Age is starting to take a toll on my Solara (pics added)

[Solorange]

I was washing my car this weekend and when drying it I noticed some rust forming through the paint underneath my rear spoiler. When I get some time I guess Im going to have to remove the spoiler to see how bad the damage is. Anybody else have this problem? Also I haven't ever taken the spoiler off before. If I remove the inner liner on the trunk lid will i find the bolts holding it on?

Thanks

[AllShowNoGo]

i believe there are 4 bolts holding it in. Regardless its pretty straight forward once u take the cover off.

[nj99solara]

I haven't had that problem but I have taken my spoiler off before, yup your right just take off the liner from inside the trunk and you will see the bolts. I think there's four and they are 10mm.

[woa_its_j3ff]

I'm getting rust on my driver side rear wheel well, other than that I am good so far.. and that's in the snowy/rainy windy area of chicago.. phew...

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

I had some rust issues under my celica spoiler, it was fairly cheap to repait small portions professionally - they made it blend it..it looked superb..I'd recommend you do this sooner than later

[Ivanhoe]

I have some paint bubbling(rust) right under the molding on the passenger side rear quarter panel.....hardly noticeable unless I point it out to you.....I guess I should take care of it soon before it gets worse. It's not uncommon for cars with spoilers to develop rust by the spoiler....I wouldnt worry about it all that much, just dont let it get to bad without correcting it (bodyshop).

[Solorange]

Yeah I guess Ill check it out soon. unfortunatly I have time to do it this weekend but its going to drop to 18 that day. Go figure its 60 now but not for the weekend. My clearcoat is also peeling off my rear bumper. At least I dont have to worry about that rusting.

[Solorange]

Had some time this weekend to remove the spoiler to see how bad it was. It was worse than I thought.

Here is what is looked like before I cleaned it up.



Here is what it looked like after I cleaned it and waxed the area.



^ notice the clear coat peeling away on the back bumper near under the truck lid.

The temporary fix is after I clean it up I used some clear coat touchup paint and put over the rusted areas. Then I added some 3M tape on the spoiler to add some cushioning since I believe the damage was due to the spoiler vibrating and rubbing against the paint and wearing it away and water that gets in there.



It just makes me sad because I love this car and hate to see it age. I wish I was the first owner of this car. It would be in much better shape if I owned it first! Then it also wouldn't have any bug damage on the front of the car either. Id love to get an all new paint job for this car, its just not worth it put too much more money into it, yet its pretty much irreplaceable to me since I hate every brand new car out there that I can afford (30k or less). Id have to get something used and then Im in the same boat having a car thats older with miles on it and other people's damage.

[BlKSo|aRa]

ur still better then mine. i just found out my car has salvage title couple day ago. suck so bad.... n i was washing my car n also find 1 rusted spot(a side of a quarter) on the driver side rear.

[SleeperSolara]

Yeah mine was a salvage car too.
And i just found out they used a 1999 Solara front driver strut on my car.

[BlKSo|aRa]

i find new thing again. the rear driver side bumber have some dent at the bottom. n the passenger side corner light is drilled into the headlight cuz they broke it(so my headlight alway have water inside).....

[DrLove]

My 99 White Solara is worst han all your cars I think!.. White is the worst color for a used car, I will never buy this color again for a used one (because I love white cars, I will buy nw one if I want white).

On the side, the rust did holes and the rust is on "Spot weld" line. Some rust on the doors, some on the trim inside the car. Nothing for the spoiler.

I've put a new windshield and there was lot of rust on the frame around the windshield.

I also don't like so much the new cars... I don't want to spend 30k for something that is not better than my car.

I was thinking about do a new paint and body kit, but the car is getting old and I don't think that for me it's the right choice.
An old car cost more then a new car, I love my Solara but "she" cost me lot of money on repair and on gas. I would like to keep her for 1 or 2 years and get a new car.

Im a little off topic but,

I would maybe buy a mazda 3, if they finally do a new design after so many years without real modifications. It's a reliable car, confortable, cheap and not too much expensive on gas.

If I had the money, I would buy the new BMW 1 Series Coupé, I saw it on a car show here at Montreal and love it!. Also the Accord coupé is nice, it looks a bit like the Gen2 Solara, don't you think??

[Kenz]

I just noticed a bit of rust inside the from of the door jams. Its inside by a couple bolts where the hinges are.
Not bad but still bothers me.

Ill be sanding and repainting the area in the spring.
so... how hard is it to take the doors off? lol

[Ivanhoe]

the 2 bolts on either end of my spoiler are both loose...I keep forgetting to tighten them up

[woa_its_j3ff]

the 2 bolts on either end of my spoiler are both loose...I keep forgetting to tighten them up

not hard, a few bolts.. I'm not sure if you need to remove fender to do so but I doubt it.