A mate of mine had a 87-90 (dunno the exact year obviously) Corolla estate. It had done nearly half a million km and it ran quite smooth and I never noticed anything wrong with it. Only the interior was a bit ghastly but as means of transportation it was probably the best value for money ever. The guy who sold the Corolla to my mate (who happened to also be my mate) even promised a 12 month "warranty" (he worked at his dads garage at the moment, importing American muscle).
My brother also has a Corolla, a -90 saloon one. It's quite badly rusted though, the gearbox is quite broken, the suspension is so bad you can barely do 60 mph. A used car after all is only as good as how well the previous owners have taken care of it.
When I went about buying a used car I couldn't bear the thought of driving a Japanese crapbox. I know they're good cars and I wouldn't have spent as much on fuel had I got one. So because my criteria was space, ride comfort, safety and somewhat image, I've as a result got a 1995 Saab 900. I might sell it at some point, partly because it drinks quite much (though in that perspective we're alike) but mainly because it doesn't have a factory radio with ipod connectivity.