My 2008 Toyota Corolla type S

[ReaperX]

As some of you may remember my Camry being destroyed back in Sept '07. If not, ask and I'll re-hash that issue again. Shortly afterwards, I needed a car (to get to work/places) so I bought myself a 2008 Silver Audi A4. After about 6 weeks I decided that was not a great decision so I sold the car and lost ~ $1,800. Not really all that bad, I just lost some cash in the midst of impulsive decision making.



I wound up buying after I got rid of the Audi a 2008 toyota corolla type S as shown above.


In fact my car is exactly what is shown in the picture. It is gun metal gray, and the type S has the stock body kit, alloy wheels, etc, etc.



So as of now:


1. Screwed myself over in buying first an Audi and selling it in the midst of investing that excessive amount instead.

2. Got el f.ucked cuz the economy is most likely in a recession as we speak (gotta wait till 3 quarter GDP numbers come in).

3. So much for investing at the moment.



I paid off this car in cash right away at the dealership. During when I got it (Oct 2007), they were having for some reason a huge sale on 2008 Corollas. I actually was able to get the Corolla S version for the price of the Corolla CE price. (Sounds good right ?)


After having this car coming up towards 6 months shortly, I have to say it has been nothing shy of a disappointment.

The exterior looks nice. I put heavy dark tint on it, and put a fiberglass shark fin antenna (similar to BMWs) in place of that antenna that shoots out of the top. The rest is stock.


The car is extremely loud on the inside. If you drive it you need to turn up the radio b/c it is so noisy. The suspension is not top of the line as my Camry was much, much smoother ride than this corolla is.

I have actually already found 3 quality issues (this is how I usually am) since I've own the car that I've told to the dealership about. They are not 'massive' quality issues, however, since toyota is supposed to be quality, they should not have been there.

I will be bringing back the car for the umptheth time to the dealership b/c there are some wires in the car that are rattling inside when it is idle. This is the second time I've brought back the car because they were supposed to have fixed this the first time (which they did not do effectively)..


Toyota used to be quality back in the day, however, I think they are becoming sidetracked and their quality is heavily slipping. Last year they had several recalls in a short period of time which is a heavy indicator.


If the public percieves Toyota being as great as it is then that's ok with me. That just keeps the re-sale high. I don't believe they are what they used to be at all. When I decide to get a new car, I'm done with Toyota and its subsidary companies within.


I think the best of the best is Honda/Acura.

 

[RenegadeRows]

I have a 2005 corolla S. I put 65,000 miles on it in ~3 years. All I needed to replace was a serpentine belt.

I still am a big fan of toyotas

 

[Bionic]

I'm still a big Toyota fan as well but I agree w/Reaper about them slipping. But really, you bought an economy car with a sports kit (body) on it. Sounds like what you'd expect from that.
I've also read an article crticizing them about the fact that they are resting on their laurels WRT their hybrid components. Instead of refining them and coming up with better components, they are just kicking back because no one can touch them at this point in time.

 

[ReaperX]

The only thing that seems to be holding up Toyota is public perception. Their quality has either stayed the same or gone down, but it certainly had not gone up.


The materials used to make the corolla were of cheap quality and the overall car is 'cheap' in my opinion.


What I felt I was getting a good deal on (I think I wound up getting the car $4,500 below sticker value, ended up being nothing less than fair pay.

I'm not happy with the car overall. It looks great on the outside, but that is about it. Fuel economy sucks too.

 

[Bionic]

ReaperX, ReaperX, ReaperX, you don't even — you're glib. You don't even know what Toyota is. If you start talking about poor fuel economy, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, ReaperX, okay? That's what I've done. Then you go and you say where's the road test? Where's the road test that says how much 2008 Toyota Corolla type S you're supposed to get ?

 

[ReaperX]

ReaperX, ReaperX, ReaperX, you don't even — you're glib. You don't even know what Toyota is. If you start talking about poor fuel economy, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, ReaperX, okay? That's what I've done. Then you go and you say where's the road test? Where's the road test that says how much 2008 Toyota Corolla type S you're supposed to get ?

This is an awesome post.


27/33 is last what I check.



27 in the city sucks.



