Owner Review: A legendary car that's still going strong - My 1995 Toyota Corolla SEG 1.6 Auto

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Basic information about my car:

1995 Toyota Corolla SEG 1.6 Auto

Reasons why I bought this car(purpose)

Was a legacy car from my uncle who bought it new in 1995 and kept in use till 2019 when he decided to give it to me since I had owned and driven 2 Toyota Corolla (Altis 2002 and SEG AE110 1997) earlier.

Need another car as the 2006 Myvi was required by my son for his work engagements.
I asked to buy it from him but he wanted to give it to me.  In the end I agreed to exchange it for my notebook PC since it was already outdated (still running Vista!)

Needed another car which I can use to make outstation trips and this particular car met my expectations.  It had a 1.6 engine and having driven the later AE110 for that purpose I knew it would meet my needs.

Car selection process

● I had a budget of: Legacy car FOC exchanged it in the end for my HP Notebook PC 

● Models that I have considered include: Perodua Myvi new / Used Perodua Myvi ex 2009

User Experience

● I have already done 10,000km. My average fuel consumption is 10.26km/l.

● Since the purchase, my thoughts about the car are :

1. Engine still has acceleration and good response.
2. AC in good working order
3. Interior still good and seat still firm
4. Still with the original paint but now starting to fade and flake. Maybe after MCO lifted I may send it in for a paint job.
5. Driven to Taiping , Ipoh and Penang a few times before COVID. Ultimate plan to drive to HatYai Thailand for holiday.
6. When I first got the car, the AC vents and the Speedometer was acting up.  Had them replaced.  Self search and bought via Mudah sellers.
7. The headlights were yellow and dim; changed them too.
8. Had the hub caps replaced too since the original ones broken or went missing.

Pros and Cons

Pros of my car

1. Classic design
2. My uncle claims this was an over engineered design by its developer.
3. The 1.6 4A-FE engine is very hardy and till today its smooth even on the highway

Cons 

1. Being a 90s car it has no ABS, Air Bags or even reverse sensors.
2. Only added a dashcam and replaced the old cassette deck with a MP3 player.

Ratings:

Total Score: 4

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 3

Space: 3

Ride comfort: 3

Fuel Economy: 3

Price & cost: 4

Summary:

What can I say?  The car still drives good after 26 years and I only changed some major parts like steering rack, ECU and fuel filter since taking over the car from my uncle.

Interesting things:

When I first took over this car, I made a trip up north to Taiping with my sister.
On the way home to KL we were caught in a cloudburst and visibility near nil.  Drove back to KL and noted one of the headlights was out.  At the mechanic shop he replaced the bulb and checked my tires too.
Aiyo do you know how old your tires are?  More than 7 years and the tyre wall had cracks forming.  I had checked the treads were still good but forgot to check the life span of the tyres. Had all 4 tyres replaced ASAP and thanked the lucky cars no accident occured driving on the highway.
Can you guys do a story on the basics of safety in old cars?

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