A car expert is going viral after informing viewers why they should never sell Toyota Corollas—regardless of their conditions.
Scotty Kilmer (@scottykilmer.car), a 71-year-old who uses his platform to share car-related advice and hacks, says he came across a Corolla that someone purchased for $2.
That wasn’t a typo. The car was that cheap, Kilmer says.
But it wasn’t without its flaws. Among other things, Kilmer says the car “makes noise” and that “it’s got duct tape” on one of its side-view mirrors. What’s more, he says, the license plate was bolted on with “vise grip pliers.”
“To top it off, it has a minion paint job on it,” Kilmer says. He adds, too, that the car had roughly 116,000 miles on it.
Still, Kilmer says one man’s trash is another’s treasure. When he pops open the hood, Kilmer reveals a 1.8L engine. He says these “can last forever.”
“I’d never get rid of it,” Kilmer says of the Toyota car. As of Monday, his video showcasing “why you should never get rid of” a Corolla amassed more than 52,500 views.
What makes Corollas so great?
Toyota Corollas, in particular, are considered highly reliable due to the manufacturer’s emphasis on quality materials that prioritize efficiency and minimal waste. In one Quora thread, several Corolla drivers said they’ve owned their cars for many years and have never run into serious issues.
“I’ve had two of them,” one user shared. “The first I kept for 20 years, despite the fact it wasn’t new when I got it. The second had 178,000 miles when it got t-boned by someone and totaled.”
“We are on our fifth Corolla in [the] last 30 years of driving,” another commenter wrote. “Currently, I have two: 2007 and 2016 models. No issues on either car.”
In another Reddit thread from 2023, one user called Corollas the “stale bread of cars.” Still, they said they were tempted to buy one because Toyota is one of the most reliable car manufacturers, and Corollas are relatively inexpensive.
Toyotas are among some of the most reliable cars, according to experts
Subaru only recently ascended to the top of Consumer Reports’ brand rankings, replacing Lexus and Toyota, which had traded the number one and two spots for many years.
Even with this demotion, Toyota had the third-highest brand reliability score in last year’s ratings, and the manufacturer had four models that scored well above average. (Another seven, it said, scored above average, while five scored average.)
As one Redditor in the r/askcarguys subreddit put it, Corollas have “simple but well-implemented designs and manufacturing.”
“Their whole process [of] building cars is so focused on quality, whereas some brands are just focused on making profits every quarter,” the Redditor said. “I look at Toyota like I do an iPhone. Slow to adapt [to] new designs and technology, but when they do finally bring out something new, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ve done a lot of work to try and perfect it.”
@scottykilmer.car Here’s What a $2 Car Looks Like #scottykilmer #car #cars #exhaust #mechanic ♬ original sound – Scottykilmer
Viewers express love for Corollas but skepticism at the low price
In the comments section of Kilmer’s video, several viewers said they also owned Corollas and could attest to their reliability.
“Great[est] model ever, I just bought one but 2007,” one user said.
Another man said he had a 2005 model with 193,000 miles on it. “She’s still going strong,” he said of the car.
Some others, though, expressed doubt that the owner purchased the Corolla for just $2.
“Heelll no, you can’t get this for [two] bucks,” one man claimed.
“$2?” another questioned.
“I’d like to know where the hell he got a car for $2,” a third user questioned.
And a few commenters were so struck by the minion portrait on the Corolla that they forgot its low price.
“Is nobody talking about the MINION ON HIS CAR????” one person wrote.
“‘When you look under the minion,’” another quoted from Kilmer, followed by a laughing emoji.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kilmer via TikTok comment and to Toyota through email.
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