I am so glib.


tee hee hee (homo)

 

[ReaperX]

Then again, they have that same tendency to take a statistical outlier and play it up similar to fat loss/test boosting products.



ahhhhhh, the jokes on me. Silly me.

 

[Dr Packenwood]

So far on my dads '02 Tundra its had 0 time in the shop for warranty or other wise. He did have a heater selector knob come off in his hand about 3 months ago, and for $7 was easily fixed. Not bad for nearly 100K miles.

My 06 Tundra has about 38K on it, and other than a set of tires and the required tune up at about 36K (air filter check timing timing was ok, etc) its doing fine.

The one thing that I did that tarnished the ride quality was I put stiffer sidewall tires on since I do a bit of hauling every now and again. Because of the lack of sidewall flex the ride got a bit rougher but at least I know I won't have a sidewall blowout when hauling a load.

I know quite a few people with the Camry, Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, and Rav vehicles, and so far I don't think anyone has had a minutes trouble. I really really hope this trouble you're having isn't something 'new' Toyota has included in their line up.

 

[ReaperX]

So far on my dads '02 Tundra its had 0 time in the shop for warranty or other wise. He did have a heater selector knob come off in his hand about 3 months ago, and for $7 was easily fixed. Not bad for nearly 100K miles.

My 06 Tundra has about 38K on it, and other than a set of tires and the required tune up at about 36K (air filter check timing timing was ok, etc) its doing fine.

The one thing that I did that tarnished the ride quality was I put stiffer sidewall tires on since I do a bit of hauling every now and again. Because of the lack of sidewall flex the ride got a bit rougher but at least I know I won't have a sidewall blowout when hauling a load.

I know quite a few people with the Camry, Tundra, Sequoia, Corolla, and Rav vehicles, and so far I don't think anyone has had a minutes trouble. I really really hope this trouble you're having isn't something 'new' Toyota has included in their line up.

Your Tundra wasn't included in that slew of recalls was it ? I thought it was mainly their trucks that had recall issues.

 

[ReaperX]

I think their earlier Corollas has windshield molding that holds in it problems. I think this was in the '03-'05. This seemed to be a common problem.


Their model really hasen't changed since I believe '03-'08. Just some exterior features.

 

[Dr Packenwood]

Your Tundra wasn't included in that slew of recalls was it ? I thought it was mainly their trucks that had recall issues.

I think they've had 2 balljoint recalls, but it was proactive, not due to injury or death. They did have some ball joints in some models that may have had slight nicks in the ball that would cause premature wear. My dads model did have that issue I believe, but mine didn't for some reason, but there was another recall after I bought mine that included most of their SUV's.

While my dads was in getting the new ball joints under the recall, the upgraded his entire braking system for free. I thought that was kinda nice.

 

[ReaperX]

I noticed that the rattling in my car only occured when it was in idle at a stop light/stop sign. When the car is in park, it goes away.


Initially they said that it was some wiring in the front right pillar.

There was a tiny paint bead near the edge of the taillight in the back. I sanded that down and put touch up paint on it.

I'm trying to find the article, it was in msn earlier this weekend. It had something about plastic off fumes that were toxic to people. I'll keep looking to see if I can find it.

lol.

 

[ReaperX]

www.healthycar.org

 

[t3stxlr4titud]

Toyota is not the same. This is why I hold on to my AE86.

-TF

 

[ReaperX]

Toyota is not the same. This is why I hold on to my AE86.

-TF

I liked those. I haven't seen on in a long time.

 

[Palo Alto Labs]

honestly... you get what you pay for. for a $15k ish car, personally i dont think you got a bad vehicle

the rattling at idle is a transmission adjustment. its a common problem for cars (they idle fine in park or neutral, but harsh in gear)

sure its loud at highway speeds and you have to turn up the radio.. but if you wanted a quieter car, it would have cost more.

 

[vpower]

I think the best of the best is Honda/Acura.

Yes i have to agree with you bro i love hondas

 

[diminuendo]

You should have kept the Audi, I love mine.

 

[RenegadeRows]

my dad had a 88 toyota pickup trick. 300,000 miles later, the first thing to go was the body :good: