How Much Is A 1980 Toyota Corolla Worth Today & What Did One Cost Brand New?

The Toyota Corolla is one of the Japanese automaker's best-selling vehicles, coveted for its reliability and cost effective maintenance. The Corolla has been around since 1966, and it has taken a lot of shapes and forms to get where it is today? The 1980 Corolla is part of the fourth generation, costing just $5,208 for the base model, according to J.D. Power. That's $22,352.76 in today's money, which is surprisingly around the cost of buying a new 2026 Corolla. 

However, you can now buy a 1980 Toyota Corolla for as low as $1,600 — although the average price of sold Corolla from that year is around $10,500, per Classic.com at time of writing, as it becomes a more desirable collector car, especially for those with nostalgia for the '80s. 

Despite being over 40 years old, the 1980 Corolla is, well, still a Corolla. Owners say it's still reliable after all these years, even with high mileage. It's low-maintenance, economical, and fuel efficient. "If you were going to buy a new car and keep it 41 years — or forever — it's simply the best choice, whether that was in 1980 or 2021," Curbside Classics' Paul Niedermeyer said while reporting on a man's 40-plus years of ownership and 261,000 miles. During that time, the owner had done general maintenance himself, and paid a relatively low $500 for cheap replacement parts, including a radiator, water pump, and air filter kit. 

The 1980 Toyota Corolla is the second year of the fourth generation model, unchanged from 1979. The fourth generation model had an extended wheelbase and a sharper body design. There were also seven variations, including two- and four-door sedans, a hardtop, a coupe, a liftback, and a two- and four-door van. Every body type had a water-cooled, inline four-cylinder engine. 

The 1980 Corolla made 75 horsepower — not bad for a commuter vehicle weighing just 2,090 pounds. This allowed for top speed of 98 mph, and a 0-60 time of 12.4 seconds. Still, its engine wasn't considered impressive in the 1980s, when horsepower was on the rise again and quarter mile icons like the 300 hp Buick GNX were coming back in style. With no performance versions to speak of, the fourth generation Toyota Corolla has been sort of forgotten compared to more popular generations.