[ETA] KaTaLyST_
New member
I'm buying a used 2001 Toyota Corolla tomorrow (well, hope to at least). The car has 144,000 miles and has a manual transmission. I test drove the car yesterday and everything seemed fine except for a couple of things..
1. The e-brake was way too loose for my tastes. I currently drive an Acura Integra (5-Speed) and the e-brake on that is tight compared to the one on the Corolla. Is this something to worry about or can it be solved by a minor adjustment?
2. To brake, you have to push the brake pedal all the way down near the floor before the brakes start to take effect and start slowing you down. This is reminiscent of when I disconnected the rear e-brake line on my Integra. The problem with my car was that air got into the line and I solved the problem by doing a simple brake line bleed (now my brakes are very responsive).
The car is not for myself (for my friend actually) but I'm acting as the intermediary in the transaction. Are these little quirks something to be worrying about or will they cause more trouble down the road. I'm already planning to do preventive maintenance on the vehicle as soon as my friend and I take possession of it, like performing an oil change, flushing the transmission fluid, changing the brake pads and brake drums, tightening the e-brake cable (if that is what the problem seems to be), changing fuses, wipers, bulbs, belts, other misc. fluids, etc..
I'm not very mechanically inclined. I know a bit to kind of diagnose and remedy simple problems so I'm hoping that someone who is knowledgeable will give me some tips or answers on what I should look out for or if these problems will be a deal breaker and force us to reconsider.
Also please keep in mind that the car is for my friend (who is a college student), so all costs will be out of her pocket. We can't really take the car to a mechanic to have a full-blown inspection of it and have them replace all the parts. I have another friend who IS a bit more mechanically inclined than myself and I hope that he will be willing to help us. Thank you in advance for all of those who post anything. Thank you for your time =]
1. The e-brake was way too loose for my tastes. I currently drive an Acura Integra (5-Speed) and the e-brake on that is tight compared to the one on the Corolla. Is this something to worry about or can it be solved by a minor adjustment?
2. To brake, you have to push the brake pedal all the way down near the floor before the brakes start to take effect and start slowing you down. This is reminiscent of when I disconnected the rear e-brake line on my Integra. The problem with my car was that air got into the line and I solved the problem by doing a simple brake line bleed (now my brakes are very responsive).
The car is not for myself (for my friend actually) but I'm acting as the intermediary in the transaction. Are these little quirks something to be worrying about or will they cause more trouble down the road. I'm already planning to do preventive maintenance on the vehicle as soon as my friend and I take possession of it, like performing an oil change, flushing the transmission fluid, changing the brake pads and brake drums, tightening the e-brake cable (if that is what the problem seems to be), changing fuses, wipers, bulbs, belts, other misc. fluids, etc..
I'm not very mechanically inclined. I know a bit to kind of diagnose and remedy simple problems so I'm hoping that someone who is knowledgeable will give me some tips or answers on what I should look out for or if these problems will be a deal breaker and force us to reconsider.
Also please keep in mind that the car is for my friend (who is a college student), so all costs will be out of her pocket. We can't really take the car to a mechanic to have a full-blown inspection of it and have them replace all the parts. I have another friend who IS a bit more mechanically inclined than myself and I hope that he will be willing to help us. Thank you in advance for all of those who post anything. Thank you for your time =]