What to do with 95 Corolla XL? Noob motorist needs to know!

[micketymoc]

Got an early birthday gift from my tita - a 95 Corolla XL. Runs fine, aircon is cold, brakes work great. Only 2 things I worry about:

1) it's an Ondoy survivor.

2) It hasn't been repainted, I think, ever since my tita got it.

Because it's an Ondoy survivor, some of the electronics don't work. The ceiling light (dome light ba yon? Told you I was a noob) is dead, and so's the stereo. Yesterday when I was driving to Makati the signal lights stopped working; they were working fine when I got the car last Sunday.

The engine, like I said, runs smoothly naman, but I notice it has a greater-than-usual tendency to stall when the engine is idling. I don't know if I should be worried about that.

About the paint job - I just think it needs one. There aren't any major dents, just dings and scratches in some parts. I think the paint is starting to weather - on the hood and on the roof, some patches are starting to appear, although generally the car looks like a used silver Corolla that hasn't been in any major incidents.

So my basic question is: what do I do now?

I don't know if I should be going to any talyer to have the car looked over, and I don't know which talyer to turn to in the first place. I live on Tandang Sora, and there's a Servitek on Congressional/Visayas that seems to have gotten good reviews on Tsikot Forums, but what do I tell them when I drive the car there? "Hey, could you just look this over for problems? kthxbye."

And how does the paint thing work for a car like mine, with dings and scratches? Hilamos na lang ba sya? Is there, like, a service package somewhere that will take care of those dings and dents before the paint is applied? And will I have to file paperwork with the TMG if I decide to paint it a different color?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[[archie]]

do you want everything to work???

if so, madali lang yan... rewire the whole car and buy the busted parts. mura na lang pyesa na surplus nito...

since carb yung engine, very little can go wrong... regarding the stalling, it might be the idler screw lang. try to get someone to adjust it for you.

reys electrical can handle rewiring the car. its at cubao and they are the best in electrical IMO.

since the car is an ondoy survivor, check all fluids... break fulid should be level and see if there are any sign of penetration of water. motor oil naman see if it has the "milo" color or near that. if so, have it oil changed until the color is just the oil. gear oil?? baka ok lang since sealed naman kung m/t oto.

HTH

[nitrox]

I think the best way to approach this is to get the engine, electricals, aircon & other important items to be checked-up/fixed first before the body work. You can refer to the Ondoy threads on the experience of other car owners. You should bring the car to your trusted mechanic or talyer. I would suggest you get a quotation on various shops para may basis ka for comparison. I think the car would need a major paint job, especially if parts got corroded. Yes, you need to file the necessary paper work when you change car's color.

[voltscastillo]

first thing you should do is get the car running reliable.

next would be to check the wirings... you can do a two for one job here by buying a new stereo... habang nakabaklas yung wiring kausapin mo yung auto accessories guy patignan mo yung mga wiring to and from the fuseboxes. check nya rin kung may ground... bugyan mo na lang pang yosi or somthing.

carburettor yung kotse mo, so, no fancy computers or sensors to worry about there.

next would be to clean up the interior... maybe get some new tints.

then new tires and magz.

everytime you drive or get the car fixed you should always ask yourself: am i willing to drive this thing long distance to camsur watersports complex? will this car take me there, and back? that would keep things in perspective... because if you're buying something that won't add comfort or car reliability to you, might was well not buy it because sayang pera.

wag mo na isipin yung dagdag resale value, dahil kahit ano ilagay mo jan, 2nd hand value nyan will never top 220K, so might as well make it run excellent na lang, right?

[micketymoc]

Thanks for the advice everyone! little update - the car overheated on me today, brought it to Servitek Congressional and they found that may nawalan na stopper, naubos ang tubig and caused the overheating. Another shop (Mekaniko on Visayas Ave.) is giving it a top overhaul.

[ben_david19]

nagpa-top overhaul ka na naman so palinis mo na rin yung carburator at distributors mo.

yung carburator, palitan na ng air filter na bago. yung cooling system, patingnan mo na rin. no leaks sa hose at radiator, coolant level, fans are working etc.

argh, masyadong madami ang patitingnan mo eh.

[micketymoc]

nagpa-top overhaul ka na naman so palinis mo na rin yung carburator at distributors mo.

yung carburator, palitan na ng air filter na bago. yung cooling system, patingnan mo na rin. no leaks sa hose at radiator, coolant level, fans are working etc.

argh, masyadong madami ang patitingnan mo eh.

Korek ka dyan ser. Like I said, I'm a newbie at driving. I don't know what to look at first, or what to tell the talyer to look at. Buti na lang mukhang mabait at honest yung Mekaniko sa Visayas Ave., will review that place once I have more sh!t done.

Can you help me here - if you were in my shoes, tapos dinala mo sa talyer ang kotse ko, what would you ask the mechanic to do? What would your checklist look like? Your suggestion was a great start:

- carburetor, change air filter
- clean carburetor and distributors
- check cooling system
- check hoses

Ano pa ang ipapatingin ko?

Second question - will need to change the stereo. Anong size speakers ang compatible sa Corolla XE? (Mali ang sabi ko na XL dati, XE pala sya, kaya pala me power steering ang loko, hehehe). And what kind of CD deck should I get, if I want a basic CD deck that can play MP3s and has an auxiliary line-in for iPods?