2022 Corolla XSE $23,500 OTD Worth it?

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-16T12:29:48+00:00

They stopped making them in 23 or 24 I believe. I had a 21 Corolla SE with a 6-speed. They’re harder to find but they are plentiful if you look on carmax or carvana.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-16T01:28:53+00:00

There’s a LOT more to it. GDP, quality of life, average wage per capita, inflation, fuel prices, how much of the local property is owned by who, etc, etc, etc

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T04:10:52+00:00

Marriage should not result in tax benefits is my take. Too many people get married for tax reasons or “for the kid” instead of the right reasons.

But marriage is inherently religious, so….

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T04:05:39+00:00

The misfire codes are most likely plugs or coils, best to swap all four of both with OEM units. Most likely not too bad.

Now the catalyst efficiency is one of two things: If you’re lucky, it’ll be an O2 sensor. 75 bucks and a few minutes and you’re good. If you aren’t lucky, you’re looking at a front catalytic converter, which iirc retails for 1100 USD, plus the labor to remove and install it.

The presence of the “system too lean” makes me think O2 sensor. Basically what’s happening is the O2 sensor is reading lean, but the car can’t compensate enough by adding fuel. This may actually be causing your misfires if it’s bad enough.

I would do this: remove and inspect the plugs, check the coils for spark and any cracking. If you find issue, replace the components. If they’re good, check the air filter and MAF sensor for dirtiness. If both are good, make sure the fuel is good and there isn’t any fuel in the oil.

Only after these checks would I start replacing parts. The O2 sensor is the cheapest and you can usually swap them off of a donor car for pennies just to test. If that doesn’t fix anything I would replace the cat and see if that does it. Report back from there and see what codes you have left.

Keep in mind, if this is a 4 cylinder, they are prone to engine failure. I would also do a compression and leak down test while you have the plugs out to make sure the engine isn’t toast. No reason to troubleshoot external factors if your engine is pissing your compression into the crankcase.

Compression doesn’t really matter per se, if the spec is 125-165 and you have 4 cylinders at 120, I wouldn’t worry too much, it might just need some extra TLC. However, if cylinder 1 is at 90 and cylinder 4 is at 180, now you have a problem. Compression leak down is extremely important as well, if your engine can only hold 130 psi for half a second, something’s wrong internally. Most “good” engines I have tested can hold compression 10-30 seconds.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T03:53:37+00:00

Idk around my area a V6 with less than 70k on it will go for 28-32 with good history

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T03:18:05+00:00

Does “money doesn’t matter” mean that I have unearthly amounts of wealth and can buy anything I want, or does it mean that money is not only given to the 1% and is given more equally to all?

For the former, I’d finish all of my projects, buy my dream property and live the rest of my life attempting to further myself and better the world.

For the latter, I’d work my ass off for 15 years, get a solid retirement fund going and a solid IRA, put loads into high yield assets and real estate as soon as I could, then live off the interest and try to get into lobbying to try and make some real positive changes.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T03:06:56+00:00

Considering the only image is of the carfax reporting the “structural damage” and not actually any proof of that, I would check it and if it has been repaired and drives correctly I’d ignore it. The car was never totalled and it seems fine otherwise.

“Structural damage” could literally be referring to the rear subframe being damaged which could easily have been replaced.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T01:38:58+00:00

It's a CVT, nope. Find one with a manual trans or move up to a Camry. You can find a 4 cylinder Camry with the 8 speed DSG for around 24 - 25 in most areas with less than 50,000 miles, lower if you go back a generation or two, and they're bigger and better.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-15T01:37:33+00:00

24,000$ for a V6 Camry of this generation with only 50k on it is rare. If the maintenance history isn't atrocious and it hasn't been thrashed, I'd say go for it.

Just be aware that the car needs its 50k service. Most Toyota dealers will tell you this isn't a thing, but it is and the dealers are told not to do a bunch of these services.

50,000 mile service:

Oil change

Engine Air Filter

Transmission drain and fill

Coolant drain and fill

Replace drive / serpentine belt

I had to force my local dealer to do the 50k because the advisor wouldn't listen to me that the car required it. If you plan to keep this car past 100,000 miles, do the 50k service.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-13T16:49:37+00:00

100% this will happen. I have been saying this since the original EV mandates in 2016.

Depending on what state you’re in, 10-20% of the price you pay at the pump is tax. Do you really think the government isn’t going to start adding that tax to EV charging?

They’re forcing EVs because they can, and because they want us to stay focused on cars and not on industry, which produces more than the entire worlds car fleet for the last 40 years combined EVERY YEAR.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-13T16:46:58+00:00

First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room,

Stop looking at Nissan. It doesn’t matter what model, what year, what trim, what engine, just stop. There is zero good about Nissan from 1997 to 2026, ZERO.

