[Dippy]

Congratulations Nilu my friend. The Corolla is an awesome buy in the used market. Bullet proof reliability and peace of mind. And 43k kms is nothing for a Toyota. Drive safe. Get nice rims but please nothing more. Keep her stock.

[EssYouWe]

Congrats at your awesome steal!

PS:Love your avatar!

[KRRaj]

Wow!! Great Deal there. Was looking at a new Getz and it is more expensive than this.
Hope you have a long love affair with the Corolla.

[karan561]

Congrats man . Great BUY. Welcome to the VVT-i club.

Question : Why did you go low on profile ??? (205/55 ??) , it coud hav taken 205/60 .

Or is it that you wanted S-drives which are only available from 55 and less ??

[nitroxx]

@-Dippy: Thanks a ton dude, and as far as keeping her stock goes, I've not even changed the rims.The S-drives are on already on the OE rims. Pretty much comfortable with that.Thanks once again.

@-KRRaj - I have just begun to fall in love with her. Most important though, is the value for money factor. Why would anyone spend 5 Lakhs on a Maruti when you can get all you want in less than the value of a new ritz. IMO that is. Everyone has their own theory to it though.

@ KAran - Thanks mate, yup into the VVt-i Clan.And you're leaving it soon:( I'll have Paras to play with only. LOL! \ And yeah man S-drives only in 55 profile.

I was thinking of listing down boys in the toyota and Honda club and having a meet.What say? next weekend??

[iraghava]

She's a great buy Mishant, have fun!

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by rr_zen

I am sure she has been well kept and doesn't look like a 6 year old car. Fantastic shade too !

How long the Toyota cars will last rust free or strong outer shell? There is no doubt about Toyota engines, but will the body cooperate with its running (say atleast for 10 yrs)

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Surprise

How long the Toyota cars will last rust free or strong outer shell? There is no doubt about Toyota engines, but will the body cooperate with its running (say atleast for 10 yrs)

Should be okay. Modern cars undergo pretty good painting in today's automated paint shops. Assembling procedures for the body are also very well done. There are differences in quality among manufactureres but largely, most cars can last longer than you'd care to use them.

[amit]

3.55L for a used Corolla?! Wow. Great deal you got there buddy! Congrats on the new car.

[Caramelo]

oh man 3.5 lacs is a steal!! no its like snatching a candy from a baby. congratulations!!

i noticed its a 2003 model you don't get the LED at the taillamps right? i love those! civic does not have them. they have the afterburner lamps. interesting isn't it!

you looked for rust and stuff. cars this old could have these probs. what checks did you do prior to buying ?? i am sure you did good inspection.

please do write a few steps or thing to keep in mind while going in for such a deal.

my pops wont let me do such a thing. he does not believe in buying cars this way. oh how i wish he see the light!!!

my friend has bought a used elantra and his friend has used mondeo, carolla and a lancer lolz!!

[nitroxx]

OK pointers and some nifty tricks to inspect a used car.

a) Firstly forget what it looks like from the outside..start with 1) engine bay ( look for any Rtv sealant used on the gearbox,tapet cover, ac compressor along with signs of fresh silver or black paint anywhere in the engine bay to cover repair jobs and rust / damage of any sort.

b) after thats done, look for any signs of repair made to the apron, and pillars ( pull of rubber channels to see if theres any sign of paint covering spot welding marks anywhere on the channel lines. Now you may come across a channel thats stuck with glue sometimes in that case follow the channel to where there isnt any and start from there.

c) open the boot pull off the cover inside to the spare wheel, look for paint touch ups again or rusting. check if the boot sits comfortably into the lock and see if the lock looks new or used depending on how old the car is. My best guess is if its been hit hard at the back boot alignment, color variance compared to the FRONT doors should give you an Idea. ( when cars are hit from the back the paint fade out match is only applied till the rear doors.)

d) check that all external parts are aligned perfectly on each side i.e. doors,fenders, bonnet and boot. check for gaps or spaces that differ on each side chances are one sides been hit and you dont notice it.

e) inside pull off the carpet near the firewall area under the dashboard to look for signs of heavy corrosion (caused by rains or flooding) also under the car front seats if there's loads of corrosion chances are shes been lying in water for a while.

f) Now comes the hard part..take a mat get under the car. Look for welding work,paint work on the chassis along with any heavy corrosion again..If you can get under the engine bay...try spotting some form of sealant (red or white) on any joints. Look for cracks caused by rock hits, or heavy speed breaker plunges should show on your chassis or exhaust system.

