Help! Loud 1995 Corolla - Pre-1997 Toyota Corolla and Geo Prizm

Earlier today, my sister was driving my 1995 corolla in a part of town we don't know very well. While I was in the car, she ran over a deep pothole- type thing. It looked like the city was doing repairs, for about a meter, went in to gravel and mud, then turned back to pavement. It was was a deep as a pothole. After she ran over the thing going 25-30 mph, the car's engine started to make an AWFUL lot of noise- like almost as if I put a ricer and put an aftermarket exhaust put on it. The previous owner parked it out for 14 years so could the rust have corroded a mechanical part? How do I fix it?

https://s1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc435/toyotacooper/

Notice the chewed up metal. What is it? When I put my hand below the chewed up metal part, I can feel exhaust or some warm air leaking. Thanks for your help!

Wow - looks like she shredded the flex pipe coming off the exhaust manifold. It is a braided section of piping that is made to be flexible as possible as well as tough enough to stand up to extreme temperature cycling. Basically she punched a hole in the exhaust system - hence the obnoxiously loud exhaust noise now. Only two options - one is to cut that portion of and have it replaced - least costly option that most any muffler shop can do this, only drawback is that is the shop does a poor job, you'll get an exhaust leak there pretty quickly. Second option is to replace the entire front flex pipe section - this will ensure that the section will not leak, will need to replace the gaskets on both ends -drawback, it is expensive - atleast $100 for that section for parts cost only, factor in labor - could be $150+ easily.

Wow - looks like she shredded the flex pipe coming off the exhaust manifold. It is a braided section of piping that is made to be flexible as possible as well as tough enough to stand up to extreme temperature cycling. Basically she punched a hole in the exhaust system - hence the obnoxiously loud exhaust noise now. Only two options - one is to cut that portion of and have it replaced - least costly option that most any muffler shop can do this, only drawback is that is the shop does a poor job, you'll get an exhaust leak there pretty quickly. Second option is to replace the entire front flex pipe section - this will ensure that the section will not leak, will need to replace the gaskets on both ends -drawback, it is expensive - atleast $100 for that section for parts cost only, factor in labor - could be $150+ easily.

Thanks for your assistance. You seemed to be one of the most knowledgeable people on the matrixforums and corolland forums, and now I have an idea of what to get fixed, so the shop doesn't rip me off. By the way, I was wondering, how badly do you think the underbody is rusting? The corolla is aging, and i've been contemplating replacing it with a 98-02 model. Maybe newer. As you can see, my sister isn't a good driver, and I hope she has some sort of protection in the occurrence of an accident.

The rust doesn't seem to be that bad in the pics - most of it looks like heavy surface rust. Once you see metal perforation, where the rust has punched all the way through - then that could be grounds for a problem. If you are concerned about the corrosion - there are places that will clean the bottom of the car and seal it with a new generation of body sealer / undercoating. Not like the previous types with can actually inhibit the original rust preventative coating on the metal parts. They are pricey though, and not all shops have the equipment or proper training to do the job. Others have gone the DIY route with underbody washing / degreasing and then spot treating with a rust preventative like POR-15 or similar.

The 7th gen Corolla is arguably one of the tougher cars out there - durability, reliability, low cost of maintenance, low cost of operation. I'd stay with this one for some time. Car is still plenty safe - coupled with a relatively low curb weight, FWD layout, a chassis that is very forgiving - hard to find an easier to drive car.

The 8th generation is very similar to size and driving characteristics to the 7th gen - if you decide on getting a newer one, I'd go with a 2001-2002 model years, since they tend to work most of the issues out closer to the end of the generation.

Of the 9th gen Corollas (2003-2008), I'd stay with the 2003-2004 model years for similar driving experience. The 2005+ models switched to the DBW (Drive-By-Wire) throttle body system that can take some getting used to.

Starting in the 2009+ model years, they added the EPS (Electric Power Steering) system which can take even more getting used to by some.