[R2D2]

@BeemerBug_06, welcome to Team BHP.

This is a thread brimming with enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing your experience spanning 14 years with a Corolla. it must have been so exciting for the youngster that you were back then to see a brand new car outside your home!

Alright, I happened to buy a pearl white 9G Corolla in March 2006, it was delivered on my wedding anniversary and the dealer thoughtful as ever even had a cake brought in for my wife and me. After a not so pleasant experience with the awful Honda dealer in Pune Toyota's dealers were and still are in a different league.

I bought an Altis in Oct 2008 that I have retained for over a decade. The 9G Corolla was sold some weeks after the new Altis came home. You can find a few posts about my car in Vidyut's long term review thread here: Vidyut's 2009 Corolla Altis. Feel free to ask questions. Vidyut has shared his purchase and ownership experience in detail. That entire thread may be of interest to you.

[vaasscit]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Hi vaasscit! Thank you for your compliments! Yes, by original I mean factory fitted tyres!

Tires have life of only 5 years. You may please consider changing the tires.

I understand that 42k is less and tread may still be there. But rubber would lose its properties after 5 years. So, please consider changing the tires ASAP.

[yogeshsom29]

A well written experience, thanks for sharing.

I feel what woodland is to shoes, corolla is to cars you change them only because you're bored of them but rarely due to issues or durability.

I have traveled extensively in Corolla as that was the first car in our group & was clearly overused, so much so that the friend ended up buying 1 more corolla for household duties.

Being the first car in the group of youngsters way back in 2004's you can imagine what all she had to go through but the lady always smiled back with no stress on her head or heart.

Its synonym for reliability & he only sold it as he wanted to upgrade to Fortuner.

[bajica]

Originally Posted by vaasscit

Tires have life of only 5 years. You may please consider changing the tires.

I understand that 42k is less and tread may still be there. But rubber would lose its properties after 5 years. So, please consider changing the tires ASAP.

Exactly my thoughts on reading the original comments.


Replace the tyres at the earliest to enjoy this car even more. City drives with these old tyres might be ok, not recommended though, but please don't take this on highway drives with the old tyres for your safety.



Enjoy your rides with the Silver Streak.

[Viraat13]

A great write up! Even though it is a car that most enthusiasts would yawn at, your own enthusiasm makes up in leaps and bounds. Wish you many happy miles with Silver Streak.

PS: Do take on board the concerns regarding tyres.

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Gosh! That indeed is a horific accident! I shudder to imagine what you must've felt! Like I said in my post, the old Corolla is a safe car even by today's standards. Your story is a perfect example of the safety offered by the Corolla. I am glad to hear that your family members were all safe! Hope your grandfather is alright now and do buckle up for safety at all times

Yes, he recovered in about 3 months, it has been more than a decade an half since that incident.

Also i forgot to compliment on the perfect scans of 35mm images, the quality is really very good, people usually take photo of a printed picture with digital cameras which looks horrible, this attention to detail is amazing, this is what i try to do with my older photos.

I was even at one point considering properly scanning not the print but original camera negative but that was just too much effort and some investment.
The dynamic range in the night shot is impressive, not many non professional digital cameras(including most phones) of today can boast of such dynamic range.

I might just scan and post delivery image of my car which toyota had mailed us in 2003.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by R2D2

@BeemerBug_06, welcome to Team BHP.
This is a thread brimming with enthusiasm. Thanks for sharing your experience spanning 14 years with a Corolla. it must have been so exciting for the youngster that you were back then to see a brand new car outside your home!

Thank you R2D2 for your warm welcome and appreciation!! Lovely Corolla story you got there Do post some images of your car if you have any. Just checked the Altis thread, top quality thread!

Originally Posted by yogeshsom29

A well written experience, thanks for sharing .Being the first car in the group of youngsters way back in 2004's you can imagine what all she had to go through but the lady always smiled back with no stress on her head or heart.

Indeed yogeshsom29! You're absolutely right!

Originally Posted by Viraat13

A great write up! Even though it is a car that most enthusiasts would yawn at, your own enthusiasm makes up in leaps and bounds. Wish you many happy miles with Silver Streak.PS: Do take on board the concerns regarding tyres.

Thanks for the compliments buddy! Oh and my bad I forgot to mention that the tyres were changed very recently when the shocks were replaced. The car now has Yokohama tyres.

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

I might just scan and post delivery image of my car which toyota had mailed us in 2003.

Thanks for your appreciation! Seems like you too are into photography! Oh and yes do post the delivery image here PLEASE PLEASE I'd love to see that nostalgic image! Unfortunately, I've lost my car's delivery image.

Originally Posted by vaasscit

I understand that 42k is less and tread may still be there. But rubber would lose its properties after 5 years. So, please consider changing the tires ASAP.

Originally Posted by bajica

Exactly my thoughts on reading the original comments. Replace the tyres at the earliest to enjoy this car even more. City drives with these old tyres might be ok, not recommended though, but please don't take this on highway drives with the old tyres for your safety.
Enjoy your rides with the Silver Streak.

My apologies guys! I forgot that the tyres had been changed very recently, in October 2018 itself. The car now has Yokohama tyres. The picture I posted of the Bridgestone tyre is from 2015, good job on pointing that out vaasscit!! Thanks for your concern and appreciation! Cheers!!

[BeemerBug_06]

As part of a Birthday treat, Silver Streak was taken to the Petrol Pump for a complete spray wash and bath and was then driven to my local mechanic's for a polish job

At the mechanic's, post the polish!

Back home

The engine bay got the much needed dust clean up job and wash that it deserved.

