u/iamwyverngirl

EDIT: UPDATE AT BOTTOM

I've been looking for a cheap car for a long time and finally had the opportunity to buy a 1998 Toyota Corolla for $1000. Because of the price, the seller quickly had a lot of offers to buy. I was first in the 'first come first serve' line, and if I asked him if I could take it to a mechanic first, he would have just sold it to whoever was next in line. So I had to buy it without knowing the issues it came with.

The only thing I knew when buying was that it was missing the catalytic converter (which has been stolen), but it had a replacement in the backseat that just required installation. I also knew that it drove and all the buttons I could think of trying worked (I was able to test it), but because I had bought it last minute at 11pm, it was dark and I couldn't see any obvious problems.

The next day I discovered the cosmetic/minor issues: the headliner was missing (not the whole thing, just the fabric covering the foam - idk how I missed that when driving the car initially), the gas tank cover popped off completely when I pressed the button to open it, and there are some dents in the car and a LOT of rust.

Then I went to the mechanic. He said other than the catalytic converter, there are two issues. One, the shocks desperately need to be replaced, and two, the motor is leaking a lot of oil all over the bottom of the car (but not onto the floor).

He said that for an $1000 car, it is not worth finding the source of the oil leak and repairing it, and that as long as I refill the engine oil when I need to (which will likely be often-ish), it'll be fine.

To replace the shocks and install the catalytic converter he said it will be $1200, making this a $2200 car.

Adding on that I will probably want to detail the car (the interior is very dirty, headliner fabric is missing, and exterior could use some love), which I'd roughly estimate to be like $250.

Here's the thing, I bought an $1000 car for a reason. I don't have a million dollars to spend on a car and insurance is very expensive where I'm from so I can't constantly be doing expensive maintenance. Should I accept the loss of $1000, not repair the car, and look for something with less issues for a similar cost to the repairs ill have to do now and possibly monthly if this car fails on me?

What's the chance of this car failing on me post-repairs? I don't want to spend money fixing it and have it break down on me in 4 months.

Should I skip the detailing, just get the interior a basic cleaning and glue some fabric to the top, and ignore the outside appearance of the car?

For driving context, I'll for sure be driving at least 12 miles a day for work (a lot of starting and stopping, city driving), and then maybe four days a month a 60 mile drive (on that note, can I even risk highway driving?)

Please tell me what you think, I don't know much about this car and have no idea if it'll last me or if it's worth repairs. Sorry for not having any images of the mechanical issues.

EDIT: 120k miles

EDIT: I did not expect my post to get this much attention, thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I don't know anything about cars so thank you for all being friendly! I did end up replacing the shocks as they were messing with the wheels and it was difficult to steer. I drove it for a proper drive for the first time today (10 miles) and it drove great! I'm glad I took the risk. I've learned how to check and refill the oil, and I'm going to keep an eye on things to learn its issues and how to deal with them a bit better. I'm already emotionally attached to this piece of scrap metal😆❤️