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Hi everyone, I was hoping I could get some advice for used car shopping for my first vehicle.
Context info is first, and the two questions are at the end.
I’ve narrowed my choices down to basically 3 cars: two 2012 Toyota Corollas and a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze.
The Cruze has 1.4L turbocharged engine with a 6 speed auto at 50,000kms. 2nd owner, says he bought the car 6 months ago but now needs to go back to his home country. Carproof checks out.
One Corolla has of course the 1.8L but with a 5 speed manual at about 55,000kms. The owner dodged the matter of a carproof at first, but he finally sent me a picture of the first page and the VIN apparently indicates that it’s actually a 2011. He says that it’s because it was only manufactured in 2011.
The other Corolla is at a dealership and is at 75,000kms but they’re asking the same price as the one above. Manual trans also.What I know about the Cruze:
I do have experience driving a 2014 Cruze I borrowed for a road trip and I haven’t had any complaints other than a sore back after about 4 hours or driving and paint chipping along the seam of the left rear door.I am aware of possible cooling issues that can make the car sluggish during hot outdoor temperatures, but I haven’t experienced this since I haven’t driven in those conditions. Using premium fuel during the summer has been cited as a fix, but if an intercooler modification could solve the problem as well (the stock intercooler apparently has a design issue? see link below), I might rather do that instead since premium gas would mean it’d likely be an extra $10 for each tank of gas. Honestly though I hope I wouldn’t have to do either of these things. I’m also aware that pre-2014 Cruzes at least have been riddled with problems, but I don’t know about the reliability of 2014s onward.
What I know about the Corolla:
I’ve never extensively driven a Corolla (as I have the Cruze), nor do I presently know how to drive stick, so learning on a Corolla is thus a possibility. The only other car I have experience driving is a Tercel.
The engine can get a little loud during acceleration but I might just be spoiled by the smaller engine on the Cruze. If this is the case, I’ll get used to it.
Apparently these machines have a long-standing reputation for dependability and low maintenance costs. I’m attracted to the Corolla primarily on this alone.
People have complained about paint chipping on this car as well but this might just be a symptom of modern paint jobs.My questions:
1. If I want a first car that is reliable, peppy, good for mild city driving, but is comfortable for highway driving of up to a few hundred kilometers, what would those who are more experienced than me here recommend I go for? I’d like something that won’t be prone to safety issues, accessories and other interior pieces breaking or falling apart, electrical problems, etc.
2. Is it actually a possibility that the VIN of a vehicle will indicate a year of 2011 for a 2012 model if it was manufactured in 2011, or could the seller be mistaken? I don’t think that a pre-2012 Corolla CE with cruise control exists, yet his is a CE with cruise.
Thanks!
(source: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/9-general-discussion-forum/6842-charge-pipes-4.html)
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About the Carolla date thing, the vin should indicate the proper information. Unless it was changed or tampered with for some reason, then it should be pretty easy to identify. You could always ask what the manufacture date is. it’s on one of the placards in the door jamb and should be in the format of month/year 05/11. The model year usually changes around August or September. The only thing I could see creating a late 2011 model is if they were rolling out a redesign and ran production later into the year.
As for the “heat soaking” that your link was talking about, it’s relative to the size of the intercooler. Every factory intercooler I’ve ever seen was in the same area as the rad and condensor. There really isn’t an alternative as far as factory design is concerned. The only thing that differs is how it’s layered. Intercoolers are necessary on turbo engines because of the sheer amount of heat produced as both a byproduct of the turbo being attached to the exhaust and the compression of the intake charge. After a few minutes of idling, even when it’s cold out, my turbo is screaming hot.
The Cruze is also not a performance car, so little to no consideration would have been put into intake air temperature at idle sitting in traffic. As long as the engine itself stays cool, there’s no problem. I’m sure almost any car would see increased intake temperatures sitting in traffic if you wanted to nitpick small details.
Since the 2 car’s you are looking at are 3 years apart, I’m guessing they are the same price. All I have to say about that is that there’s a reason for it. Unless you try to kill a Toyota, I really don’t think it can be done. They’re just boring as all hell. But they are VERY easy to work on. The Cruze, well it’s a Chevy and will probably start to break like most other Chevy’s before 100,000.
The Cruze has had cooling system issues, axle seal leaks, valve covers go bad because of the pcv valve built into them and cause a p0171, people like to break the vanity mirrors off for some reason, and for the most part those are the common issues between the 1.4/1.8 from few years back to present. It’s really not that bad of a car and I would not hesitate to buy one. Just stating what we replace the most on these cars.
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Well I am a Ford man myself. I worked on GM for a living and cringe at the thought of buying any late model GM vehicle. In my humble opinion you cant go wrong with a Toyota. They make good cars. All cars have problems some more than others.
You said this, “Apparently these machines have a long-standing reputation for dependability and low maintenance costs. I’m attracted to the Corolla primarily on this alone.”
Then, I think you should go with Corolla.
If you want to learn how to work on cars, definitely get the Cruze. You’ll get plenty of experience.
Seriously, I’d get the Corolla. Great cars. Note that the year code can be the calendar year in which a vehicle is built, or a model or type year allocated by the manufacturer. You should call a Toyota dealer to verify which is the case with a 2011 or 2012 Corolla.
We have been absolutely thrilled with our 2012 Chevy Cruze, bought new almost 4 years ago. It is bar none, the best car anyone in my family has ever owned. We’ve had plenty of Hondas, Toyotas, Jeep, several Mercedes, a BMW, a Ford or two, VW, Saturn, other Chevys, Chrysler, pretty much everything but a Subaru, and nothing can be compared to the combined quality, value, reliability, and refinement of the Cruze. Most cars will give you two or maybe three of these things, but severely lack in other areas. I did extensive research and comparison before we bought the Cruze. Nothing really came close, except maybe the Corolla, actually, to be honest. I was very disappointed with the “perceived quality” or solidity of the Civic and Elantra. I personally would never buy another VW, Ford, or Chrysler, as their reliability has been poor in the past and data in the years since 2012 indicates that hasn’t changed. Mercedes and BMW were out of the price range for this purchase, but honestly I may have still just bought a better equipped Cruze. GM’s quality skyrocketed from say 2007 to 2011 during their restructuring, and the ratings from various car magazines and what not reflect that. The Corolla was still tempting, but I much preferred the styling of the Cruze and it’s a better value. It feels much more refined. I know Toyota had a lot of problems with some engines somewhere around 2007-12, I’m not sure which ones, but it did factor in my decision, maybe unjustly so. Something like 4 billion US dollars went into the research and development of the Cruze. We decided to get an LS, with the non-turbo engine and a much lower price tag. So far, we’ve been very happy with that decision, although the fuel economy is noticeably lower and in 2012 it appeared that might be a significant factor in cost of ownership that so far, it hasn’t been with fuel so cheap in the US now. So far reliably seems to be high, but it’s too early to tell, and the only part that we’ve had to replace was the thermostat under warranty, but it’s only like a $32 part anyways! Parts are so affordable for GM vehicles! I don’t know if I would still pick a Cruze for model year 2016, and the first year had more problems in ’11, but it’s a fantastic car for ’12-15. I would opt for a manual transmission if I could do it again, but if you change the fluid on the automatic regularly with full synthetic, it should hold up. I can’t comment on the reliability or performance of the 1.4L turbo. When I test drove both models back to back when we purchased in 2012, I thought they were both about equally slow as you’d expect for an economy car.
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