Had a mechanic inspect the car before I bought it and he noticed the fluid was dark but also said that didn't mean it was bad necessarily. I'm still going to have a fluid service done pretty soon anyway.
Old thread I know, but in case you are still reading this how is your tranny holding up and how many miles? I just bought a used 2014 Corolla LE with 75k miles on it. So far so good, even though the fluid is dark but the mechanic shop told me it's not really a problem.
Holy crap you paid a lot for that with that many miles on it. I am financing a 2014 corolla with 75k miles on it and only paid a little over 9k (before taxes). That said, it is nice to know the car is kicking around with that many miles on it! Still the same tranny too or do you know?