New 2005 Corolla Owner

Can you get the LE with a 5-speed in the States? Here in Canada you can only get automatic on the LE.

Congratulations. I'm hoping that you don't find the 5-speed to be a hassle. I had an '01 Corolla LE 5-speed, and traded it after 2 years and 21,000 miles for an '03 LE automatic. The '01 was a great car, but I was being worn out by the shifting, and particularly by it's inordinately heavy clutch. If there were some way to lighten up the clutch pedal effort, that car would have been a lot better. However, my '03 Corolla LE actually gets BETTER city mileage than the '01 did, which I attribute to the fact that I am less likely to "flog" it. A stick shift brings out the boy racer in all of us, and I'm no exception! If you're younger, and not concerned about squeezing every last foot-per-gallon of city mileage, your '05 Corolla 5-sp. will serve you well.

Free advice: Get rid of the OEM tires as soon as you can -- particularly if they're Firestone FR690's. I just put a set of Goodyear ****urance Triple-Tred's on my Corolla and I'm now driving an entirely different -- meaning much better -- automobile!

thanks larry

yes, i had heard that the first upgrade needed on the corolla was a change of tires. i'll look into the goodyear brand you mentioned. as far the issue with manual over automatic it is hard to say how i will feel about it in 2 years. right now i am having a blast! i am 27 years old (and live in memphis, tn - to answer my canadian friend's question) and have never driven a stick until about 2 months ago. my father bought a 5 speed 1990 camry and taught me how to drive it. coming from a completely automatic background it was not an easy transition. however when i finally got the hang of it my automatic jeep just seemed a bore to drive. i am sure i will have days when i will curse owning a manual but i sense those days will be far and between. at the moment i'm just having fun!

h.

I think you'll find your 'rolla to be a solid, well engineered and executed car that will give you many thousands of miles of service.

thanks larryyes, i had heard that the first upgrade needed on the corolla was a change of tires. i'll look into the goodyear brand you mentioned. as far the issue with manual over automatic it is hard to say how i will feel about it in 2 years. right now i am having a blast! i am 27 years old (and live in memphis, tn - to answer my canadian friend's question) and have never driven a stick until about 2 months ago. my father bought a 5 speed 1990 camry and taught me how to drive it. coming from a completely automatic background it was not an easy transition. however when i finally got the hang of it my automatic jeep just seemed a bore to drive. i am sure i will have days when i will curse owning a manual but i sense those days will be far and between. at the moment i'm just having fun!

 

h.

OK, well I guess something different is always a challenge and a bit of fun at first. I have owned numerous stick-shift automobiles, in four different countries (US, Korea, Germany, UK) and during my Air Force career, had to drive everything from Jeeps (the typical military M-151 style) to tractor-trailers. So I've done my fair share of gear-changing. I can't say I'll never again own a stick shift vehicle, especially since I'm looking for a "beater" of a pickup truck and may not be able to be choosy over type of transmission if a good one shows up on my doorstep. However, my primary "car" type vehicle will most likely always be automatic from now on, and hopefully, it will be my '03 Corolla for a VERY long time to come. It just went over 25,000 miles today -- I bought it in Oct. '02. I filled up the tank today to the tune of 30.9 MPG in 70% city driving with a lot of idling time for warming-up, something I do a lot in the Winter. Corolla's are great! A neighbor of mine has an '86 and it looks and runs terrific! I keep telling him he should do a major restoration, but in reality, it doesn't need it! Well, I'm rambling, so I'll just say good luck with your Corolla and keep reading the forum!

Bad news!

I was in a wreck in my new car. Luckily it was only a fender bender and I was not at fault. However, there is a long scratch along my back bumper that will have to be fixed. I assume it will be a complete back bumper replacement from my Toyota dealership. Of course none of this will come out of my own pocket but what a pain!

H.

Sorry to hear about your accident, and in a new car! You can have your bumper repaired/replaced anywhere you like. Choose the best body shop you can find - it's usualy not the dealership's. I got rear-ended a few years back, had a nice scrape on my bumper, and had it replaced and repainted. They also had to blend the trunklid and rear quarter panels, a job that cost the offending party's insurance company a little over 1k. Some days I wish I had lived with the scrape, since a repaint is never factory quality.

congrats on your new car, drive an almost identical car, 2005 Corolla CE package C. Im not a fan of the wood trim or automatic..heh....enjoy!! its a great car and it will last you for years and years provided you take care of it.