---
title: "Enjoy This Brutally Honest Craigslist Ad About a Toyota Corolla in Project Car Hell"
description: "\"The paint sucks, the interior is shot... and the engine is currently torn in half.\""
date: "2017-04-20"
modified: "2017-04-20"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/9489/enjoy-this-brutally-honest-craigslist-ad-about-a-toyota-corolla-in-project-car-hell"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Toyota News"
tags:
  - "compact"
  - "corolla"
  - "Craigslist"
  - "Project Car"
  - "sedan"
  - "Toyota"
---

# Enjoy This Brutally Honest Craigslist Ad About a Toyota Corolla in Project Car Hell

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/04/01010_bcbsoumy7bj_1200x900.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

If you've ever had the pleasure of visiting [Project Car Hell, you'll know it is indeed a real place](<https://www.thedrive.com/porsche/6744/this-half-finished-v8-911-project-could-be-your-yard-art>), and that it is full of half-dissembled engines and unfortunate owners drowning in a sea of mistakes and poor decisions. It's enough to drive even the most dedicated shade-tree mechanics to cut their losses and kick their once-beloved project to the curb. The upside is we all get to enjoy the hilariously direct Craigslist posts that sometimes result from these situations. Case in point, this ad from a gentleman named Matt in California seeking to offload his [non-running 1980 Toyota Corolla TE72 liftback](<https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/6091357987.html>) with a pretty unambiguous title: "This Car Sucks."

Matt's frustration is palpable, and we definitely feel for him. Still, it's hard to not chuckle when you contrast the pictures of the Corolla's decent exterior and serviceable interior with the unbridled pessimism found in the text of the ad. After getting the specifics out of the way—it *had* a working 1.8 liter 3T-C inline-four under the hood at some point, along with a 5-speed and air conditioning—Matt launches in to his litany of complaints with full force: "This car sucks. The paint sucks, the interior is shot, the wheels are ugly gold and the engine is currently torn in half."

![message-editor%2F1492698626997-00a0a\_hxchnbwmmqh\_1200x900.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1492698626997-00a0a_hxchnbwmmqh_1200x900.jpg>)
*Yikes., *Craigslist**

Why, you ask? Matt would like you to know that a certain *someone* responsible for a recent engine rebuilt somehow left out the valve lifters when buttoning everything back up, and his attempt to run the Corolla resulted in "major damage." Yeah, we're not sure how that happened either. A picture under the hood reveals a missing cylinder head and a pretty sad looking engine, and it's clear that Matt has no intention of putting any more time or effort into this car.

"The current top speed of this ugly duckling is ZERO. I'm moving out of the country in a few weeks. Tow this pile of crap out of my driveway ASAP," he pleads.

![message-editor%2F1492699328814-00b0b\_2jlsdio0i00\_1200x900.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1492699328814-00b0b_2jlsdio0i00_1200x900.jpg>)
**Craigslist**

There are some melancholy details if you read in closer, though. The title is up to date and clean, so the seller clearly intended to get the car back on the road eventually, and the 117,000 miles on the odometer indicate it used to serve its purpose well. Finally, you know the situation is dire if a car enthusiast can't stand to even look at his lightweight, rust-free, RWD Japanese box anymore. But at least Matt seems to understand the reality of unloading a project on Craigslist.

"I look forward to your ridiculous lowball offers and asking me if the car is still available and then instantly disappearing from all communications," he writes.

![message-editor%2F1492698979842-ad.png](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1492698979842-ad.png>)
*Craigslist*

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)