I have known a couple of folks who have owned conversions and weren't into the servicing side of it. Tbh they had a hard time. To pull it off, really you have to know someone who works on them in your area. Or be friends with like, a forklift tech or something.
They can be more reliable than gas cars in many ways, but only as good as the wiring and engineering time put into them. Something will go wrong eventually, and you'd need a lifeline.
In the days of all the production cars being readily available, conversions are making less sense to own unless you're into working on them yourself. In which case it's not only a car but also a hobby, and a hobby that requires enough electrical knowledge to work with potentially lethal voltages.
If truly want to drive something more classic and want that more traditional driving experience vs driving the more techy newer cars - if you find some support in your area and want to pursue this, doing it from scratch is really tricky because that initial conversion is for sure $10-$20k. No way around it - it adds up and quick. But, it's entirely possible to pick up a 2nd hand conversion from someone getting out of the game for less than $5k, but there won't be a whole lot of options. Doubt you'd see a Corolla ever come along, but maybe a Civic. I see Saturns from time to time - they are less weighty so a few people did them up. Hmmm... VW kits were pretty popular, maybe an old Jetta would be something you'd see in the wild come up for sale. You'll probably have to trailer it from somewhere within a days drive - for example, people come up here to Portland from CA all the time, or I remember a guy from Spokane came down for an old Mustang I was helping to sell. That's prettty common. I went to Arcata once to pick up a parts Electravan to back mine up. That sort of thing.
In any case, even if you get a reasonable deal on the vehicle, it's a safe bet that the batteries will be toast or near it, and you'll be looking at another $3-$4k+ for a pack that'd probably get you like 90 miles in a Civic. And potentially other components would might need upgraded, plus any labor to get them boxed and installed. Definitely for that price, a used Leaf, or something can offer you that gasless experience with a lot higher chance of not becoming a mess. You REALLY have to want and fall in love with a conversion to own one - anyone who has one will tell you they are a handful.
btw- a Bolt could get you up near the similar range as a gas Corolla I would think, but that's probably about it. a Leaf can go 90 miles or so unless you get one of the jumbo 60kwh packs. You have to rework your life around that kind of range, takes some adjustments. A Bolt can go 225 miles or so, probably less of an adjustment.
If there's an EV club in your area, go to a monthly meeting, talk to folks, check it all out.
