T3 1.4

[Executive]

Hi all, just picked up a new car- a 2005 Toyota Corolla my friends have affectionately named Tomin.

He has almost 26,000 on the clock and is a T3 saloon with the 1.4, and a few nice extras like resr electric windows!

Very clean overall, picked up today for £2000 from a nice motorbike enthusiast, and it has a little secret- a second horn in the centre console cubby. Quite pleased with this car, it's my first car at 17 and will be excellent as long as i change oil, filters etc regularly. Thats about all, I have a few plans with this car to spruce it up in my head for now!

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Nice looking car you have there, wish my alloys were as unmarked as yours, still mine has done 126,000 miles.

The T3 was the top spec for that model , you can see the other optional extras you may have fitted in the pic below.

Every 10,000 miles  or 12 months for an oil and filter change, but quiet a few other things to check on a car new to you.

If you are doing it yourself then the Hayne Service manual takes you through all the basic and advance servicing and repairs, well worth the money.

 

 

 

[Executive]

26 minutes ago, oldcodger said:

Hi,

Nice looking car you have there, wish my alloys were as unmarked as yours, still mine has done 126,000 miles.

The T3 was the top spec for that model , you can see the other optional extras you may have fitted in the pic below.

Every 10,000 miles  or 12 months for an oil and filter change, but quiet a few other things to check on a car new to you.

If you are doing it yourself then the Hayne Service manual takes you through all the basic and advance servicing and repairs, well worth the money.

 

 

 

From what I can see, the car has every option short of the audio remote - that is pretty nice to have. The car came with almost everything you can think of a car would have, from the service key with the little metal plate on it for the key code to every single document that came with including services, MOT papers, a paper that shows the car was in an accident in 2007 (minor accident, the biggest thing that was replaced was the front bumper support bar) repaired by Jemca, the factory order form and bill (which shows the previous owner wanted it in Sunburst Red and settled for Silver Steel (metallic) with a Gatinha Charcoal interior trim option).

My father bought a 2002 T3 1.4 manual himself in 2006, with a bit of a backstory- the car had a clocked odometer (sold as 56k but truly had 93k) so he got a partial refund, but as he went back the next day someone had poured a bunch of acid on the dealerships stock of cars!
I've got a Haynes manual for the car knocking about somewhere, and as a mechanic training in college, I've got a bit of real-world experience now with servicing, and I'm hoping I can get all the filters and suitable fluids changed.

I think the car just needs a bit of attention to some tiny spots of rust, a good clean/interior valet and it'll be good as new!

[Cyker]

Nice, my brother had a T3 hatchback and I remember being a bit jealous as it was so solid and comfortable compared to my Yaris Mk1!  

Really nice car 

 

[oldcodger]

They still seem to be very reliable cars, but three things to check on are the brake calliper slider pins as they can seize, usually some cleaning and red grease etc sorts them out.

The Pollen filter is often overlooked and gets choked this time of year with the falling leaves.

Last,  more to save money, is to clean and rustproof the rather thin, delicate and rust prone rear exhaust heat shield that protects the plastic fuel tank, they cost well over £120 !

Audio wise the the best mod we made was to replace the front Speakers with some Pioneers  that came with separate tweeters, the wiring was already  inside the door.

Adding some cheap eBay reversing sensor kits  has also been a very good upgrade and they still work well.

As a mechanic we will expect high standards from you, so your engine bay must be better than ours after detailing !!  

 

 

[Executive]

5 hours ago, oldcodger said:

They still seem to be very reliable cars, but three things to check on are the brake calliper slider pins as they can seize, usually some cleaning and red grease etc sorts them out.

The Pollen filter is often overlooked and gets choked this time of year with the falling leaves.

Last,  more to save money, is to clean and rustproof the rather thin, delicate and rust prone rear exhaust heat shield that protects the plastic fuel tank, they cost well over £120 !

Audio wise the the best mod we made was to replace the front speakers with some Pioneers  that came with separate tweeters, the wiring was already  inside the door.

Adding some cheap ebay reversing sensor kits  has also been a very good upgrade and they still work well.

As a mechanic we will expect high standards from you, so your engine bay must be better than ours after detailing !!  

 

 

I'm definitely going to be rustproofing the whole car, it needs it in England to be honest!

 

The previous owner had replaced all the filters and discs/pads all around 1 year ago, so that should all be fine, along with a set of new yokohama tyres on all 4 wheels at the same time. I also have considered the pillar Speakers, however after turning the bass and treble up on the stereo it's good enough for me. Reversing kit might be a must have as well.

As for the engine bay, I need to find front panel clips for the cover over the rad support and then polish up the engine nice and clean, that would make for a great show car as the saloon is pretty rare, only 100 left (or so I was told)