Old Toyota Corona

[ClareQuilty]

Looking at an old Corona, about a 1990 or 1991 model, with about 300,000 kilometers on it, 5-speed manual with a 1.6 engine. Just 60,000 baht.

The model I'm talking about looks like this:

Any Corona owners here or anyone have any experience with this model?

[ignis]

No idea, but there are lots about so cannot be all bad....... If I wanted a Toyota then maybe would get something like this http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1268004 or a bit newer http://www.taladrod.com/w20/Search/CarDet3.aspx?cib=1267867 is different and can call it a classic

Edited October 5, 2013 by ignis

[pokerspiv]

They are excellent cars and the 1.8/2.0 versions use the same motor that was put into the 1987-91 model Toyota Camry in other countries. Yours with the 1.6 is the 4A-FE engine which was most commonly used in Corollas, a Corona is basically just a Corolla with a bit more interior space.

As with all cars that age though, you'll be better off with a manual as the worst thing that can go wrong with them is the automatic transmission. Check the CV joints by locking the steering wheel in either direction and driving forwards and backwards, if that feels fine then you've likely got yourself a bargain.

Edited October 7, 2013 by pokerspiv

[mogandave]

I thought a Corona was a Corolla before it was a Corolla, no?

[Kwasaki]

I thought a Corona was a Corolla before it was a Corolla, no?

The Corolla came out after the Corona, and the Corona had quite a few names elsewhere was called a Carina in Europe.

The OP it looks like he has his eye on a T180 if it is in good nick a good buy for Thailand, would be still worth trying to knock them down though.

I gave away a T190 Toyota Carina E company car in the UK to my son as secondhand buyers wanted it for next to nothing, it was a good motor.

[stevenl]

Good car and plenty of parts available.

If you can find somebody to check the car out with you and it is ok it is an excellent deal.

But as with any older second hand car: you can be lucky or unlucky, time will tell.

[mogandave]

I thought a Corona was a Corolla before it was a Corolla, no?

The Corolla came out after the Corona...

That's what I thought

[MMarlow]

I thought a Corona was a Corolla before it was a Corolla, no?

The Corolla came out after the Corona...

That's what I thought

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

[ignis]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

[mogandave]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

I think the Corona was replaced with the Corolla, and the Altis is just an up-model Corolla.

[Spoonman]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

I think the Corona was replaced with the Corolla, and the Altis is just an up-model Corolla.

The Corona namesake ran from 1957 to 2002, The Corolla starting in 1966.

[mogandave]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

I think the Corona was replaced with the Corolla, and the Altis is just an up-model Corolla.

The Corona namesake ran from 1957 to 2002, The Corolla starting in 1966.

But it's the same car, yes?

[Spoonman]

No.

[MMarlow]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

The Altis is a Corolla, i.e. Corolla Altis, which designates a higher trim level.

[MMarlow]

The Corona namesake ran from 1957 to 2002, The Corolla starting in 1966.

But it's the same car, yes?

Only in the same way that a BMW 3 series is the same as a 5 series.

[Spoonman]

Different models both produced from the early 60's alongside each other, maybe a bit earlier. The Corona is a bigger car than the Corolla and didn't become a Corolla. The Corona was replaced, certainly in Thailand, by the Camry around 2002/3

I have no idea about Toyota, but thought the Corona was replaced with the Altis ?

The Camry in Thailand the Mk 1 was here about 1991, the Mark 2 Camry was about 1998... believe the Camry line started in 1982

The last Corona was called Exsior up to late 1999 or early 2000 when the Altis appeared so just thought that this was the replacement.. ??

never had a lot of interest in Toyota so have never follow them like other makes

​In the next Village to me is a 5 door [lift-back] Toyota Camry,,,,, no idea but guess from the 80's ??

The Altis is a Corolla, i.e. Corolla Altis, which designates a higher trim level.

In Australia there is a Camry Altise...... just to add some confusion !!!

[pokerspiv]

The Corona was the asian version of the Camry. In Australia and the US Toyota started selling Camrys in 1987. In Thailand the Camry was not available until 1993. The 1991 version Corona as shown in the picture above is basically a car that slots in between Corolla and Camry. The 1.6l engine was used in Corollas, but there are also Coronas of the same model as that which have the 1.8 and 2.0l engines which were also found in the 1987-1991 model Toyota Camry which looked like this:

[ClareQuilty]

Well guys, I went and test drove the Corona.. and I'm pretty down on it for one reason: driving straight down the road the steering wheel wasn't straight, but was turned quite a bit to the right. If I let go of it, the car veered pretty strongly to the left. The engine was fantastic, smooth, powerful, the transmission/clutch was great, but I suspect of course the car was in an accident. I asked my friend about it, and she admitted that they assumed as much, but having owned the car for 7-8 years in that same condition (cockeyed steering wheel), they figured it was ok.

[pokerspiv]

It could just be that it needs a wheel balancing. A good way to check if the car is straight it to make the owner drive it down the road towards you while you watch.

Thais are notorious for not maintaining their cars and it is entirely possible that they haven't rotated the tires/had them balanced for 8 years.

[Spoonman]

I would be more looking towards the wheel alignment to be the cause and not the wheel balance.

[funcat]

Wheel balancing will not help this,but alignment can...but if the car was in an accident and was not fixed properly,you may not be able to align it ...

...look at the wheels/tires,if you can see signs of it...

Edited October 9, 2013 by funcat

[Spoonman]

Wheel balancing will not help this,but alignment can...but if the car was in an accident and was not fixed properly,you may not be able to align it ...

...look at the wheels/tires,if you can see signs of it...

10 minutes on a 4 wheel alignment machine will identify if the vehicle parameters are outside of the OEM dimensions.

[mogandave]

The "new" alignment equipment is f'n bad-a**

[Kwasaki]

The "new" alignment equipment is f'n bad-a**

No !! not in my case, I know it seems I am plugging ' Cockpit outlets ' all the time but the one in Suk has the most up to date computrised 4 wheel alignment equipment, I guess 'B' Quick and others like them would also have up to date stuff, if not find one that has.

It would not surprise me in the least that nothing has been spent on the car in 8 years at all.

OP Clare, if I was still interested I would offer to take the car to be aligned, the out come would tell you many things as 'Spoonman & Funcat' posts have pointed out, about OEM, camber, wheel bearings, chassis alignment etc.etc.

Edited October 10, 2013 by Kwasaki

[mogandave]

The "new" alignment equipment is f'n bad-a**

No !! not in my case, I know it seems I am plugging ' Cockpit outlets ' all the time but the one in Suk has the most up to date computrised 4 wheel alignment equipment, I guess 'B' Quick and others like them would also have up to date stuff, if not find one that has.

It would not surprise me in the least that nothing has been spent on the car in 8 years at all.

OP Clare, if I was still interested I would offer to take the car to be aligned, the out come would tell you many things as 'Spoonman & Funcat' posts have pointed out, about OEM, camber, wheel bearings, chassis alignment etc.etc.

Where I come from, f'n bad-a** mean good.

[Kwasaki]

Where I come from, f'n bad-a** mean good.

My good Oz friend here, comes out with G,daa & beer aft, crook, ain't heard him say that.

[mogandave]

Well, I'm from the land of Ahhhhs, not Oz!

[ClareQuilty]

Hey thanks guys, I was about to give up on the car, but maybe I'll give it another look. The owner said that by this week he would have the wheels aligned and balanced, so I'll go look at it again.

[mogandave]

Better to go with them........

[kartman]

Better to go with them........

Too true OP wants alignment by spanner not hammer