[flipsyde]

As some of you know I recently picked up a used 2003 Corolla. Now as you can expect the paint on the used car has started to give up its shine. In fact at the body lines on the bonnet I see the paint has faded completely! I was told that it was due to excessive use of rubbing compound and can be fixed with a nice fresh coat of paint.

I contacted TSM, Royapettah and asked them to refer me to their Bodyshop guy who in general i have seen does a good job. He took a look at the car and said hood repaint, scratch removal and painting from rear wheel arches and front bumper repaint would in total cost me around 8k.

Is that the right price? I have no idea. I contacted Lanson Toyota and they told me the same would cost me roughly around 20k. Does anyone in Chennai know of any good Bodyshop guys who do a good job for a reasonable price?

Secondly, the clutch on the car has been hard since day one. Its not unbearably hard but terrible compared to a more recent Corolla. Lanson says I could try bleeding the clutch and that might solve the issue or I might have to go in for a Clutch overhaul which will cost me around 9k. He said its not necessary unless I find the hardness of the clutch unacceptable.

I want to know, if i leave the clutch as it is would it lead to further damage or excess wear on the clutch? How crucial is the Clutch overhaul?

Also, is there a way I can clean the throttle body myself? The Corolla seems a little less responsive than the Esteem which I was driving for a while. Not to say its not fast!!! Its blisteringly quick!! But just that its not quite as responsive.

Chennai T-Bhpians, we can probably check it out during our next in city meet. By the way is there one slated before the Pondy meet??

[Jr Godzilla]

If you have not done any diy kinda stuff DO NOT open the throttle body for cleaning. Its simple otherwise.

The clutch should feel soft - really soft - try the clutch bleeding and see if it helps. The engines are no rockets but they are certainly faster than esteem from standstill so should require some basic servicing.

cant reply on the pain shops but the toyota workshops do a spectacular job as far as color matching is concerned there is no panel mismatch or the hood as in your case to look different than the body. so get a professional job.