[BeemerBug_06]

Here is a little something to accelerate the nostalgia on this thread, so nostalgia lovers be prepared to feel even more nostalgic

The 2003 Toyota Corolla brochure that was available at dealerships at the time of launch in February 2003! Special Thanks to Team Bhpian- sidindica for sharing the pics of this brochure with me! Unfortunately, I haven't got scans of the brochure yet.








Here are the snapshots of the 2007 Toyota Corolla brochure, this was when the car received minor upgrades such as a new grill, alloys, better interior trims, more bells and whistles etc. Try and spot all the differences!!

[BeemerBug_06]

For some odd reason, the metallic blue, green and red were my least favourite shades of the Corolla. The car looked best in sober shades.

Click on this link to view one of the older Toyota Corolla India Commercials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFqvgbPNzfQ

A Toyota Corolla commercial featuring actor Brad Pitt. I'm not sure if this commercial aired in India back in the day though. This is one of the most famous commercials of the 9G Corolla!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEsJ0J_gmbk

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Thank you R2D2 for your warm welcome and appreciation!! Lovely Corolla story you got there Do post some images of your car if you have any. Just checked the Altis thread, top quality thread!

Some pics of my car: My Altis There are more including some brake related work that I did.

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Here is a little something to accelerate the nostalgia on this thread, so nostalgia lovers be prepared to feel even more nostalgic

Here are the snapshots of the 2007 Toyota Corolla brochure, this was when the car received minor upgrades such as a new grill, alloys, better interior trims, more bells and whistles etc. Try and spot all the differences!!

BTW the facelift was introduced in Sept/Oct 2005, not 2007. I purchased the facelifted model in March 2006. Changes over the older one depending on trim level:

a) Alloy wheel design
b LED tail lights
c) Redesigned front grille and bumper
d) Redesigned fog lamps
e) ABS (I think)
f) Change in colour of wood veneer
g) Auto headlamps
h) I think the audio head-unit was upgraded as well. Not sure though

Possibly others that I am missing. I got my 9G Corolla nearly 13 years ago! I am sure she must be chugging along happily somewhere even today.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by R2D2

BTW the facelift was introduced in Sept/Oct 2005, not 2007. I purchased the facelifted model in March 2006. Changes over the older one depending on trim level:

a) Alloy wheel design
b LED tail lights
c) Redesigned front grille and bumper
d) Redesigned fog lamps
e) ABS (I think)
f) Change in colour of wood veneer
g) Auto headlamps
h) I think the audio head-unit was upgraded as well. Not sure though

Possibly others that I am missing. I got my 9G Corolla nearly 13 years ago! I am sure she must be chugging along happily somewhere even today.

Thanks for the information R2D2! Will make the change. Yes I am sure your Corolla is alive and kickin' and serving its current owner like how it served you from day 1

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Here is a little something to accelerate the nostalgia on this thread, so nostalgia lovers be prepared to feel even more nostalgic

The 2003 Toyota Corolla brochure that was available at dealerships at the time of launch in February 2003!

Thanks for the nostalgia once again, i have very faint memories of this brochure as well as i must have flipped over it dozens of times but i think this is one of those later ones, 2004 maybe because i, with almost 90% certainty think that our H1 (J) variant Corolla did'nt come with ABS, it only started with H2, ours was among the first batches that were delivered, i guess april or may 2003 but i remember while comparing dad and i were clearly aware our car lacked ABS.

[yogeshnagpal]

The Corolla is one of the most reliable Japanese Sedans, I have ever seen.

Having owned 3 Corolla's till date (currently on my 3rd one), and I buy only pre-owned - I can confidently say that the Corolla is one of the best. I currenly own a 2007 variant (facelifted) - which got multi spoke alloy wheels, steering controls, a clear lens headlamp and LED type tail lamps and a few other cosmetic changes.

Here is the order of the corolla's I've owned-

1. 2006 H2 - MT - Used for 5k kms from 86k, and sold at 91k
2. 2005 H3 - AT - Was converted to CNG and used from 93k kms, and sold at 125k kms
3. 2007 H4 - AT - Converted to CNG at 86k kms and currently at 87k kms

In between these 3 cars, I've used Civic, Altis and other sedans for a brief period. But nothing beats the peace of mind that is associated with the Corolla. It just has the "Go Anywhere" attitude, a super plush suspension and spacious interiors.

And, the maintenance costs are the lowest among all other cars I've owned. Not to forget, it shares parts like Air filter, AC Filters etc with the Lexus's of the world

Like its said, "Old is Gold, never to be Sold" - this holds true for a vehicle like Corolla.

This was my part of an essay on the "Toyota Corolla".

Safe driving!


Cheers,
Yogesh.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

Thanks for the nostalgia once again, i have very faint memories of this brochure as well as i must have flipped over it dozens of times but i think this is one of those later ones, 2004 maybe because i, with almost 90% certainty think that our H1 (J) variant Corolla did'nt come with ABS, it only started with H2, ours was among the first batches that were delivered, i guess april or may 2003 but i remember while comparing dad and i were clearly aware our car lacked ABS.

Yes Rocketscience! You're probably right, I don't remember the Corolla 1.8 J having ABS, although I think the 1.8 E and 1.8 G got them.

Originally Posted by yogeshnagpal

The Corolla is one of the most reliable Japanese Sedans, I have ever seen.
Having owned 3 Corolla's till date (currently on my 3rd one), and I buy only pre-owned - I can confidently say that the Corolla is one of the best

Wow yogeshnagpal! you have truly experienced the joy of owning a Corolla 3 times over now you watch, the car will last for as long as you won't remember ! Enjoy the hassle free ownership and drive safe!
Cheers!!