Fellow Dopers:
Mrs. Consigliori is in the market for a new car. We have checked out a few different models, and she seems to prefer the 2003 Toyota Corolla S.
Neither of us have owned a Toyota before. I’m more of a Mazda guy, and her current vehicle is a 1996 Dodge Neon POS (piece of s**t) that she has loathed since ten minutes after taking delivery.
So, any opinions about Toyotas in general and the 2003 Corolla S series would be greatly appreciated. Thanks A Million!
I actually have one! I think it’s great. Terrific milage, and a suprising amount of pep for such a little car. As long as I’m alone in the car, driving downhill, etc. Also very roomy. I’m 6’ 3" and about 220 and I fit comfortably.
I come from a Toyota family. My mother had an 1989 Corolla, standard trans. My brother and I both learned to drive on it, and it was sold after 5 years and 120,000 miles. Never had a problem with it. Strangely enough, my mom found out last year that the car was still going strong at about 285,000. That’s a lot of winters in CT, and the car still looks fine. I could go on about other Toyotas, but I think you get the picture. I heartily recomend them.
Thanks for the input lightingtool. Anyone else care to respond?
How many cars have you test driven?
I love my Echo and most of the Toyotas in my family have been solid, reliable cars. The dealers, I’ve heard, are jerks (the one I went to was great, but YMMV).
Whaddya know? I bought a 2003 Corolla LE just today! 
In general, Toyota is a very reliable brand. My father drives a '94 Camry, and after 9 years and 110,000 miles, it’s seen service only once to replace the CV boots. That heavily influenced my decision to make my first car purchase a Toyota.
I can’t speak for the S, but I’d have to agree with lightningtool and attest to the quality based on my impressions of the LE It’s roomy and comfortable for a small car, almost silent at idle, accelerates briskly, and handled well at both city and highway speeds.
One word of advice: do your homework and take the lead in your negotiations with the dealer. I bought the Consumer Reports pricing report ($12) for the Corolla so I knew not only the invoice costs of the base vehicle and options, but also the wholesale cost, which includes incentives (eg, “holdbacks”) the dealer receives from Toyota. (It’s copyrighted so I can’t share it here, but you can email me if you need any information.)
After I knew how much my car cost the dealer, I used autobytel.com to get a quotes from a few dealers, then used these firm offers to help negotiate down to a much better price than I otherwise would have gotten. In the end, I paid about 2% over invoice, or 4% over wholesale.
I own the sister car of the Corolla (the Matrix) but with a better engine and tranny.
In general build quality, you can’t beat Toyota. My friend has an CE 2003 Corolla and it’s pretty nice. Don’t expect a sports car, but it’ll beat the pants off a neon (my friend had a 95 neon, WORST car on the planet. Spent 6 weeks trying to get “repaired” for a leaking trunk and leaking back window).
I don’t know if you can get any deal on the new Corolla S. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re selling very well and so dealers won’t do a whole lot to change the price. My Matrix didn’t get any discount and I still waited 3 months for the car (The back order on the Matrix when it came out was on average 5 months).
Oh and BTW, isnt the -S only manual? Good fer your Mrs! I don’t see enough manuals out there. It’s a damn shame.
A slight warning which probably won’t make any difference to your choice.
I own a Toyota Corolla. Toyota make good cars. The Corolla is a good car. There’s really nothing to complain about until you need to replace something (like when a vandal smashed the rear side window on mine). Then you will pay heavily over the odds for the replacement part. Think of a crazy number, double it, then double it a few more times, and that’s how much you’ll pay. At least, that’s the position here in the UK. Maybe different for you.
Try it out. Make a phone call to a few places that do this kind of work, pretend you have a Corolla and need some parts replacing and ask for a quote.
Lots of mfrs do this, of course, but some are more ridiculously extortionate than others. Just a point you may want to bear in mind.
Wow! Thanks for all the helpful info, gang!
KeithT, we are picking up the Consumer Reports book you suggested this afternoon. The salesperson we would be buying the car from is a friend, more or less, but its always good to do your homework.
badmama, no its not a manual transmission. I tried to teach my wife to drive a stick shift once, with rather painful results.
Ianzin, we’re gonna look into that aspect of it, too. Something we haven’t thought about.
http://www.autooninfo.net/AutoonInfo/TenBestandTenWorst.htm
After doing research, i’m thinking of a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic due to reliability. That chart was from 1996 though i don’t know how it applies to 2003 autos.
I’d recommend NADA.com or KBB.com for info on prices.
http://newcar.nadaguides.com/configurator/config-main.cfm?vhcl_nmb=9756&ZipCode=47403
Hi Wartime. Okay, I checked my facts for you. This was a fairly recent Toyota Corolla. Some helpful person smashed the rear side window, so I needed to get it replaced. The bill came to £260. Multiply by 1.6 (ish) to get US dollars.
Mitigating factors. I’m writing from England, which is probably the leading rip-people-off country of the world. Worse still, I’m writing from London, which outperforms the rest of England when it comes to ripping people off and is probably the most heinous low-value rip-people-off city in the world. Worse still, we’re referring to the garage repairs trade, which (at least here) is totally unregulated by law, reason, sense, sanity or morality.
Even so, it’s just a piece of toughened glass with some rubber moulding, so the price was obviously extortionate. I have it on farly sound authority from at least two people ‘in the trade’ that while many manufacturers are guilty of this kind of extortion, Toyota are worse than many. FWIW, over here, my same sources suggest Ford and Vauxhall are the least-worst offenders in this regard.
Happy motoring.
I tested about 2 dozen cars before settling on the 2002 Toyota Tacoma Xtra Cab. (5 sp, of course)
I used to be a shuttle driver for Toyota (I drove cars traded between dealerships). I have driven more than a few Corrollas. The 5 speed was very, very nice. I wasn’t that happy with the automatics, but I never am.
Toyotas are extremely reliable cars that hold their value pretty well.
friend wartime,
my daughter has the car you are asking about. we have had no problems. she loves her car!
the reliability has been great, and no problems with performance at all.
Pictures of it inside & out for those who want to see it:
http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/ToyotaCorolla/Index.htm
More review:
http://autos.msn.com/vip/singleyear.aspx?modelid=10328