Three Questions about my 2006 Solara

[know1uno]

This is my second Solara.

I rolled my 2002 Solara two and a half times on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at 75 mph.

But I wasn't hurt at all, except for a severely scraped up left forearm.

I have a Arctic Pearl White 2006 now and have two questions about it. Does Toyota make mud guards / splash guards for this newer generation Solara? My 2002 had them on them when I purchased it new.

Second question is this, my first one had a locking lug nut, should I purchase a set of these for my 2006?

Thanks!

FYI, I'll try and take a couple of shots of my new 2006 with only 9600 miles when I bought it before the end of this week.




p.s. Just edited this post. I now have another question as well.

This Solara was a Certified Pre-Owned Solara. I bought it out of state and drove it back home. When I purchased it, I also purchased an additional warranty with it, that pretty much should cover everything on the vehicle for 7 years or 100,000 miles. However, after washing it the first time, I noticed on the left front bumper as the bumper curvers around from the side of the vehicle to the front of the vehicle, the paint didn't match up. It looked to me like it had been a bad paint job on the vehicle. I called the dealership that sold it to me and they said to take it to the local Toyota dealership. I did, and at first, they thought that the clear coat was coming off, yet after further review, the local dealership tells me the vehicle was in an accident and the bumper had been fixed and repainted. So I call the dealership that sold me the vehicle and they said according to the Car Fax they had on the vehicle, it was never in an accident. They even went so far as to call the original owner of the vehicle and he said it had never been in an accident. This dealership (not the local one) did not sell the vehicle new to the original owner, they took it in as a trade-in.

My question is this; can anything be done about this bad paint job and the fact that the vehicle was in an accident? Should I write Toyota Corporate Headquarters? It was my understanding that a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle had NO problems whatsoever. The dealership where I bought it from thinks that maybe the original Toyota dealership could have had a lot accident with the vehicle and repaired it before they sold it as new to the original owner.

Any thoughts, ideas or comments on how to resolve this?

Thanks!

[fzzyrn]

I don't think there are mudguards for the 2.5g solaras. The rear lip on the sport model is about as close as you'll get to a mudguard in any case, and its pretty useless in that regard.

I don't know about the locking lugs (you mean the ones on the wheels right?).

About the paint, somebody is lying. Find out what "certified pre-owned" means. It's possible that person who sold it to the guy who traded it in was in an accident. In any case, nothing really important is in the front bumper, except maybe the radiator? Also, most front bumper crashes that merit repainting are relatively minor. Either it was a minor bump or maybe even a scuff that led to repainting.

Enjoy the car. The 2.5G rear end is prettier than the 2g, in my opinion.

[Sparky5e]

Not sure what fzzyrn is saying???

Mud guards (which go on the wheel well) are available for the 06 Gen2 and the 07-08 Gen2.5. Check the sticky in the aftermarket room for some links to vendors.

Rear spoilers, available on sport and SLE, have nothing to do with mud or the original post.

Depending on whether you think someone would steal your wheels would determine whether locking lugs are warranted. I don't like them because they are a pain to get off even with the key. If I dropped 4k on wheels and tires they would have locking lugs though. I'm not worried about what I have.

Sorry to hear about the paint job. I think getting Toyota involved might be a good idea since no one is fessing up to the fact it was painted or in a collision. Still sounds like a great car with less then 10K miles when you got it. Try not to roll this one LOL

[fzzyrn]

ohgoshwow i'm having a bad day. I thought you were talking about something totally different.

haha, Sparky's right.

[jetbtkng]

i would take it to the dealer and see if you can have them repaint it so it matches at thier cost of course

[know1uno]

i would take it to the dealer and see if you can have them repaint it so it matches at thier cost of course

I've tried that already. The local dealer is saying the original dealer needs to be contacted, I did that and they aren't taking "blame or responsibility" for it.

My car is a 2006, so do I have a Gen 2 or a 2.5?

[jetbtkng]

maybe you might have to go to small claims court judge joe brown or judge wapner, maybe judge judy, they'll pay for you showing up even if you lose you win, might cover the cost of repainting

[kingkakyle]

u have a gen 2
04-06 gen 2
07+ 2.5

[Black Bob]

I have kinda the same problem. I bought my 2005 used and it, too, is having a front bumper issue. The only difference is my Carfax report stated it was in an accident and the refinish is peeling off. So I feel for you on that, but there are somethings that you have to change your knowledge on:

1) Carfax is not a tell-all. If the original owner wasn't in a traffic accident, didn't have an insurance handle the damage and/or took it to some hack bodyshop then it would never be reported. So in essence a Carfax is not absolute.

