1999 Corolla Ce - Value Questions. - Toyota Corolla, Chevy Prizm (1998-2008)

First post - finally got validation to work. default_smile

Anyhow, I'm trying to get my daughter her first vehicle. I found a 99 Corolla VE with almost 200k on it - exclusively highway miles. The owner is a mechanic and has replaced pretty much all the essentials for a car of that vintage. It even has an extra set of studded snow tires and an AM/FM CD playter. Pretty basic Corolla otherwise.

The only thing he says it that is could use a valve job. He has to add about a quart of oil every 1500 miles. It is not throwing blue smoke or discoloring the rear bumper. There are no leaks on the underside either.

I'm tempted to buy it and have the valve job done or the head replaced outright.

Insurance costs, gas mileage, and reliability are a priority.

Asking price is about $2000

Looking for thoughts/opinions.

Thanks in advance.

Its not a bad engine, it will run forever, but you must keep an eye on the oil level. The 2002-98 Corolla was famous for oil consumption, the culprit is almost always stuck oil control piston rings. I believe the only that'll fix your consumption would be an engine overhaul. I would not take his word 100%, my speculation on the oil consumption rate would be about a qt every 1500 mi in the city and possibly 1 qt every 500-1000 miles on the highway. This is just my speculation, be careful. If you don't mind baby sitting the oil level the car should last another 100k no problem.

Its not a bad engine, it will run forever, but you must keep an eye on the oil level. The 2002-98 Corolla was famous for oil consumption, the culprit is almost always stuck oil control piston rings. I believe the only that'll fix your consumption would be an engine overhaul. I would not take his word 100%, my speculation on the oil consumption rate would be about a qt every 1500 mi in the city and possibly 1 qt every 500-1000 miles on the highway. This is just my speculation, be careful. If you don't mind baby sitting the oil level the car should last another 100k no problem.

Dorman68 is right on target with the reply above. This has been my experience as well. I've seen these cars use oil at a rate of 600 to 800 miles per quart on the highway with 80,000 miles on the odometer and still use oil at the exact same rate at 180,000 miles on the odometer. I wouldn't do anything except keep an eye on the oil level and top off as necessary.

Thanks for the prompt replys. The car is actually a VE, but that doesn't change the engine model. My wife has a 2000 Camry 4cyl - built in Japan model default_smile - with 85000 miles and still going strong.

I - read SHE - need reliability and the Corolla seems to be the way to go. The miles kind of put me off, but with the work already done on the car, it should be fine for years to come.

So $2000 isn't too much then??

I may try Auto-Rx if I end up with it.

Depends on your area - check www.KBB.com to get a ballpark value for the car. Where I live at, Corollas of that vintage and mileage go for between $2000 to $4000 easily. If you are still put off by the mileage - there are plenty of other cars out there at that price point. Having a mechanic's car is not always a good thing - even they get lemons too.

You can give Auto-Rx a try - some have reported good luck with it freeing stuck rings. Running a good quality oil can also help - many have reported good results with synthetic and synthetic blends. Some on this forum had good luck with Valvoline Maxlife conventional and synthetic motor oils. Try and stay with same viscosity, if possible, resist the temptation to run a thicker oil. Though running something like a 10w-30 won't hurt anything, other than fuel economy.

As mentioned above - stuck piston rings are the primary cause of oil consumption. Others are valve stem seal deterioration and PCV ventilation issues. Check the easy stuff first - then move to the more "expensive" items. Keeping an eye on oil levels is critical in this case, as you only have 4 quarts to work with. Still, adding a quart every 1000 or so miles is pretty cheap - depends on how long you want the car to last.

My 2002 is sitting at 150K miles and doesn't use a drop of oil. As long as you change fluids and do preventative maintenance - like most Toyota engines, this engine should prove to be quite dependable.

Thank you once again for all of your input. At the moment I'm leaning towards purchasing the car.

Bought the car. The guy is an ace mechanic and straight up. It has been very well maintained.

Thanks again. default_smile