I’m getting cross-eyed from trying to find a post you answered a couple of days ago where you mentioned you had/have a 2005 Corolla.
I asked what you personally thought the pros and cons were as I might be looking for one of these when I dump the van.
Thanks
well, i got one for my daughter several years ago. a 04 if i recall.
i got it because the daewoo my wife got her is a piece of #$%^& and i didn’t want her driving around it an unsafe $%^&box.
she totalled it, against the back wheels of a semi. car was crushed, and she walked away. so from my input. VERRY safe, and good mileage. ohm yeah, i got back the whole purchase price from the insurance, so guess what i bought for her?? yup another corolla.
He found the driver’s seat very uncomfortable on his bad back, IIRC. But at least my post will bump this to the top.
I had a 2005 Corolla for two months, 5000 miles. The car had a lot of features for the money, was well built, and my experiences with the reliability of Toyotas led me to it. The car ran great and got the 38 mpg advertised.
I have degenerative disc disease in my spine, with all its associated problems, and unfortunately the seats and the stiff suspension simply did not work for me. I also commute, and the ride was causing me intense pain. I had no choice but to trade it back in and absorb the $2500 loss. I traded it for a Scion tC, which for me has been extremely comfortable.
The lesson I learned was that from now to forever comfort has to be for me the absolute #1 priority, and the only way to determine that is with a good, long test drive. This was the first new car I’ve bought in years, and I now have to change my thought processes to accomodate my disability.
When I was shopping for my last car, I looked at the Corolla, Camry, Civic and Accord. One thing that stood out for me on the Corolla was that, for me, there was a very large blind spot from the A pillar. It seemed much more pronounced than any of the other cars I test drove. It was bad enough that I immediately decided it wasn’t for me. They may have re-designed it since or it may not even be an issue for you but I thought I’d point it out in case it helps…
My sister has had 3 Corollas, but the last one (don’t know the year) had uncomfortable seats (she’s in her 70s), so she traded up to a Camry. All three Corollas were very reliable and cheap to keep running.
Sometimes a persons’ height has a lot to do with blind spots like the A pillar you mentioned. I’m 6’3" so there aren’t many vehicles around that cause me problems like that.
Thank you all for your insight, it sounds like my choice will be the Corolla, when the time comes.
Mb,
Sorry to hear you have the back problem. I have a degenerated disc too and some days I don’t even want to get out of bed.
I’ve had a lot of therapy for it but that doesn’t last long. It’s a result of a long ago logging injury that just simply got worse as the years went by.
Oh well, life goes on eh?
Um, I guess it’s safe to say you don’t much like the Daewoos? The name alone turned my head away.
Sorry to hear about your disc. The disc itself contains no nerves, and the pain comes from either the bulging and pressing on nerves (if you have annular tears and herniation) or from osteoarthritis of the associated facet joints (those interlocking wings on the back of the vertebre that limit rotational articulation). I’ve found that a well placed cortisone injection delivered by a good pain specialist can do wonders to mitigate the inflammation and relieve the pain.
NSAIDs help control the inflammation too, but they can come with some nasty side effects.
Needless to say, these are just comments. Do nothing without the direction of a physician.
I’ve never been in a Deawoo. But I rented a Hyundae Sonata for a week in 2005 and my back was killing me after.
I hear you Mb.
I’m allowed only one coated Tylenol 3 per day because I am already on Coumadin (blood thinner) as I am also pacemaker dependent.
SO, other than that, I’m in perfect health!
I’m 5’11" and my head was also rubbing on the headliner at the comfortable seat position. As the seat moves backward, you gain some room but at 6’3", you might not gain enough! This was another sticking point with me on most of the smaller cars I test drove. The Hondas especially seemed to be more restrictive and the suspension was firmer so I was bumping my head and felt too confined.
I had a heart attack last year. They tried to take me off my NSAID and I fought them. I told the cardiologist flatly that I’d rather risk another heart attack than live with disabling pain every day. He was not pleased, but when he realized that in order to perform the stress test to discharge me I was going to need to get a handle on the arthritis pain he had no choice. So there I was, in the cardiac unit, taking NSAIDs…
They had me on blood thinners too. I stopped them when my ulcers returned.
I know I’d getting old because my breakfast comes from the pharmacy rather than the farm.
Holy cow, MB! It’s amazing that you keep such a good outlook on life, given all of this stuff. My hat’s off to you.
Thanks. Anytime I get to feeling sorry for myself all I have to do is stop by the soup kitchen. The truth is that I have it made.
Sometimes we get dealt a crappy hand and need to bluff our way out, but with these problems all we can do is be happy we can still move around (albeit in pain).
When I get down, I think of others less fortunate than myself and how they cope and I get back up again.
Whomever said the words “You’re not getting older, you’re getting better”, must of had their head in the sand.
Mb, I hope the pain doesn’t get worse for you.
You guys are great. Thanks for the inspiration. Others would do well to follow your examples.
Sorry for hijacking the thread, but sometimes a guy just has to talk things out.
Now lessee, where was I? Oh yeah, researching Corollas.
Take care everyone.