I just bought my first car, a 2010 Toyota Corolla CE with Enhanced Convenience Package (stability control...

I just bought my first car, a 2010 Toyota Corolla CE with Enhanced Convenience Package (stability control, cruise control, auto headlights, etc)

It had 99,150km when I got it and everything was great, maintenance up to date and whatnot.

What do I do now? It's my first car, I live in the city and my parents have never had a car since they work 5 minutes from home.

How does one become a "car guy" or find a decent reliable mechanic for scheduled maintenance?

Also, I'm 24, never been insured before and my rate is $228 CAD/month, is that good?

pic related, my car

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>how does one become a "car guy"
>drives a corolla

corollas are just appliances, so the only thing you can do is your oil changes and other service according to the manual

if you want to actually have some fun driving you need to ditch that car and get something else

Sweet, so low maintenance vehicle?

I have an engineering degree but I can't find a decent job so I think I'm gonna stick with this wonderful appliance for a while.

Every car is an appliance.
The car is only as interesting as the driver

228/month Is waaaaay to much for insurance for this car and your age

Wrong. Is it the greatest car ever built? Fuck no. But I still have way more fun than I should with it, ripping through every corner and spinning the tires at lights.

>he spins the tires in his corolla

how? they have like 5 torques

You're getting buttfucked with that insurance plan

Drive it.

I pray it's not an automagic.

They're econoshit tires. It barely takes anything to get them spinning
I'm not opee but yeah he totally is. I pay half that for my trans am at 20

Insurance depends on where you live, how far you drive etc...if pic is OP's, check the tags onthe fence and garage door...not living in a great neighborhood does cost extra...

At some point you should try out a Miata. Not to buy, given that you're in Canada, but to experience a different style of tuning a car. It isn't even about being RWD; compared to the Corolla all of your driver inputs turn into movement very quickly, and the steering stiffens up as your cornering forces increase, going slack once you've pushed too hard. Basically more responsiveness and feedback through the controls, which imo is what makes a car fun to drive. It's a pretty reliable car, too. I think driving an 86/BRZ would tell you the same things.

See if you can try out a BMW at some point too. They're not reliable, but they're interesting because they're good at the responsiveness and feedback thing while feeling solid and heavy, the opposite of Mazda's light and fleet-of-foot feel.

cartalk.com had a mechanic database. Yelp might work, too.

See if there are any local non-competitive autocross sessions around. A Corolla would need plenty of time to cool down between runs, but you usually don't get that many anyway. That's the best way to find out what your car can do without the extensive modifications required for track time.

If you ever have to replace your shocks due to age, consider aftermarket springs+shocks that are stiffer. They won't turn the Corolla into a truly sporty car due to its suspension geometry, soft bushings, steering assist tuning, etc., but you'll probably enjoy it. Likewise, there are too many chokepoints to make power mods worth it.

>Also, I'm 24, never been insured before and my rate is $228 CAD/month, is that good?
Terrible but not surprising if you haven't had insurance before. In the US it usually drops a lot once you hit 25. Do get quotes from other insurers.

I just parked in a random alleyway to take a pic to send to my friend.
I live in a house in downtown Toronto; everyone was quoting me $400 CAD since I have never had insurance before and I'm under 25, but the company I went for only charged $228 since I have a professional engineers of Ontario discount.

Thanks m8, this is all really good advice.

yelp.ca/biz/guans-auto-service-toronto this guy is like 5 minutes from my house and has decent ratings, how does it look?

As for the suspension, I'll definitely consider it.

If you want to get into cars you want to work on em too. Get the full experience and all. For your Corolla the best upgrade you can do is a rear sway bar, I think TRD makes some for about $150 or so. That and good wheels/tires would really improve it's handling. Not gonna be a drift monster but you'll definitely feel the change.

You would know about getting buttfucked

Yes I would ;^)

Apparently the average insurance rate in toronto for new drivers is $312 to $606 for males under 25.

So that $228 is a really good deal.

This. You getting jewed son.

Why would it matter on a corolla? You fucking faggot. Those cars are built for casual city driving. Godamn highschoolers think every car is a race car.

Nigga I got three dui's and 3 wrecks on my record and my insurance for a shit box is like 115 a month.
God bless the USA.

calm down junior or you're going to fuck that toaster up

More shit for me to wrench on :^)

I can spin the tires on my 01 civic if I surprise it in the rain. Grippy all seasons too.

I can do that on my 1995 saturn s series and its only single cam.


I think its pretty easy in the rain.

If you want to spin the tires real hard you should learn how to launch it properly. Just put it in neutral, rev to about 5k since you don't have a lot of torque, and floor it as you shift into Drive. After a while, it'll become second nature.

>implying manual equals rasekar

Goddamn high schoolers.

>grippy all seasons
lies

Thats a great way to fucking destroy your transmission!

It's fine. Automatic transmission torque converters are viscous couplings and deal with the stress without a problem, allowing for consistent launches. That's why drag cars often use automatic transmissions as old as the Powerglide. No worries, OP.

Meant fluid rather than viscous coupling but my point still stands.

My only concern there is that makes the car easier to spin. Good mod, but maybe after he gets some experience first.

Im trying to get a corolla too. How much did you get yours for op? Also does it matter if i get a 2009 or 2010 with over 100k miles??

100 dollars

Just graduating now, looking for that sweet EIT insurance discount. Do you need your degree? Wondering If I have to wait until June to register for EIT

You don't need the degree, just tell them your PEO number and they'll look you up on the PEO website

I got it for 7500 CAD with 99k km which is ~5500 USD at 60k miles.

2010 is 3rd gen, 2009 is 2nd.