After these things are done.

a) Start the car see if there's any sort of cold start missing. Check for engine sounds (unusual humming,grinding) close all windows,stop the music,and ac. Rev till about 3000 to feel any vibrations in neutral after optimal temperature is reached. Look for gear sounds on shifts, check for any sort of play in the steering wheel. On standstill turn lock to lock to hear any clanking sounds. Once all these have been done. Proceed

b) take her to a place where you can get to atleast third and drop her on each side into a small puddle or road crack to hear for any thumping sounds, chances are there's a tierod end that's about to fail. After all sound checks.
*note* before making sure for sounds make sure tyre pressures are set perfectly as sometimes due to less pressure things would sound differently when put on a test.

c) Turn the ac on.. rev her upto a decent limit and look for any alignment issues. If none leave the steering wheel and throttle hard to see if she pulls to one end.

d)After all this check for ac cooling issues if any. wait for bearing sounds from the compressor,wheels and so on. once she's warmed up while driving.

e) Finally,accelerate hard to see if she's healthy.If alls done, then check for all electricals. See if the fuse box has all the fuses and look for tampering on the wires. Also make a thorough check on the screws that hold the gauge cluster cover to see if there's any cluster opening done,if so maybe the meter has been false set. If its digital,then just look for signs of the meter screws that are loose or that have been opened.

f) check on power window winders on all four doors to see if there isnt any sounds and if they move freely along the channels.

Last but not the least check for body rattles and sounds.

Then, when alls to your satisfaction..get to the paperwork, service history, names on Registration book, Taxes paid and hypothecation if any. See if it has been cancelled or if there's still a bank loan. work on things accordingly.

When alls solved. You have a fresh used car for your personal satisfaction and pleasure after you've had a look at the tyres and spare to see for over usage if any.{Along with that, stand behind the car on each side and have a final look at the body-line to see if everything's perfectly in place on both ends. Please make sure that the tool kit and accessories provided with the car are handed down to you as well..

If I'm missing out on anything I'll try remembering it in my sleep and post up tomorrow.

Cheers! boys! Drive SAFE! We only live once.

[Caramelo]

thanks nitroxx for the info. i have a few questions.

for example. is it safer to buy newer cars. say 2007 or after rather than 2003??

are cars tampered with even tough they have digital odometers. how can one know how many kms the car has run. you said that loose bolts and screws do hint tampering. but is there any other way!

i read somewhere tyres can tell a lot, how the car was used and how much it has run!

and are there cars which are like naughty and should be avoided because of it potential for abuse!! like scorpio,innova's used as taxi.?

i mean which cars are the second hand survival test champs. i know one is the corolla, any others example you got?

[cpyder]

Congratulations man. What a steal of a deal. I am wondering why would someone sell it at that price, or was it your negotiation skills.

Nice write up on picking up a second hand vehicle.

congrats again mate.

[nitroxx]

@caramelo: bro, tyres are a way of telling in some circumstances, but if they've been changed then no point. The best way to check is see the manufacturing date and month of the vehicle and coincide it with the tyre date and month to confirm if its the original tyres. Scorpios and innovas are widely used for taxi purposes, however the version is how you probably might differentiate. For instance the tourist guys would use base versions,but if you're looking for a used top line,chances are you're safe. Another reason why I insisted on an H2. Look for civics, swifts, honda NHC's, skoda octavia,laura, camry.accord type 2's. These should be safe.

On digital odometers,yes they are reprogrammable.the best way to confirm is run her down to a showroom pay 1500/- like I did. Get her electronically inspected for changes. As these ecms store data in dump files that show information. That's your best bet.

@cpyder : It was a lil bit of negotiation and a heavy lot of white payment..That's what seals the deal. Thank you all once again.

[carbaliga]

@Nitroxx - Congratulations on your buy. Its been more than a year since i bought a used Corolla and let me tell you its peace of mind. It was a paradigm shift from an SUV with constant niggles and weekly visit to *** to a sedan with absolutely no issues. I paid 8L for a 2006-H2 model with 11K ODO done. I enjoyed 10 months of free insurance and one year of warranty. Its 30K now on the ODO and have got it serviced only once from the time i have purchased (due for service next week).

You definitely will enjoy the ride, the ground clearance and the comfort (all electricals !!!)

Have a good ride.

Regards