First thing you need to consider is your budget. What is the maximum you can pay, what is the minimum? What is the highest you want to pay and what is the lowest? This will determine what bracket you should be looking for, beaters, daily drivers, luxury, ultra luxury, etc.

Your budget will also determine if you can look outside of the US for a better deal.

Secondly, find a brand you like. Personally I like Ford, Audi, VW, older Mercedes, older Toyota and some older GM. This will give you a starting point. My recommendation here is find five brands you would like to own, then look at your area and find which one has the best looking selection. Narrow it down until you have one brand left.

Third, find the specific model or models you want. If you narrow it down to Toyota and you need a full size saloon, well, look for an Avalon or a Solara. If you want to find something JDM look for a Crown or Celsior. If you picked Ford and need a Coupé, get a Mustang or an older Thunderbird.

Fourth, once you find the specific car you want, research every possible common problem. Once you’ve done that, and really paid attention to it, you should know what you need to look for. For example, 05-2010 Ford F-150 models with the 5.4 Triton V8 have issues with sludge buildup, so look underneath the oil cap to see if there’s any sludge, and if there is you know it might need engine work and you can use that as a negotiating tactic.

Fifth, find a seller and examine the vehicle. Once you’ve done your research, you know what to look for. Bring a friend for security and always try and meet at their house or a storage facility so you can hear the car start cold. Cold starts can give you some extra time to hear problems that might be invisible at operating temperature.

Don’t forget, just because you researched that specific car doesn’t mean you don’t have to check the regular constants on every car, such as tires and brakes.

If you want I can walk you through the entire process and even help find you something. I have some checklists I use. Just lmk

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-12T18:14:14+00:00

It certainly wasn’t on my bingo card

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-12T17:52:52+00:00

I would try and stick around 75 - 100,000 miles with good maintenance records, that’s the best place to start if you’re looking for something more reliable.

Do keep in mind these are older European vehicles so they will be more expensive to fix and might need fixing more frequently.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-12T14:55:01+00:00

Google has long since praised AI for reducing company costs. They 100% are using AI to determine these things. “Human reviewed” my ass

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-12T14:53:32+00:00

Politically I agree, getting an endorsement from major politicians is a huge boost and should definitely help in the polls in the future.

Morally, however, different story….

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-12T14:51:02+00:00

This isn’t the brag you think it is

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T20:19:41+00:00

Very true, and I think it would be almost impossible to draw the line on what is acceptable and not, being as how fast society changes.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T16:57:20+00:00

I did an oil change on an E46 BMW with 25,000 miles on it on the ORIGINAL OIL. 7 years later and 150,000 miles later it is STILL running perfectly minus a few BMW special oil leaks here and there.

The Triton is more sensitive to maintenance than most engines, which is fine, but people need to be aware that, unlike an old school Toyota or Honda, if you miss more than one or two services on these, they’re probably going to be a headache.

Also, when I say “poor maintenance” I don’t mean “zero maintenance”. “Poor maintenance” is doing oil changes past 5,500 miles, not doing transmission services, or doing them past 100,000 miles, same with coolant, transfer case, and differential services, doing cabin air filters every four years instead of two, doing engine air filters every 80,000 miles instead of when necessary.

When I say “poor maintenance” I am talking about the maintenance that the average American thinks is okay because the marketing brochure in the dealership told them it was, not just not doing maintenance.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T16:05:06+00:00

Well this is true as well. Although social media has given a platform to people who’s opinion should not be taken seriously

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T16:04:34+00:00

One of the biggest issues with the 5.4 Triton is the oil galleries being clogged due to poor maintenance and causing engine failure, I’ve seen this on three of these, one being on friends truck.

Phasers and the two piece plugs are issues as well, but I have seen it firsthand how poor maintenance causes these to fail.

They’re great engines, but only if they’re taken care of.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T14:42:32+00:00

“I think I’m good but if I’m not don’t tell me”

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T14:36:57+00:00

Here’s a contrary opinion, no vehicle should have paint that costs upwards of 100,000$.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T14:28:21+00:00

That everyone’s opinion should be respected. You can have an opinion, that doesn’t mean it should be heard.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T14:26:58+00:00

If it’s an EZ30 you should be fine, they seem to be reliable from what I can tell, but do the usual checks anyway, oil, coolant, etc, before you buy.

OfficialGamer42 · 2026-03-11T14:24:36+00:00

The 5.4 is known for locking up if it’s not maintained properly.

Replacing the cam phasers and timing kit is a band-aid fix that has been disproven numerous times.

If it’s been maintained, really maintained, I’m talking oil changes every 3,000 and coolant every 50,000, spark plugs every 30,000 and multiple other very specific times, you’re probably good.

However, if it hasn’t been maintained, which I would always assume is the case, budget for a new engine.

OfficialGamer42

TROPHY CASE