Junkyard Find: 1998 Toyota Corolla LE, New Jersey Skater Edition

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin

After yesterday’s Corolla Junkyard Find, it seemed right to follow up with another, newer, Corolla. You know how you can tell when you’re a car’s final owner? Such was the case with the final owner of this much-abused Corolla, who drove his or her Corolla a couple thousand miles west, no doubt to be where cannabis is legal.

This sort of paint job attracts a lot of attention from members of the law-enforcement community, especially when the driver looks like this guy or maybe even this guy.

The house-paint-and-rattle-can-graffiti look also tends to enrage neighbors, which increases the chances that the car will get parking tickets and then get towed away by The Man when those tickets aren’t paid.

The drive out from New Jersey probably featured a lot of E.Town Concrete on the stereo.

Judging from all the stickers and tags on the car, the owner must have been a big fan of Creature skateboards.

Many Eastcrust stickers as well.

You see many of these Grenade Gloves stickers on various mud-splattered SUVs and final-owner hoopties in Denver. They’ve become quite commonplace in junkyards, maybe even more so than ICP Hatchetman stickers these days.

Odds are that this car’s first owner was a rental-car company, as is the case with so many Corolla LEs.


Or perhaps the original owner came from this Buick-like demographic.

It’s hard to imagine any car company being willing to torpedo their wholesome image with a song from the notoriously drug-addled Sly and the Family Stone back during the band’s heyday. What’s next, Iggy Pop selling Cadillacs?

OK, now we need some of Sly’s yodeling, from an era when cities were burning, bombs were dropping, and shit was getting crazier every day.










Murilee Martin
Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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  • Boogieman99 Boogieman99 on May 29, 2014

    A lot of fun was had with this car... the type that can't be had when parents buy their kids a brand new Civic or Altima instead of a decade old beater

  • Guy922 Guy922 on Jun 03, 2014

    These Corolla's were probably the crappiest iteration yet. I have a lot of memories and experience with 1988-92 Corollas. In High school and the early years after, many of my friends had those. A few have had 1998-02 Corollas as well. the '98s felt so cheap with the lame upholstery and the low seating position. The anemic engine felt like it was pulled from a Tercel powertrain and it probably is the blandest looking of all corollas of late. I find well used 1988-97 Corollas more visually appealing than a well used 1998-02. The cheapness and butt ugly looks were somewhat remedied with the 2003 redesign. I used to drive a my Aunt's 1999 Corolla CE at times. After driving that and getting into my 1992 Camry, the Camry felt like a whole other world. The Corolla is good at what it does best-Cheap and reliable transport. Those looking for refinement and a high quality interior would be best to look elsewhere.

  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
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