2008 Corolla CE, 142K miles, automatic (2 owners)
I don't have much money and this 2008 Corolla is within my budget. I checked NICB, NHTSA, Poctra and other car history reports including the Carfax and there isn't anything suspicious about it. There are no open recalls, it appears to have clean title, no salvage or total loss or stolen reported. The title history matches what's reported on the Carfax. The Carfax shows a detailed record with regular maintenance (oil/filter changes, air/cabin filter, tire rotations, brakes, coolant) being done throughout it's life up to this point.
Additionally, I noted the following work was done from the Carfax report: At 40,660 miles, transmission serviced. At 51,640 miles, timing chain tensioner replaced. At 56,000 miles, vehicle was reconditioned at a service facility. At 64,037 miles, right airbag assembly replaced. At 90,182 miles, water pump, alternator replaced. At 91,080 miles, washer pump replaced. At 113,017 miles, drive belt tensioner, catalytic converter, radiator fan and condensor fan motor, serpentine belt, oxygen sensor, throttle body and sensor replaced. At 117,330 miles, sway bar bushing wheel bearing and hubs replaced. At 118,040 miles, valve cover gasket, spark plugs, power steering hoses/lines, front struts, shock absorbers replaced. At 120,144 miles, transmission fluid replaced. At 125,163 miles, oxygen sensor, muffler and catalytic converter replaced. At 141,914 miles, water pump, timing chain, engine timing/front cover and gasket, intake manifold and gasket, oil pan, serpentine belt, alternator replaced. At 142,119 miles, spark plugs replaced.
Is this car worth considering? I am planning to take it to an independent mechanic before buying it. But before I do, I would appreciate your honest feedback.
I was wondering at 56,000 miles the car was "reconditioned" by a service facility. Should I be concerned about that? What does that mean exactly?
Scotty does not usually return to topics he has already answered. It sounds like that thing has had an enormous amount of work done to it which is unusual for a Corolla even one that is 17 years old. (It reads more like a Chevy Cruze history.) The "reconditioning" at only 56K miles is very suspicious. There's no way to know what "reconditioned" means without contacting the facility that did the work. I have to wonder if maybe it was involved in a major mishap of some kind that was not reported to Carfax. Make sure your mechanic gives that thing a very thorough check before purchase.
I called the Midas shop that did the repair work on this car; fortunately it was the only shop that did all of the work. The person who answered the phone checked their records and confirmed that the work listed on the Carfax was correct. But noted that the last work completed at 142,119 miles was an entire engine replacement. It was done at no charge because the engine was under warranty. What would cause an entire engine to need replacement, especially after all of the previous repair work that was done?
Also, my other concern is what kind of engine did they replace the original engine with? I asked the Midas person but they couldn't tell from their records. Is there a way for me to find out what kind of engine it is?
At this point the car appears to be so tainted I would walk if not run away. Corollas just don't have those kind of problems unless seriously abused.
@chucktobias I apologize for asking and it might seem like a silly question to you, but for someone like me - who knows very llittle about cars - I really want to know. Isn't the car better off now with a replacement engine? I mean whatever problems the original engine once had are now gone and it's like starting new.
I just want to be sure, that's why I'm asking.
It's not necessarily better off with a replacement engine because you don't know why the engine was needed or what the quality of the replacement is. You can bet your sweet bippy that whatever was installed in there is not as good as the Toyota factory engine the car originally came with, plus you don't know how good an installation job was done. Then there are all the other problems the car had. The number of parts that have been replaced on that car is just insane, with quality of the parts and work involved an unknown. Especially for a person who knows very little about cars this is something to avoid.
No, I wouldn't consider it. That's Corolla's "replaced parts list"' is as sketchy as anything I've ever seen.
Couple of water pumps, O2 sensors and catalytic convertors? It would have to be a really cheap price..
@carnutty my niece was given a used '06 w/~ 40K on it. She drove it to around 100K when she gave it to her little sister who drove another ~60K miles. The only thing replaced during that entire time (other than tires, brakes, filters, etc) was a LR wheel bearing. That is more typical of a Corolla's service history. Good luck.
""""At 125,163 miles, oxygen sensor, muffler and catalytic converter replaced. At 141,914 miles, water pump, timing chain, engine timing/front cover and gasket, intake manifold and gasket, oil pan, serpentine belt, alternator replaced"""
Don't buy it. At least get a good mechanic to check it thoroughly as Scotty said..
. Isn't the car better off now with a replacement engine?
maybe if the mechanic is very thorough and takes his time instead of jamming it in there like usually happens, but even then...it's a really big job, and stuff just happens. It's rare to get it perfectly right on the first try. Usually the car has to come back multiple times to iron out the problems. And that's for a re-manufactured engine. If it was used then all bets are off. You're just inheriting somebody's problems.
If the engine was under warranty, are there requirements for what kind of engine can be installed? How can I find out what kind of engine it is?
Well generally they are great cars. And it's had a reasonable amount of work done on it. Just make sure you use a good mechanic to check it out because you can't always trust what people said. What has been done on the vehicle. For instance, I'd have customers come to me that had been to dealerships to have all kinds of work done and I found out they didn't actually do hardly any of that work. They just lied to them about it
Thank you - yes, I can't trust what it reported. I was wondering at 56,000 miles the car was "reconditioned" by a service facility. Should I be concerned about that? What does that mean exactly?
Appreciate your feedback!
The car has had too much work done to it. I doubt there's many OEM Toyota parts in the car anymore and it's mostly full of aftermarket parts.
@oskool - So in essence, the car is no longer a "Toyota", only the body frame which is practically the only thing not replaced. I never thought of it that way.