something is up about this corolla

something is up about this corolla

ok, my girlfriend drives a 97 corolla, just like me, thats rad...but something is up about hers.
she drives a 97 CE. i can tell it's been repainted. right now its a gold brown color, ugliest color i've ever seen. they did a bad job too, lots of overspray and rough edges and it doesn't have any gloss to it. but the body is in perfect shape, no dents or dings, only thing that is off, is her passenger headlight is pushed in and out of alignment. it drives pretty good, suspension is comfortable, tranny shifts nicely and the engine seems to run decent, it shakes a little at idle, but i would expect that. she bought the car about 10 months ago for $5000
heres the kicker it had 18000 miles on it when she got it.

something really seems fishy with it. how could a 97 corolla have 18000 miles on it? how could she get it for $5k and why is it repainted? i really wonder if the car was wrecked, repainted and then they changed out the gauge cluster. oh yeah, it came with 14" american racing wheels, dumb lookin, just wanted to add that

i spent $7500 on my DX in great shape with 54K on it, 3 years ago, i know i overpaid somewhat, but damn, 18k miles for $5k?
also, she only has a 3speed auto tranny and no cruise or power mirrors or tilt wheel or trunk light, but she has power windows and locks and the toyota security system. also, it has the wood paneling on the dash area. however she does has the option that my DX doesn't have, she can press up on the windsheild wiper control, and it makes the wipers wipe once...why doesn't my DX have that???
anyways, i know, i should get a carfax report on the car, but i don't want to spend $20 just to solve a mystery that she doesn't even care about, just wondering what you guys thought..

<a href="http://www.carfax.com" target="_blank">www.carfax.com</a> is your friend..run the vin..and ask the seller QUESITONS!!!!!!

Sounds like she got a bad deal. I had a deal like that though. I bought a 98' Corolla, Black, with an engine swap(2004 VVT-i 1zz motor) for 7000. Bought it with 25000 miles on it. Does sound pretty suspicious though, Ever looked under the hood? If so, tell.

if it runs and drives, don't waste anyone's time researching this.. if she got taken, there's nothing she can do anyway. just be content with the damn car..

but remember next time to www.carfax.com FIRST.

Why the freaking heck did you spend so much on a 97?!!

yeah ive seen your girlfriends car before at drug mart and giant eagle. it is kind of an odd color. but anyways ive seen 93-97 rollas from time to time with less than 20K on them. one actually had only 3K and the person was trying to sell it near sticker price.

sounds to me she got owned by the seller... that is so common here, mileage reading is not enough, they can be altered... they do that lots times just to get rid of a car... the used cars asian market really does fool alot of peeps...