Looking to buy a Corolla

[Mineral]

Hello everyone, I’m planning to join this family. I saw a GR Sport HB 1.8, 2 owners, 22000 miles, 21 plate (pre 1 June 2021 so 5 years warranty) for £17.5k. However, the only service record was at 13426 miles on 14 Mar 2023 by Steven Eagell Toyota, plus a service done recently by the dealership.

I tried to dig out the history of the car, and found that it was on sale for £26k on 25 Mar 2023, with 13426 miles on the clock. As the mileage matches the service history, presumably it was an Approved Used. The second owner acquired the car on 4 Apr 2023, and part-ex the car with the dealership on 29 Feb this year (the day road tax was cancelled).

The biggest concern is it only had its first service at 2 years old with 13000 miles on the clock, so a year or 3426 miles late. I understand approved used doesn’t necessarily comes with FSH, but when I read other posts, having 1st service at 13700 miles at 7 months old is already bad enough for a hybrid, let alone 13426 miles at 2 years old. And the warranty for any serviceable parts is presumably voided.

The car was generally in good condition, however, I spotted a few things:

The 12v Battery was not original;

A clip on the bumper was broken and popped off a bit;

The diamond cut alloys were damaged but repaired, instead of sprayed grey/black as many used ones on the market (high repair costs suggest it might’ve been done by Toyota Approved Used); and

Four tyres are Falken, the front two tyres dot hasn’t faded (again possibly replaced by Toyota Approved Used)

Can anyone please shed some lights on it, should I steer clear of it? Thanks in advance.

[sportse]

The service history wouldn’t be that much of an issue as the petrol engine doesn’t run all the time, so 13k hybrid miles might only be under 10k of actual running engine miles depending on where it’s been driven. Many cars (not Toyota) are on 2 year/18k mile service intervals now so the 2 years isn’t an issue. 
 

The 12V Battery was probably replaced because the old one failed through lack of use. I’m not sure if it would have had the type of original Battery that’s damaged once it’s been flat, but could be. 
 

bumper clips should be an easy fix, I bought a Yaris hybrid once that has it. 
 

perhaps tyres are original if it’s been garaged, you can check the date codes match on the tyres. 
 

could be an ok car, you should compare it to others. I got great deals on my Auris and Corolla by travelling further to buy them from main dealers outside the local area as there shouldn’t be issues with a Toyota. 
 

if buying this one, you should get the dealer/toyota to confirm the warranty status as the allowance is usually only a month or 1k miles over the normal 1 year/10k intervals. 

[Red_Corolla]

Falken tyres are original equipment, sadly.

I would move on to the next one - reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like the previous keeper(s) cared for the car very well, and there are many others out there.

A little late for one service is not normally an issue. However, in this case, we are talking about the FIRST service. There would have been more metal particles in the oil than usual from the breaking in process, so I think it's more important that that one is done on time. I recently watched an interesting study on the topic here: 

 

[ThomasL]

The 5 year manufacturer warranty is void. So price needs dropping to reflect that. You will probably get the 1 year Approved Used Warranty, but get dealer to confirm that in writing. I doubt you'll get the extended Relax Warranty.

Ask the dealer something about who had it before (they will most likely lie to you though..)

I think the car will be fine, if bought for the right price. As you won't need to keep the Toyota warranty valid you'll be saving £hundreds over the years because you'll service it yourself or by an independent mechanic with quality parts/liquids (yearly oil and filter, air filter at 40k, engine coolant at 120k, inverter coolant at 160k, brake fluid whenever you notice a problem but easily lasts 4 years, spark plugs will last 120k but again you'll notice when they need changing).

 

[MC1216]

Move on and find another...generally it's easier to find a low mileage well looked after Toyota due to the demographic that buy them in the first place.

[Mineral]

4 hours ago, sportse said:

The service history wouldn’t be that much of an issue as the petrol engine doesn’t run all the time, so 13k hybrid miles might only be under 10k of actual running engine miles depending on where it’s been driven. Many cars (not Toyota) are on 2 year/18k mile service intervals now so the 2 years isn’t an issue. 
 

The 12V battery was probably replaced because the old one failed through lack of use. I’m not sure if it would have had the type of original battery that’s damaged once it’s been flat, but could be. 
 

bumper clips should be an easy fix, I bought a Yaris hybrid once that has it. 
 

perhaps tyres are original if it’s been garaged, you can check the date codes match on the tyres. 
 

could be an ok car, you should compare it to others. I got great deals on my Auris and Corolla by travelling further to buy them from main dealers outside the local area as there shouldn’t be issues with a Toyota. 
 

if buying this one, you should get the dealer/toyota to confirm the warranty status as the allowance is usually only a month or 1k miles over the normal 1 year/10k intervals. 

