My preowned Corolla Altis CVT: How its going over 2 years & 24000 kms

Overall I invested around a lakh over and above my purchase price to make it fit for long term use.

BHPian sganesh87 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have been a Team BHP member for a while but have mostly been a passive reader and not an active contributor. This is my first post. It’s a long read but I am happy to help anyone who is looking for guidance to become an owner of a pre-worshipped car.

Here is where my story begins. There are only 2 things I truly love - Football and automobiles.

First family car:

My first love was my father’s light green Premier Padmini with a hand gear. It was one hell of a sturdy car. I learned car driving at the age of 16 as my grandfather wanted me to know how to drive for emergencies. Surely I didn't have a driving license then but I knew how to drive. When I turned 18, my father allowed me to drive independently and I have fond memories of driving it through the tightest of roads. It had an old Philips cassette player with only two speakers in the front but I never complained. It was a luxury back in the day.

Second family car:

Our next family car was a golden beige Daewoo Matiz. My dad got fed up with having to find parts for the Premier Padmini and usually it had to be sourced from Delhi which would take a lot of time then. It was equivalent to maintaining an elephant. We sold it and bought the super fun Daewoo Matiz. Matiz has been the smoothest car I have ever driven. Its second gear was an eternal problem (many users have complained about it) but it was super smooth and agile on highways. It would lurch the moment you hit the accelerator pedal. We had it for 13 years and did innumerable trips from mountains to beaches to countryside roads.

As Daewoo shut, parts were a problem again and we had to say goodbye to Matiz. Meanwhile my siblings and I went to different cities for education and my dad decided to keep a small car for his limited needs - Maruti Alto. I don’t like it one bit (apologies Maruti fans) as I find it to be highly unsafe, has poor driving dynamics, underpowered and full of maintenance challenges. We continue to have it but use it sparingly. Only reason for keeping it is that it's compact and service network is great.

Renting cars:

In the last 10 years, thanks to my job, I have mostly been traveling abroad. I didn’t buy a car of my own but drove both in India and the US. Hertz, National, Enterprise came to my rescue in the US and I have rented many many cars from them. I have been fortunate to drive some amazing American muscle cars there - Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger (with a V8 Hemi engine) to name a few. In India I relied on Zoomcar for outstation travel as my company provided for daily transport. My gixxer SF (motorbike) helped manage weekend errands so I didn't buy a car to avoid liabilities. I was already paying for an education loan so was prudent about not investing in a depreciating asset until the loan was cleared.

The car buying experience:

I moved to Bangalore at the end of 2020 due to a personal situation in my family. I was looking for a pre worshipped sedan in the range of INR 4-6 lakhs and was keen on a Honda City but couldn't find a good one for the price range. Either they were poorly maintained or had too many miles on them. We went through multiple dealers in the city and realised that it’s very hard to trust them as all of them do some sort of manipulation while selling you the car. A friend advised me to check Toyota U Trust and mentioned that it’s better than the local dealers and typically one can be sure of accident history. I went through a bunch of manual cars (i love stick-shift as I learnt on a hand gear Premier Padmini) - Maruti Ciaz 2016, Honda City 2014, Honda accord 2012 but none I was happy with. I had almost given up when a young sales representative came up to me and mentioned an automatic Corolla Altis 2011 with 89K on the odometer. He mentioned that the VVTI version has always been in demand and this was a well driven car singlehandedly by a driver of a senior executive who then had exchanged the car for a new Innova. I took a test drive and while it wasn’t as exciting as a Honda Vtec, I found it to be strong, powerful and quiet. I wasn’t too keen on an automatic but realized it’s probably the need in Bangalore. I asked the rep if I could have the records of the car and if I could have it independently audited by a mechanic I trust. He was ok with it and I got it audited from Wheels Wisdom (who charged me little over 1K).

My first car:

Service record was clean except for a minor accident where the rear left door had to be refit and some past issues with the steering rack and suspension. I was also assured that the Corollas run close to 3L kms before the engine gives up. 89K didn't seem too bad and I only wanted to keep it for at best 4-5 years (until the 15 year rule of having to get the vehicle reinspected at the RTO). I had to haggle a bit on the price but I got a great deal and I purchased the car.

I had to wait a few days as the original insurance had expired and I wanted to get a clean new one. I was surprised by the luxury Toyota fit into a Corolla for 2011 7-speed-CVTi, vanity mirrors, tons of space to keep things, two way dashboard, a well functioning stereo system.

You buy to make it beautiful - I was excited to have my first car and did the math of what all needs to be upgraded and how it should fit the cost.

First upgrade:

Music system. The original speakers were pretty poor. I upgraded it with Infinity series for front and Rockford at the rear. Bought a bunch of accessories that included a mobile holder, first aid kit, blind spot mirrors and cosmetic 3M liquids. All was good until I realised that the best average I could get is 8.7kmpl in the city and 9.5kmpl on the highways.

Second upgrade and a risky one (CNG) - I thought of upgrading it with a CNG kit to improve city mileage. Everyone around me massively discouraged saying that it would lose power, have engine problems and that I would ruin a great car. My dad was supportive though as both of us knew that by science it’s a different fuel but that cannot directly impact the engine as the process is still combustion.

Service requirements (read - coils, spark plugs as it’s a cold gas) may be more but outright saying it would impact the engine was an exaggeration. Also, the number of sophisticated Italian kits now available is unbelievable. I went to a very renowned but small CNG dealer in Mysore road and got a retrofitting done. Then CNG fuel cost was 52/kg and I would get an average of 14kms in the city and 18 on the highways. This fully solved for my city needs as I drive 27kms daily to work. Unfortunately with the Ukraine war, the CNG price has shot up to 89/kg but it’s still beneficial. I have had no problem except for having to replace old ignition coils in the last 2 years. It works smoothly and transitions well between the CNG system and the petrol system.

Third upgrade:

(Tires, never mess with this one) - I was on a trip to a spiritual place and was driving around 90 km/hr when one of my tires burst. Thankfully the Corolla was so stable that I could manage it and park it on the side shoulder. Maybe god saved me that day but I realised that my tires needed a change. My previous owner had changed the wheels to Lenso alloy wheels so the tires are different from the factory ones. I would suggest to the readers that factory ones are usually better (I might be old school but I like sturdy steel ones than the good looking but risky mag wheels). I went to my old friend at Madhu Tires and got all 4 tires changed to Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and since then it’s been great.

Last set of upgrades (Damping, decals and more) - I got some damping done on the doors to avoid road noise, roof decals, got the suspension adjusted to be a little on the softer side based on my needs and changed the battery. Now it’s a fully built machine.

Overall I invested around a lakh over and above my purchase price to make it fit for long term use. Since buying I have done 24K in the last 2 years and I don’t see any challenge. It lives up to its name - Toyota.

A few folks to thank:

I read @freakmuzik’s review of the same make and model and @vigsom’s support during the purchase process. He inspired me to write a detailed review of my journey with cars.

Also went through @Strider24’s very touching review of his own health & the Corolla Altis. I guess that’s the same model too

Thanks to @GTO for keeping this forum well maintained over the years and for his expert advice on everything related to mean machines.

Hope this is a good read and inspires more people to go for pre-worshipped cars. It’s good for you and the environment - just spend time doing enough research and arrive at the right car that suits your needs.

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