By Tim Odell
I’ve never been in a position to prey on the desperation of a seller in order to score a deal (it’s usually closer to the reverse). Were you located remotely near the SF Bay Area and shopping for a classic Toyota wagon, this is your week! This 1970 Corona wagon needs a new home by next weekend, but the seller dangles a carrot of a better price if sold this week. This suggests a lack of understanding of how firesales work, but let’s move on…
We’re looking at a 1970 Corona Mk II with an 18R engine from a truck and four speed manual providing motivation. The paint’s a faded red and the interior “may need work”, but the mechanicals appear all up-to-date. The seller’s had it for five years, and the overall condition seems to match that of a driver/light project.
I’m no Corona expert, so I have no clue how rare this configuration in this condition actually is. We still see a lot of non-rusted 70s Toyotas out here, but it seems like the $1200 examples are non-running projects 80% covered in primer. Knocking a bit off the $4800 ask, seems like this would be the better option.
1970 Toyota Corona for sale – SF Bay Craigslist
Jeff Glucker 
Kamil Kaluski
Translation: Leaks a bit of everything
The electronics blink and all the fuses are blown
Bad U-joints and the brakes are sticking.
One door does not open and one will not close
Has a squeaky bearing and the oil is low.
Only overheated once.
Soo..it’s actually a British car?
I am convinced that 99% of “must sell” claims are bogus. There was a guy with a Ninja 600C local to me who had “MUST SELL BY THIS WEEKEND” in the title of his CL ad (and, to be honest, a seemingly very fair asking price). I waited and texted him on Sunday afternoon and said my budget was about 2/3rds of the ask, but if he really had to sell I would go look at it. He responded with a “Hell no.” A month later and his ad was still there, still with the same title. I guess it depends on the definition of “must.”
There are some ads I just click away because of stupid copy like that. And then there was this Amazon I wanted to buy which was just right – until I saw it was offered in “Paradis”. Dammit, or so I thought. When I moved to Bergen a year later, I found out that’s actually a real neighbourhood’s name and it’s obviously a nice place for rich people to settle. That’s the one time I can remember where my bogus detector actually was taken down a notch.
https://www.google.no/maps/place/Paradis,+Bergen/@60.335299,5.3106977,13z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x463cf9754ad26991:0x310d9f59dfd59546!8m2!3d60.3369243!4d5.3453166
I actually saw a Corolla wagon for the first time yesterday! Was a 2-door, too. Looked very much like this:
http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww10/Nismosky350/corollaclean.jpg
I once had the opportunity to trade for a ’78 ish Corolla Wagon. I had an Olds Cutlass that I eventually sold for $600 that I would have pulled the trade off with. Like any car, if it is not maintained, it’s not going to look good. I liked the idea of it, but it was going to take a lot to keep it going down the road, so I passed.