That makes sense, I was thinking the same, given the low mileage over the first two years (13000 miles) it’s likely most of the journeys would’ve been city driving and utilised the motor more frequently. However, on the flip side, city driving put more tension on the engine than steady motorway driving, and it was the first service that was overdue which made me hesitate.

I understand 12v batteries are wear and tear items, however, if the original Battery dies so easily, and it was under warranty/if it really was an Approved Used, wouldn’t Toyota replace it with original parts?

My bad for forgetting to look at tyres manufacturing dates, but the thread depths in front are deeper than those in rear, and rear tyres have no dots, therefore I speculated the fronts are new, and the previous fronts were rotated to the rear.

This car is a hundred miles away, and is lower than market average for over a thousand pounds. I rang my local Toyota service centre and they told me the warranty for serviceable parts would’ve been voided.

[Mineral]

3 hours ago, Red_Corolla said:

Falken tyres are original equipment, sadly.

I would move on to the next one - reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like the previous keeper(s) cared for the car very well, and there are many others out there.

A little late for one service is not normally an issue. However, in this case, we are talking about the FIRST service. There would have been more metal particles in the oil than usual from the breaking in process, so I think it's more important that that one is done on time. I recently watched an interesting study on the topic here: 

 

Yeah I’ve read a post that the Falken tyres wear poorly at about 20k miles or so. But a pair of fairly new front tyres in a used car isn’t bad in this case IMO.

I really hoped I would have more choices, but in reality it isn’t that much. If you go on AT, filter 1.8 engine, GR Sport, HB, you would find a bunch of bi-tone FD70 plate Corolla. I called most of the dealership who has this batch of Corolla and none of them have service history. I guess they all came from auction and are ex-company/ex-lease. I’m also okay with Design, but most of the price tags aren’t attractive, and it’s why I opted for GR Sport.

Thanks for sharing me with the video. I’ve watched it. It seems I should start ringing dealerships with stocks of good price/fair price to ask for service history…

[Mojo1010]

2 hours ago, ThomasL said:

The 5 year manufacturer warranty is void. So price needs dropping to reflect that. You will probably get the 1 year Approved Used Warranty, but get dealer to confirm that in writing. I doubt you'll get the extended Relax Warranty.

If the dealer can put in writing/email that the warranty is okay, then should be fine. 

21 minutes ago, Mineral said:

That makes sense, I was thinking the same, given the low mileage over the first two years (13000 miles) it’s likely most of the journeys would’ve been city driving and utilised the motor more frequently. However, on the flip side, city driving put more tension on the engine than steady motorway driving, and it was the first service that was overdue which made me hesitate.

City driving will use more electric motor.

[Mineral]

2 hours ago, ThomasL said:

The 5 year manufacturer warranty is void. So price needs dropping to reflect that. You will probably get the 1 year Approved Used Warranty, but get dealer to confirm that in writing. I doubt you'll get the extended Relax Warranty.

Ask the dealer something about who had it before (they will most likely lie to you though..)

I think the car will be fine, if bought for the right price. As you won't need to keep the Toyota warranty valid you'll be saving £hundreds over the years because you'll service it yourself or by an independent mechanic with quality parts/liquids (yearly oil and filter, air filter at 40k, engine coolant at 120k, inverter coolant at 160k, brake fluid whenever you notice a problem but easily lasts 4 years, spark plugs will last 120k but again you'll notice when they need changing).

 

It really makes me wonder why so many people are willing to spend £29k to buy a car, but are unwilling to spend 200 quid a year to keep the warranty valid.

I should’ve expressed more clearly — I’m just buying from a used car dealership, not the Toyota official ones. I speculated that the car used to be an Approved Used a year ago when the 2nd owner acquired it.

The salesman did lie to me. As a side story, the V5C last issued date was 22 Feb this year, 7 days before road tax was cancelled. I asked the salesman why the previous owner only had the car for so short period of time. He told me it was a part-ex from one of his colleagues, who was waiting for delivery of a new car at the time. However, I checked by myself that it was a number plate change which triggered the V5C issued on 22 Feb, not a change of ownership. I traced that private plate and saw that it is now used on a 2019 Seat, not a new car! Funniest thing though, is why wouldn’t he know that the previous owner had had the car for almost a year, if it was really owned by his colleague and see the car everyday at work? He is dubious, but as I understand all salesmen are, so I only trust my eye, the car itself, and its history.

Air filer, oil filter, and brake fluid was changed along with engine oil at 13426 miles last year. Price wise, it’s lower than other examples with similar mileage for over a thousand pounds. Of course, the other dearer examples may or may not have FSH either. Do you think the difference is significant enough for a 3 years old car at £17.5k? Cheers!