2) Certified is a sales gimmick. The word "certified" sounds better than "looked over". Oh sure, they check the fanbelt, check tire treads and see if the AC blows cold and the heater warms up. They might even oil a squeaky glovebox, but a dealership is not about to pull the header to check for oil buildup as some people believe.

3) Pearlescent paint is a beeyotch to match in general (triple stage application, mica/metallic flake, etc.). What the original bodyshop should have done was blend it with your fender and hood (i.e. repaint parts of the hood and fender) to make the match look good. Just taking off the bumper, matching the paint and spraying the bumper ain't gonna cut it. There's more cost/labor involved with 'blending' but it's a small price to pay not to have somebody say "hey, your bumper isn't matching quite right".

4) Make sure you read the fine print in your extended warranty. I also have an extended warranty and the devil is in the details. Mine will cover everything between hood latch and trunk latch but it specifically says it is not warranting the body whatsoever.

5) Dealerships have more legal rights than Dick Cheney. Even if a dealership makes a promise that they'll check to see if the used car they are selling you was in an accident or not, they only have to check to the best of their knowledge. Some just check the Carfax report only (see point #1), some actually look for overspray from a paint job or bent frame, but if everything looks good they can deem the car as "not showing" signs of an accident. It is not possible to guarantee a car has not been in an accident if you're not the original owner, just no way. So in otherwords, they ain't responsible unless they guaranteed you in writing.

All that being said I hope the dealership finds themselves in a generous mood because I think I've only heard of this once whereby a dealership reached out a helping hand to make things right AFTER a sell. With dealerships going belly-up, your chances are improving where they just might. Good luck.

[youngblood]

Google Toyota Certified Pre owned Vehicles:

On Toyota's website they describe very specific items which the inspect and repair as necessary before certifying a vehicle.

For exterior condition & appearance they check for the following:"Exterior is clean and free of road debris"
"No cracked or broken lenses of exterior lights"
"Outside rear-view mirror operates/ lens is good"
"Glass free of cracks, stars, and large chips"

That is all they cover on the body of your car. They do run a carfax as a standard practice as well, but as has been stated previously- carfax doesn't tell you the complete history of a car. It is only beneficial if all repairs are done by the book; ie. insurance company and reputable body shop are involved.

Don't sweat a relatively small defect like this. You can have it redone at your leisure if you like. A bumper repair/repaint is about as minor of an issue as you can have on the body of your lara!

[pearlyshells]

All that being said I hope the dealership finds themselves in a generous mood because I think I've only heard of this once whereby a dealership reached out a helping hand to make things right AFTER a sell.

Can I get an "amen?" Only after I called Toyota corporate did Magnuscam Toyota Stealership agreed to give me a keyless entry remote (scheduled to be done next week). The used car manager yelled at me saying that I was fully informed that the car came as equipped. I told him that I didn't realize keyless entry was standard until after I researched it. A driver seat is standard. Would I be sold one without one on a Toyota Certified Preowned Vehicle? When I called Toyota, they said I was to receive one master key and one keyless entry remote. Magnuscam reluctantly agreed to do it.

Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a lot of b*tching to corporate and the "customer relations" manager to get what is yours.

[know1uno]

I am seriously thinking of writing Toyota Corporate about the paint job. I thought the car was completely free of any defects and this minor issue of the paint not matching on the bumper is a BIG issue to me !!

[pearlyshells]

I think you have a very good case know1uno.

This was on their 160-point inspection page.

Vehicle is free of improper paint repairs or mismatched color

If it were me, this would be SOOO unacceptable.

If you want them to resolve this faster, call them. They opened up a case file for me, and it was taken care of soon.

Phone: 800-331-4331

Good luck man!

[know1uno]

Cheryl,

Thank you so much for the tip on the 160 point inspection.

I wrote them via the e-mail option tonight on their webiste.

To make matters worse, yesterday I had lunch with some friends of mine and I was showing them the area where the color is mismatched. After further inspection, you can actually see paint runs along the left side of the front portion of the car, as it turns into the front of the car and becomes the bumper. Actual paint runs !!

I can't believe it !!

I better get something done about this from Toyota !!

[youngblood]

My only tip at this point would be to remain pleasant but assertive when you deal with customer relations @ toyota. You probably have a pretty solid case with them but you will get further by remaining calm and refraining from making accusations. If they turn out to be jerks and resist helping you out, then you can start chewing people out and talking to supervisors, etc.

Yes, I work in customer service.