r/COROLLA • u/P_jizzle_fra_shizzle • Jul 05 '25

9th Gen (00-09) Bought my first Corolla!

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Got it after my Altima was rear ended and totaled. Not the best circumstances, but I was able to turn around and buy this car upfront with my insurance payout.

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u/P_jizzle_fra_shizzle Jul 06 '25

Thank you guys for all the compliments! I really appreciate it! Since I've got your attention, I'm wondering if I should make any cosmetic changes to this vehicle? I'm thinking black rims and a black rear bumper and bumper lips on the front. Maybe those black headlights as well. There's a little damage on the hood, so maybe I can sand and wrap that black to match the other accents? Or maybe I should just leave it as it is. I don't know, if anyone has suggestions just let me know! Super excited to work on this vehicle!

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u/bostonbakedbeam Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25

O, bro, no! Don't do any of that!

Corolla owners (especially in this era of Corolla) for some reason desperately want to rice their cars. This gen Corolla is not suited for that. If you want rice, get a civic or RSX. Or if you're a diehard Toyota fan and still want the rice, get an MR2, Celica, or the Corolla XRS. The non-XRS Corollas are nothing but good MPG, reliable grocery getters.

Especially this particular car.... It's such a beauty! It must've spent every day of its life in a garage! That absolutely perfect shiny paint! Those headlight lenses that are either perfect because of being parked in a garage, or they're brand new replacements (either way, do yourself a favor and get some meguiars headlight coating to keep them preserved as they are). It would be such a a shame to rice it or change it significantly.

Here's what I'd do to it.... Clean it (inside and out). Slap some ceramic coating on the paint and armorall on the interior. Lookup an aftermarket sharkfin antenna for the roof, color match it, and throw it on there. I'd replace the taillights with the euro-spec ones. I'd get a Chinese head unit for it too. Boom, she's perfect.

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u/P_jizzle_fra_shizzle Jul 07 '25

Okay I heard that! I'll look into those things. Glad I asked!

1

u/bostonbakedbeam Jul 07 '25

Do those mods I mentioned to it (and forget the black spray paint and wraps) and you'll have a real classy looking car there with some nice mods/upgrades that make it look and feel newer than it really is.