[Mineral]

3 hours ago, MC1216 said:

Move on and find another...generally it's easier to find a low mileage well looked after Toyota due to the demographic that buy them in the first place.

I wished it was the case, but more than two third of the used stocks on AT that I enquired about had part or no service history, and about half of them had no history at all being ex-lease or ex-motability😔

[Saxmaniac]

City driving is more start and stop on the engine, temperature all over the place so I don't buy the theory that 13k is less hard on the engine than 10k in conventional. I think 10k is already too long and only specified to make the car maintenance costs look cheaper, rather than what's best for the long term health of the engine. I know it causes argu but 5k is what I do and there's plenty of advice out there along those lines 

[Mojo1010]

Each to their own, think tony with the auris changes oil every 10k, car on 250+k still doing good apart from the hybrid Battery changing. 

[TonyHSD]

Indeed, and the small 12v Battery just been replaced. 👌
This idea of 1000 miles first oil change then every 5000 miles is not relevant for today’s cars and engines imo., but everyone is free to believe what they like and do as they wish. 
For the OP Corolla GR it seems to me like a non genuine example with shoddy history.
My first concerns here will be any unrecorded accidents repairs and mileage discrepancy, cars like that are likely been used more then whet they show or not been used enough and not serviced as per the recommended intervals. All that may affect warranty and bring some risks in the future.
The seller behaviour often dictate the condition of the cars they sell. £1000 cheaper than other similar cars might not be enough to warrant a god deal. If the car is not far from you it is ok to go and look at, but if too far best just to leave it and move on. 
Good luck 

[Mineral]

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

Indeed, and the small 12v battery just been replaced. 👌
This idea of 1000 miles first oil change then every 5000 miles is not relevant for today’s cars and engines imo., but everyone is free to believe what they like and do as they wish. 
For the OP Corolla GR it seems to me like a non genuine example with shoddy history.
My first concerns here will be any unrecorded accidents repairs and mileage discrepancy, cars like that are likely been used more then whet they show or not been used enough and not serviced as per the recommended intervals. All that may affect warranty and bring some risks in the future.
The seller behaviour often dictate the condition of the cars they sell. £1000 cheaper than other similar cars might not be enough to warrant a god deal. If the car is not far from you it is ok to go and look at, but if too far best just to leave it and move on. 
Good luck 

Yes the flattened and replaced 12v Battery might suggest the car has been idled for quite a while.

I actually have seen the car, despite being 100 miles away. It drives alright, of course longevity is unknown in long term.

WBAC gives a valuation of £16.5k, AT private sale value is £17.1k. They advertise for £17.5k, would it by any chance still be a good deal? Cheers!

[forkingabout]

4 hours ago, Mineral said:

I should’ve expressed more clearly — I’m just buying from a used car dealership, not the Toyota official ones. I speculated that the car used to be an Approved Used a year ago when the 2nd owner acquired it.

So a 2021 Toyota Corolla offered for sale at a non Toyota dealer - that says it all, its not good enough for retail on a Toyota dealer forecourt. 

Walk away & find a better example. 

If you really want a certain kind of used Corolla then have a search on the Toyota approved used scheme OR ask at your local Toyota dealer as they can search as well. 

[Mojo1010]

Could be that the owner traded in at that garage? I bought a Yaris MK3 hybrid when it was just over 2 years old at a non Toyota garage, full Toyota service history so still had just under 3 years warranty at that time. Sold it last summer after 5 years, no problem whatsoever. 

[ThomasL]

I guess Toyota wouldn't touch it simply because it missed a service so has no/complicated manufacturer warranty. 

Maybe the Corolla was traded in because the owner was annoyed at having a dead 12V Battery due to their low usage, and the Seat was the nicest "normal" car they could afford that suited their low usage pattern.

Or they weren't able to renew insurance - a few LV customers on here have had trouble with their hybrids...

Or maybe it was crash damaged, badly repaired, and the owner wanted shot of it ASAP!

 

[Mineral]

2 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

Could be that the owner traded in at that garage? I bought a Yaris MK3 hybrid when it was just over 2 years old at a non Toyota garage, full Toyota service history so still had just under 3 years warranty at that time. Sold it last summer after 5 years, no problem whatsoever. 

The 2nd owner part-ex it at the used car dealership for a Seat Tarraco, after keeping the Corolla for around 10 months.

[Mineral]

2 hours ago, ThomasL said:

I guess Toyota wouldn't touch it simply because it missed a service so has no/complicated manufacturer warranty. 

Maybe the Corolla was traded in because the owner was annoyed at having a dead 12V battery due to their low usage, and the Seat was the nicest "normal" car they could afford that suited their low usage pattern.

