1996 Corolla Engine Vibration

I looked at a 1996 Corolla today with 130,000 miles. The car was in good shape and the owner had a huge file of all the maintenance that has been done on the car. It looked to be very well maintained. Upon starting the car, there was a very noticeable vibration (and noise) coming right up the steering column, pedals and floor board. It vibrated so much the front seats even were shaking. It was worse at idle, improved as the car picked up speed and basically went away at cruising speed. When I asked the owner about it after my test drive, she said she asked her mechanic about it. According to her, the mechanic told her this was common with older Corolla's and not to worry about it. Is this a known problem with older Corolla's? If so, what is it? It definitely seemed to be coming from the engine. Thanks for the input.

It sounds like engine mounts. I would take a look at them or have someone look at them you might be able to talk to seller down. not 100% sure how much they cost but I would think that they would cost about $100-200 to fix them all. They are pretty to replace.
that just my $0.02 have a good day

Thanks for your comment. After a bit of web surfing it also looked to me like motor mount issues. I ended up passing on it.