Hi guys, I’m new to the forum. I’m looking for an inexpensive vehicle for my wife and I. I found a 2010 Corolla S with 146k miles for $5800 OBO and it looks to be in decent cosmetic condition with no rust. Before I go and look at it I was hoping for advice on what to look for, what questions to ask the owner etc. This would be my first Toyota purchase so I am not sure what problems to look for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Advice on buying a 2010 Corolla
- Thread starter ConradS
- Start date
Hi Conrad.
You & your wife should definitely do the research and really go ahead with buying what will work for you at your terms. Take your time.
I have been fortunate to buy mine directly from the owner who is a neighbour of mine. However, he also offered to do any maintenance to my car in the future. Best case scenario to be in I suppose. In your case the more traditional approach is the one you are following, and I recommend you follow through.
This link can be helpful to you:
https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nation/how-to-inspect-and-test-drive-a-used-car
Good luck
Betzy
You & your wife should definitely do the research and really go ahead with buying what will work for you at your terms. Take your time.
I have been fortunate to buy mine directly from the owner who is a neighbour of mine. However, he also offered to do any maintenance to my car in the future. Best case scenario to be in I suppose. In your case the more traditional approach is the one you are following, and I recommend you follow through.
This link can be helpful to you:
https://www.thrillist.com/cars/nation/how-to-inspect-and-test-drive-a-used-car
Good luck
Betzy
Sunroof rust. Check the rubber gasket around the sunroof glass for any bulges that indicate rust underneath. Make sure transmission fluid, brake fluid, and antifreeze was changed around 120k. I forget when exactly they're due. They made the 1.8 and 4 speed forever, there's really no big failure prone parts. Water pump maybe as you get closer to 200k could become an issue, alternator maybe past 200k, might start to burn oil after that. That's all regular wear stuff though. $5,800 seems high to me for a car with almost 150k miles but I don't know your local market.
I own a 2010 toyota corolla S. we all know to look for the general maintenance stuff. For me my Car has 116K love it never put a red cent in her for any major repair.
I am having my own small issue i will figure out. with the battery.
Fluids, you can always inspect the fluids. Ask when the last changes were.
Brake pads and drum brake when was the last replacements. Especially the Disks and rotors.
Tires, look for wear & tear, and dry rot., Steal or alloy? When was the last alignment, front & rear ?
Any repairs done?? papers on it, if in the dealer or personal? Car fax only works if he brought to a Dealer.
A magnet to check for Body repair. any signs of damages.
Interior Lights come on, radio did it ever turn off due to heat blowing on it?
Ac is the O2 ever changed and when, is it original is it cold, the heat should pop on in 3 minutes time.
Ac cabin filter, air element filter, transmission filter, Fuel pump filter? When were these ever changed, what gas stations you used?
City and or Highway, shortest trip, longest trip. 30 mpg minimum on highway 300 mi. trips
The list can go on and on best advice is make an appointment with your service shop, if allowed if not find a trusted machanic and get it inspected, that is a 1980's old school thing we used to do have a pro look it over.
All in all you never know and on a optimistic point. the Corolla is a great fuel economy and run about never let me down of the 8 years I have her and the three years in our lease, we bought the lease out due to my car giving out. best thing I ever did. but miss my other car Lol.
good luck and Please do come back with a follow up.
FISH
I am having my own small issue i will figure out. with the battery.
Fluids, you can always inspect the fluids. Ask when the last changes were.
Brake pads and drum brake when was the last replacements. Especially the Disks and rotors.
Tires, look for wear & tear, and dry rot., Steal or alloy? When was the last alignment, front & rear ?
Any repairs done?? papers on it, if in the dealer or personal? Car fax only works if he brought to a Dealer.
A magnet to check for Body repair. any signs of damages.
Interior Lights come on, radio did it ever turn off due to heat blowing on it?
Ac is the O2 ever changed and when, is it original is it cold, the heat should pop on in 3 minutes time.
Ac cabin filter, air element filter, transmission filter, Fuel pump filter? When were these ever changed, what gas stations you used?
City and or Highway, shortest trip, longest trip. 30 mpg minimum on highway 300 mi. trips
The list can go on and on best advice is make an appointment with your service shop, if allowed if not find a trusted machanic and get it inspected, that is a 1980's old school thing we used to do have a pro look it over.
All in all you never know and on a optimistic point. the Corolla is a great fuel economy and run about never let me down of the 8 years I have her and the three years in our lease, we bought the lease out due to my car giving out. best thing I ever did. but miss my other car Lol.
good luck and Please do come back with a follow up.
FISH
Thanks a lot to everyone for the responses!
I ended up buying the car! I negotiated a price we both agreed on provided the car was inspected and nothing was found. My mechanic found some things that needed to be replaced (nothing major, a worn out left cv shaft and just some maintenance that needed to be done) so we went over the price again and I got him to drop the sale price down a decent amount so I ended up paying 4300 hundred for the car. All in all it’s a clean car that still looks good and doesn’t have any rust. I feel like it was a fairly good deal, though I probably would’ve been able to get it cheaper if I were better at haggling haha. This is my first Toyota so I’m excited to see how it holds up for my wife and me!
I ended up buying the car! I negotiated a price we both agreed on provided the car was inspected and nothing was found. My mechanic found some things that needed to be replaced (nothing major, a worn out left cv shaft and just some maintenance that needed to be done) so we went over the price again and I got him to drop the sale price down a decent amount so I ended up paying 4300 hundred for the car. All in all it’s a clean car that still looks good and doesn’t have any rust. I feel like it was a fairly good deal, though I probably would’ve been able to get it cheaper if I were better at haggling haha. This is my first Toyota so I’m excited to see how it holds up for my wife and me!
Awesome. I got the one with the Sunroof, I see it's the S by the red emblem on the grill. A can of spray by toyota. can take care of the lower skirt scrape, quite normal when going into driveways, etc.. I am sure you did just fine, and many happy miles to come. enjoy here. Best car we have the rolla 2010 S
Congratulations. I've had no real issues with mine. I do regular maintainence on mine myself. At 120,000 I changed the spark plugs and shortly after the alternator went out other than that the regular stuff, brakes, rotors, oil and filter changes.
If you are ever buying used again there's one thing I always look at. Take off the oil cap and look inside the engine. If it's had regular oil changes, the metal will be shiney. If it's black, gummed up or looks tarnished... Walk away. Also pull the oil dip stick, if it's shiney and clean, good. If it's black or tarnished, walk away
If you are ever buying used again there's one thing I always look at. Take off the oil cap and look inside the engine. If it's had regular oil changes, the metal will be shiney. If it's black, gummed up or looks tarnished... Walk away. Also pull the oil dip stick, if it's shiney and clean, good. If it's black or tarnished, walk away
When you go to check it out, make sure to look for signs of wear and tear, especially around the tires and brakes. Ask about the maintenance history—like if it’s had regular oil changes and if any major repairs were done. A test drive is key, too. Listen for any unusual noises and pay attention to how it shifts. I once bought a used car and made the mistake of skipping the test drive; it ended up needing more work than I thought. Also, it might be helpful to check out https://www.shipaa.com/across-country/ for any transport needs in the future.
