Facelift Corolla t sport

[Scottchester]

Hi all

After reading alot of threads about older but fun cars i'm hoping there is some love out there for my new toy.

I've always been into hot hatches and have had some good ones along the way ranging from my Corsa Sri, to an abarth 595 via a clio 172. The only non hot hatch I ever really bonded with was a gen 7 Celica.

Having 2 kids I've been stuck with sensible cars recently, though I did briefly part own Celica track car before blowing the head gasket at Donnington.

I've had a boring diesel jeep renegade on finance for 2 and a bit years and basically worked out I'll be many thousands better if I settle early than let the deal run its full course.

I got the jeep when I had 70 mile a day commute but now only have a 8 mile commute 4 days a week so less worried about mpg.

So I wanted to replace it with a run around but something interesting linking back to my hot hatch days. But given this had to be my daily and I had to avoid anything too small and given my budget I was looking at high mileage and a high mileage hot hatch might not be the best idea.

I'd set alerts on gumtree, auto trader and eBay for any of the following up to about £2.5k

- Corolla t sport

- Yaris 1.8 sr

- Subaru legacy 2.0 or 3.0

- Lexus is250

- fiat panda 100 hp

I realise some aren't hot hatches but felt that all were atleast gonna be fun to drive on some level.

Saw an "immaculate" panda which looked like it had lived in a hawthorn bush it's whole life and a Subaru with a intermittent misfire and a clutch close to expiring (neither mentioned in the advert). Tbf I almost bought the Subaru anyway as it was £1600 and in every other way a good motor.

Then on Friday the car I bought pops up on eBay, 20 mins from home and on for £1700, cosmetically average but mechanically sound.

I message the number on the advert and realise I know the seller, we used to be members of the same car club a few years back.

The advert was honest, paint faded on front and rear bumpers plus a few parking dings, scratches etc (as you'd expect on a 55 plate car)

Only other item of note was a poor paint job on the front arch which looks like an old attempt to repaired a deep scratch.

Interior in excellent condition and mechanically sorted having a fsh and brakes, clutch and lower control arms all replaced in the last 12 months

Saw it, drove it, loved it brought it home


What's the plan with it ? Not sure tbh, for now I'm resisting the temptation to spend any money on it. It's after all meant to be a runaround, however longer term I might get the bumpers and wing sorted and make it mint again and maybe throw a performance back box on it. Alternatively I might run it for a few years then downgrade it to a track car



So here she is, my new family (yeah, 3 door not ideal but hey) run around. A 55 plate, £1700, 120k Corolla with a few paintwork issues .... I love it !!!!

Always wanted one of these, they received some bad press around handling at launch bit the facelift (which mine is) sorted the handling and also added some much needed styling.

For anyone not in the know about these it's the engine which made its way into the second generation Elise and revs to 8200 rpm





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[carinaman]

You saw that thread?:

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/shed-of-the-week/...

[mazdajason]

Owned a red one for four years and still keep an eye on any Compressor models that come up for sale. All mine needed was replacement rear calipers as they start to stick, a set of tyres and then i did a few mods to it myself like upgraded front arms, lowered 40mm, changed the lift bolts, couple of strut braces, wind deflectors, tints and i really enjoyed the car.

[Scottchester]

carinaman said:

You saw that thread?:

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/shed-of-the-week/...

I did, infact that was what triggered me to add it to my list having been reminded what a bargain they are. The facelift is different to the preface in a number of ways, infact I wouldn't have had a preface because I prefer the styling of the facelift externally and internally.
The lack of torque is a valid point, but to be it gives the car character and when you keep it "in the zone" from a standing start its awesome

Lift which is when it moves to 2nd cam at 6k rpm is very addictive too !

[Scottchester]

mazdajason said:

Owned a red one for four years and still keep an eye on any Compressor models that come up for sale. All mine needed was replacement rear calipers as they start to stick, a set of tyres and then i did a few mods to it myself like upgraded front arms, lowered 40mm, changed the lift bolts, couple of strut braces, wind deflectors, tints and i really enjoyed the car.

Yours looks nice, glad it was trouble free. That was a strong reason for choosing a Corolla for me.
My car is standard apart from the window deflectors, I do fancy the tints, been quoted £100 for rear 3 which seems reasonable

[mazdajason]

Sounds about right, i think i was £150 for the rear three and that was around 7-8 years ago. Had it done at JAE car show of all places!

[C70R]

A cool car, although not without its foibles.

I was looking at one (alongside the Celica 190) as a budget alternative to my Mini track car.

The one piece of maintenance advice I took away consistently was the need to change the lift bolt asap.

[Scottchester]

C70R said:

A cool car, although not without its foibles.

I was looking at one (alongside the Celica 190) as a budget alternative to my Mini track car.

The one piece of maintenance advice I took away consistently was the need to change the lift bolt asap.

Good shout on the lift bolts, think they are only about £20 to will get some ordered.

I watched a video of a Celica 190 on a track day on YouTube and it was keeping some more powerful cars in check

Long term (a good few years from now) this may be downgraded to track duties. My last attempt at a track car (pick attached) didn't last very long.

[xstian]

The lift bolts aren't a problem with facelift cars.

[Scottchester]

Almost a week since I bought the Corolla and I'm loving it
It's doing all the family jobs just fine and it's great fun.
I'd forgotten how much cars have moved on in the last decade this is so much more engaging to drive.
Lift is addictive, hitting 6k rpm and feeling the shift to the 2nd cam is something I really enjoy

So it's already costing me money..... A whole £7.20 for a set of bosch wipers lol

The one thing I miss though is being able to stream music and make calls. The 6 disc in dash changer is very retro but the sound quality is pants (suspect the speakers aren't much cop anyway)

Would appreciate some suggestions on a cheap method to get music streaming and or calls please

[Vw nut]

Hi mate looks nice not really in to jap stuff more into my vag stuff but driven a couple and the only thing I would say is the gearing on the box quite long but fell in love with the induction roar