High Mileage '04...what should I look for?

[JoBu]

Greetings,

Brand new member here with my 1st post, I hope you guys/gals can help me out. I might be purchasing my first Solara. It is a 2004 with 90,000 miles. I live on the Space Coast of Florida and high-mileage cars are not unheard of. But...I would like to know if there are things I should be aware of before I plunk down my coin.

A little background on the car: 2004 SE, with the 2.4 IL 4-cylinder and a 5-speed manual. It is not the sport model. Overall condition of the car is very good. It is Absolute Red with the tan cloth interior. The paint looks great (very glossy with hardly any blemishes - only a few very minor chips in the front) and the interior looks practically new with the exception of a couple marks on a plastic piece or two, which I would expect. Even the carpet/floormats look extremely nice. I've done some normal checks on it such as crawling underneath to look for any signs of rot, rust, or repain - none found. The test drive also went extremely well as the car felt very tight, the motor was responsive and quiet, and the transmission/clutch shifted very smoothly.

I am planning on taking to my mechanic for a "once over" and will have a compression check performed as well. But, I'd like to know if there are any "special" problems that are associated with this year/model/drive train. I appreciate any/all help with this and hopefully, will be a full-time member of this board with my own Solara.

Cheers,

Joe

[no_escape]

90k isn't high miles. That's arouns 22k miles a year for your '04.
What you should ask the owner is if the miles are highway or city miles. Highway is better than city due to stop and go traffic in the city.

[JoBu]

I agree...it isn't crazy high mileage. It is at a dealership and the salesman told me about the previous owner. Apparently, he was an engineer out here at the Kennedy Space Center. The salesman told me where the PO lived, so the high mileage makes sense and it is mostly highway miles!!

I'm a long time fan of Toyotas (with the exception of a '79 Supra that was a lemon) and I truly believe I'll have no problems getting 300,000 miles out of this car.

Cheers,

Joe

[no_escape]

I'm not a big fan of dealerships... been f*cked before. Ask the dealership for the # of the pevious owner. I'm sure they would have it since he has the PO box. Ask the previous owner how often he did or had matience done such as oil, belts, tires, other fluids, ect.
Also carfax it as well.

[JoBu]

Roger that...I not only want the Carfax report, but I'd really like to talk to the PO. I'll be making the call this morning.

Thanks for your help/input.

Cheers,

Joe

[crispone]

I'm at 86K miles on my '04 V6 SE Sport. NO ISSUES so far.

Just changed my plugs awhile back, and I'm scheduled in a week for my timing belt, water pump, idler pulley, etc... regular maintenance.

I'd check for the 90k mile timing belt status, AT LEAST, and consider the water pump when they do it.

Brakes
Suspension
Plugs
Filters, etc... (interior, as well...)
CV boots for leaks...
SOUND of engine upon INITIAL START-UP from cold state... (chattery?)

...that kind of stuff...

Not too familiar with the I4 specifically... but I think these are pretty decent motors, and the cars do pretty well overall when it comes to aging.

(PS: After 3 supras, they are GREAT cars, but they ALL become MONEY PITS when they age! HA!)


-crisp

[Gadgetjq]

Just a quick heads up. There is no timing belt on the 4 cylinder, it's a chain so no maintenance needed at the 90K mark.
The maintenance schedule for the '04 at 90,000 miles is:


Replace engine oil and oil filter 1
Rotate tires
Replace cabin air filter (if equipped)
Replace engine air filter
Replace timing belt (3MZ-FE 6 cylinder)
Inspect the following:
Ball joints and dust covers
Brake lines and hoses
Brake linings/drums and brake pads/discs 3
Differential oil
Drive belts
Drive shaft boots
Engine coolant
Exhaust pipes and mountings
Fuel lines and connections, fuel tank band and fuel tank vapor vent system hoses
Fuel tank cap gasket
Radiator core and condenser
Steering gear box
Steering linkage and boots
Transmission fluid or oil

Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditions:


Driving While Towing
Replace differential oil (models with integrated manual transmission)
Replace transmission fluid or oil
Tighten nuts and bolts on chassis

Cheers

[Black Bob]

Man, being a past Ford fan (A-plan fan, more like it) I just love to hear people rifle off numbers like 90,000 miles and above for the Solaras. It just outright warms my little, bitty, cold heart knowing my car will outlast my finance contract.

[JoBu]

I can't thank you all enough for your help and information you provided. I have just agreed upon a price with the dealer and will be taking the car by my mechanic to have him give it a quick "once over". Hopefully, it'll pass with flying colors.

Cheers,

Joe

PS. I didn't realize the I-4 had a timing chain...good to know.

[NightRider]

damn i agree there are a lot of responses to this threas. very nice of the solara community. So anywho, any updates on the solara you are looking at getting?

[JoBu]

Well, I'm now the proud (and happy) owner of an '04 Solara SE Coupe. It did indeed pass inspection with flying colours. I did switch out the tranny gear lube with synthetic and one of the lower engine plastic covers needed a couple of fasteners, but that was it.

Oh, the tire monitoring light likes to stay on, regardless of the pressure and despite repeated attempts on my part to reset it. It will go out but illumiates again within 5-10 miles. For now, I'm choosing to ignore it.

I'll try to get some pics of it up soon. I'm currently working 7 days/week...no rest for the wicked, I suppose.

Cheers,

Joe

[Gadgetjq]

Oh, the tire monitoring light likes to stay on, regardless of the pressure and despite repeated attempts on my part to reset it. It will go out but illumiates again within 5-10 miles. For now, I'm choosing to ignore it.

Hey Joe,

Congrats on the new Solara. About the tire warning, be sure you're resetting it properly. If you just push the button the light will go out but the system isn't recalibrated. Push and hold the button for several seconds (until the warning light blinks) and the system is truly reset.

Cheers

[Garrryyunit]

congrats on your new purchase. :] youre gonna love the mileage.

I been calculating. I'm at 730 miles and only used 1.5 tank. :] my goal is to get 900 in 2 tanks. lol.

[Ruski]

wtf 730 miles on half a tank crazy . i can hardly hit 650 on a full tank, on my i4

[Gadgetjq]

wtf 730 miles on half a tank crazy . i can hardly hit 650 on a full tank, on my i4

Check the post again. It's 730 miles on 1.5 tanks (27 gallons rounding off tank size to 18 gal) not .5 tanks. That works out to about 27 mpg (assuming the tank was run dry the first time and all 27 gallons used) so well within advertised spec. Now, to get 'really' anal, if the first tank wasn't run completely dry and he's just down to half a tank (indicated) after a partial fillup then the mpg figure is actually lower.

That said, it's still several mpg better than I do in everyday driving with my six-cylinder.

Cheers