Or they weren't able to renew insurance - a few LV customers on here have had trouble with their hybrids...

Or maybe it was crash damaged, badly repaired, and the owner wanted shot of it ASAP!

 

Yep I believe the warranty for any serviceable part would’ve been voided.

The 2nd owner only kept the car for around 10 months, covering approx 8000 miles. The listing price was £26k in March last year, now WBAC has valuation of £16.5k, so his loss is almost £10k, which is huge. He part-ex for a Seat Tarraco (which I could confirm due to private plate swaps), which makes me think a change of his circumstances may be a reason for him to bear a £10k loss on a not expensive car. Of course, your points are absolutely valid, hence my hesitant.

Thanks for pointing out the problem with insurance, will pay attention when renewing insurance.

[ThomasL]

Used prices continue to slowly return to normal, a £10k drop doesn't seem that unusual. Mine has dropped by quite a few percentage points since purchase.

I'm getting a clearer picture now. So they probably exchanged it like you say due to circumstance or just not enjoying it. The back door opening is really small on the Corolla hatchback and can be difficult to use. I have known people to find the front seat shape gives them lower back pain. And I have known ones to trade Corolla for Yaris Cross due to having trouble getting in and out of driver seat. So any number of genuine reasons to change from health/injury/growing family. Maybe even they lost their job and couldn't afford monthly payments so had to "downgrade".

So trading after almost a year and average mileage doesn't seem that suspicious. The money hit people just have to accept sometimes.

Remaining concerns is the bumper clip and how bad do the wheels look?

Personally I don't think 3k overdue service on an almost new bulletproof 1.8L Toyota hybrid engine is an issue, as long as the price reflects the warranty problem (don't forget that if old oil really has damaged piston rings or something then Toyota will probably not cover that either - it's not just the unserviced parts, but also any damage caused by those parts).

If you do join the Toyota family (with this car or another) I think you'll be very pleased with your decision, like almost all of us!

[Mineral]

7 hours ago, ThomasL said:

Used prices continue to slowly return to normal, a £10k drop doesn't seem that unusual. Mine has dropped by quite a few percentage points since purchase.

I'm getting a clearer picture now. So they probably exchanged it like you say due to circumstance or just not enjoying it. The back door opening is really small on the Corolla hatchback and can be difficult to use. I have known people to find the front seat shape gives them lower back pain. And I have known ones to trade Corolla for Yaris Cross due to having trouble getting in and out of driver seat. So any number of genuine reasons to change from health/injury/growing family. Maybe even they lost their job and couldn't afford monthly payments so had to "downgrade".

So trading after almost a year and average mileage doesn't seem that suspicious. The money hit people just have to accept sometimes.

Remaining concerns is the bumper clip and how bad do the wheels look?

Personally I don't think 3k overdue service on an almost new bulletproof 1.8L Toyota hybrid engine is an issue, as long as the price reflects the warranty problem (don't forget that if old oil really has damaged piston rings or something then Toyota will probably not cover that either - it's not just the unserviced parts, but also any damage caused by those parts).

If you do join the Toyota family (with this car or another) I think you'll be very pleased with your decision, like almost all of us!

Prices of Toyota hybrids soared much higher than other ICE cars when fuel prices peaked. My neighbour’s Auris hybrid inflated 50% after he bought it, if I remembered correctly, in late 2021. And now it’s worth about the cost he paid, so no depreciation for him, and that means a dramatic drop the past year.

Fortunately I’m usually on my own, and don’t carry much (otherwise I’d have opted for TS instead of HB), so small boot and opening isn’t a problem.

Yep I tend to think that it was due to a genuine change in purposes/circumstances, as any mechanical faults should’ve been covered under its previous Approved Used warranty (as mentioned above I speculate it was an Approved Used as the mileage and the date of service done by a Toyota dealership matched with the sales adverts history). On top of the 10k, he still had to bear the admin fee to take his private plate off🫠

Near side of the front bumper comes out a bit and exposed the damaged clip, the salesman said they can sort it out easily. The alloys, if you know GR Sport has a silver ring, surrounded by the black ring? One of the alloys had part of the silver slightly sliced, so part of the silver ring is narrowed. It seems to be a result of a deep scratch but repaired. It’s obvious that it’s not undamaged when looking closely, but the craftsmanship is superb, again makes me think it was done by Toyota when they sold it as an Approved Used (of course I maybe biased towards it being an Approved Used, spectators see more of the game!). The remaining alloys are just minor scratches.

Thanks for your insight on the possibility of consequential damages, will definitely take that into consideration. I believe I wouldn’t regret buying a Toyota as they’re really reliable — taxis in the place where I grew up are 99% Toyota!