Even Toyota Corollas Break Down

Shortly after we arrived in Uganda, we acquired our Toyota Land Cruiser - a beast of an SUV - and completely necessary to get us up-country and far into the bush.  It's diesel, but it still manages to drink an awful lot of fuel: about 13 mpg at $3.52/gallon for diesel.  So for getting around Kampala, and even down to the Entebbe airport which has a good road, we bought one of those classic dependable cars, a Toyota Corolla.  I learned to drive on a 1984 Toyota Corolla and I even had a 1985 Toyota Corolla once.  My parents now have some frankenstein combination of both of those and I think some part of a third Toyota Corolla as well.  Anyway, for getting around Kampala, we knew we couldn't do better in terms of fuel economy or reliability than one of these Corollas.  The guy who found our Land Cruiser also helped us find a newly imported Corolla with only 45,000 km (28,000 miles)!  That's right, a 1991 with only 28,000 miles!  Impossible, you ask?  The interior, the brake pedal, the steering wheel, the upholstery, everything pointed to a car with that mileage.  It's in great shape.  Well...

Invoice from Speedway EngineeringSo here's the (now) obvious issue.  Cars are meant to be driven.  When cars aren't driven, the seals in the engine lose some of their elasticity.  The gaskets start to harden and the rubber in the engine doesn't get the oil that it needs to lubricate and protect it.  So.... when you pick up a 1991 car with only 28,000 miles on it, you can bet that it has sat for some time somewhere.  And, sure enough, after having the car for a month it developed an oil leak that at first looked to be pretty minor.  The only problem was that the oil leaked right onto the exhaust collector, so it smoked a lot for a minor leak.  Then it got worse.  Finally, we gave in and took it to a shop after putting 2 liters of oil in at a gas station.  By the time I got the car to the shop it had spewed oil all over the engine compartment - at least one more seal had blown. 

Here's the great thing about Uganda.  Labor is cheap.  And these particular Toyota Corollas are the cars used as taxis upcountry.  Although the Corolla has only 5 seat belts, it carries 9 passengers at a time in its life as an upcountry taxi.  So there are a lot of them around - parts are cheap.  Our highly recommended mechanic, Arthur at Speedway Engineering here in Kampala, got the problem fixed in one day.  Turns out we had blown a total of three gaskets.  So they rebuilt the top of the engine.  What's the damage?

• Overhaul Gasket Kit: 115,000 Shillings ($54.76)
• 2.5 liters oil: 22,000 Shillings ($10.48)
• Oil Filter: 5,000 Shillings ($2.38)
• Labor: 50,000 Shillings ($23.81)

So I'm a curious chap.  I looked up that overhaul gasket kit on some US websites.  It's Toyota list price is something like $370, and the best price I could find in the US is $115!  And I don't think you can have a mechanic give you the time of day for $24 in the US!  That labor, by the way, also included replacing the battery and doing a little body work.  FOR $24!!!!  Anyway, we're happy.  Our car is now running great again, and it should last another 19 years, even if we put on more than 24,000 miles.  -Shauen