Back in the 1980s, life as a consumer in Singapore was simpler. No smartphones, only pagers. No e-books, only The Teenage Textbook. No mind-blowing digital games, just Mastermind. And none of the cars on the road was complicated, such as the Corolla you see here.
Registered in December 1982, it’s owned by 53-year-old Winston Chu, who bought the car second-hand in 1986 after he got his first job. Armed with an electrical engineering degree from NTI (Nanyang Technological Institute, the precursor of NTU), Winston joined Singapore Aircraft Industries (which eventually became Singapore Technologies Aerospace) as an engineer, and worked on the Super Skyhawk fighter-bomber project with the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
After a few years, he left aeronautics and entered the hard-disk industry, where he was a manager with Western Digital until 1992, when, at the age of 32, he started his engineering business. Along the way, he got married (in 1988) and had two children – a daughter, now 25 and a medical doctor; and a son, now 24 and studying electrical engineering in Australia. Winston says that both of them “feel passionate about having the same car from babyhood until adulthood”.
Amid the changes in Winston’s career and personal life, the one constant is his trusty Toyota. He renewed its COE in 1991 for $3000, and thanks a certain dictator for that cheap renewal (“Saddam Hussein brought down the COE with his Gulf War!”).
Ten years later, in 2001, Winston gave his Corolla another new lease on life when the COE dropped suddenly from $30k-plus to $18k. “But I was not so lucky in 2011 and had to renew the COE at $51,234. It will expire in 2021. I may pay again to renew it then, if I can still afford to do so.”
Why did he choose the Corolla in the first place, and what made him keep it for so long?
“This was the only back-wheel-drive car left in the 1980s. It’s also my first car, ever since my first job. It has clocked about 750,000km so far.”
“I’ve driven it to Genting Highlands, Fraser’s Hill, Cameron Highlands and many times to Penang. The furthest I’ve taken it is southern Thailand, just after Bukit Kayu Hitam in Perlis, back in 2006.
“My car’s fuel economy on Malaysian highways is more than 12km per litre. In the cities, it’s about 10km per litre. Mechanically, the KE70 Corolla is sound and straightforward. I can stop by the roadside to do simple DIY repairs, such as changing the alternator or clutch cable. An Automobile Association mechanic once told me that this model seldom has problems, and it can travel from KL to Singapore with only three pistons running!”
Servicing isn’t an issue either.
“Engine oil, filter and contact point every 5000km, for less than $100 in total. Major maintenance of the clutch, brakes, tyres, alternator and carburettor every 50,000km, for about $500. Parts for the car are really cheap and easily available.”
What’s the best part of owning the same old Corolla for almost 30 years?
“It is a real workhorse. It can start every time, and reached the destinations for all my most important appointments, including my children’s school exams!”
