Toyota Corolla: My New "Baby"

I absolutely loved my old car, a 1990 Toyota Camry. But when I had to get the brakes fixed for the sixth time in three years, the muffler rusted through, and the 105,000 mile service showed more repairs than I could afford, I knew it was time to look for a new car.

I knew from my family's Toyota obsession (at one point, we had four Camrys at once--1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990) that Toyota was a pretty reliable brand. We've had two cars from them that passed the dozen year mark. Plus, I have this thing against car instruments in different spots than I'm used to. For these reasons, I decided to look at Toyota for my new car.

I decided on the Corolla after doing some online comparisons, both within the Toyota line and between other makes. The Corolla comes in three variations--Value Edition (VE), which is a basic car with NO frills, Classic Edition (CE), which comes with some of the most popular extras, and Luxury Edition (LE), which has just about anything you could want. I decided to look at the CEs. They would allow me to have a few things I didn't want to live without, but without going overboard.

Car shopping was quite an experience, one I'm glad I don't have to have very often. But the experience ended with me becoming the proud owner of one heavily-financed 2000 Toyota Corolla CE in "Sandstone." (That's a fancy way of saying "beige-ish with a little bit of lavendar undertone.)

It's now been about 10 months since that day, and I am happy to say that I love my car! Please keep in mind that I am pretty much an auto illiterate as I try to describe the features of this car.

The Classic Edition came with a few features that I consider almost essential. This includes the A/C as well as the power windows and door locks.

The sound system is nice for a plain, no-frills person like me. I had a CD player installed, which did not take away my tape player as I've heard it does on other cars. The controls have different buttons for AM, FM, CD, and cassette, so you can switch back and forth as the mood strikes. This is great for me, as I commute 30-45 minutes a day (depending on traffic). I listen to the radio until a commercial hits, flip to the CD player and listen to a song or two, then hit the cassette button and listen to a chapter of Harry Potter on tape!

The legroom in the front seat is fine for 5'5" me, although my 6'5" boyfriend does get a little squashed. The legroom in the backseat is rather limited, but this doesn't matter to me as I've had people in the back seat all of about two or three times.

The cup holders hold all different sizes of beverages. This is a big improvement from my old car, where you were out of luck if you wanted something larger around than a pop can.

There are enough little storage compartments to hold all of my junk. My only complaint here is that the compartment between the seats is just a little too narrow to hold CDs.

The car drives just fine, though I'm certainly not one that can really tell much of a difference here. I did notice that the pickup is a little slower than my old car, but I got used to that very quickly.

The car can go 5000 miles between oil changes, which means less trips to the shop to get this done. In fact, I drive about 200 miles a week commuting and I've only had to get the oil changed once. The car also takes 87 octane gasoline, which has been a blessing with gas prices being what they are.

I have had absolutely no maintenance problems with the car at all. This is perfect for financially-challenged me. Actually, I've only had to get it washed two or three times, as the dirt blends into the beige color!

This is not a car for a car enthusiast, or a large family, or someone who wants to haul a lot of stuff around. But it's perfect for someone who needs an economical and reliable source of transportation. I love my Corolla and hope to keep it for at least the next decade.