My Baby

I have a great deal of emotional investment in this car. My 2004 Toyota Corolla CE was purchased for me during my freshmen year of college near Boston. It was a "we want you home every weekend" gift from my parents. That being said, the car became an expression of my formative college years and has stayed with me to this day.

Experiences to Date:

This is a great car. I received the car in October of 2003. It has made numerous 500+ miles round trip voyages to and from college, in all different types of weather conditions. It has always started and never broken down. At present, I have 65,000 miles on it. It has been driven from NY to Seattle, and did so at brisk pace.

Engine:

The engine is okay. I am not a horsepower queen, so I don't really expect it to be anything more than adequate in this category. When I first received the car, however, I was a little concerned with the sound the engine makes when "pushed" after start-up. In fact, unless this car has been warmed up for a while, the engine upon start-up and driving will sound like a box filled with loose metal parts once in a while. It is nothing mechanical, it is simply the way the car is built. On the highway, the car performs excellently. If it were a runner, it would be more of the long distance type as opposed to a sprinter.

As the car has aged, I have noticed a few annoying quirks. For example, when it is "moist" outside after a good rain (that happens a lot here in Seattle), the engine will whine for a while after start-up. This can be fixed by spraying WD-40 on the little bolt part of the wheel that holds part of the timing belt. This is annoying, but seems like it can be solved with daily lubrication of that one part.

Like I said earlier, no mechanical issues. I have changed the oil every 3000 miles, and been good with upkeep. I hope to hang onto this car for a while so maintenance is important. It needs to make it back to NY!

Interior:

My interior is OCD clean. People think the car is brand new. When I first received the car, I thought the interior was new and fresh. It still is. However, some things have aged. For instance, the knobs used to change the temp/air flow are old looking. They are inset dials as opposed to round knobs. And when you turn these knobs, they turn rather difficulty and "feel" cheap.

Over four years of wear and tear has not significantly aged the interior. Although, like I said earlier, this is also probably because I am a neat freak. Two things did happen, however, that seemed to be manufacturing flaws. For example, the first compartment on the main dash that opens by folding outward broke one day (about 2 years ago). This was not due to overuse. It simply fell off. Cheap plastic most likely. I was able to epoxy the part back on, but the fact that is just broke randomly was a bit upsetting. Other than that, everything inside the car is intact.

Conclusion:

Bottom line, this is a great car. At 65,000 miles, it is ready to drive back to NY from Seattle in a few months. I look forward to the trip. If this car is cared for, it will be your life partner for years to come.